# verses

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The earth was without shape. Nothing was alive on it. Deep water covered the earth. There was no light. Everywhere was dark. The Spirit of God moved above the water. <n>God was present before he made the earth. He made everything. 


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God called the light ‘day’. He called the dark ‘night’. Evening passed and morning came. This was the first (1st) day. <n>Verse 3 God spoke and told the light to appear.<br/>Verse 5 Light appeared when it was morning. It was dark at night. One day is a time of light and a time of dark. 


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Then God said ‘A wide space will appear between the waters. So the waters will separate. Some of the water will stay above the space. The rest of the water will stay below the space.’ 


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So God made a wide space. He separated the water under the space from the water above it. And what God said happened. 


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God called the wide space ‘sky’. Evening passed and then it was morning. This was the second (2nd) day.


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God said ‘The water under the sky will gather in one place. And dry ground will appear.’ And what God said happened. 


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God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water (that he put in one place) ‘sea’. God looked at what he had made. And he saw that it was good.


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God said ‘Plants will grow in the land. They will make seeds. And fruit trees will grow, with seeds inside the fruit. Then they can make more plants and trees. These plants and trees will be the same as the plants and trees that they have come from.’ And it was like that. 


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So plants and trees began to grow in the ground. The plants and trees made seeds, so that more of the same plants and trees could grow. God looked at what he had made. And he saw that it was good. 


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God said ‘There will be lights in the sky. They will separate the day from the night. They will show the seasons, days and years. 


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God made two great lights. The brightest light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars. 


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They were to rule over the day and night. And they separated the light from dark. God looked at what he had made. And he saw that it was good. 


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Evening passed, and then it was morning. This was the fourth (4th) day. <n>‘Lights’ mean something bright that shines. (That is not the same as the light in verse 3.) 


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God said ‘The waters will be filled with fish and other living things. And birds will appear and fly in the sky, above the earth.’ 


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So God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different living thing that filled the sea. God made every different bird and flying thing in the sky. God looked at what he made. And he saw that it was good. 


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God <i>blessed</i> them. He said ‘Have many young ones, and grow in number. Fill the water in the seas. And let the birds also have many young ones so that they will grow in number on the earth.’ 


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Evening passed and then it was morning. This was the fifth (5th) day. <n>‘Birds’ means any living thing that can fly (for example insects). <n>Everything that God made would have young ones. These would be the same as the parents. 


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God said ‘I will make different animals come up from the ground. I will make <i>livestock</i> and wild animals. There will be other small animals to move along the ground. I will make many different animals to live on the earth.’ And what God said happened. 


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So God made the different wild animals and the different <i>livestock</i>. He made all the different animals that move along the ground. God looked at what he had made. And he saw that it was good. <n><i>Livestock</i> in verse 24 are animals that are not wild. For example, cows kept for milk. <i>Livestock</i> usually live in a village or farm. They live near people, and people feed them.<br/>Wild animals do not live near people. They sometimes kill other animals to eat. Some of them eat plants and fruit. 


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God said ‘We will make man. Men and women will be like us. They will rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky. They will rule over the <i>livestock</i>. And they will rule over the earth. They will rule over the animals that move along the ground.’ <n>‘Man’ means people. In verse 26 ‘man’ does not mean one person. It means the first people that God made to live on the earth. <n>When God uses ‘us’, he is speaking as the <i>Trinity</i>. That is, the three persons of God. They are God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the <i>Holy</i> Spirit. All were present when God made the earth. 


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God <i>blessed</i> them. He said, ‘Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the sky. Rule over every different living animal that moves on the ground.’ <n>God made men and women to be ‘like’ him. This means that people could think. And they could understand what God wanted them to do. God <i>blesses</i> men and women. <n>God tells the man and woman to grow in number. He means that they are to have many children. He tells the man and woman to rule over the earth. This means that they have authority over all the earth and everything in it. But they are to <i>care</i> for everything. 


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Then God said, ‘Look! I give you every plant on the earth that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. They are yours. The seeds and fruits will be food for you. 


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And they will be food for all the animals on the earth. They will be food for all the birds in the sky and for all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life can eat every green plant.’ And what God said happened.


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God looked at everything that he had made. And he saw that it was very good. Evening passed. And then it was morning. This was the sixth (6th) day.


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The seventh (7th) day came. And God stopped working, because he had finished making the earth. God rested on the 7th day. 


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God <i>blessed</i> the 7th day. He made it a special day, because he had finished making the earth. God did not work on that day. <n>God makes a man and a woman</n>


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This is what happened when God made the earth and everything in it. <n>When the <i>Lord</i> God made the <i>heavens</i> and the earth, 


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there were no plants or trees growing on it. That was because God had not sent any rain. And there was no man to work and <i>care</i> for the ground. There was no man to <i>care</i> for things that grow from the ground. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> God made a man from the ground. He gave life to the man. He put air from himself into the nose of the man. And the man became alive. <n><i>Lord</i> is a special name for God. It means that he is above all other things. And it means that he has authority over everything. <n>‘Man’ in verse 7 means one man. It is the report of how God made the first man. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God planted a garden. This was east of <i>Israel</i>. It was in a place called Eden. And he put the man that he made in the garden. 


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And the <i>Lord</i> God made different trees grow from the ground. These trees were good to look at. The fruit from the trees was good to eat. In the middle of the garden were two trees. One was the tree that lets you live for ever. And the other was the tree of <i>knowledge</i> of good and <i>evil</i>. <n>Eden was a very good place to live. It had everything that the man needed in it. <n><i>Knowledge</i> means to know or understand something. <i>Evil</i> is the opposite of good. It is bad. There is nothing good in <i>evil</i>. 


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A river began in Eden. It went through Eden. And it gave water for the ground. It separated into four smaller rivers. 


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The name of the first river is the Pishon. It goes through the whole of the land of Havilah. There is gold in this land. 


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The gold there is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also in Havilah. <n>Bdellium is something that smells nice. It comes out from certain trees when you cut them. Onyx is a valuable stone. 


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The name of the third river is the Tigris. It goes along the east side of the Asshur. The name of the fourth river is the Euphrates.


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The <i>Lord</i> God put the man into the Garden of Eden. The man was to work on the ground and work in the garden. 


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But you must not eat the fruit from the tree of <i>knowledge</i> of good and <i>evil</i>. The day when you eat this fruit you will die.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> God said, ‘The man should not be alone. I will make a helper for him.’ <n>The helper was someone to live with the man and help him. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God had made all the animals and birds. He made them from the ground. And he brought them to the man to hear what names the man would give them. Whatever the man called each living thing would be its name. 


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So the man gave names to the <i>livestock</i>, the birds of the air, and all the other animals. <n>But the man did not find a helper. 


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So the <i>Lord</i> God made the man go to sleep. While the man was sleeping, the <i>Lord</i> God took a rib from the man. Then he closed up the place that he took the rib from. He closed up that part of the man’s body with skin. 


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Then the man said to God, ‘At last, this is one like me. She has bones taken from my bones. And her body is from my body. I will call her ‘woman’ because God took her out of a man.’ 


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Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother to be with his wife. And the two people will become like one person. <n>The <i>Lord</i> God made the man sleep. This is not the same as the man going to sleep because he wants to. The man will not wake up until God lets him. <n>A rib is a bone inside the middle of the body. God made woman from the rib that he took from the man. And he brought the woman to the man. Verse 24 God wanted men to leave their mother and father. He wanted them to marry a woman. The man and the woman would become a separate family. 


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God made many wild animals. But the snake was the most cunning (clever and <i>evil</i>) of them all. The snake asked the woman, ‘Did God really say, “Both of you must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’


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But God said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden And you must not touch it. You will die if you touch that fruit.” ’


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God knows that when you eat the fruit from this tree you will be like him. You will understand. And you will know good and <i>evil</i>.’ <n><i>Satan</i> is in the snake. Cunning means that the snake will not always say what is true. <i>Satan</i> wants to stop the woman believing what God said. He wants the woman to <i>disobey</i> God. The woman tells the snake that they must not touch the tree in the middle of the garden. God did not tell the woman this. God told the woman that she must not eat the fruit from it. <i>Satan</i> tells the woman that she will not die if she eats the fruit from the Tree of <i>knowledge</i> of good and <i>evil</i>. This is not true. <i>Satan</i> tells the woman that if she eats the fruit she will be like God. <n>If the man and the woman eat the fruit, they will be like God. They will understand what good and <i>evil</i> is. That is how they will be like God. When God made the man and the woman, he did not put anything bad into them. So they did not know about <i>evil</i>. 


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The woman looked at the fruit. She saw that it was good to eat. And she thought that it would be good to know about good and <i>evil</i>. So, she took some fruit and ate it. She gave some to her husband who was with her. And he ate it. 


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Then they saw that they had no clothes. And they felt ashamed. So, they joined leaves from fig trees together to cover their bodies. <n>Fig trees grew in the Garden of Eden. They are fruit trees. 


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In the evening the man and the woman heard the sound of the <i>Lord</i> God walking in the garden. They hid behind the trees. They hid because they did not want the <i>Lord</i> God to see them. 


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The man replied, ‘I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I had no clothes. So I hid from you.’


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The <i>Lord</i> God said, ‘Who told you that you had no clothes? Have you eaten from the tree that I told you not to eat from?’


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The man said, ‘The woman that you put here – she gave me some fruit from the tree. So I ate it.’ <n>The man is saying that the woman was wrong to give him the fruit to eat. And he is saying that God was wrong to put the woman in the garden. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God asked the woman, ‘What have you done?’ The woman replied, ‘The snake told me that I would not die if I ate the fruit. So I ate the fruit.’ <n>The woman is saying that the snake told her something that was not true. So, she is saying that the snake was wrong. But the woman was wrong to believe the snake instead of God. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this, out of all the <i>livestock</i> and wild animals I will only <i>curse</i> you. I tell you that you will move across the ground on your stomach. And you will eat dust. You will do this for the whole of your life.


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I will make you and the woman enemies. Your <i>descendant</i> and her <i>descendant</i> will always be enemies. He will hit your head and you will hurt his foot.’ <n>Verse 14 ‘<i>Curse</i>’ means make or ask that bad things will happen to someone or something. God is speaking the <i>curse</i>. So, he does not ask for something bad to happen. He makes what he says happen to the snake. <n>‘Dust’ is the dry top part of the ground. Many very small pieces of this make ‘dust’. <n>‘Eat dust’ means that the snake will always have its head low in the dust. And everything that it eats will have dust on it. <n>Verse 15 God is speaking of ‘the woman’s <i>descendant</i>’. He means Jesus. Jesus would come and destroy <i>Satan</i>. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God said to the woman, ‘I will make it more painful for you while you are <i>pregnant</i>. And I will make it very painful for you when you give birth. You will still want to be with your husband. He will rule over you and be like a master.’ <n>‘<i>Pregnant</i>’ is when a baby is growing inside a woman before it is born. <n>God tells the woman that her husband will have authority over her in the marriage. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God said to Adam, ‘You listened to your wife. You ate the fruit from the tree after I said, “You must not eat from this tree.” Because you did this, I will <i>curse</i> the ground. You will have to work for a long time before any food plants grow from it. It will be like this for the whole of your life. 


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But you will have to work for a long time before you have any food to eat. You will do this until you return to the ground. This is where you came from. I made you from the ground. And you will return to the ground.’ <n>Adam is the name of the man. It means ‘All people’. <n>Adam did what his wife said. He did not do as God had said. He ate the fruit. So God <i>cursed</i> the ground. <n>Thistles and thorns are plants that are painful to touch. They are not food plants. But they grow quickly, and cover up food plants. Because God has <i>cursed</i> the ground, Adam will have to work for a very long time to grow food plants. God lets food plants grow for Adam. But he has to work for them. <n>Verse 19 ‘Until you return to the ground’ means that the man will work for food for his whole life. Then one day he will die. And people will bury his body in the ground. 


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Adam gave the woman a name. He called her Eve. This was because she would be the mother of all people. <n>All people on earth are <i>descendants of</i> Adam and Eve. 


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The <i>Lord</i> God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us. He understands good and <i>evil</i>. He must not eat the fruit from the tree that lets him live for ever. If he does, he will live for ever. He will not die.’ 


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So, the <i>Lord</i> God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden. Adam had to work on the ground that he came from. They could not return to the garden. 


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Then God put cherubim and a <i>sword</i> of fire at the east of the garden. The <i>sword</i> went from side to side. So, no one could go near to the tree that lets him live for ever. <n>Cherubim are <i>angels</i>. They are God’s servants. A <i>sword</i> is like a long knife. God put <i>swords</i> at the east of the Garden of Eden. He made the swords of fire. No one could go past the cherubim and <i>swords</i> of fire. No one could ever go back into the Garden of Eden. 


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Adam had sex with his wife Eve. And she became <i>pregnant</i>. Some time passed and she gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the <i>Lord</i> I have given birth to a son.’ <n>Eve knows that God has authority over life and death. 


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After some time had passed, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother. She called him Abel. When they had grown, Abel kept sheep. And Cain worked on the land.


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Some time passed. Then one day Cain brought to God some of the fruit that he had grown. The fruits were an <i>offering</i> to the <i>Lord</i> God. 


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But Abel brought fat pieces from some of the first young ones of the animals that he kept. The <i>Lord</i> God was happy with Abel and his offering. 


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But the <i>Lord</i> God was not happy with Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry. His face looked sad. <n>Abel chose the first-born young animals to give to God. He killed them, and then he gave God the fat pieces. This is the best part of the meat from the animal. <n>Cain is angry because God is not happy with him and his <i>offering</i>. But God is happy with Abel and his offering. <n>Instead of trying to please God, Cain shows God that he is angry. 


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If you do what is right, I will be happy with you. But if you do wrong things, <i>sin</i> will be like a wild animal at your door. It will be like an animal that wants to eat you. But you must be its master. <n>God is telling Cain this. If he does wrong things, <i>sin</i> will destroy him. <i>Sin</i> is bad. It came into the world (and into people) when Adam and Eve went against God in the Garden of Eden. God is telling Cain that Cain must have authority over <i>sin</i>. Then Cain will not do wrong things. Then God will be happy with Cain and his <i>offering</i>. <n>Cain kills Abel</n>


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One day Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel. And he killed him.


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Some time passed and God said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel, your brother?’ Cain replied, ‘I do not know. Must I always keep my brother safe?’ <n>God’s question sounds like the question that he asked Adam and Eve. That was when they hid in the Garden. God knows that Cain has killed Abel. God is giving Cain time to say what is true. (He is giving him time to say that he killed Abel.) But Cain does not tell God what he has done. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> God said, ‘What have you done? Listen! The blood of your brother is like a dead person calling out to me from the ground.’ <n>God is saying that Abel’s blood is like a person. It is crying out to God to <i>punish</i> Cain for the death of Abel. 


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Then God said, ‘I have <i>cursed</i> you. I will not let you grow food in the ground. This is because it is wet with your brother’s blood. This is because you killed your brother. 


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When you work on the land, no plants will grow in it. There will be no plants that you can eat. You will travel from place to place. You will not live in one place.’ <n>Cain would have to travel from place to place to find food. The ground will not let any plants grow when Cain works on it. This is because of God’s <i>curse</i>. 


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From today, you will not let me work on the land. You will not be with me. I will be like a traveller without a home. If someone sees me, they will kill me.’ <n>Cain is not sorry that he killed his brother. He did not tell God what he had done. He is not sorry about that either. Cain thinks that God is doing too much to him. That is why he is sorry. 


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But God said to Cain, ‘I will not let anyone kill you. If anyone kills Cain, I will hurt that person 7 times more.’ Then the <i>Lord</i> God put a mark on Cain. This was to let other people know that they must not kill Cain. 


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Cain had sex with his wife. After some time she gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city. He called the city Enoch because it was his son’s name. 


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Enoch was the father of Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. Methushael was the father of Lamech.


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Adah gave birth to Jabal. Jabal was the father of the people who live in <i>tents</i> and keep <i>livestock</i>. <n>Lamech went against what God wanted by marrying 2 women. As more people were born, <i>sin</i> came into their lives. <n>People can live in <i>tents</i>. In <i>Old Testament</i> times, they were made of material or animal skins. You can take <i>tents</i> down and move them. Then you put them back up in another place. 


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Jabal had a brother called Jubal. Jubal was the father of the people who play the harp and flute. <n>People use harps and flutes to make music. 


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A son was born to Zillah. His name was Tubal-Cain. He made tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain had a sister. Her name was Naamah. <n>Bronze and iron are both metals. 


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Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech hear my words. A man hurt me, so I killed him. I killed a young man because he hurt me. 


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If a man kills Cain, then God will hurt him 7 times more. So I will hurt the man who hurts me 77 times more.’ <n>Because Adam and Eve went against God, <i>sin</i> has come into <i>humans</i>. As time passes, <i>sin</i> becomes worse. Lamech is happy because he killed the young man. He wants to tell people what he has done. He does not think that he has done anything wrong. 


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Adam had sex with Eve. And she gave birth to a son. She called him Seth. Eve said, ‘God has given me another child because Cain killed Abel.’ 


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Seth became the father of Enosh. <n>At this time, men began to <i>worship</i> and to <i>praise</i> the name of God.


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God made both male and female. He <i>blessed</i> them. When God made them, he called them ‘man’. <n>‘Man’ in verse 2 means both males and females. 


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After Seth was born, Adam was alive for 800 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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After Seth became the father of Enosh, Seth was alive for 807 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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After Kenan became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan was alive for 840 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel was alive for 830 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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After Jared became the father of Enoch, Jared was alive for 800 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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After that, Enoch did as God wanted for 300 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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Enoch did as God wanted for all this time; then Enoch was no more. God took Enoch to be with him. <n>Verse 24 God took Enoch to be with him. So Enoch did not die. 


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When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had a son. He called him Lamech. <n>This is not the same Lamech as the one who killed a young man (4:23). 


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After Methuselah became the father of Lamech, Methuselah was alive for 782 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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He called his son Noah. Lamech said ‘He will help us in our difficult work on the land. Our hands hurt when we work the land. That is because the <i>Lord</i> God <i>cursed</i> it.’ 


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After Noah was born, Lamech was alive for 595 years. During this time, he had other sons and daughters. 


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The sons of God saw the daughters. They thought that the daughters of men were beautiful to look at. They took the daughters of men as their wives. They took anyone that they wanted. <n>The sons of God were men who were like gods. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘I will not let men and women live for ever. One day they will die. I will not let them live for more than 120 years. Then they will die.


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The Nephilim lived on the earth at that time. (They also lived on the earth after this time.) This is when the sons of God had children with the daughters of men. People thought that the Nephilim were great men and leaders.


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The <i>Lord</i> God saw how bad men and women had become. God saw that they thought only of <i>evil</i> things. 


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So the <i>Lord</i> God said, ‘I made men and women, but I will take them off the earth. I will take men and animals off the earth. I will take animals that move across the ground and the birds in the air off the earth. Because I am very sad that I made them.’ 


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But God was happy with Noah. <n>Men and women have gone against God. God feels very sad. God is always sad when we <i>sin</i> (go against what God wants). God was happy with Noah. Noah and his family <i>worshipped</i> God. <n>God saves Noah</n>


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This is a report of Noah. Noah was a good man. He was the only man at that time who obeyed God. The people who lived near him could not find anything wrong with what he did. 


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God saw that everything on the earth was bad. People began to hurt and kill each other. And they did everything that was wrong. 


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He said to Noah, ‘I am going to destroy all the people. The earth is bad because of them. I am going to destroy the people and the earth. 


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Make yourself a boat. Use wood from cypress trees. Make rooms in the boat. Cover the inside and outside of the boat with pitch.’ <n>Cypress trees are trees with hard wood. Pitch stops water coming into the boat. 


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‘This is how you will build the boat. The boat must be 150 metres long, 25 metres wide and 15 metres high.


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Make a roof for the boat and put windows 45 centimetres high along the top of it. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make 3 floors on top of each other (lower, middle and top floor). 


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I am going to cover the earth with water. I will destroy all life under the <i>heavens</i>. Everything that has my life in it will die. 


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But I will make a <i>covenant</i> with you (Noah). You will go into the boat. You and your sons will go into the boat. And their wives and your wife will go with you. 


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You must bring 2 of all the different animals into the boat. They must be male and female. They will stay alive with you. 


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Bring 2 of every different bird. And bring 2 of every different animal and 2 of every different animal that moves along the ground. All these will come to you, and they will stay alive with you. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Noah, ‘Go into the <i>ark</i> (large boat) with your wife and family. I have found you to be <i>righteous</i> in these times.’ <n><i>Righteous</i> means that God sees Noah as someone who does what is right. At that time, Noah was telling people that God was going to destroy the earth. Noah told them that they must stop doing wrong. But the people would not listen to him. 


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God said ‘Take 7 of every different clean animal. Take a male and a female together. Take 2 of every different <i>unclean</i> animal. Take a male and a female together. 


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Take 7 of every kind of bird. Take males and females. Do this so that they will have young ones again. Then the different animals and birds will not die. <n>Clean animals are animals that God accepts as a <i>sacrifice</i>. <i>Unclean</i> animals are those that God does not accept as a <i>sacrifice</i>. God told Noah to take more clean animals so that Noah could make <i>sacrifices</i> to God. 


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In 7 days, I will send rain down to the earth. It will rain for 40 days and 40 nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made on the earth.’


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Noah and his wife went into the boat. And his sons and their wives went into it. They all went into the boat to be safe from the water that would cover the earth. 


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Pairs of clean and <i>unclean</i> animals came to Noah. Also, pairs of birds and pairs of all the animals that move across the ground came to him. 


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Both males and females came to Noah and went into the <i>ark</i>. Everything happened as God had told Noah. 


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After 7 days had passed, God sent the waters to cover the earth. <n>God told the animals to go to Noah. God did not destroy those animals that went into the <i>ark</i>. Noah and his family listened to God. And they did what he told them. And God kept them safe. 


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On the 17th day of the 2nd month all the water below the earth came up and covered the earth. All the water in the <i>heavens</i> came down on the earth. At that time, Noah was 600 years old. 


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On the day that the rains began, Noah and his sons went into the boat with their wives. (Noah’s sons are Shem, Ham and Japheth.) 


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With them was every different wild animal and every different <i>livestock</i> animal. They also had with them every kind of animal that moves along the ground, and every different kind of bird and flying thing. 


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Pairs of every animal alive came to Noah and went into the boat. <n>The things that lived in the sea were safe in the waters. (See 1:21-25.) 


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The animals were male and female of every different animal. This happened as God told Noah. Then Noah went into the boat and God shut the door.


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For 40 days, the waters came on the earth. More water came and lifted the boat high above the ground.


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And even more water came. It covered all the mountains. The water was more than 20 feet higher than the top of the mountains. 


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Everything still living on the earth died. Birds, <i>livestock</i> and wild animals died. Every animal that moved across the ground died. All the people living on the earth died. 


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Every living thing on the earth died. Men and animals died. The animals that move across the ground and the birds of the air died. God destroyed all of them. Only Noah and his family, and the animals that were in the boat stayed alive.


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Then God thought of Noah, and all the animals in the boat. He sent a wind to blow over the whole world. And the waters began to go down. 


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Water stopped coming up from below the earth. And water stopped coming down from <i>heaven</i>. The rain stopped falling from the sky. 


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The water continued to go down until the 10th month. On the 1st day of the 10th month the tops of the mountains appeared.


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He sent out a raven. The raven flew back to the boat. Then it flew away from it again. It did this several times until the earth was dry. 


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Noah also sent out a dove. He sent the dove to see if the water had gone from the top of the ground. 


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But the dove could not find anywhere to stand. This was because still there was water over all of the ground. So it returned to Noah in the boat. Noah put out his hand and took the dove back into the boat. 


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The dove returned to him in the evening. It carried a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. Then Noah knew that the waters had gone down. 


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He waited for 7 more days. Then he sent the dove out again. This time, it did not return to Noah. <n>A raven is a big black bird. A dove is a white bird. Olives are small round fruits. They grow on an olive tree. An olive leaf is a leaf from this tree. 


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It was the 1st day of the first month. Noah was now 601 years old. The water that covered the earth was gone. The earth was dry. Noah removed the top of the <i>ark</i>. He saw that the top of the ground was dry. 


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Bring every different living animal out of the boat. Bring out the birds and the animals. And bring out those animals that move across the ground. Bring them out so that they may have young ones. Then they can grow in number on the earth.’


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All the animals came out of the boat. Those that moved across the ground, and the birds came too. Every different animal came out of the boat. <n>God makes a promise to Noah</n>


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Then Noah built an <i>altar</i> to the <i>Lord</i>. He took some of the clean animals and birds. And he <i>sacrificed</i> a burnt offering on the <i>altar</i>. <n>When Noah leaves the <i>ark</i>, he <i>worships</i> God. He builds an <i>altar</i> to do this. He makes a <i>sacrifice</i> on the <i>altar</i>. He does this before anything else. He thanks God for keeping them safe. 


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The <i>Lord</i> smelled the <i>sacrifice</i> and was happy with it. He said (in his heart) ‘I will never again <i>curse</i> the ground because of men and women. I will never curse it even when they think of doing wrong. They think of doing wrong from the time that they are children. But still I will never destroy all the living animals again, as I have done.


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As long as the earth is here, the time for planting will come each year. The time for getting the plants out of the ground will come each year. Cold and heat, and summer and winter will always come. They will never stop. Day and night will never stop.’ <n>As long as the earth is here, the seasons will carry on as before. God made the earth like this. 


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Every animal will be afraid of you. All the birds will be afraid of you. And every animal that moves across the ground will be afraid of you. All the fish in the sea will be afraid of you. You will have authority over all of them. 


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All living animals will be food for you. Before, I gave you the green plants to eat. Now I give you everything.


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Men must not kill other men. Animals must not kill men. If an animal kills a man, kill the animal. If a man kills another man, kill the man.


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This is my promise. I will never destroy all life on the earth again. I will never cover the earth with water again.’ 


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God said, ‘I will show you that I have made a promise with you, and every living animal. It is a promise for all that live on the earth, now and as long as the earth is here. 


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I have put my rainbow in the sky. It will show you the promise between me and everything on the earth. 


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When I see a rainbow in the clouds, I will remember my promise to you. It is for all time. It is a promise between God and every thing that lives on the earth.’ 


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God said to Noah, ‘This will show you the promise that I have made. My promise is between me and all life on earth.’


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The names of Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham had a son called Canaan. They all came out of the <i>ark</i> with Noah. 


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He drank some of the <i>wine</i> that he made. And he became <i>drunk</i>. He lay inside his <i>tent</i> and fell asleep. He was not wearing any clothes. 


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Ham, Canaan’s father, saw that Noah was not wearing any clothes. He went outside. He told his two brothers what he had seen. 


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Shem and Japheth took some clothes and put them across their shoulders. They walked into Noah’s <i>tent</i>. They kept their backs to Noah, so that they could not see him. Then they covered their father with the clothes. They did not look at their father’s body because there were no clothes on it. <n>A <i>vineyard</i> is a field planted with <i>grapes</i>. <i>Grapes</i> are small round fruits that people use to make <i>wine</i>. <i>Wine</i> is a drink containing alcohol. 


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Noah also said, ‘<i>Blessings</i> to the <i>Lord</i>, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be the slave of Shem. 


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Let God make the land of Japheth grow. Let Japheth receive the good things of Shem. Let Canaan be his slave.’ <n>Noah knows that Shem’s <i>blessings</i> will come from God. He asks for good things for the <i>descendants of</i> Japheth and Shem, because they did the right thing. Noah asks for a <i>curse</i> on the <i>descendants of</i> Ham because he did the wrong thing. 


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This is the story of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They are Noah’s sons. After God covered the earth with water, they had sons. <n>The Japhethites</n>


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These are the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. <n>The Kittim are people who went to live in Cyprus. 


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These people lived by the sea. They lived in groups. Each group went to live in a different place. Each group spoke its own language. <n>The Hamites</n>


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Cush was the father of Nimrod. Nimrod grew into a great soldier on the earth. Nimrod was a great hunter in front of the <i>Lord</i>. That is why people say ‘Like Nimrod, a great hunter in front of the <i>Lord</i>’. <n>‘In front of the <i>Lord</i>’ means, ‘God knew that Nimrod was a great hunter.’ Nimrod beat many groups of people, living in many lands. He became a king. 


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Pathrusites, Casluhites (this is where Philistines came from) and Caphtorites. <n>All these groups of people came from the <i>descendants of</i> Mizraim. They all lived in their own land. 


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and the land of Canaan went from Sidon to Gerar, as far as Gaza. It went to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 


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These are all <i>descendants of</i> Ham. They lived in groups in their own parts of the land. Each group spoke their own language. <n>The Semites</n>


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Shem also had sons. Shem’s older brother was Japheth. All the sons of Eber are <i>descendants of</i> Shem. 


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Eber had 2 sons. He called one Peleg. When he was alive, people began to live in different places on the earth. So he called him Peleg. He called the other son Joktan. <n>Peleg means to go away from each other. 


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These are the <i>descendants of</i> Shem. They lived in groups in their own parts of the land. Each group spoke their own language.


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All these people (verses 2-13) are <i>descendants of</i> Noah, through many years. They went to live in different parts of the earth. This happened after God covered the earth with water. <n>People were living in groups. They lived in different parts of the earth. And each group spoke a different language. Chapter 11 shows us why this happened. 


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People moved to the East. They reached a large flat piece of land called Shinar. They stayed and lived there. 


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They said to each other, ‘Let us build a city with a <i>tower</i>. We will first make bricks and heat them until they are hard. They used brick instead of stone. They used <i>tar</i> to hold the bricks together. <n>You use bricks to build things. If you cook them like bread, they go hard. <i>Tar</i> is black and sticky. It becomes soft when hot and hard when cold. 


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They said, ‘Let us build a city with a <i>tower</i>. The <i>tower</i> will go up into the <i>heavens</i>. Then people will remember us. If we build a <i>tower</i> then we will not have to go and live in different places.’


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But the <i>Lord</i> came down. He came down to see the city and the <i>tower</i> that the men were building. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they can build this <i>tower</i>. What will they do after this? 


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Let us go down. Let us make them speak in different languages. Then they will not understand each other.’ 


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So God separated the people, and they went to live in different lands. They stopped building the city. 


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That is why people called the city Babel. It was because the <i>Lord</i> gave the people different languages. They could not understand each other. From that time, the <i>Lord</i> separated the people. They lived in different countries all over the earth. <n>A <i>tower</i> is a very tall building. The name ‘Babel’ means that God confused the people. 


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This is the report of the <i>descendants of</i> Shem. Two years after the earth was dry, Shem was 100 years old. He became the father of Arphaxad. 


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After he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem was alive for 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.


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After he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad was alive for 403 years. He had other sons and daughters.


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After he became the father of Eber, Shelah was alive for 403 years. He had other sons and daughters.


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After he became the father of Nahor, Serug was alive for 200 years. He had other sons and daughters.


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After he became the father of Terah, Nahor was alive for 119 years. He had other sons and daughters.


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This is the report of the <i>descendants of</i> Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 


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While Terah was alive, Haran died. Haran died in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. This was where Haran was born. 


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Abram married Sarai. Nahor married Milcah. Milcah was Haran’s daughter. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 


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Terah took his son Abram, and Abram’s wife, Sarai. Terah took his grandson Lot. (Lot is the son of Haran.) They all left Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. They began to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. 


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The <i>Lord</i> had said to Abram, ‘Leave your land and your people. Leave your father’s house. Go to the land that I will show you.’ <n>The <i>Lord</i> spoke to Abram, before Terah took them all to Haran. This is when Abram lived in Ur of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans did not <i>worship</i> God. They <i>worshipped</i> a moon god. Terah (Abram’s father) <i>worshipped</i> other gods. We can read about this in Joshua 24:2. 


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(The <i>Lord</i> said), ‘I will make you the father of many children. I will <i>bless</i> you. Everyone will know your name. You will be a <i>blessing</i> to other people.’ 


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‘I will <i>bless</i> people who <i>bless</i> you. I will <i>curse</i> people who <i>curse</i> you. I will <i>bless</i> all the people on the earth through you.’ <n>Some people will say good things to Abram or do good things for Abram. God will make good things happen to those people. Some people will say bad things to Abram or do bad things for Abram. God will make bad things happen to those people. <n>But Jesus Christ is a <i>descendant of</i> Abram. And by Jesus, God will <i>bless</i> all the people on the earth. 


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Abram left Haran as the <i>Lord</i> told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 


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Abram took his wife Sarai, and his <i>nephew</i> Lot. Abram took everything that was theirs. He took their slaves and the servants that he had in Haran. They all left to go to the land of Canaan. And they arrived there. <n>Abram does what God tells him to do. <n>Someone’s <i>nephew</i> is his brother’s son. 


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Abram walked through the land. He went as far as the big tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, Canaanites lived in this land. 


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The <i>Lord</i> appeared to Abram. The <i>Lord</i> said ‘I will give this land to your children.’ So Abram built an <i>altar</i> to the <i>Lord</i> because the <i>Lord</i> had appeared to him. <n>The people of Canaan did not <i>worship</i> God. The big tree of Moreh is a place where the Canaanites <i>worshipped</i> other gods. Abram built an <i>altar</i> to <i>worship</i> God. The Canaanites would see Abram <i>worshipping</i> God. But Abram was not afraid. Abram knew that this place belonged to God. 


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Abram left Shechem. He went to the hills. The hills are east of Bethel. This is where he put his <i>tent</i>. Bethel was to the west of his <i>tent</i>. Ai was to the east of his <i>tent</i>. Abram built an <i>altar</i> there to <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> and he prayed to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Then Abram took his <i>tent</i> and left that place. He began to go to the Negev. <n>The Negev is a dry land. It goes to the South. 


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There was a <i>famine</i> in the land. So Abram went to live in Egypt for a while. He went there because the <i>famine</i> was very bad. <n>A <i>famine</i> happens because there is no water in the land. And no rain has fallen for a long time. Nothing can grow in the ground because there is no water. So there is no food for people or their animals. Egypt did not often have famines because the River Nile went through the land. 


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When Abram was going into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know that you are a very beautiful woman. 


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When the people of Egypt see you they will say, “This is his wife.” They will kill me. But they will not kill you. 


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Tell them that you are my sister. Then they will do good things for me because of you. They will not kill me. Because they will think that you are my sister.’ <n>Pharaoh (this is the name of a king of Egypt) may want to take Sarai as one of his wives. If he knows that she is Abram’s wife, Pharaoh will have to kill Abram. 


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Pharaoh’s officers saw her. They said good things about her to Pharaoh. They took Sarai to Pharaoh’s palace. (Pharaoh is the name for all the kings of Egypt.) <n>A palace is a large house for a king. 


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Pharaoh did good things for Abram because of Sarai. He gave him sheep and cows. He also gave Abram male and female <i>donkeys</i>. And he gave him <i>camels</i> and male servants and female servants. <n><i>Donkeys</i> and <i>camels</i> are animals. People use them to carry things, and to ride on. 


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But the <i>Lord</i> made Pharaoh and the people in the palace very ill. The <i>Lord</i> did this because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 


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So Pharaoh called Abram to come before him. Pharaoh said, ‘You have done this to me. You did not tell me that she was your wife! 


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You told me “She is my sister”, so I took her to be my wife. Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!’ 


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Pharaoh told his men what to do with Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that they had. <n>People of Egypt thought it was important to say what was true. Abram did not do this. God made Pharaoh and the people in the palace ill. This was to stop Pharaoh from taking Sarai as his wife. It would be wrong for Pharaoh to take Sarai for his wife. God stopped Pharaoh from doing something wrong. <n>God had <i>blessed</i> Abram. God would not let Pharaoh take Abram’s wife. God had made a promise to Abram. This was that Abram would have many <i>descendants</i>. God always keeps his promise. 


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Abram had many valuable things. He had cows, <i>silver</i> and gold. <n><i>Silver</i> is a valuable metal. 


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Abram left the Negev. He went from place to place until he came to Bethel. He came to the place between Bethel and Ai. This is where he had put his <i>tent</i> before. 


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This is where Abram had built an <i>altar</i> to <i>worship</i> God. There, Abram called out to the <i>Lord</i>.


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The ground could not grow enough food for all the animals to eat. The ground could not grow enough food for Abram’s animals and for Lot’s animals. Abram and Lot could not stay together. They had too many animals and people with them. 


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Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen began to quarrel. At that time, Canaanites and Perizzites also lived in the land. <n>Herdsmen are men who keep cows and other animals safe. 


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Abram said to Lot, ‘We must not quarrel with each other. Your herdsmen and my herdsmen must not quarrel with each other. There must be no more quarrelling because we belong to the same family.’ 


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‘The whole land is in front of you. We must separate. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.’


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Lot looked up. He saw the flat land of Jordan. He saw that it had water. It was like the garden of the <i>Lord</i>. It was like the land of Egypt, towards Zoar. (This was before the <i>Lord</i> destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 


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So Lot chose the flat land of Jordan. He went towards the East. <n>The Canaanites and Perizzites did not <i>worship</i> God. It was not good for them to see people who <i>worship</i> God quarrelling with each other. <n>Lot chose the land that he thought was the best. 


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Abram lived in the land of Canaan. Lot lived in the cities of the land that he had chosen. Lot put his <i>tents</i> near Sodom. 


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After Lot had gone, the <i>Lord</i> said to Abram, ‘Look up from where you are. Look to the north and south. Look to the east and west. 


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I will give you all the land that you can see. I will give it to you and your <i>descendants</i> for all time. 


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I will make your <i>descendants</i> like the dust of the ground. If anyone can count the pieces of dust, they can count your <i>descendants</i>.’ <n>Dust is the dry top of the ground. No one can count dust on top of the ground. There are too many small parts. God is telling Abram that his <i>descendants</i> will be too many to count. 


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Abram moved his <i>tents</i>. He went to live near the big trees of Mamre. This is at Hebron. Abram built an <i>altar</i> here. This was so that he could <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i>.


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Now there were many kings living in that land, at that time. They fought against each other. One fight was when Kedorlaomer had ruled over the other kings for 12 years. And in the next year, 5 kings made one group like that and fought against him. Kedorlaomer joined with 3 other kings. So, it was 4 kings against 5 other kings. <n>The 4 kings were Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim. And these fought a war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela. Bela is another name for the town Zoar. They fought in the Valley of Siddim. (That is the Salt Sea.) 


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In the 14th year, Kedorlaomer and the kings with him beat the Rephaites. This was in Ashteroth Karnaim. They beat the Zuzites in Ham. They beat the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim. 


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And they beat the Horites in the country of Seir. This was as far as El Paran near the land of dry sand. 


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They then went back. They went to En Mishpat. (That is Kadesh.) They took the whole land of the Amalekites. They also took the land of the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar. 


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Then, the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is Zoar) went to fight. This was in the Valley of Siddim. 


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They fought against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar. There were 4 kings fighting against 5 kings. 


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The Valley of Siddim had many holes in the ground. The holes were filled with <i>tar</i>. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away. And some of their men fell into the <i>tar</i>. The rest of the men ran away to the hills. 


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The 4 kings took everything in Sodom and Gomorrah. And they took all the food. Then they went away. 


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They also took Abram’s <i>nephew</i>. This is Lot. They took everything that Lot had. That was because Lot lived in Sodom.


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A man ran away from the kings. He told Abram the <i>Hebrew</i> everything that had happened. Abram lived near the big trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and Aner. These men would fight with Abram. 


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Abram heard that the kings caught his <i>nephew</i>. He called 318 men. These men knew how to fight. They were born into Abram’s <i>household</i>. Abram and the men went after the men who took Lot. They went as far as Dan. <n><i>Household</i> means everyone who lived with Abram. They did not have to be Abram’s family. 


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During the night, Abram separated his men into 2 groups. Then they attacked the men who took Lot. Abram followed them as far as Hobah. Hobah is North of Damascus. 


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Abram took back everything that the men took from Sodom. He brought back his <i>nephew</i> Lot. Abram also brought back the women and other people.


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Abram beat Kedorlaomer and the kings with him. He returned, and the king of Sodom came out to meet Abram. This was in the Valley of Shaveh. (That is the Kings’ valley.) 


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Melchizedek was the king of Salem. He brought out bread and <i>wine</i>. Melchizedek was a <i>priest</i> of God Most High. 


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He <i>blessed</i> Abram. He said ‘Abram is <i>blessed</i> by God Most High who made <i>heaven</i> and earth. 


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<i>Blessed</i> is God Most High. He gave your enemies to you.’ Abram gave king Melchizedek a 10th of everything. <n>Abram gave Melchizedek a 10th of everything taken in war. This was a king’s part. 


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But Abram said ‘I have raised my hand to the <i>Lord</i> God Most High. He made <i>heaven</i> and earth. And I have made a promise to him. 


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I promised not to take anything from you. I will not take even a part of your shoe. So you can never say “I made Abram rich.” 


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The men who went with me may take their part. They may take their part of anything that we took. They are Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their part.’ <n>The people who won a war took things. They took things from the people whom they had beaten. The leader gave these things to the men who had fought. Abram promised God that he would not take anything from the king of Sodom. The people of Sodom <i>sinned</i> against God. But Abram lets the men who fought with him have their things. 


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After this, Abram had a dream. God spoke to Abram in this dream. God said, ‘Do not be afraid Abram. I will keep you safe. And I will give you many good things.’


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But Abram said, ‘<i>Lord</i>, I have no children. I want you to give me a son. You have not given me a son. So Eliezer of Damascus will <i>inherit</i> everything that I have.’ <n><i>Inherit</i> means to have someone’s things when they die. <n>Eliezer of Damascus was Abram’s servant. Abram did not have any children. When Abram died, there was no son to continue the family. <n>In the <i>Old Testament</i>, the oldest servant could have his master’s things when his master died. 


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Abram said ‘You have not given me any children. So a servant in my house will <i>inherit</i> everything that I have.’ 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to him, ‘Eliezer will not <i>inherit</i> everything that you have. You will have your own son. He will <i>inherit</i> everything that you have.’ 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> took Abram outside. The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Look up at the <i>heavens</i>. Count the stars. You cannot count them because there are too many.’ Then the <i>Lord</i> said, ‘This is how many <i>descendants</i> you will have.’ 


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Abram believed the <i>Lord</i>. And God said that Abram was <i>righteous</i>. God said this because Abram believed.


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The <i>Lord</i> also said to Abram, ‘I am the <i>Lord</i>. I brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans. I did this to give you this land. It will be yours to take.’ 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Abram, ‘Bring me a young cow, a goat and a male sheep. Each animal must be 3 years old. Also bring a dove and a young pigeon.’ <n>A dove is a bird. A pigeon is a bird. 


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Abram brought all the animals and birds to God. Abram cut each one in half. He put the halves opposite each other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Abram, ‘Be sure of this. Your <i>descendants</i> will live in a country which is not their own. They will be strangers there. They will be slaves. People will do bad things to them. This will go on for 400 years. 


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But I will <i>judge</i> the people who made them slaves. After this, your <i>descendants</i> will leave that land. They will take many valuable things. 


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And yet, you will have a long life. You will have a long, good and quiet life. Then you will die very happy. 


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After 4 generations, your <i>descendants</i> will come back here. The Amorites <i>sin</i> against me. But I will not do anything against them. I will not do anything until the 4th generation (of your people).’ <n>One generation is how old a man is when his son is born. Two generations is how old the <u>son</u> is when he has a son. <n>The Amorites did not <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> God. They <i>worshipped</i> other gods. They <i>sacrificed</i> children to these gods. 


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The sun went down. It became dark. Abram saw a smoking pot of fire. He also saw a light made of fire. Both of these passed between the halves of the animals. <n>The fire shows that God is present. <n>In the <i>Old Testament</i>, people would walk between halves of animals. They did this to show that they made a promise (<i>covenant</i>). God is passing between the halves of the animals. This is to show that he is making a <i>covenant</i> (promise) with Abram. 


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On that day, the <i>Lord</i> made a <i>covenant</i> with Abram. The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘I give this land to your <i>descendants</i>. I give them the land from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates. 


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Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.’ <n>The land that God is giving to Abram’s <i>descendants</i> belongs to these people. Abram’s <i>descendants</i> will beat these people. Then they will take the land. 


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Abram’s wife was Sarai. She did not have any children. She had a servant from Egypt. The servant’s name was Hagar. 


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Sarai said to Abram, ‘The <i>Lord</i> has stopped me having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Her children will be mine.’ Abram agreed to do this. <n>Sarai wants Abram to have a son. God has told Abram that he will have many <i>descendants</i>. But neither Abram nor Sarai will wait for God to keep his promise. 


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Abram had been living in Canaan for 10 years. Sarai took Hagar. She gave Hagar to Abram to be his wife.


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Abram had sex with Hagar. And Hagar became <i>pregnant</i>. Hagar knew that she was <i>pregnant</i>. Because of this, she would not <i>respect</i> Sarai. <n>Sarai gave Hagar to Abram. ‘To be his wife’ means that Abram would have sex with Hagar. This is so that Abram could have a son. Sarai is still Abram’s wife. 


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Sarai said to Abram, ‘It is because of you that this has happened. What Hagar is doing is wrong. I gave her to you. And now she is <i>pregnant</i>. So now she does not <i>respect</i> me. The <i>Lord</i> will say who is right, you or me.’ 


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Abram said to Sarai, ‘Do whatever you think is right. Do what you want to do with Hagar.’ Then Sarai did bad things to Hagar. So Hagar ran away. <n>Abram and Sarai went against God. They would not wait for God to give them a son. Hagar is <i>pregnant</i>. But Abram and Sarai are quarrelling. Abram is the family leader. He should have told Hagar to <i>respect</i> Sarai. Respect here means this. Hagar knows that Sarai has authority over her. She knows that Sarai is her <i>mistress</i>. She should show that she knows this. 


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The <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> found Hagar. She was by some water in the land of dry sand. The water was by the road to Shur. 


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The <i>angel</i> said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from? Where are you going?’ Hagar replied, ‘I am running away from Sarai. I am her servant.’ <n>The <i>angel</i> calls Hagar the servant of Sarai. He does not call Hagar ‘Abram’s wife’. God’s plan was for Abram and Sarai to have a son. But they would not wait for God to give them a son. <n>Hagar replies to the <i>angel</i>. She says that she is Sarai’s servant. She does not say that she is Abram’s wife. 


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The <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> told Hagar, ‘Go back to Sarai. You are her servant. Do whatever she tells you to.’


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The <i>angel</i> also said, ‘I will make the number of your <i>descendants</i> grow. They will be too many to count.’ 


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The <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> said, <n>‘You will have a child. <n>You will have a son. <n>You must name him Ishmael. <n>Because the <i>Lord</i> has heard how sad you are.


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He will be a wild man. <n>He will be like a <i>donkey</i>. <n>He will fight against everyone. <n>And everyone will fight against him. <n>He will think that everyone is his enemy. <n>He will think that his brothers are his enemies.’ <n>Ishmael means ‘God hears’. <n>Wild <i>donkeys</i> lived in the land of dry sand. 


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Hagar said to the <i>Lord</i> ‘You are the God who sees me.’ And she said ‘I have seen the One who sees me. And he has let me live.’ 


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That is why they called the well ‘Beer Lahai Roi’. The well is between Kadesh and Bered. <n>‘Beer Lahai Roi’ means ‘well of the One who lives and has seen me’. <n>Hagar came from Egypt. People in Egypt <i>worshipped</i> different gods. Now Hagar has spoken with the living God. 


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Some time passed. Hagar had a son. Abram was his father. Abram gave Hagar’s son a name. The name of Hagar’s son was Ishmael. 


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Abram was 99 years old. The <i>Lord</i> appeared to him. The <i>Lord</i> said ‘I am God <i>Almighty</i>. Walk before me. And do nothing wrong.’ <n>‘<i>Almighty</i>’ means that God is the <i>Lord</i> of everything. He had power over everything. God says that Abram is his friend. He knows that Abram <i>worships</i> him. God knows that Abram does what is right for God. 


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‘I will fix my <i>covenant</i>. My <i>covenant</i> will be between me and you. I will make the number of your <i>descendants</i> grow.’ <n>God had told Abram this in chapter 15. But Abram and Sarai did not wait for God. So Abram used Hagar to have a son. Now God is fixing the <i>covenant</i> between them. 


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‘This is what I will do. This is my <i>covenant</i> to you. You will be the father of many people.’ <n>Abram will have many <i>descendants</i>. They will live all over the earth, in many different countries. 


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‘Your name is not Abram any longer. Now your name is Abraham. This is because you are the father of many people. I will make this happen. 


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I will give you many <i>descendants</i>. These will make many different groups of people. Some of your <i>descendants</i> will be kings.


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My <i>covenant</i> will be for all time. It is between me and you. And it will be between me and your <i>descendants</i> and their sons. (It will be for all time.) I will be your God. I will also be the God of all your <i>descendants</i>. 


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You are a foreign person here. This is the land of Canaan. I will give you all of Canaan. I give it to you and all your <i>descendants</i>. And I will be their God.


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This is what you must do. You must do as I tell you. Then you will keep my <i>covenant</i>. You, and all your <i>descendants</i> must keep it. 


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This is my <i>covenant</i> with you and with all your <i>descendants</i>. This is what you must do to keep my <i>covenant</i>. This is for every male who lives with you. You must <i>circumcise</i> them. 


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You must <i>circumcise</i> every <i>generation</i> of males. Do this when they are 8 days old. This is for every male that lives with you. <i>Circumcise</i> servants and slaves bought with money. This includes males that are not your children. 


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They may be born in your <i>household</i>. Or you may have bought them with your money. <i>Circumcise</i> all males. This is my <i>covenant</i> in your body. It will be for all time.’ <n>‘<i>Covenant</i> in your body’ means that being <i>circumcised</i> shows that the people are living in God’s promise. 


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‘<i>Circumcise</i> every male. If you do not <i>circumcise</i> someone, I will separate him from his people. Because my <i>covenant</i> is broken.’ <n><i>Circumcision</i> showed that a person worshipped God. If he is not <i>circumcised</i>, the <i>covenant</i> with God is broken. Every father had to <i>circumcise</i> his son. This showed that they were both living in God’s <i>covenant</i>. 


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God also said to Abraham, ‘As for your wife Sarai, you must not call her Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. 


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I will <i>bless</i> her. I will give you a son through her. I will <i>bless</i> her. And she will be the mother of many <i>descendants</i>. Some of her <i>descendants</i> will be kings.’ 


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Abraham fell to the ground. He put his face to the ground. Abraham laughed. He said to himself, ‘I am 100 years old. That is too old to have a son. Sarah is 90 years old. That is too old to have a child.’ 


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God said to Abraham, ‘No, your wife Sarah will have a child. You must call him Isaac. I will make my <i>covenant</i> with him. It will be for all time. My <i>covenant</i> will be for him and all his <i>descendants</i>.’ <n>God tells Abraham that Sarah’s child, Isaac, will live under God’s <i>covenant</i>. Isaac will continue Abraham’s family line. Ishmael is Hagar’s child. <n>‘Isaac’ means ‘he laughs’. 


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God said, ‘I have heard what you want for Ishmael. I will <i>bless</i> him. He will have many <i>descendants</i>. 12 rulers will come from his <i>descendants</i>. His <i>descendants</i> will be great people. 


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But I will make my <i>covenant</i> with Isaac. Isaac will be Sarah’s child. He will be born before one year has passed.’


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God had finished speaking to Abraham. So God left Abraham. <n>Again, God tells Abraham that Isaac will have the <i>covenant</i> with God. But God will also <i>bless</i> Ishmael because Abraham has asked him to. <n>But God’s <i>covenant</i> is with Isaac because he will be Abraham and Sarah’s son. This is what God had promised. 


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On that day, Abraham went to Ishmael. He also went to all the males born into his <i>household</i>. Also, he went to every male that he had bought with money. Abraham went to every male in his <i>household</i>. He <i>circumcised</i> them. He did this because God had told him to do it. 


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Abraham <i>circumcised</i> every male living in his <i>household</i>. This included males bought with money. It also included foreign males living in Abraham’s <i>household</i>. He <i>circumcised</i> them all on that day.


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The <i>Lord</i> appeared to Abraham. This happened near the big trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting by the door of his <i>tent</i>. 


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Abraham looked up. He saw 3 men. He hurried to meet them. He bowed to the ground. <n>In verse 2, ‘bowed’ means that Abraham bent his body until his face was at the ground. Abraham knew that they had authority. He was showing them that he knew it. <n>This is a visit from the <i>Lord</i>. Abraham did not know this at that time. 


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‘Let us bring some water for you. Then you can all wash your feet. Then you can rest under this tree.’ 


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Abraham said, ‘Let me get you some bread. Then you will be ready to continue with your journey. I will do this now because you have come to me.’ The men replied, ‘Very well, do as you have said.’ 


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Abraham hurried to the <i>tent</i>. This is where Sarah was. He said to her, ‘Quick, get some good flour. Make bread with it.’ 


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Then Abraham ran to his cows. He chose a baby cow. He gave it to a servant. The servant quickly prepared it for the men to eat. 


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Then Abraham brought some butter, milk and the meat from the cow. He put all these in front of the men. The men ate the food. And Abraham stood near them. He stood under a tree.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said, ‘I will return to you at this time, after one year has passed. And you and Sarah your wife will have a son.’ Sarah was in the <i>tent</i>. She heard what the <i>Lord</i> said. She heard it because the <i>tent</i> was behind him. 


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So Sarah laughed to herself. She thought ‘I am too old. And my husband is too old. I cannot have this baby now.’ 


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The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Nothing is too difficult for the <i>Lord</i>. At this time next year, I will return to you. I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.’ 


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Sarah was afraid. So she did not say what was true. She said, ‘I did not laugh.’ But the <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Yes, you did laugh.’


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The men got up. They were leaving. They looked down in the direction of Sodom. Abraham walked with them. He walked with them for part of their journey. 


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‘Abraham’s <i>descendants</i> will be great people. They will be very powerful. Because of him, everyone on the earth will receive my <i>blessing</i>.’ <n>See Genesis 12:2-3. 


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‘I chose him. Then he will teach his children and everyone in his <i>household</i>. He will teach them to know me. He will teach them to do what is right. Then I will keep the promise that I made to him.’ 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Abraham, ‘The <i>outcry</i> against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. The people who live there are <i>evil</i>.’ 


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‘I will go down to Sodom and Gomorrah. I will see what they have done. I will see if it is as bad as the <i>outcry</i> against them. Then I will know how badly they have <i>sinned</i>.’


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Then Abraham went near to the <i>Lord</i>. Abraham asked, ‘Will you kill your people with the <i>evil</i> people? 


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There might be 50 people who know you in the city. Will you still destroy the city? Or will you let the people live, because of the 50 people who know you? 


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The ruler of all the earth will do what is right! So, you will not kill the people who know you. You will not kill them along with the <i>evil</i> people. You will not do the same thing to the people who know you, as you do to the <i>evil</i> people. I know that you would not do such a thing!’ <n>Abraham is God’s friend. That is why Abraham can say this to God. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Because of 50 people who know me in the city of Sodom, I will not destroy that place and everybody in it.’ 


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Then Abraham spoke again. ‘I have been brave enough to speak to the <i>Lord</i>. I know that I am nothing but dust and ashes.’ <n>Dust is on the top of the ground. It is dry. It blows away easily. When something burns, ashes are left. Abraham is saying that he is nothing. 


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Then Abraham asked, ‘What if there are 45 people in the city who know you. Will you destroy the city, because there are only 45 good people there?’ The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Because of 45 people who know me in the city, I will not destroy it.’ 


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Abraham spoke to God again. ‘What will you do if only 40 good people are there?’ The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Because of 40 good people I will not destroy the city.’ 


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Then Abraham said ‘Please do not be angry. Let me speak. What if there are only 30 people who know you there?’ The <i>Lord</i> answered, ‘I will not destroy the city if I find 30 good people in the city.’ 


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Abraham said ‘I have been brave. I have spoken to the <i>Lord</i>. What if only 20 good people are there?’ The <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Because of 20 good people I will not destroy the city.’ 


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Abraham said, ‘Please do not be angry. Let me speak once more. What if only 10 good people live there?’ The <i>Lord</i> answered, ‘Because of 10 good people I will not destroy the city.’ 


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The <i>Lord</i> had finished speaking with Abraham. So the <i>Lord</i> left him. And Abraham returned home. <n>Lot is living in Sodom. Lot is Abraham’s <i>nephew</i>. Abraham does not want God to kill Lot and his family. That is why Abraham asks ‘what if only 10 good people live there?’ 


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The 2 <i>angels</i> arrived at Sodom. It was evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. Lot saw the <i>angels</i>. He got up to meet them. He <i>bowed down</i>. He put his face to the ground. 


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Lot said ‘My <i>lords</i>, please come to my house. You can wash your feet and stay the night there. You can continue your journey early in the morning.’ The <i>angels</i> replied, ‘No, we will stay the night in the square.’ <n>The square is a large open space. It is in the middle of the city. People often meet there. 


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But Lot asked them to stay with him again. So they went with Lot. The <i>angels</i> went to Lot’s house. Lot prepared a meal for them. He made special bread. The <i>angels</i> ate the food. <n>This special bread was quick to make. It did not have any yeast. Cooks put yeast in other bread to make it rise. 


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They had not yet gone to bed. All the men from every part of Sodom came to the house. Old and young men came. They were all outside the house. 


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The men said ‘Where are the men who are staying with you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them’ 


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I have 2 daughters. They have never had sex with a man. Let me bring them out to you. You can do whatever you want with them. But do not do anything to these men. They are staying at my house. I cannot let anyone hurt them.’ 


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The men from the city said ‘Get out of our way. You are a foreign person in this city. Now you are telling us what to do! We will do worse things to you.’ They pushed Lot. They began to break the door of his house. 


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Then they made the men outside blind. They made the young men blind. They also made the old men blind. This was so that they could not find the door to the house. <n>Blind means that the men could not see anything. 


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The 2 men spoke to Lot. They said, ‘Do you have any people belonging to you here? Do you have men who are going to marry your daughters? Do you have sons or daughters? Do you have any people belonging to you in the city? If you do, get them out of here. 


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We are going to destroy this city. The <i>outcry</i> against this city is great. God has sent us to destroy it.’ 


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Lot went out. He spoke to the men who were going to marry his daughters. Lot said to them, ‘Hurry! Leave this place because the <i>Lord</i> is going to destroy this city.’ But the men laughed.


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At dawn, the <i>angels</i> said to Lot, ‘Hurry! Take your wife. And take your 2 daughters that are here. If not, you will all be killed when the city is destroyed.’ 


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Lot did not go with the <i>angels</i> at once. So the <i>angels</i> held on to Lot’s hand. And they held the hands of his wife and his 2 daughters. The <i>angels</i> led them away from the city, because the <i>Lord</i> was <i>merciful</i> to them. <n>Lot and his family did not want to leave Sodom. They would be leaving everything that they had. 


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As soon as the <i>angel</i> brought them out he said, ‘Run! Your life is in danger. Do not look back. Do not stop anywhere on this land. Run to the mountains or you will die.’ 


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You are happy with me, your servant. You have been very kind to me. You have saved my life. But I cannot run to the mountains. This <i>evil</i> will over take me. Then I will die.’ 


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Lot said, ‘Look! Here is a town. It is near. I can run to it. And the town is small. Let me run to it. The town is very small. Then I will stay alive.’ 


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The <i>angel</i> said to Lot, ‘Very well, I will let you do what you have asked. I will not destroy the town of which you speak. 


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But run to the town quickly. I cannot do anything until you get to the town.’ (The name of the town was Zoar.) 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> made it rain. He made it rain burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah. The burning sulphur came from the <i>Lord</i>. It came out of the <i>heavens</i>. <n>God used hot sulphur to destroy the cities. Sulphur is yellow. It burns quickly with a lot of heat. But when it gets cold, it becomes like stone. Hot sulphur covered the cities and the people in them. It would burn them. Then it would become like stone over everything in the city. 


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So the <i>Lord</i> destroyed those cities. He killed everyone who lived in those cities. And he killed all the plants that grew on that land.


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But Lot’s wife looked back at the city. And she changed into a large piece of salt. <n>The <i>angel</i> had told Lot and his family not to look back (verse 17). 


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He looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah. And he looked down towards all the land near the cities. He saw thick smoke. It was rising from the land. It was the smoke from a big fire.


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God destroyed the cities of that land. And Lot lived in these cities. But God had remembered Abraham. God brought Lot out of the cities, before he destroyed them.


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Lot was afraid to live in Zoar. So, he and his 2 daughters stayed in the mountains. Lot and his 2 daughters lived in the rocks in the side of the mountain. 


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The oldest daughter said to the youngest daughter, ‘Our father is old. And there is no other man here. So, we will not have any man to marry us. Then we will not have children. Everyone on the earth wants to have children. 


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Let us cause our father to drink <i>wine</i>. Then we will have sex with him. Then our family will continue.’ <n>Drinking too much <i>wine</i> makes you drunk. 


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That night they gave their father <i>wine</i> to drink. And the oldest daughter had sex with him. Lot did not know when she came to him. And he did not know when she left him. 


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The next day the oldest daughter said to the youngest daughter, ‘Last night I had sex with my father. Let us make him drink <i>wine</i> tonight. Then you can have sex with him. Then our family line will continue through him.’ 


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So that night, they gave their father <i>wine</i> to drink. And the youngest daughter had sex with her father. He did not know when she came to him. And he did not know when she left him. 


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Both of Lot’s daughters would give birth to a baby. This was because they had both had sex with their father. 


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The oldest daughter had a son. She called him Moab. All the Moabites of today are his <i>descendants</i>. 


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The youngest daughter also had a son. She called him Ben-Ammi. All the Ammonites of today are his <i>descendants</i>.


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Abraham moved on to the land of Negev. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a time he stayed in Gerar. 


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While he was there, he told people that Sarah was his sister. Because of this, Abimelech sent for Sarah. Abimelech is the king of Gerar. He wanted Sarah to be his wife.


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But God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. God said, ‘You are a dead man. This is because of the woman that you have taken. She is a married woman.’ 


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But Abimelech had not gone near Sarah. He said, ‘Will you destroy people who have not done anything wrong? 


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Abraham said to me “I am her brother.” Sarah said to me “I am his sister.” I did not know that I was doing anything wrong.’ 


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God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. God said, ‘You did not know that you were doing wrong. I knew that. So I kept you from <i>sinning</i> against me. I did not let you touch her. 


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Give her back to her husband. He is a <i>prophet</i>. He will pray for you. Then you will live. If you do not give her back, be sure of this. You and your <i>household</i> will die.’


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Early the next morning, Abimelech called together his officers. He told them what had happened. They were very afraid. 


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Then Abimelech called Abraham to him. Abimelech said, ‘What have you done to us? What have I done against you? Why have you brought this bad <i>sin</i> on me? You should not have done this to me.’ 


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Abraham said, ‘Because I thought that the people here were not afraid of God. They will kill me because of my wife.’ <n>Verses 1-11 are like Genesis 12:11-20. Again, Abraham does not think that God will keep him safe. 


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Abraham said, ‘But she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father. But she is not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife. 


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God caused me to leave my father’s <i>household</i>. Then I said to her, “This is how you can show your love for me. Everywhere we go, say to people, ‘He is my brother’.” ’


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Abimelech brought sheep and cows. He also brought male and female slaves. He gave them to Abraham. He gave Sarah, Abraham’s wife back to him. 


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He said to Sarah, ‘I have given your brother 1000 pieces of <i>silver</i>. This is to show everyone that you did nothing wrong.’ 


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Then Abraham prayed to God. And God made Abimelech well again. He also made his wife and his female slaves well again. So, they could have children again. 


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Sarah became <i>pregnant</i>. She gave birth to a son. Abraham was his father. Abraham was old. This happened at the time that God said it would. <n>See Genesis 18:10. 


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Isaac was 8 days old. Abraham <i>circumcised</i> him. This is what God had told him to do. <n>See chapter 17. 


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She also said, ‘Who would think that I would have a child? But I have given Abraham a son, even when he is old.’


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The child grew, and his mother weaned him. On that day, Abraham gave a big feast. <n>Weaned means that Isaac did not have to drink his mother’s milk any more. <n>A feast is a time of eating and drinking. 


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Sarah saw that Ishmael was laughing at Isaac. Ishmael was Hagar’s son. Hagar was the slave from Egypt. 


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Sarah said to Abraham, ‘Send that slave woman and her son away. He must never have a part in the <i>inheritance</i>. He will not have a part with my son Isaac.’ <n>Inheritance is what someone receives after a person dies. 


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This made Abraham very sad, because it was about his son Ishmael. <n>Ishmael is Hagar’s son. He is also Abraham’s son. 


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God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be sad about the boy Ishmael and your female servant. Listen to Sarah. Do whatever she tells you, because I will continue my promise through Isaac. 


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I will also make many people from the <i>descendants of</i> Ishmael, too. I will do that because he is your son.’


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Abraham was awake early the next morning. He took some food. And he took a bottle that someone had made out of animal skin. He filled it with water. He put the food and water on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent Hagar and her son Ishmael away. She went to the <i>desert</i> of Beersheba. <n>The <i>desert</i> of Beersheba is dry and hot. There is not very much water there. 


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She thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ As she sat near the boy, she began to cry. Then she went away from him. She sat down. She was not very far away from him. 


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God heard the boy crying. The <i>angel</i> of God spoke to Hagar from <i>heaven</i>. He said ‘What is the matter Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying, while the boy is lying there. 


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Lift the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make him into a great people.’ <n>God has told Hagar this, when she ran away from Sarah (16:10). 


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Then God opened Hagar’s eyes. She saw a well of water. Hagar filled the bottle with water. And she gave the boy a drink. 


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God was with the boy while he grew up. The boy lived in the <i>desert</i>. He became an <i>archer</i>. <n>A <i>desert</i> is a hot, dry place. It has lots of sand. There is not much water there. <n>An <i>archer</i> is someone who can use a bow and <i>arrows</i> to kill an animal. An <i>arrow</i> is like a stick with a sharp point at the end. 


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The boy lived in the <i>desert</i> of Paran. And his mother found a wife for him. The wife was from Egypt.


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At that time Abimelech and Phicol, his officer, said to Abraham, ‘God is with you in everything that you do. 


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Tell me that you will not do things in a false way. You will not do anything false with me or with my children or with my <i>descendants</i>. Do this before God. You live here as a foreign person. Be kind to me, as I was to you.’ 


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Then Abraham told Abimelech about a well of water. Abimelech’s servants had said that the well belonged to them and not to Abraham. 


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Abimelech said ‘I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me before. I only heard about it today.’ 


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Abraham replied ‘Take these 7 young female sheep from my hand. You know that I dug this well. This shows that you know it.’ 


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So he called that place Beersheba. He called it that because the 2 men made a promise there. <n>Beersheba means ‘well of seven’ or ‘well of the promise’. 


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So they made a promise at Beersheba. Abimelech and Phicol, his officer, returned to the land of the Philistines.


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Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. He called on the name of the <i>Lord</i> who is for ever. That is the <i>Lord</i> who never changes. <n>A tamarisk tree is a tree that can grow without using much water. 


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Some time passed. God wanted to see how <i>faithful</i> Abraham was. God said to him, ‘Abraham!’ Abraham replied, ‘Here I am.’ 


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God said ‘Take your son. Take your only son Isaac, whom you love. Go to the place of Moriah. <i>Sacrifice</i> your son there, as a burnt <i>offering</i>. Do this on a mountain. I will tell you which mountain.’


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Abraham got up early the next morning. He put a blanket on his <i>donkey</i>. He took 2 servants, and his son Isaac. He cut wood for the fire for the burnt offering. He started to go to the place that God had told him. He took the wood with him. 


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Abraham spoke to his servants. He said ‘Stay here with the <i>donkey</i>. The boy and I will go over there. We will <i>worship</i> God. Then we will come back to you.’ <n>Abraham shows that he has <i>faith</i> in God. He says ‘<u>we</u> will come back to you’. He does not say ‘I will come back to you’. 


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Abraham took the wood for the burnt <i>offering</i>. He gave it to Isaac to carry. Abraham carried the fire and the knife. And the 2 of them went on together. 


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Isaac spoke to Abraham. He said ‘Father?’ Abraham replied ‘Yes my son?’ Isaac said, ‘The fire and the wood are here. But where is the <i>lamb</i>, the lamb for the burnt <i>offering</i>?’ <n>A <i>lamb</i> is a young sheep. In the <i>Old Testament</i> people killed lambs as a <i>sacrifice</i> to God. 


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Abraham replied, ‘God will give himself the lamb for the burnt <i>offering</i>, my son.’ And the 2 of them went on together.


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They came to the place that God told them. Abraham built an <i>altar</i>. He put the wood on it. He tied his son Isaac. And he put him on top of the wood on the <i>altar</i>. 


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But the <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> called out to him. He said ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ Abraham replied ‘Here I am.’ 


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The <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> said, ‘Do not put a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God. I know this because you have not kept your son from me. And he is your only son.’ <n>To fear God means to have <i>faith</i> in him. And it means to do whatever God says. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. God’s promise was that Abraham would have many <i>descendants</i>. Abraham believed that God would not let Isaac die for ever. He believed that God had the power to bring Isaac back from death. (See Hebrews 11:17-19.) <n>These verses <i>remind</i> us that Jesus died for us. Jesus died for us, as the lamb died to save Isaac. <n>Jesus was the ‘lamb of God’ (John 1:29). He was <i>sacrificed</i> for us. He died instead of us. 


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Abraham looked up. He saw a ram, caught in a bush. He took the ram. Abraham <i>sacrificed</i> it as a burnt offering. He <i>sacrificed</i> the ram instead of his son. <n>A ram is a male sheep. 


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Abraham called that place ‘The <i>Lord</i> will provide.’ And it is still said ‘On the mountain of the <i>Lord</i> it will be provided’. <n>Provide means to give someone what they need. <n>So Abraham called that place ‘The <i>Lord</i> will give me what I need.’ And it is still said ‘On the mountain of the <i>Lord</i>, he will give us what we need.’ 


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The <i>angel</i> said, ‘I tell you this, says the <i>Lord</i>. You did not keep your son from me. And he was your only son. 


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Because you have done this, I will <i>bless</i> you. I will make your <i>descendants</i> as many as the stars. They will be as many as the stars that are in the sky. They will be as many as the pieces of sand by the sea. Your <i>descendants</i> will take the cities of their enemies. 


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I will <i>bless</i> everyone on the earth through your <i>descendants</i>. I will do this because you obeyed me.’ 


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Some time passed. Someone told Abraham ‘Milcah is also a mother. She has given birth to sons through your brother Nahor. 


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Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah gave birth to these 8 sons. Nahor was the father of these 8 sons. Nahor was Abraham’s brother. 


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Nahor had a slave wife. Her name was Reumah. She also had sons. They were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.


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She died in Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad because Sarah had died. He sat by her body and cried. He cried because she was dead.


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‘I am a foreign person among you. Sell me some land for a <i>burial place</i> here so that I can bury my dead.’ 


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‘My <i>lord</i>, you are a powerful person among us. Bury your dead in any <i>burial place</i> that you choose. No one will refuse what you ask. You may have a <i>burial place</i> belonging to any of us. Then you can bury your dead.’ 


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Abraham got up. He <i>bowed down</i> before the people of the land, in front of the Hittites. <n>‘Bowed’ means that he bent his body. (See 18:2.) 


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He said to the Hittites ‘As you will let me bury my dead, listen to me. Speak with Ephron son of Zohar for me. 


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Speak to him so that he will sell me the <i>burial place</i> in Machpelah. This belongs to him. It is at the end of the field. Ask Ephron to sell it to me. I will pay the full price. It will be a place to bury my dead among you.’ 


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Ephron the Hittite was sitting with his people. He spoke so that all the Hittites could hear him. They were at the city gate. 


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Ephron said ‘No my <i>lord</i>. Listen to me. I give you the field. And I give you the <i>burial place</i> that is in the field. I give it to you now. I give it to you in front of all my people. Bury your dead.’ 


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He said to Ephron, ‘Listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Accept the price from me. Then I can bury my dead there.’ Abraham said this so that everyone could hear him. 


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‘Listen to me, my <i>lord</i>. The land is worth 400 <i>shekels</i> of <i>silver</i>. But that is nothing between you and me. Bury your dead there.’ <n>People used shekels to measure weight. <n>Ephron is telling Abraham how much the land will cost. But he is still saying that he will give it to Abraham. (But Ephron knows that Abraham will not accept the field. He knows that Abraham wants to buy it.) 


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Abraham agreed to this price. He weighed the amount of <i>silver</i>, that Ephron had asked for. All the Hittites heard that this amount was 400 <i>shekels</i> of <i>silver</i>. Abraham used the weights that the people who sell things use.


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Ephron’s field in Machpelah, near Mamre, now belonged to Abraham. The field, the <i>burial place</i> in it and all the trees in the field now belonged to Abraham. They recorded the field as belonging to Abraham. 


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After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife. He did this in the <i>burial place</i> in the field of Machpelah. This is near Mamre. (Mamre is at Hebron.) This is in the land of Canaan. 


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They recorded the field and the <i>burial place</i> as belonging to Abraham. The Hittites sold it to him. They sold it as a <i>burial place</i> to bury his family.


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Abraham was now very old. He had been alive for many years. The <i>Lord</i> had <i>blessed</i> him in every way. 


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Abraham had a servant. This servant had authority over everything in Abraham’s <i>household</i>. Abraham said to him ‘Put your hand under my thigh.’ <n>In <i>Old Testament</i> times, people did this to show that they were making a promise. <n>The thigh is the top part of the leg. 


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Abraham said ‘I live among the Canaanites. But I want you to make a promise to me. Make a promise to me in front of the <i>Lord</i> who is the God of <i>heaven</i>. He is also the God of earth. Say that you will not get a Canaanite wife for my son. 


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The servant asked Abraham ‘What if the woman will not come back with me to this land? Must I take your son to the country that you came from?’ 


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The <i>Lord</i>, who is the God of <i>heaven</i>, brought me from there. He brought me out of my father’s <i>household</i>. That was in the land where I was born. The <i>Lord</i> spoke to me. He made a promise to me. He said “I will give this land to your <i>descendants</i>.” Because of this, the <i>Lord</i> will send His <i>angel</i> to go before you. He will send him so that you can get a wife for my son. Get the wife from the land that I was born in. 


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Perhaps the woman will not come back. Then you do not have to do as I have told you. But do not take my son back to that land.’ 


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The servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh. The servant said that he would do everything that Abraham had said. <n>The servant agreed to do what Abraham said. He did this in front of the <i>Lord</i>. He put his hand under Abraham’s thigh. This was to show Abraham that he was making a promise to him. 


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The servant took 10 of his master’s <i>camels</i>. He left. He took many good things with him. These were from his master. He started to go to Aram Naharaim. He made his way to the town of Nahor. <n>The town of Nahor was in the direction of Aram Naharaim. <n>The servant took good things from his master. These were gifts for the lady who would become Isaac’s wife, and for her mother and father. 


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The servant was outside the town. He made the <i>camels</i> go down on their knees. They were near the well. It was almost evening. At this time, women came to the well to get water. 


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The servant <i>prayed</i> to God. He prayed ‘<i>Lord</i>, God of my master, Abraham. Help me to do what I promised. And be kind to my master Abraham. 


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See, I am standing by this well. The daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out. They are coming to get water from the well. 


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May this happen. I will say to a girl “Please put your water pot down the well so that I may have a drink.” She may say, “Drink and I will give water to your <i>camels</i>”. Then let her be the wife that you have chosen for your servant Isaac. I want you to do this. Then I know that you have been kind to my master Abraham.’


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The servant was still praying when Rebekah came out. She had her pot on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was the son of Milcah. Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. 


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The girl was very beautiful. She had not had sex with a man. No man had slept with her. She went down to the well. She filled her pot with water. And she came up again. 


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The girl replied ‘Drink my <i>lord</i>. She quickly took the pot from her shoulders. She held the pot in her hands and gave him a drink. 


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After she had done this, she said ‘I will get water for your <i>camels</i> too. I will do this until they have finished drinking.’ 


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So Rebekah quickly emptied her pot. She emptied the water into the place where animals drank. She ran back to the well. She took more water from the well. She took enough for all the <i>camels</i>. 


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The servant did not say anything. But he watched the girl. He wanted to see if the <i>Lord</i> had shown him a wife for Isaac.


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The <i>camels</i> finished drinking. The servant took out a gold nose ring. It weighed a beka. He also took out two gold bracelets. They weighed 10 <i>shekels</i>. <n>A beka is half a <i>shekel</i>. You wear bracelets on your arm. 


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The servant asked ‘Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father’s house for me and my men to spend the night there?’ 


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She replied ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel. He is the son of Milcah (his mother) and Nahor (his father).’ 


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She said ‘We have plenty of dry grass and food for the <i>camels</i>. And we have room for you. You can stay the night with us.’ 


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He said ‘<i>Praise</i> to the <i>Lord</i>, the God of my master Abraham. He is kind and <i>faithful</i> to my master. And the <i>Lord</i> has been kind to me. He has led me on a journey to my master’s <i>relatives</i>.’ <n>A <i>relative</i> is someone belonging to your family or to your parents’ family. For example, your brother’s son is a <i>relative</i>. 


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Laban saw the nose ring and the bracelets. The bracelets were on his sister’s arms. He heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her. So Laban went out to the servant. He found him standing by the <i>camels</i>, near the well. 


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Laban said ‘You are <i>blessed</i> by the <i>Lord</i>. Why are you standing out here? Come, I have prepared the house for you and a place for your <i>camels</i>.’ 


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So the servant went to the house. He took everything off the <i>camels</i>. Someone brought dried grass and food for the <i>camels</i>. And they brought water so that he could wash his feet. And the men with him could wash their feet. <n><i>Camels</i> sleep on dried grass. And they eat it. 


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They gave him food. But the servant said ‘I will not eat. Not until I tell you why I have come here.’ Laban said, ‘Then tell us.’


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The <i>Lord</i> has given my master many <i>blessings</i>. My master is very rich. The <i>Lord</i> has given him sheep and cows, and <i>silver</i> and gold. He has also given him male and female servants, and <i>camels</i> and <i>donkeys</i>. 


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Sarah was my master’s wife. She gave him a son even when she was very old. My master has given his son everything that belongs to him. 


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My master made me make a promise. He said, “You must not get a Canaanite woman to be a wife for my son. I live in the land of the Canaanites. 


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My master said “The <i>Lord</i> will send His <i>angel</i> with you. You will find what you want on your journey. You will get a wife for my son. Get a wife from my own <i>relatives</i>. 


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Go to my <i>relatives</i>’ house. If they will not let you take her, you will be free from your promise.”


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I came to the well today. I prayed to the <i>Lord</i>. I prayed “<i>Lord</i>, God of my master Abraham. If you will, let me find a wife for my master’s son. This is why I have travelled. 


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Look. I am standing by a well. If a girl comes to get water, I will say to her, ‘Please let me drink some water from your jar.’ 


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She may say to me, ‘Drink and I will get some water for your <i>camels</i> too.’ Then I will know that she is the wife for my master’s son. She will be the wife that the <i>Lord</i> has chosen.”


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While I was still praying, Rebekah came out. She carried her pot on her shoulder. She went down to the well, and got some water. I said to her “Please give me a drink.” 


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She quickly took her pot off her shoulder. She said, “Drink. And I will get water for your <i>camels</i> too.” So I drank. And she gave water to the <i>camels</i>. 


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I asked her “Whose daughter are you?” She said, “I am the daughter of Bethuel. He is the son of Nahor. Milcah is Bethuel’s mother.” Then I put the ring in her nose. I put the bracelets on her arms. 


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And I <i>bowed down</i>. I <i>worshipped</i> the <i>Lord</i>. I <i>praised</i> the <i>Lord</i>, the God of my master, Abraham. The <i>Lord</i> led me to this girl. She is the granddaughter of my master’s brother. The <i>Lord</i> led me to her, for my master’s son. 


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If you want to say, “No” then tell me. Or if you want to say, “Yes” then tell me. Then I will know what to do.’


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Laban and Bethuel replied ‘These things are from the <i>Lord</i>. We cannot go against the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Here is Rebekah. Take her and go. She will become the wife of your master’s son. This is as the <i>Lord</i> has said.’


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Then the servant brought out things made from gold and <i>silver</i>. He brought out special clothes. He gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable things to her brother and to her mother.


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Then the servant ate and drank. And the men with him ate and drank. They stayed the night there. The next morning they woke up. The servant said, ‘Let me go back to my master.’ 


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The servant said ‘Do not stop me. The <i>Lord</i> has given me what I need. Let me go now. Then I can go to my master.’ 


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So they called out to Rebekah. They asked her ‘Will you go with this man?’ Rebekah said ‘I will go.’ 


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So they sent their sister Rebekah away. And her nurse went with her. They went with Abraham’s servant, and his men. 


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And her brother and mother <i>blessed</i> Rebekah. They said ‘Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands, and the mother of ten thousands. May your <i>descendants</i> take the gates of their enemies.’ <n>Her mother and brother are asking that Rebekah will have many children. And they are asking that her children will take the land of their enemies. 


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Rebekah and her female servants left. They rode on <i>camels</i>. And they went back with the servant. The servant took Rebekah and left.


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It was evening. And Isaac went out to the field to meditate. He looked up. And he saw <i>camels</i> coming near. <n>Meditate means to think a lot about something for a long time. 


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She asked the servant ‘Who is that man in the field? Who is that man coming to meet us?’ The servant replied ‘He is my master’. Rebekah covered herself with her veil. <n>A veil hid her face from Isaac. It is a piece of material. To cover herself with a veil showed Isaac that she was not married. 


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Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s <i>tent</i>. Isaac married Rebekah. Rebekah became his wife. And Isaac loved Rebekah. So, Isaac was happy again, after the death of his mother.


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Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The <i>descendants of</i> Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 


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Midian became the father of Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were <i>descendants of</i> Keturah. 


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When he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of the other wives. He sent these sons away from Isaac. He sent them to the land of the east.


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Isaac and Ishmael buried him. They were his sons. They buried Abraham in the <i>burial place</i> of Machpelah. This is near Mamre. It is in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar. He is a Hittite. 


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Abraham bought this field. He bought it from the Hittites. They buried Abraham there with his wife, Sarah.


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After the death of Abraham, God <i>blessed</i> Isaac. Isaac is Abraham’s son. Isaac then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.


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This is a report of Ishmael. Ishmael is Abraham’s son. Sarah’s female servant gave birth to Ishmael. Her name was Hagar. She was from Egypt. 


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These are the names of Ishmael’s sons. The list starts from the first-born son and ends with the last born son. Nebaioth was the first born son of Ishmael. Then there were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 


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These were all Ishmael’s sons. And these were the names of the 12 groups of people. They separated and lived in their own land. They ruled over the 12 groups of people. 


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Ishmael was alive for 137 years. He took his last <i>breath</i> and died. He joined his people who died before him. 


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Ishmael’s <i>descendants</i> lived in the lands from Havilah to Shur. These are near Egypt, towards Asshur. And they were always at war with each other. <n>The <i>Lord</i> told Hagar this in chapter 16, verse 12. 


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This is a report of what happened to Isaac. He was Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 


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When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was an Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean. 


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Rebekah could not have children. So Isaac <i>prayed</i> to the <i>Lord</i> for Rebekah. The <i>Lord</i> did as Isaac asked. And Isaac’s wife, Rebekah became <i>pregnant</i>. 


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The babies inside her were fighting with each other. Rebekah said ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So Rebekah went to ask the <i>Lord</i>. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Rebekah, ‘The two who are in your body will separate. And they will be two groups of people. Two groups of people will separate from your body. One group will be stronger than the other. And the older will be like servants to the younger.’ <n>In <i>Old Testament</i> times, the youngest son would always be like a servant to the oldest son. But this time, God chose the youngest son to be master over the oldest son. 


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After this, his brother came out. His hand was holding the back of Esau’s foot. They called him Jacob. Isaac was 166 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.


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Time passed and the boys grew. Esau became a good hunter. He liked being in the country. Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed among the <i>tents</i>. 


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Isaac liked to eat the meat from the animals that Esau killed. So he loved Esau. But Rebekah loved Jacob.


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He said to Jacob ‘Quick let me have some of that red food! I am very hungry.’ (That is also why he was called Edom.) 


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Jacob said, ‘You must first sell me your <i>birthright</i>.’ <n>Edom means red. In the <i>Old Testament</i>, the oldest son had the <i>birthright</i>. This means that he would be the leader of his family when his father died. And he would get two parts of the things that had belonged to his father. 


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Esau said ‘Look I am going to die now. What good is my <i>birthright</i> to me?’ <n>Esau is not thinking about what will happen in the future. He is only thinking of what he can have now. <n>‘I am going to die’ – Esau is not going to die. He means that he has not eaten for some days. He feels very hungry and wants the food. 


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Jacob said ‘First, say a promise to me.’ So Esau said a promise to Jacob. He promised to sell his <i>birthright</i> to Jacob. 


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Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and the meal made from seeds. Esau ate and drank. Then he got up and left. So Esau showed that he did not care about his <i>birthright</i> (he did not think that it was important). <n>Now Jacob had the <i>birthright</i>. Jacob is the younger son. Jacob will receive God’s promise that he made with Abraham. This promise passed on to Isaac. When Isaac dies, it will pass to Jacob. This is what God told Rebekah in verse 23. 


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There was a <i>famine</i> in the land. This had happened before, when Abraham was alive. Isaac went to Gerar to visit Abimelech. He was the king of the Philistines. 


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The <i>Lord</i> appeared to Isaac. He said ‘Do not go to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you to live in. 


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Stay in this land for a time. And I will be with you. And I will <i>bless</i> you. I will give these lands to you and your <i>descendants</i>. I will say again the promise that I told your father Abraham. 


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I will give you many <i>descendants</i>. They will be as many as the stars in the sky. And I will give these lands to them. Through your <i>descendant</i>, I will <i>bless</i> everyone on the earth. 


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So Isaac stayed in Gerar. <n>Verse 5 – God will <i>bless</i> everyone on the earth by sending Jesus Christ. 


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The men of Gerar asked Isaac about his wife. He said, ‘She is my sister.’ He was afraid to say ‘She is my wife.’ He thought ‘The men of Gerar may kill me. They may kill me because of Rebekah. They may kill me because she is beautiful.’ <n>See 12:11-14. 


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Isaac stayed in Gerar for a long time. One day Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked down from his window. Abimelech saw Isaac touching his wife, Rebekah. <n>Abimelech saw that Isaac and Rebekah were married. He knew this by the way that Isaac touched Rebekah. 


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Abimelech called Isaac to come to him. Abimelech said ‘She is your wife! Why did you say, “She is my sister”?’ Isaac replied ‘I thought that someone might kill me because of her.’ 


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Abimelech said ‘What have you done to us? One of my men might have had sex with your wife. Then we would have done wrong.’ 


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Isaac planted <i>crops</i> in the land. They grew well. They grew to 100 times the amount that he planted. This was because the <i>Lord blessed</i> him. <n>The <i>Lord</i> kept his promise. He <i>blessed</i> Isaac because he did not go to Egypt. He <i>blessed</i> him, even when Isaac did not tell the <i>truth</i> to the Philistines about Rebekah. <n>Crops are plants. They can be any plants that people or animals eat. 


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Isaac had many sheep, goats and cows. He also had many servants. He had so many that the Philistines became angry with him. They thought that he had more than they had. And they wanted what he had. That is why they were angry. 


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When Abraham was alive, his servants had dug many wells. Now, the Philistines filled them in again. They did this because they did not want Isaac to get rich. 


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So Isaac moved away from that place. He put his <i>tents</i> in the Valley of Gerar. And he stayed there. 


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Isaac dug the wells again. They were the wells that Abraham had dug. But the Philistines filled them with the ground. This happened when Abraham died. Isaac opened them. He gave them the same names as his father had given them. 


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But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herdsmen. They said ‘The water belongs to us!’ So Isaac called the well Esek. He called it that because they quarrelled with him. <n>Herdsmen are people who keep cows and other animals safe. <n>Esek means quarrel. 


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So Isaac’s men dug another well. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled about that one. Isaac called that well Sitnah. <n>Sitnah means to go against someone. 


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Isaac moved on from Sitnah. He dug another well. No one quarrelled with him about this well. He called it Rehoboth. He said ‘Now the <i>Lord</i> has given us space. We will have good things in this land.’ <n>Rehoboth means to have space or room. 


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That night the <i>Lord</i> appeared to him. The <i>Lord</i> said ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, because I am with you. I will <i>bless</i> you. I will give you many <i>descendants</i> because of my servant Abraham.’ <n>This is the promise that God gave to Abraham. 


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Isaac built an <i>altar</i>. He called out to the <i>Lord</i>. He put his <i>tent</i> there. And his servants dug a well.


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During that time, Abimelech came to Isaac. He came from Gerar. He came with Ahuzzath his officer and with Phicol the officer of his army. <n>Abimelech is a name for all the kings of the Philistines. Phicol is a family name. 


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They replied ‘We saw that the <i>Lord</i> is with you. So we said to one another, “There should be a promise between us and you.” So, let us make a promise with you. 


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Promise that you will not hurt us. We did not hurt you. We did only good to you. And we sent you away as friends. And now the <i>Lord</i> is <i>blessing</i> you.’ 


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Then Isaac made a large meal for them. And they all ate and drank. <n>Eating a meal together showed that they all agreed to keep the promise. 


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Early the next morning, they made a promise to each other. And Isaac sent them away. They left without fighting. 


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The same day, Isaac’s servants came to him. They told him about a well that they had dug. They said, ‘We have found water!’ 


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Isaac called the well Shibah. And the name of the town is Beersheba. <n>Shibah means ‘promise’ or ‘7 (seven)’. <n>Beersheba means either ‘Well of the promise’ or ‘Well of seven’. <n>(In Genesis 21:28-31 Abraham gave Abimelech 7 (seven) sheep to show that he agreed to a promise.) 


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When Esau was 40 years old, he got married. He married Judith. She was the daughter of Beer the Hittite. He also married Basemath. She was the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 


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This made Isaac and Rebekah very sad. <n>Abraham had wanted Isaac to marry a woman from his own <i>relatives</i> (see chapter 24). But Esau married women from the land that he lived in. At this time, he did not go back to his <i>relatives</i> to find a wife. 


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Isaac became old. He could not see anything. He could not see because his eyes were weak. He called for Esau. Esau was his oldest son. Isaac said, ‘My son.’ Esau replied, ‘Yes’. 


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Now get your bow and arrows. Go out into the country. Kill some wild animals for me.’ <n>Bow in verse 3 means something to kill an animal. People use bows to shoot <i>arrows</i>. An <i>arrow</i> is like a stick with a sharp point at the end. 


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Isaac said, ‘Prepare the food that I like to eat. And bring it to me. Bring it to me so that I can eat it. Then I can give you my <i>blessing</i> before I die.’ <n>In the <i>Old Testament</i>, a father gave his <i>blessing</i> to the oldest son. This son has the <i>birthright</i>. Isaac does not know that Esau sold his <i>birthright</i>. (See 25:31-34.) Esau does not tell Isaac that he has sold his <i>birthright</i>. 


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Rebekah listened to what Isaac said to Esau. Esau went out into the country. He went to kill an animal and bring back the meat.


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“Bring me some meat. And prepare the food that I like to eat. Bring it to me. Then I can give you my <i>blessing</i>. I will <i>bless</i> you in front of the <i>Lord</i>. I will do this before I die.” ’ 


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Go out to the animals. Bring me two nice looking goats. Bring me two young goats. Then I will prepare some food that your father likes to eat. It will be prepared how he likes it. 


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Then take the food to your father to eat. Then he will give you his <i>blessing</i> before he dies.’ 


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My father may touch me. Then he will know that I am telling him lies (words that are not true). Then he will not <i>bless</i> me. He will <i>curse</i> me.’ 


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Jacob’s mother said, ‘My son. Let the <i>curse</i> fall on me. Do what I say. Go and get the things that I told you.’ 


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Jacob went and got the goats. He brought them to his mother. She prepared some food. She prepared the food that Isaac liked to eat. 


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Then Rebekah took some of Esau’s clothes. They were his best clothes. Rebekah had them in her house. She put them on Jacob, her younger son. 


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She covered Jacob’s hands with the skin from the goats. She also covered the part of his neck that had no hair. <n>Goats have hair on their skin. Rebekah did this to make Isaac think that Jacob was Esau. If Isaac touched Jacob, he would think that Jacob was Esau. He would think that because of the hair on the skin. 


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Then she gave Jacob (her son) the food that Isaac liked to eat. And she gave him some bread that she had made.


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Jacob said ‘I am Esau. I am your first born son. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my meat. Then you can give me your <i>blessing</i>.’ 


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Isaac asked his son ‘My son. How did you find it so quickly?’ Jacob replied, ‘The <i>Lord</i> your God helped me find it.’ <n>Jacob says ‘the <i>Lord</i> <u>your</u> God’. Jacob does not call God his own God. 


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Isaac said to Jacob ‘Come near to me so that I can touch you. Then I will know if you really are my son Esau.’ 


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Jacob went close to his father. Isaac touched him. He said ‘The voice is that of Jacob. But the hands are those of Esau.’ 


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Isaac did not know that it was Jacob. He did not know because he could feel the hair on Jacob’s hands. They felt like Esau’s hands. So Isaac <i>blessed</i> Jacob. 


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Isaac said ‘My son, bring me some of your meat. I will eat it. Then I can give you my <i>blessing</i>.’ So Jacob brought the food to him. Isaac ate it. Then Jacob brought some <i>wine</i>. And Isaac drank it. 


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So Jacob went to Isaac and kissed him. Isaac smelled the clothes that Jacob wore. Then Isaac <i>blessed</i> him. He said, ‘The smell of my son is like the smell of a field. It is like a field that God has <i>blessed</i>. 


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May God give you rain for your crops. Then may he give you a good harvest of crops, and <i>grapes</i> for <i>wine</i>. <n>Crops are plants. They can be any plants that people or animals eat. Harvest means the amount of crops that grow in the field. 


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May you be the master of many peoples living in many countries. And may they bow down to you. Be master over your brothers. May the sons of your mother bow down to you. May people who <i>curse</i> you receive <i>curses</i>. And may people who <i>bless</i> you receive <i>blessings</i>.’ <n>Bow down. Bow here means to bend your body (as in 18:2). <n>This is what God told Rebekah in 25:23. 


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Isaac finished <i>blessing</i> Jacob. And Jacob left him. Then Esau came in from the country. He had killed an animal. 


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Esau prepared the food that Isaac liked to eat. Then he took the food to Isaac. Esau said ‘My father. Sit up and eat some of my meat. Then you can give me your <i>blessing</i>.’ <n>Esau does not know what Jacob has done. He does not know that Jacob has received the <i>blessing</i>. 


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Isaac <i>shook</i> and <i>trembled</i>. He said ‘Who was it who killed the animal? Who brought it to me? I ate it, just before you came. And I <i>blessed</i> him. And he will get the <i>blessing</i>!’ <n>Isaac <i>trembled</i>. He now knows what Jacob has done. He knows that he cannot take his <i>blessing</i> away. The son that he loves cannot receive the <i>blessing</i>. Isaac knows that now. Isaac knows that God will <i>bless</i> Jacob and not Esau. 


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Esau understood what his father had said. And he cried aloud. He said ‘<i>Bless</i> me. <i>Bless</i> me as well my father!’ 


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Esau said ‘Jacob is the right name for him. He has <i>deceived</i> me two times. He took my <i>birthright</i>. And now he has taken my <i>blessing</i>!’ Then Esau asked ‘Do you have any <i>blessing</i> left for me?’ <n>Jacob means ‘He deceives’. This is what ‘deceives’ means. Jacob says things that are not true. And he does things that are not right. 


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Isaac replied ‘I have made him master over you. And I have made all his <i>relatives</i> his servants. I have given him <i>crops</i> and <i>wine</i>. So what can I do for you my son?’ <n>Isaac is saying that there is no <i>blessing</i> left for Esau. 


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Esau said ‘My father! Do you have only one <i>blessing</i>? My father! <i>Bless</i> me as well!’ Then Esau wept aloud.


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Isaac replied ‘You will not grow rich from the earth. You will not have rain to make your <i>crops</i> grow. 


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You will have to fight for everything. And your brother will rule over you. But after a time, you will break away from him, and from his <i>descendants</i>.’ <n>This is the only <i>blessing</i> that Isaac could give Esau. He could not take back the <i>blessing</i> that he gave to Jacob. 


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Esau did not forget what Jacob had done. He hated Jacob because of the <i>blessing</i> that Isaac gave him. Esau said, ‘My father will die soon. Then I will kill my brother.’ 


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Someone told Rebekah what Esau had said. She sent for Jacob. She said to him ‘Your brother Esau wants to kill you. When he thinks about killing you, it helps him to feel better. 


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When Esau is not angry with you, I will send someone to tell you. When he forgets what you did to him, you can come back from Haran. I do not want to lose both of you in one day.’ <n>Rebekah thinks that Esau and Jacob will kill each other. Or that God will kill Esau, if he kills Jacob. <n>Jacob stayed in Haran for 20 years. Rebekah did not see Jacob again. 


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Rebekah said to Isaac ‘I do not like living with Esau’s wives. I do not like it because they are Hittites. My life will be worse if Jacob marries a Hittite woman (a woman from the people of this land).’ <n>Isaac does not want Jacob to marry a woman from the country that they live in. Rebekah knows this. She knows that Isaac will send Jacob away to find a wife. Isaac will send Jacob back to his <i>relatives</i>. Then Esau will not kill Jacob. 


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Go now to Paddan Aram. Go to the house of Bethuel. He is your mother’s father. Take a wife from there. Take a wife from the daughters of Laban. He is your mother’s brother. 


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May God <i>Almighty bless</i> you. May he make you rich. And may he give you many <i>descendants</i> so that your <i>descendants</i> become a group of people. 


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May God give to you the <i>blessing</i> that he gave to Abraham. And may he give it to your <i>descendants</i>. Then you can take the land in which you live as a foreign person. This is the land that God gave to Abraham.’ 


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Isaac sent Jacob on his journey. Jacob went to Paddan Aram. He went to Laban, who was the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah. Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.


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Esau heard that Isaac <i>blessed</i> Jacob. He knew that Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan Aram. And he knew that Isaac told Jacob to take a wife from Paddan Aram. Esau knew that Isaac told Jacob ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman.’ 


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So Esau went to Ishmael. He married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth. Mahalath is also the daughter of Ishmael. Ishmael is the son of Abraham. Esau married Mahalath. And he kept his other wives.


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He came to a place. And he stayed there for the night. He stayed there because the sun had gone down. He took a stone. He put it under his head. And he lay down and went to sleep. 


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He had a dream. In the dream, he saw some steps. The steps went from the earth, into <i>heaven</i>. The <i>angels</i> of God went up and down the steps. 


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The <i>Lord</i> stood above the steps. He said ‘I am the <i>Lord</i>. I am the God of your father Abraham. And I am the God of Isaac. I will give you the land that you lie on. I will give it to you and to your <i>descendants</i>. 


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Your <i>descendants</i> will be as many as the <i>dust</i> of the earth. They will go to the west and to the east. They will go to the north and to the south. I will <i>bless</i> the people of the earth because of one of your <i>descendants</i>. <n>This is the promise that God made to Abraham. See 13:16. 


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I am with you. And I will watch over you everywhere you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you. Not until I have done what I have promised you.’ <n>God tells Jacob that he will always be with him. 


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Jacob was afraid. He said ‘How great this place is! This must be the house of God. This is the gate of <i>heaven</i>.’


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In the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head. He made it stand up straight in the ground. He poured oil on top of it. <n>The oil was probably olive oil. Olives grow on trees. Pouring oil on something showed that it belonged to God. 


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Jacob called that place Bethel. The name of the place was Luz. But Jacob called it Bethel. <n>Bethel means house of God. 


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Then Jacob made a promise. He said ‘I want God to be with me and to watch over me, while I am on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear. 


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I want to return to my father’s house. If God does all these things, then the <i>Lord</i> will be my God. 


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This stone that I have put here will be God’s house. And from every thing that God gives me, I will give God one tenth.


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He saw a well in a field. Three groups of sheep lay by the well. They lay there because the sheep had water from that well. A large stone covered the top of the well. 


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<i>Shepherds</i> waited until all the sheep were there. Then they removed the stone from the well. And they gave their sheep water to drink. After this, they put the stone back on the top of the well. <n>Shepherds are people who keep sheep safe. 


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Jacob asked the <i>shepherds</i> ‘My brothers, where are you from?’ The <i>shepherds</i> replied, ‘We are from Haran.’ 


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Jacob said ‘Do you know Laban? He is Nahor’s grandson.’ The <i>shepherds</i> replied ‘Yes, we know him.’ 


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Jacob asked them ‘Is he in good health?’ They replied ‘Yes he is. Here comes his daughter with the sheep. Her name is Rachel.’ 


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Jacob said ‘Look. The sun is high in the sky. It is not the right time to bring all the sheep together. Give the sheep water. And take them back to the fields.’ 


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The <i>shepherds</i> said ‘We cannot do that. We have to wait until all the sheep are here. Then we can remove the stone and give the sheep water.’


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When Jacob was speaking, Rachel came. She brought her father’s sheep with her. She was a shepherdess. <n>A shepherdess is a woman who keeps sheep safe. 


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Jacob saw Rachel. She was the daughter of Laban. Laban was Jacob’s mother’s brother. Jacob saw Laban’s sheep. So Jacob went to the stone on the well. He removed it from the well. Then he gave water to Laban’s sheep. 


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Then Jacob kissed Rachel. He began to cry aloud. <n>Jacob cried because he was happy to find his <i>relatives</i>. 


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Jacob told Rachel that he was a <i>relative</i> of Laban. He told him that he was a son of Rebekah. And Rachel ran in front of Jacob. She told her father.


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Laban heard what Rachel said. He hurried to meet Jacob. Jacob was the son of Laban’s sister. He put his arms round Jacob. And he kissed him. Laban brought Jacob to his home. And Jacob told Laban why he had come to him. 


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Then Laban said to Jacob ‘You should not work for me for nothing because you are my <i>relative</i>. Tell me what I should pay you.’ 


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Laban had 2 daughters. The name of the older daughter was Leah. The name of the younger daughter was Rachel. 


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Jacob loved Rachel. He said ‘I will work for you for 7 years. In return, I want your daughter Rachel.’ 


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Jacob worked for 7 years to have Rachel. But the years passed quickly. They seemed like a few days to Jacob because he loved Rachel very much.


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After 7 years, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife. My time is finished. And I want to marry her.’ 


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When morning came, Jacob saw Leah! Jacob said to Laban, ‘What have you done to me? I worked for you to have Rachel. Why have you <i>deceived</i> me?’ 


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Laban replied ‘In this land, we do not give the younger daughter first. We do not give her before the older daughter. 


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Finish Leah’s marriage week. Then we will give you the younger daughter also. And you must work for another 7 years. <n>Jacob <i>deceived</i> Isaac. Now Laban has <i>deceived</i> Jacob. (For ‘deceive’, see 27:36.) <n>A marriage week was the 7 days of the <i>feast</i>. A feast is a time of eating and drinking. 


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Then Laban gave Rachel to Jacob to be his wife. Laban give his female servant Bilhah to Rachel. Bilhah was now one of Rachel’s servants. 


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Jacob married Rachel also. He loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. Jacob worked for Laban. He worked for 7 more years.


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The <i>Lord</i> saw that Jacob did not love Leah. So he let her give birth to children. But the <i>Lord</i> did not let Rachel give birth to children. 


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Leah became <i>pregnant</i>. She gave birth to a son. She called him Reuben. She said ‘It is because the <i>Lord</i> has heard. He has heard how sad I am. My husband will love me now because I have given birth to a son.’ 


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Leah became <i>pregnant</i> again. She gave birth to another son. She said ‘The <i>Lord</i> gave me another son. Because he knows that I am not loved.’ She called this son Simeon. 


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Leah became <i>pregnant</i> again. And again she gave birth to a son. She said ‘I have given my husband 3 sons. So now he will want to stay with me.’ She called this son Levi. 


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Leah became <i>pregnant</i> again. She gave birth to a son. She said ‘This time I will <i>praise</i> the <i>Lord</i>.’ She called this son Judah. Then she stopped having children.


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Rachel now knew that she could not have any children. She knew that she could not give Jacob any children. So, she did not like her sister because her sister had children. Rachel said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I will die.’ <n>In <i>Old Testament</i> times, it was very important for women to have children. It was a <i>blessing</i>. 


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Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said ‘Am I God? God has stopped you from giving birth to children!’ 


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Rachel said ‘Here is Bilhah. She is my female servant. Have sex with her so that she can have children for me. Through her, I can build a family.’ <n>This is like what Sarah did with Hagar. 


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Rachel said ‘God has done what is right to me. He has listened to me. And he has given me a son.’ Because of this, she called the baby Dan. 


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Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she took her female servant. Her name was Zilpah. She gave her to Jacob as a wife. 


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It was the time to get the wheat in from the fields. Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to Leah, his mother. Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of the mandrake plants that your son gave to you.’ <n>Wheat is part of a plant. People use it to make flour. <n>People thought that mandrake plants could help a woman become <i>pregnant</i>. <n>Rachel thought that the plants would help her to have a child. That is why she wanted them. But only God could give her a child. 


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But Leah said to Rachel ‘You took my husband. Was not that enough? Now you want my son’s mandrakes too!’ Rachel said, ‘You must give me some of your son’s mandrakes. Then Jacob can sleep with you tonight.’ 


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In the evening, Jacob came in from the fields. Leah went out to meet him. She said ‘You must sleep with me tonight. I have bought you with my son’s mandrakes.’ So Jacob slept with Leah that night. 


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Leah said ‘God has given me this valuable gift. Now my husband will want to stay with me because I have given him 6 sons.’ She called this son Zebulun. 


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Some time passed. And Leah became <i>pregnant</i> again. She gave birth to a daughter. She called her daughter Dinah. 


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She became <i>pregnant</i>. She gave birth to a son. Rachel said, ‘I am not ashamed any more because God has given me a son.’ 


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After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban. He said ‘Let me go on my way. Let me go so that I can go back to my own land. 


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Give me my wives. Give me my children. I have worked for you to have them. Then I will go on my journey. You know how much I have worked for you.’ 


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Laban said to Jacob ‘If you are happy with me then please stay. I know that the <i>Lord</i> has <i>blessed</i> me. That is because you are here.’ 


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You had a small number of sheep and goats before I came. Now the number of them is much bigger. And anywhere that I have been, the <i>Lord</i> has <i>blessed</i> you. But now I want to give my family what they need.’ 


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Laban asked ‘What must I give you?’ Jacob replied, ‘Do not give me anything. But do one thing for me. Then I will still <i>care</i> for your animals. And I will see that nothing bad happens to them. 


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Let me go among all your animals today. And let me remove any animal that has a mark on it. Let me remove any animal that has more than one colour on its skin. I will take them from your sheep and from your goats. These animals will be what I receive from you. 


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And this will show that I am honest. You can check on my animals when you want to. I may have a sheep or a goat that does not have more than one colour on its skin. Then you can say that I have taken it from you.’ 


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On that same day, Laban went to his animals. He quickly removed any animal that had more than one colour on its skin. And he gave them to his sons to <i>care</i> for. 


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Then Laban went away. It would take Jacob 3 days to reach Laban. While this was happening, Jacob <i>cared</i> for the rest of Laban’s animals. <n>Laban has <i>deceived</i> Jacob. He has taken all the animals that should be Jacob’s. And he has given them to his own sons to <i>care</i> for. Then he has gone away before Jacob knows what he has done. 


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Jacob took branches cut from trees. He took them from the poplar tree, the almond tree and the plane tree. He made white lines on them. He did this by taking the outside part of the wood from some of the branch. Then he could see the white part of the branch. 


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Then he put the branches in the place where the animals drank. They were in front of the animals when they came to drink. Sometimes it was the right time when the animals came to drink. 


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They would have sex and become <i>pregnant</i>. They did this in front of the branches. And they gave birth to young ones that had more than one colour on their skin. 


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Jacob kept the animals separate from Laban’s animals. Then he separated Laban’s animals. He separated the female animals from the male animals. And he would only let the female animals have sex with his own black male sheep. 


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Jacob waited until the time was right for the stronger female animals. Then he put the branches in front of them, when they had sex with his own black male animals. 


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But if the female animals were weak, he did not put the branches in front of the animals. So Jacob put the weak animals with Laban’s animals. But Jacob kept the strong animals. 


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By doing this, Jacob became very rich. He had many animals, female servants and male servants and <i>camels</i> and <i>donkeys</i>.


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Jacob heard Laban’s sons saying, ‘Jacob has taken everything that our father had. He has got rich from things belonging to our father.’ 


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And Jacob saw that Laban was not as nice to him as he had been before. <n>Laban does not want Jacob to leave because Jacob has God’s <i>blessing</i>. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Jacob ‘Go back to the land where your fathers lived. Go back to your <i>relatives</i>. I will be with you.’ 


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Jacob sent someone to go to Rachel and Leah. Jacob said that they must come to the field where he was. He was with his animals. 


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Jacob said to Rachel and Leah, ‘Your father is not as nice to me now, as he was before. I have seen that he is not so nice. But the God of my father has been with me. 


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But your father has changed what I receive in return for working. He changed it many times. But God has not let him hurt me. 


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Sometimes Laban said, “The animals with different colours on their skin will be your <i>payment</i>.” Then the animals gave birth to young ones with different colours on their skins. Sometimes he said, “The animals with marks on them will be your <i>payment</i>.” Then the animals gave birth to young ones with marks on them. 


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I had a dream. It was at the time when the animals became <i>pregnant</i>. I looked up. I saw that the male animals had different colours on their skin. 


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And the <i>angel</i> said, “Look up. See all the male animals have different colours on their skin. I have seen the bad things that Laban has done to you. 


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I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel. This is where you poured oil on the stone. And this is where you made a promise to me. Now leave this land. Go back to the land where your father lived.” ’ 


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He thinks of us as foreign people. He sold us. Then he used what he received for us on himself.’ <n>‘He sold us’ means that Laban gave Leah and Rachel to Jacob in return for Jacob’s work. 


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They said, ‘Everything that God took from our father belongs to us, and to our children. So you must do what God tells you.’


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He took all his animals, and everything that he had got in Paddan Aram. He left to go to his father Isaac. He left to go to the land of Canaan. 


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Before they left, Laban went to cut wool from his sheep. While he was gone, Rachel took his <i>household</i> gods. <n>Wool grows on the back of a sheep. It is the coat from the animal. <n>The <i>household</i> gods are small gods that someone made out of wood or metal. Laban <i>worshipped</i> these gods. 


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So Jacob ran away. He took everything that he had. He went across the river. He went towards the hill country of Gilead.


text:
Laban took his <i>relatives</i> and followed Jacob. He followed him for 7 days, and then he found him. He found him in the hill country of Gilead. 


text:
Then God came to Laban the Aramean. He appeared to him in a dream at night. God said to Laban, ‘Be careful what you say to Jacob. Do not say that you will do anything to him.’


text:
Jacob had put up his <i>tent</i> in the hill country of Gilead. And Laban found him. So Laban and his <i>relatives</i> also put up their <i>tents</i> in this place. 


text:
Laban said to Jacob, ‘What have you done? You have <i>deceived</i> me. And you have taken my daughters as if you caught them in a war. 


text:
Why did you keep it a secret that you were leaving? You <i>deceived</i> me. Why did you not tell me that you were leaving? I would have sent you away with <i>joy</i> and singing to music. 


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You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren goodbye. Or let me kiss my daughters goodbye. What you have done is not right. 


text:
I have the power to hurt you. But last night the God of your father came to me. He said, “Be careful what you say to Jacob. Do not say that you will do anything to him.” 


text:
Jacob replied, ‘I was afraid. I thought that you would try to stop me. And I thought that you would try to take your daughters away from me. 


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But if you find your gods with anyone here, that person will die. While our <i>relatives</i> watch, you may look for anything that belongs to you. If you find anything then take it.’ Jacob did not know that Rachel had taken her father’s gods.


text:
So Laban went into Jacob’s <i>tent</i>. Then he went into Leah’s <i>tent</i>. He also went into the female servants’ <i>tent</i>. But he did not find anything. When he left Leah’s <i>tent</i>, he went into Rachel’s <i>tent</i>. 


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Rachel had taken the <i>household</i> gods. She put them inside the seat that she sat on to ride her <i>camel</i>. Then she sat on them. Laban looked through everything in the <i>tent</i>. But he did not find the gods. 


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When he went into Rachel’s <i>tent</i>, she said, ‘Do not be angry with me my <i>lord</i>. I cannot stand up in front of you. It is the time of my monthly blood loss.’ So, Laban looked for the gods, but he did not find them. <n>In <i>Old Testament</i> times, when a woman had her monthly blood loss, she was ‘unclean’. And anything that she sat on was <i>unclean</i>. (It tells us this in Leviticus 15:20.) <n>Rachel was lying about the <i>household</i> gods. She had stolen them. 


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Then Jacob became angry with Laban. He asked him ‘What have I done wrong? What have I done against you? Why have you followed me? 


text:
Now you have looked through everything that I have. And what have you found that belongs to you? If you have found anything, put it in front of your <i>relatives</i> and mine. Let them say which one of us is right. 


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I have worked for you for 20 years. Your animals have all given birth to young ones. I have not eaten any of your male animals. 


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I did not bring you animals killed by wild animals. I paid you for them. You said that I must pay for any animals that someone took in the day or night.’ 


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Jacob said, ‘This is what it was like to work for you: I could not get away from the heat of the sun in the day. It felt like it was eating me. And the night-time was so cold that I could not sleep. 


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It was like this for 20 years. That is the time that I have been working for you, in your <i>household</i>. I worked for 14 years to pay you for your daughters. Then I worked for 6 years for your animals. And you changed what I received from you many times. 


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The God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac was with me. If he were not, then you would have sent me away with nothing. But God has seen what you have done to me. He has seen how I have worked for you. And last night he told you that he knew what you had done.’ <n>The God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac are all names for God. God is very powerful and has authority over everything. Fear means to know that. 


text:
Laban replied ‘These women are my daughters. Their children are my children. The animals are my animals. But what can I do today about my daughters or about their children? 


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He said to his <i>relatives</i>, ‘Go and get some stones.’ So they went and got some stones. They put them together on the ground. Then they all ate a meal together, near the <i>heap</i> of stones. <n>When people made a promise, they often ate a meal together. 


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Laban called the place Jegar Sahadutha. Jacob called it Galeed. <n>Jegar Sahadutha are Aramaic words. Galeed is a <i>Hebrew</i> word. Both mean that the stones showed that people made a promise there. 


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Laban said ‘These stones show that we made a promise today.’ That is why Jacob called that place Galeed. 


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That place also had the name ‘Mizpah’. That was because Laban said ‘May the <i>Lord</i> watch you and me when we are away from each other. 


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Remember that God is watching you. If you do wrong to my daughters, God will see it. And if you marry any other women, remember this. God is watching you. Even if no one else is with you, God will know.’


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Laban also said ‘I have set this stone up. And I have set the <i>heap</i> of stones by it. They are between you and me. 


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I will not go past the stones to your side to hurt you. And you must not go past them to my side to hurt me. The stones will show where we can go. 


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Let the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, the God of their father say who is right between us.’ So Jacob made a promise in the name of God. 


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He offered a <i>sacrifice</i> to God in the hill country. He asked his <i>relatives</i> to eat a meal with him. After they had eaten, they stayed the night there.


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Early the next morning, Laban woke. He kissed his grandchildren. And he kissed his daughters. He <i>blessed</i> them. Then he left and went back to his home. <n>Jacob ran away from Laban because he was afraid. But God had already told Jacob that he would be with him (verse 3). <n>Jacob should have put his <i>trust</i> in God. He should have told Laban that he was leaving. And he should have <i>trusted</i> God to keep him safe. 


text:
Jacob continued to go to his father’s house. And the <i>angels</i> of God met him. <n>Now Jacob had to meet Esau. Jacob had <i>deceived</i> Esau out of his <i>blessing</i>. Then he had left Isaac’s house because Esau wanted to kill him. <n>Jacob had seen the <i>angels</i> of God before (28:12). <n>Now, God sent his <i>angels</i> to meet Jacob to show that he was with him. 


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Jacob sent men with messages in front of him. He sent them to his brother Esau. He was in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 


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Jacob told his men, ‘This is what you must say to my master Esau: Your servant Jacob says, “I have been staying with Laban. I have stayed there until now. 


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I have cows and <i>donkeys</i>, sheep and goats. And I have male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my <i>lord</i> so that you will be happy with me.” ’


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When the men returned, they said to Jacob, ‘We went to your brother Esau. And now he is coming to meet you. And he has 400 men with him.’ 


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Jacob was very frightened and <i>worried</i>. So he separated his people into 2 groups. He also separated the animals. 


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Then Jacob prayed, ‘God of Abraham and God of my father Isaac, <i>Lord</i>, you said to me “Go back to your country. And go to your <i>relatives</i> and I will do good things for you.” 


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I am not worth all the kind things that you have done for me. You have stayed with me. And I am not worth this. When I crossed the River Jordan, I only had my stick. But now I can make 2 groups of good things from what I have. 


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I pray that you will save me from my brother Esau. Because I am afraid that he will come and attack me. He may also attack my family. 


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But you have said, “I will give you many good things. I will make your <i>descendants</i> as many as the pieces of sand by the sea. They are so many that they cannot be counted.” ’ <n>God had said this to Jacob in 28:14. 


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Also he chose 30 female <i>camels</i>, with their young ones, 40 cows and 10 male cows and 20 female <i>donkeys</i> and 10 male <i>donkeys</i>. 


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He told his servants to <i>care</i> for them. He separated each group of animals from the other groups. Jacob said to his servants ‘Go before me. Keep some space between each group of animals.’ 


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He told the servant at the front, ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks, “Who do you belong to? Where are you going? Who do all these animals belong to?” 


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You must say, “They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift that he has sent to my <i>lord</i> Esau. And Jacob is coming behind us.” ’ 


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Jacob also told the other servants who followed a group of animals ‘You are to say the same thing to Esau, when you meet him. 


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And you must say “Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.” ’ Jacob thought ‘Esau will be pleased with my gifts. Then he will not hurt me.’ 


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So Jacob’s gifts went on before him. But he spent the night with his people. <n>Jacob prays in verses 9-12 for God to keep him safe from Esau. But perhaps he does not <i>trust</i> God to keep him safe. Maybe he makes plans to please Esau with gifts so that Esau will not hurt him. He does this even when God has promised to give him too many <i>descendants</i> to count. But perhaps he does not completely <i>trust</i> God. 


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That night Jacob took his 2 wives, 11 sons and 2 female servants. And he sent them over the part of the River Jabbok that was not very deep. 


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Jacob was alone. And a man came and fought with him. The man fought with Jacob until it was day. <n>This man was God who came to Jacob as an <i>angel</i>. (See Hosea 12:4-5.) <n>This part of the River Jabbok was not very deep and about 20 miles north of the Dead Sea. 


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The man saw that he was not beating Jacob. So, he touched Jacob’s hip. And Jacob’s hip broke as he fought with the man. 


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Then the man said ‘Let me go because now it is day.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go until you <i>bless</i> me.’


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Then the man said ‘Your name will not be Jacob any more. Your name will be <i>Israel</i>. This is because you have fought with God. And you have fought with men. And you have shown that you are strong.’


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Jacob said ‘Please tell me your name.’ But the man said ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he <i>blessed</i> Jacob there. 


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So Jacob called that place Peniel. He said ‘I saw God face to face. And I did not die.’ <n>‘Hip’ is part of the body. It is at the top of the leg. <n>Jacob fought with the man (God). Jacob was showing that he was stronger. But this man still broke Jacob’s hip. <n>Israel means ‘fights with God’, ‘Prince of God’, or ‘May God keep me safe’. <n>A prince is the son of a king. By changing Jacob’s name, God gave him a new beginning. <n>The <i>descendants of</i> Jacob, now called <i>Israel</i>, are called the 12 <i>tribes</i> of <i>Israel</i>. <n>Peniel means ‘face of God’. 


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The sun rose in the sky as Jacob passed through Peniel. And Jacob could not walk very well because of his hip.


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Even today, the <i>Israelites</i> do not eat the part of an animal joined to the hip. This is because God touched Jacob’s hip. <n>The <i>Israelites</i> were the <i>descendants of Israel</i>. <n>The hip is part of the body. It is at the top of the leg. 


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Jacob looked up. He saw Esau with 400 men coming towards him. So, he separated his children into groups. Some went with Leah, some with his 2 female servants and Joseph went with Rachel. 


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He put his female servants and their children at the front of the group. Then came Leah and her children. But Jacob put Rachel and Joseph at the back of the group. 


text:
Jacob went in front of the group. He <i>bowed down</i> to the ground. He did this 7 times as he came close to his brother Esau.


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But Esau ran to meet Jacob. And he hugged him. He hugged Jacob’s neck. And Esau kissed him. And they both wept.


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Then Esau looked up. He saw the women and children. He asked ‘Who are these people with you?’ Jacob replied, ‘They are the children that God has given to me.’ 


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Then the female servants and their children came to Esau. As they came close to him, they <i>bowed down</i>. 


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Then Leah and her children came and <i>bowed down</i> in front of Esau. Last of all, Joseph and Rachel came and <i>bowed down</i> to Esau. 


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Esau asked ‘Why did you send all those animals in front of you?’ Jacob replied, ‘So that you would be happy to see me, my <i>lord</i>.’ 


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But Jacob replied ‘No! If you are happy to see me, accept these as a gift from me. I was afraid to see you. I was as afraid as if I could see the face of God. But I have seen you. And I did not die. 


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Please accept the gift that I brought to you. Accept it because God has given me many good things. And I have everything that I need.’ So, Esau accepted the gifts because Jacob wanted him to.


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But Jacob said, ‘My <i>lord</i>, the children are young. And many of the animals have young ones. If we go too far in a day, then the animals will die. 


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So my <i>lord</i> should go in front of me. I will move along slowly with the animals and children. I will come to you my <i>lord</i>, in Seir.’


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Esau said ‘Then let me leave some of my men with you.’ But Jacob replied ‘You do not have to do that. All I want is for you to be happy with me.’ <n>Jacob was not going to go to Seir. 


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But Jacob went to Succoth. He built a hut for himself. And he made places for his animals to sleep. That is why they called the place Succoth. <n>Succoth means huts. Jacob probably stayed there for some time. 


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After Jacob left Paddan Aram he arrived at the city of Shechem. This is in Canaan. He put up his <i>tent</i> near the city. 


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He bought the piece of ground where he put up his <i>tents</i>. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid 400 pieces of <i>silver</i> for the land. 


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Dinah was the daughter of Leah and Jacob. One day she went out to visit the women who lived in the land. 


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Shechem was the son of Hamor the Hivite. Hamor was the ruler of the land. When Shechem saw Dinah, he took her. And he had sex with her. Dinah did not want this to happen. 


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Jacob heard what had happened to his daughter. But his sons were out in the fields with his animals. So, Jacob did not do anything until his sons came home. And he did not say anything.


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Now Jacob’s sons heard what had happened. And they came in from the fields at once. They were very angry. They were angry because Shechem had done a very bad thing by having sex with Dinah. It was so bad that the whole of Jacob’s family were ashamed because of it. Shechem should not have done this.


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Hamor said to them, ‘My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him so that she can be his wife. 


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And make marriages with our people. Give your daughter to us. And take our daughters for wives for your people. 


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You can live among us. You can live anywhere you want to in this land. Live here. And buy and sell things here. Buy land and houses here. <n>Hamor wanted the Hivites to have some of Jacob’s riches. 


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Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers ‘Perhaps what I say will make you happy. Then I will give you whatever you ask. 


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Tell me what you want me to pay for your daughter. Tell me the gift that I should bring. It can be as large as you want it to be. I will pay whatever you ask me. But give me the girl as my wife.’


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Because of what Shechem did to Dinah, Jacob’s sons planned to <i>deceive</i> Shechem. And they <i>deceived</i> his father Hamor too. 


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They said ‘We cannot do what you want. We cannot give our sister to an <i>uncircumcised</i> man. We would be ashamed to do this. 


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You must do one thing. Then we will agree to what you want. You must <i>circumcise</i> all your males. Then you will become like us. 


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Then we will give you our daughters so that your people can marry them. And we will marry your daughters. We will live among you. And we will be like one people with you. 


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Shechem’s people liked him very much. So, he and his father agreed at once to do what Jacob’s sons told them. Shechem agreed with them because he loved Dinah. 


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They said ‘These men are our friends. Let them live in our land. And they can sell things to us, and buy things from us. This land is big enough for them. We can marry their daughters. And they can marry our daughters. 


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But we must do what the men say. If we do not, then they will not agree to live among us. They say that we have to <i>circumcise</i> all our males. This is because their men are <i>circumcised</i>. 


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If they live among us, their things and animals will become ours. So let us agree to be <i>circumcised</i>. And then they will live among us.’ 


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All the men who were at the city gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem. And they <i>circumcised</i> every male in the city.


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And 3 days after the men were <i>circumcised</i>, they were still all in a lot of pain. And at this time, 2 of Jacob’s sons, Dinah’s brothers, attacked the men with their swords. The 2 brothers were Simeon and Levi. And they killed every male in the city. <n>For ‘swords’ see 3:24. <n>The men in the city could not fight Simeon and Levi. They were in too much pain. 


text:
Simeon and Levi killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords. And they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 


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All Jacob’s sons saw that the men of the city were dead. So they took everything from the city. It was the city where Shechem had sex with their sister. 


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They took all the animals and everything in the city. And they took everything that was out in the fields. 


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They carried away everything valuable. And they took all the women and children, and everything from the houses in the city. 


text:
When they returned to Jacob, he said, ‘You have brought trouble on me. You have made me like a bad smell to the Canaanites and Perizzites, by what you have done. These people also live in this land. We do not have many men. If the Perizzites and Canaanites attack, they will destroy us all.’ 


text:
But Levi and Simeon replied ‘Shechem should not have used our sister as if she were a <i>prostitute</i>.’


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After these things had happened, God said to Jacob, ‘Go to Bethel. Live there. Build an <i>altar</i> to <i>worship</i> the God who appeared to you. He appeared to you when you were running from Esau.’ 


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So Jacob told his <i>household</i>. He told everyone who was with him, ‘Throw out all the foreign gods that you have with you. Wash your body. And change your clothes.’ 


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‘Then we will go to Bethel. There I will build an <i>altar</i> to <i>worship</i> God. We will <i>worship</i> the God who answered me. He answered me when I was in trouble. And he has been with me everywhere that I went.’ 


text:
So the people gave all their foreign gods to Jacob. And they gave him the rings from their ears. And Jacob buried them under the <i>oak</i> tree at the place called Shechem. <n>To wear rings in their ears sometimes meant that they <i>worshipped</i> foreign gods. 


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Then they began their journey. And the fear of God fell on all the towns near to them. So, no one attacked or followed them. <n>The fear of God can mean that God caused something to happen in the towns. Or it might mean this. The people there knew that God was with Jacob. God kept Jacob and his <i>household</i> safe on their journey. 


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And he built an <i>altar</i> there. And he called the place El Bethel. Because that was where God appeared to him. He appeared to him when he was running from his brother Esau. <n>El Bethel means God of Bethel. 


text:
Deborah was Rebekah’s nurse. (She was travelling with Jacob.) Deborah died. Jacob buried her under the oak tree below Bethel. That is why they call the place Allon Bacuth. <n>An oak tree is a tall strong tree. Allon Bacuth means oak tree of weeping. 


text:
God said to Jacob ‘Your name is Jacob. But your name will no longer be Jacob Your name will be <i>Israel</i>.’ So God called Jacob <i>Israel</i>. <n>God tells Jacob what he told him in 32:28. 


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And God said to Jacob, ‘I am <i>Almighty</i> God. You will have many <i>descendants</i>. Your <i>descendants</i> will be a great people. Some of your <i>descendants</i> will be kings. 


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I give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give this land to your <i>descendants</i> that come after you.’ <n>God is making to Jacob the promise that he made to Abraham (17:1-8) and to Isaac (26:3). 


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Jacob set up a stone. This was at the place where God spoke to him. He poured a drink <i>offering</i> on the stone. He also poured oil on it. 


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Then they left Bethel. When they were still several miles from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She had a lot of difficulty. 


text:
As she was having so much difficulty, the woman helping her said, ‘Do not be afraid. You have another son.’ 


text:
Rachel was dying. And with her last <i>breath</i>, she gave a name to her son. The name was Ben-Oni. But Jacob, his father, called him Benjamin. <n>Ephrath is now called Bethlehem. <n>Ben-Oni means ‘son of my trouble.’ <n>Benjamin means ‘son of my right hand.’ 


text:
Jacob set up a stone over the place where he buried her. This stone shows where Jacob buried Rachel.


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Israel moved on again. He put up his <i>tents</i> beyond Migdal Eder. <n>Ephrath became Bethlehem. Israel in verse 21 is the other name for Jacob. 


text:
Israel stayed in that place. And Reuben went to Bilhah and had sex with her. Bilhah was his father’s <i>concubine</i>. And <i>Israel</i> heard what had happened. <n><u>Jacob had 12 sons:</u>


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The sons of Leah were Reuben, who was the first of her sons, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 


text:
The sons of Leah’s female servant, Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.


text:
Jacob arrived home. He arrived at his father Isaac’s home. This is in Mamre near Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron.) This is where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 


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Then he died. And he joined his people who had died before him. He was an old man when he died. And his sons, Esau and Jacob buried him.


text:
Esau took women from Canaan to be his wives. They were: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite 


text:
Esau took his wives, sons and daughters and everyone in his <i>household</i>. Also, he took his animals and everything that he had got in Canaan. And he went to a land some miles from his brother Jacob. 


text:
They both owned too much to stay together in the same place. There was not enough land for all their animals. 


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This is a list of the <i>descendants of</i> Esau. They lived in the hill country of Seir. All the Edomites are his <i>descendants</i>. 


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These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah who was Esau’s wife. Reuel, the son of Basemath, who was Esau’s wife. 


text:
Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a <i>concubine</i>. Her name was Timna. She had a son called Amalek. These were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah. 


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The sons of Reuel were: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 


text:
Esau’s wife Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah. And she was the granddaughter of Zibeon. Her sons were: Jeush, Jalam and Korah.


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These were his <i>descendants</i> who were head of their <i>tribes</i>: The sons of Eliphaz (who was the first born son of Esau): Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 


text:
Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the heads of their <i>tribes</i> who were <i>descendants of</i> Eliphaz in Edom. They were grandsons of Adah. 


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The sons of Esau’s son Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the heads of their <i>tribes</i> who were <i>descendants of</i> Reuel in Edom. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 


text:
The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah were Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the leaders of their <i>tribes</i> who were <i>descendants of</i> Esau’s wife Oholibamah. She was the daughter of Anah. 


text:
These were the sons of Seir the Horite. They lived in that place. They were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 


text:
The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. This was the same Anah, who found the hot water in the <i>desert</i>. He found it when he took his father’s <i>donkey</i> to eat grass. His father’s name was Zibeon. 


text:
When Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad became king after him. Bedad beat Midian in the country of Moab. He ruled a city called Avith. 


text:
When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadar became king after him. He ruled over a city called Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.


text:
These were the leaders of their <i>tribes</i>. They were <i>descendants of</i> Esau: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 


text:
Magdiel and Iram. These were the leaders of the <i>tribes</i> of Edom. They lived in different places in the land. These are the <i>descendants of</i> Esau. All the Edomites were his <i>descendants</i>.


text:
This is what happened to Jacob’s family: <n>Joseph was Jacob’s son. He was 17 years old. He kept the sheep safe with his brothers. These were the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah. Bilhah and Zilpah were his father’s wives. Now Joseph told Jacob bad things about his brothers. 


text:
Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph. He loved him more than he loved any of his other sons. This was because Joseph was born when Jacob was old. And Jacob made a special coat for him. 


text:
Joseph’s brothers knew that Jacob loved him more than them. And they hated Joseph. They could not say anything nice to him.


text:
Joseph had a dream. And he told his brothers about it. And his brothers hated Joseph even more than they did before. 


text:
We were out in the field tying the <i>crops</i> into <i>bundles</i>. And my <i>bundle</i> stood up. And your <i>bundles</i> each stood in a circle with mine in the middle. And all your <i>bundles bowed down</i> to my <i>bundle</i>.’ 


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Joseph’s brothers said to him ‘Do you think that you will be like a king to us? Will you rule over us?’ And they hated him even more. They hated him because of what Joseph told them about his dream. 


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Then Joseph had another dream. And he told his brothers about it. He said ‘Listen to me. I have had another dream. This is what happened. The sun and moon and 11 stars <i>bowed down</i> to me.’ 


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Joseph told his father and his brothers about the dream. His father was angry with him. Jacob said, ‘What is this dream that you had? Do you think that your mother and me, and your brothers will come and <i>bow down</i> in front of you? Do you really think that this will happen?’ 


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Some time passed. Joseph’s brothers had taken their father’s sheep to eat grass. This was near the place called Shechem. 


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And <i>Israel</i> (Jacob) said to Joseph ‘You know that your brothers have taken my sheep to eat grass. They are near Shechem. I want you to go to them.’ Joseph replied ‘Very well.’ 


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So <i>Israel</i> said to Joseph ‘Go and see your brothers. Come back and tell me how everything is with them. And tell me if the sheep are all right.’ Then <i>Israel</i> sent Joseph off from the Valley of Hebron. And Joseph arrived at Shechem. 


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Joseph replied ‘I am looking for my brothers. They have taken the sheep to eat grass. Can you tell me where they are?’ 


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The man said ‘They have moved away from here. I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph followed his brothers. And he found them near the place called Dothan. 


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But his brothers recognised Joseph, while he was still far away. And before he had arrived at the place, they planned to kill him. 


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We will kill him. And we will throw him down this dry well. We will that say a wild animal ate him. Then he will not dream again!’ 


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Do not have his blood on your hands. Throw him into this dry well in the <i>desert</i>. But do not attack him.’ Reuben said this to save Joseph from his brothers. Then later Reuben would save Joseph and take him back to his father.


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So Joseph arrived at where his brothers were. He was wearing his special coat. They took his coat off him. 


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Then the brothers sat down to eat their meal. They looked up and saw a group of Ishmaelites coming towards them. They came from the place called Gilead. The Ishmaelites had <i>camels</i> that carried spices, balm and myrrh. They were on their way to Egypt. There they would sell them. <n>Ishmaelites were also called Midianites and Medanites. Ishmael, Midian and Medan were all sons of Abraham. <n>People put spices in food. <n>Balm is an oil to help make cuts better. It also makes ill people better. <n>Myrrh comes from the leaves of a special kind of rose (a flower). People put it in a drink. The ill people drink it. It helps to stop the pain. 


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Judah said to his brothers, ‘We could kill our brother. We could then say that we did not kill him. But then we will not get anything. 


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Let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. Then we will not have to kill him. After all, he is our brother. He is our own <i>relative</i>.’ His brothers agreed to what Judah said. 


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When the Midianite merchants (men who buy and sell things) came to them, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the dry well. And they sold Joseph for 20 pieces of <i>silver</i>. They sold him to the Ishmaelites. And the Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt.


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Reuben returned to the dry well. And he saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes because he was very <i>worried</i>. 


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Reuben went back to his brothers. He said ‘The boy is not there! Where can I go now?’ <n>Reuben could be <i>worried</i> because he is the oldest son. And he will have to tell his father that Joseph is gone. 


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Then the brothers got Joseph’s special coat. They killed a goat. And they put the blood from the goat on to Joseph’s coat. 


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They took the special coat back to their father. They told him ‘We found this. Look at it. Tell us if it is your son’s coat.’ 


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Israel (that is Jacob) saw that it was Joseph’s coat. He said ‘It is my son’s coat! A wild animal has eaten him. The animal has torn Joseph to pieces.’ 


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Then Jacob tore his own clothes. He did this because he was very sad. He put on clothes made from sackcloth because he was very sad. He wore sackcloth for many days. <n>Sackcloth is a kind of material. People wore it when they were sad. 


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All Jacob’s sons and daughters came to him. They tried to make Jacob feel less sad. But Jacob was very sad. Jacob said ‘I will be sad until I die. I will be sad because my son is dead.’ And he wept because Joseph was dead. 


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While this was happening, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt. They sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers. Potiphar had authority over all of Pharaoh’s <i>guards</i>.


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At that time, Judah left his brothers. He went to stay with a man from the town of Adullam. His name was Hirah. 


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She gave birth to another son. She called him Shelah. She gave birth to Shelah at the place called Kezib. 


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Then Judah said to Onan ‘Marry your dead brother’s wife. You must do this because you are her dead husband’s brother. You must have a son for your dead brother. <n>In the <i>Old Testament</i>, if a man died before his wife had children, his brother must marry the dead man’s wife. If the wife then had a son, they called that son the child of the dead brother. 


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But Onan did not want Tamar to have his child. He knew that a child like that would not belong to him. So when he had sex with his brother’s wife Tamar, he made his <i>semen</i> go on to the ground. So Tamar could not become <i>pregnant</i>. He would not give Tamar a child for his dead brother. <n>Semen comes out of the man’s sex part when he has sex. It can cause the woman to become <i>pregnant</i>. Onan did not want Tamar to have a child, so he did not let his semen go into her. 


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So Judah said to Tamar ‘Go to your father’s house. And live there as a widow. Live there until my son Shelah is older.’ Judah thought ‘Shelah may also die, because his brothers died.’ So Tamar went to live in her father’s house. <n>A widow is a woman whose husband has died. <n>Judah thinks that Shelah may die if he marries Tamar. Judah does not plan to give Shelah to Tamar as a husband. 


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A long time passed. And Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua died. When Judah had stopped being sad because of her, he went to the place called Timnah. He went to some men who were cutting the wool from his sheep. And Judah’s friend, Hirah the Adullamite went with him. 


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Someone told Tamar ‘Your husband’s father is going to Timnah to get the wool off his sheep.’ <n>Wool covers sheep. It grows on their skin like hair. People use wool for making material. 


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So Tamar took off her widow’s clothes. And she covered herself with a veil. She did not want anyone to know who she was. That is why she did this. Then she sat at the place called Enaim. This is on the road going to Timnah. Tamar knew that Jacob’s son Shelah had grown into a man. And he had not married her. That is why she did this. 


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Judah saw her. And he thought that she was a <i>prostitute</i>. He thought that because she had covered her face. 


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He did not know that she was his son’s widow. And he went over to her while she was at the side of the road. He said ‘Let me sleep with you.’ Tamar asked, ‘If I sleep with you, what will you give me?’ 


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Judah replied ‘I will send a young goat from my animals.’ Tamar said, ‘You will have to give me something to show that you will do as you say.’ 


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Judah asked ‘What should I give you?’ Tamar replied ‘Give me your seal and the cord that holds it. And give me the staff in your hand.’ So Judah gave them to her. And he slept with her. And she became <i>pregnant</i>. <n>A prostitute is someone (usually a woman) who has sex with another person for money or things. <n>People used seals to make a mark on something. Each person or family had their own seal. A cord went round a person’s neck. The seal went on the cord. <n>A staff is a long stick. Some people cut the top of their staff in a special way. So, other people would know whom the staff belonged to. 


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After this, Tamar left Judah. And she took off her <i>veil</i>. And she put her widow’s clothes on again.


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Judah sent his friend, the Adullamite with a young goat back to where the woman had been. Judah wanted to get his seal, cord and staff back from the woman that he had slept with. But the Adullamite could not find the woman. 


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The Adullamite asked some men who live there ‘Where is the shrine-prostitute? Where is the woman who was by the road at Enaim?’ But the men said, ‘There has not been any shrine-prostitute here.’ <n>A shrine-prostitute sat at a place where people went to <i>worship</i> foreign gods. 


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So Judah’s friend went back to Judah. He said ‘I did not find her. The men who lived there said, “There has not been any shrine-prostitute here.” ’ 


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So Judah said ‘Let her keep the things that I gave to her. People will laugh at me if you go back there again. I sent a young goat for her. But you could not find her.’


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Then, 3 months later, someone told Judah ‘Your dead son’s wife, Tamar, is <i>pregnant</i>. She has been a <i>prostitute</i>.’ Judah said ‘Bring her out. And burn her to death!’ 


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So they brought Tamar out. They were going to kill her. But she sent a message to her dead husband’s father. She said ‘The man who owns these things has made me <i>pregnant</i>. Look at them. See if you know who the seal and cord and staff belong to.’ 


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Judah saw that the things belonged to him. He said ‘She is more <i>righteous</i> than I am. That is because I would not give her to Shelah my son. Judah did not sleep with Tamar again. And he did not marry her.


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As she was giving birth, one baby put out his hand. So, the woman who was helping Tamar tied something red to that baby’s arm. She said ‘This baby came out first.’ 


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But the baby put his hand back inside Tamar. And his brother came out. And the woman said ‘So you have come out!’ And Tamar called him Perez. 


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Then his brother came out. He had something red on his arm. And Tamar called him Zerah. <n>Perez means ‘pushing out’. 


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Now the Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt. And they sold Joseph as a slave. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officers. He had authority over all the <i>guards</i>. And Potiphar bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites. 


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The <i>Lord</i> was with Joseph. And the <i>Lord</i> made good things happen to him. And Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar was Joseph’s Egyptian master. 


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Potiphar saw that the <i>Lord</i> was with Joseph. And everything that Joseph did was good. Potiphar saw that too. 


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So Potiphar was happy with Joseph. And Joseph became Potiphar’s special servant. Potiphar gave Joseph authority over his <i>household</i>. And Joseph kept safe everything that belonged to Potiphar. 


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Potiphar gave Joseph authority over everything that belonged to him. Then God <i>blessed</i> that <i>household</i>, because of Joseph.


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So Joseph kept safe everything that belonged to Potiphar. Potiphar did not think about anything in his <i>household</i>. The only thing that Potiphar thought about was the food that he ate. Now, Joseph was a handsome man.


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And after some time had passed, Potiphar’s wife saw that Joseph was handsome. She said ‘Come to bed with me!’ 


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But Joseph would not do as she asked. He said ‘I <i>care</i> for my master’s <i>household</i>. And my master does not think about anything in the house. I keep safe everything that belongs to him. 


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No one has more authority in this house than I do. My master keeps nothing from me except you. That is because you are his wife. I could not do such a bad thing. And I will not <i>sin</i> against God.’ 


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Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph every day. But he still would not go to bed with her. He would not even be with her. 


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Potiphar’s wife took hold of Joseph’s coat. She said ‘Come to bed with me!’ but Joseph left his coat in her hand. And he ran out of the house.


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So she called her <i>household</i> servants. She said to them ‘Look, the <i>Hebrew</i> that Potiphar brought to us has no <i>respect</i> for us! He came in here to sleep with me. But I screamed. 


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Then she told him this story: ‘That <i>Hebrew</i> slave you brought us came to me. He wanted to sleep with me. 


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Joseph’s master heard the story that his wife told him. She said ‘This is what your slave did to me.’ And Potiphar was very angry. 


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The <i>Lord</i> was with Joseph while he was in prison. He was kind to Joseph, and the <i>keeper</i> of the prison liked Joseph. 


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So this man gave Joseph authority over all the people in prison. And Joseph <i>cared</i> for everything that was in the prison. 


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The <i>keeper</i> did not think about anything that Joseph had authority over. For the <i>Lord</i> was with Joseph. And everything that Joseph did went well.


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Some time later, 2 workers made the king of Egypt angry. He had many workers. He had a cupbearer and a baker. They did something to make him angry. <n>The cupbearer had authority in the king’s <i>household</i>. He would make sure that the king’s <i>wine</i> was safe for the king to drink. 


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The man who had authority in the prison put Joseph over them. And Joseph was over them. And they were there for some time. 


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And each of them - the cupbearer and the baker - had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night. And each dream had a different meaning.


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They replied ‘We both had dreams, but there is no one to tell us what they mean.’ Joseph said ‘Only God knows the meaning of dreams. But tell me your dreams.’


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So the cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He told Joseph, ‘In my dream I saw a fruit plant in front of me. 


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And there were 3 branches on the plant. As soon as new leaves came, flowers came. And they became fruit. 


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Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. And I took the fruit. And I put the <i>juice</i> into Pharaoh’s cup. Then I put the cup in his hand.’


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In 3 days, Pharaoh will lift up your head. Then he will let you come out of this prison. And you will be Pharaoh’s cupbearer again. You will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand. You did that when you were his cupbearer. 


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But when these things happen, remember me. And be kind to me. Tell Pharaoh about me. Then I will get out of this prison. 


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Truly, men took me from the land of the <i>Hebrews</i>. I did not want to leave there. And even here, I have not done anything wrong. I should not be in this prison.’ <n>Verse 12 ‘lift up your head’ means ‘you will be important again’. 


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The baker heard that Joseph had given a good meaning to the cupbearer’s dream. So he said, ‘I also had a dream: I had 3 baskets of bread on my head.


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The top basket contained many different cooked things for Pharaoh. But birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.’


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In 3 days, Pharaoh will lift off your head. And he will hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat your body.’ 


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Now on the 3rd day it was Pharaoh’s birthday. He gave a <i>feast</i> for all his officers. He lifted up the heads of the baker and the cupbearer. He did this in front of all his officers.


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He let the cupbearer be his own cupbearer again. So, the cupbearer put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand again.


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But Pharaoh hanged the baker. This is what Joseph said would happen. He had told the baker what his dream meant.


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And 7 cows walked out of the river. They were fat and good to look at. They ate the plants at the side of the river. 


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After them, 7 other cows came out of the river. They were thin. And their bones were close to their skin. They stood next to the cows already on the side of the river. 


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He went to sleep again. And he had another dream. He dreamed that 7 food plants were growing on one branch. They were fat and good to look at. 


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In the morning, Pharaoh was <i>worried</i>. So, he sent for all the men who could tell the meaning of dreams. He also sent for all the <i>wise</i> men in Egypt. Pharaoh told them about his dreams. But no one could tell Pharaoh what his dreams meant. <n>In the Bible God speaks to people in their dreams. The Egyptians did not worship God. But they knew that dreams had meaning. So, it was important to them to know the meaning of their dreams. 


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A young <i>Hebrew</i> man was there with us. He was a servant of the man with authority over all the men who watched the people in prison. We told the <i>Hebrew</i> our dreams. And then he told each of us the meaning of our dream. 


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And everything happened as he had told us. You gave me my job as cupbearer again. And you hanged the baker.’ <n>The cupbearer had authority in the king’s <i>household</i>. He would make sure that the king’s <i>wine</i> was safe for the king to drink. 


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So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. And they quickly brought him from the prison. Joseph washed himself. He removed the hair that grew on his face. And he put on clean clothes. Then he stood in front of Pharaoh. 


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Pharaoh spoke to Joseph. He said, ‘I had a dream. And no one can tell me what it means. But I have heard people saying that you can tell the meaning of dreams.’ 


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Then 7 cows came out of the river. They were fat, and good to look at. And they ate the plants at the side of the river. 


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After them, 7 more cows came out of the river. They were thin and they were not good to look at. I have not seen cows as bad looking as these in Egypt before. 


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They ate the 7 fat cows. But you could not see that they had eaten them. They looked thin before they ate the fat cows. They still looked as thin after they ate them. Then I woke up. 


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In my dream, I also saw 7 food plants. They grew from one branch. They were fat and good to look at. 


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The thin plants ate the fat plants. I told those dreams to my men who can tell the meaning of dreams. But they could not tell me the meaning of my dreams.’


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Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘Pharaoh’s dreams both have the same meaning. God has shown Pharaoh what God is going to do. 


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The 7 fat cows are 7 years. And the 7 good food plants are 7 years. Both dreams have the same meaning. 


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The 7 thin cows that came out of the river mean 7 years. And the 7 bad plants mean 7 years. Both dreams mean 7 years of <i>famine</i>. 


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But 7 years of <i>famine</i> will follow. People will forget the 7 years of plenty. And <i>famine</i> will destroy the land of Egypt. 


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No one will remember the first 7 years, when there was plenty of food. They will not remember them because the <i>famine</i> will be so bad. 


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God gave you 2 dreams with the same meaning. This is because God has decided what he will do. And he will do it soon. 


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Now Pharaoh should look for a clever man. He should look for a man who knows what is right and wrong. Tell him to rule over the land of Egypt. 


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Pharaoh should choose some officers. They must take 1/5th (20%) of the food grown in Egypt, in the 7 years of plenty. 


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They must store all the food from these good years. Pharaoh will have authority over what happens to the food. 


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This food should be stored. So the people in Egypt will have enough food, when the 7 years of <i>famine</i> come.’


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Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘God has made these things known to you. There is no one more clever than you. 


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You will have authority in my palace. All my people will do whatever things you tell them. Only I will be greater than you because I am the king.’ 


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Then Pharaoh took his king’s ring from his finger. And he put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed Joseph in clothes of good material. And he put gold on Joseph’s neck. 


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Joseph rode in a chariot. All the people knew that only Pharaoh had more authority in Egypt. Men shouted, “<i>Bow down</i>!” So, Joseph had authority over everything in the land of Egypt. <n>A palace is a large house for a king. Horses pull chariots. And important people ride in chariots. 


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Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh. But nobody in Egypt will do anything, unless you tell them to.’ 


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Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him a wife. She was called Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. He was <i>priest</i> of On. So Asenath became Joseph’s wife. Everyone knew that Joseph had authority in all the land of Egypt. <n>On was a place where people <i>worshipped</i> the sun-god. 


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Joseph was 30 years old when he became Pharaoh’s special servant. And Joseph started to work at once. And he travelled all over Egypt. 


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Joseph got all this food. He got all the food that they grew in the 7 years of plenty. He stored it in cities in Egypt. He stored the food near the fields where it grew. 


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Joseph stored large quantities of food. It was like the sand by the sea. Joseph stopped keeping records of the food. He stopped because there was too much food to measure.


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Before the years of <i>famine</i> came, Joseph became a father. Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, <i>priest</i> of On, gave birth to 2 sons. 


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Joseph called his first born son Manasseh. That was because Joseph said ‘God made me forget all my trouble. And he made me forget all the people who live with my father.’ 


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Joseph called his second son Ephraim. That was because Joseph said, ‘God has made me have children. I have had them in the land where bad things happened to me.’


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And the 7 years of <i>famine</i> began. This is what Joseph said would happen. There was a <i>famine</i> in all the other countries. But there was food for all the people in Egypt. 


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The people of Egypt began to go hungry. And they cried out to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph. And do as he tells you.’ 


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The <i>famine</i> was over the whole country. Then Joseph opened the places where he had stored the food. And he sold it to the Egyptians because the <i>famine</i> was very bad in all of Egypt. 


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And people from other countries came to Egypt. They came to buy food from Joseph. They came because the <i>famine</i> was very bad all over the world.


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Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he said to his sons, ‘Why do you keep looking at each other? 


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I have heard that there is food in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us. Buy it so that we do not die.’ <n>God was planning to save his people. 


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But <i>Israel</i> (Jacob) did not send Benjamin. Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to him. That is why he did not send him. He was Joseph’s brother. 


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Jacob’s sons were among the people who went to Egypt, to buy food. They went to Egypt because there was <i>famine</i> in Canaan.


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Now Joseph was the man who had authority in the land. He was the man who sold food to all the people. Joseph’s brothers arrived in Egypt. And they <i>bowed down</i> to him. They put their faces to the ground. <n>Joseph’s first dream had showed his brothers <i>bowing</i> down to him. 


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As soon as Joseph saw the men, he knew that they were his brothers. But he did not tell them who he was. And he spoke words to them that were not kind. He asked them, ‘Where do you come from?’ They replied ‘From the land of Canaan. We have come to buy food.’ 


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Joseph knew that they were his brothers. But they did not recognise Joseph. He spoke to his brothers through a man who could speak <i>Hebrew</i>. That is why they did not recognise him. <n>Joseph was only 17 years old when they sold him as a slave. He now looked like an Egyptian. He did not have hair on his face. And he wore special clothes. He was a man with authority. 


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Then Joseph remembered his dream about his brothers. He said to them, ‘You have come to see where you can attack our land.’ 


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And Joseph’s brothers replied ‘We were 12 brothers, the sons of one man. He lives in Canaan. The youngest brother is with our father. And one brother is not with us any more.’ 


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I will see if what you say is true. This is how I will see it. As Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place. You will not leave until your youngest brother comes here. 


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Send one of you to get your brother. I will keep the other brothers in prison. Then I will know if what you said is true. If you are not saying what is true, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are enemies!’ <n>Joseph said ‘As surely as Pharaoh lives’, to show that he meant what he said. 


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On the 3rd day Joseph said to them ‘Do what I say. Then you will stay alive, because I believe in God.’ <n>Joseph showed his brothers that he had authority in Egypt. Now he showed them that he was under God’s authority. 


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Joseph said ‘If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay in prison. The other brothers can go back to Canaan. And take food back with you, because your families are hungry. 


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But you must return to Egypt. And you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that what you say is true. And you will not die.’ And the brothers said, ‘Yes, we will do what you say.’


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They said to each other, ‘This is happening because of what we did to Joseph. He asked us not to kill him. We saw how sad he was. But we would not listen. That is why we are in this trouble.’ 


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Reuben said, ‘I told you not to do wrong to the boy. But you would not listen! Now we will have bad things done to us.’ 


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Joseph had a man who could speak <i>Hebrew</i>. Joseph spoke to this servant in the Egyptian language. The servant then spoke to the brothers in <i>Hebrew</i>. Joseph understood what the brothers said. But they did not know that. <n>The brothers still did not know that this important man was Joseph. They thought that he was an Egyptian. They did not know that he spoke <i>Hebrew</i> too. 


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Joseph turned away from his brothers. And he began to weep. But then he turned to face them again. And he spoke to them again. Then Joseph had Simeon taken from them. And the servants tied Simeon’s hands. This happened in front of the other brothers. 


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Then Joseph told servants to fill the brothers’ bags with food. And he told them to put each man’s <i>silver</i> back into his bag. And he told them to give the brothers food for their journey. And the servants did what Joseph told them. <n><i>Silver</i> is a valuable metal. The brothers brought <i>silver</i> to pay for the food. 


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They travelled until it was night. Then they stopped. One of the brothers opened his bag to get food for his <i>donkey</i>. And he saw his <i>silver</i> inside his bag. 


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He said to his brothers, ‘They have given back my <i>silver</i>. Here it is in my bag.’ All the men were surprised. And they were very frightened. They said, ‘What has God done to us?’


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Some time passed. And they arrived at Canaan. They went to their father Jacob. And they hold Jacob everything that had happened to them. 


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They said, ‘There is a man who is <i>lord</i> over the land. He spoke words to us that were not kind. And he said that we were enemies. He said that we were looking for a place to attack Egypt. 


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We are 12 brothers, all the sons of one father. One brother is not with us any more. And the youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.” 


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Then the man who is <i>lord</i> over the land said, “I want to know if your are honest men. This is how I will know. You must leave one of your brothers here, with me. Then take food for your hungry families and leave. 


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But you must bring your youngest brother to me. So, I will know that you are not enemies. And I will know that you are honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you. And you can buy and sell things in the land.” ’


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The brothers emptied their bags. And in their bags, they found each man’s <i>silver</i>! The brothers and their father saw the bags of <i>silver</i>. And they were frightened. 


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Their father Jacob said to them ‘You have taken my children away from me. Joseph is not here any more. And Simeon is not here any more. And now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!’ 


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Then Reuben said to Jacob, ‘I will bring Benjamin back to you. If I do not, then you can kill both of my sons. <i>Trust</i> me with Benjamin. I will bring him back.’ 


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But Jacob said, ‘My son will not go with you. He will not go with you because his brother is dead. He is the only one left. Something bad may happen on your journey. I am an old man. If something bad happened to him, I would die. I would die because I would be so sad.’ <n>Benjamin is Jacob’s youngest son. Benjamin’s mother was Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved his other wives. Jacob thinks that Joseph, Rachel’s other son is dead. Jacob shows that he loves Benjamin more than he loves his other sons. Even when Simeon is in prison, Jacob does not want Benjamin to go to Egypt. 


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Jacob and his <i>household</i> ate all the food from Egypt. So Jacob said, ‘Go back to Egypt, and buy some more food.’ 


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But Judah said, ‘The man told us many times, “Unless your brother is with you, you will not see my face again. ” 


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But if you do not send Benjamin, we will not go. Because the man said to us, “Unless your brother is with you, you will not see my face again.” 


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Israel (that is Jacob) asked, ‘Why did you bring this trouble on me? You should not have told the man that you had another brother.’ 


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The brothers replied, ‘The man asked us many questions about our family. He asked, “Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?” We only answered his questions. We did not know that he would say, “Bring your brother here.” 


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Then Judah said to <i>Israel</i> (that is Jacob), ‘Send the boy with me. And we will go at once. Then we, and you, and our children will not die. <n>Verse 8 ‘we will not die’ Judah says this because he would bring back food from Canaan. 


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Judah said, ‘I will make you a promise. I will keep Benjamin safe. He will be with me. I will bring him back to you. If I do not, then you can say that it was because of me. And you can say this for all of my life. 


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Now say what you want to do. We have wasted much time, talking about this. We could have gone to Egypt and returned twice.’


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Then their father <i>Israel</i> (Jacob) said to them, ‘If you must take Benjamin, do what I tell you. Put some of the best things from the land in your bags. And take them to the man as a gift. Take some balm, some <i>honey</i> and some spices. Also take some myrrh, and pistachio <i>nuts</i> and almond <i>nuts</i>. <n>All these gifts were wanted and liked in Egypt. The Egyptians usually had to buy them from other countries. People put spices in food. <n>Balm is an oil to help make cuts better. It also makes ill people better. <n>Myrrh comes from the leaves of a special kind of rose (a flower). People put it in a drink. People drink it when they are ill. It helps to stop the pain. 


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Jacob said, ‘Take 2 times the amount of <i>silver</i> with you. This is because you must give back the <i>silver</i> that they put back into your bags. It may have been a mistake. 


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I <i>pray</i> that God <i>Almighty</i> will help you. I pray this: When you go to the man, may he show you <i>mercy</i>. And may he let your older brother and Benjamin return with you. As for me, if I lose my sons, then I lose them.


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So the brothers took the gifts. And they took twice as much <i>silver</i>. They also took Benjamin and they hurried to Egypt. When they arrived there, they went to Joseph.


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Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them. He said to a servant who worked in his house, ‘Take these men to my house. Kill an animal and prepare it for a meal. These men will eat with me at noon.’ 


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The brothers were frightened when the servant took them to Joseph’s house. They thought, ‘He has brought us here because of the <i>silver</i> that was in our bags. Someone put it back in when we came here the first time. He wants to attack us. And he will take us to be slaves. And he will take our <i>donkeys</i>.’ 


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But on our journey back, we stopped because it was night. We opened our bags. And each of us found the same amount of <i>silver</i> that he brought to Egypt. We brought it to pay for the food. It was in our bags. So we have brought the <i>silver</i> back with us. 


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We have also brought more <i>silver</i>. We have brought it so that we can buy food. We do not know who put the <i>silver</i> back into our bags.’ 


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The servant replied, ‘Do not <i>worry</i>. Everything is all right. Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your fathers put the <i>silver</i> there. I received your <i>silver</i>.’ Then the servant brought Simeon out to his brothers. 


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The servant took the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water to wash their feet. And he gave them food for their <i>donkeys</i>. 


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The brothers prepared their gifts. They made them ready for when Joseph would come at noon. They had heard that they were to eat there.


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Joseph arrived. And they gave him the gifts that they had brought into his house. And they <i>bowed down</i> before him. They <i>bowed down</i> to the ground. 


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Joseph asked them if they were all right. Then he said ‘How is your old father whom you told me about? Is he still alive?’ 


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The brothers replied, ‘Your servant, our father is still alive. And he is well.’ And they <i>bowed down</i> low to Joseph. 


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Joseph looked about. And he saw his brother Benjamin, who was his mother’s son. Joseph asked, ‘Is this your youngest brother? Is this the one that you told me about?’ And Joseph said to Benjamin, ‘God be kind to you, my son.’ 


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Joseph loved his brother very much and he hurried away. He hurried away because he wanted to weep. He went into his own room. And he wept there. 


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When he had finished weeping, he washed his face. And he returned to his brothers. And he stopped himself from weeping. He said, ‘Give them the food.’ 


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Joseph sat away from his brothers. And he ate there. The brothers sat together. And the Egyptians, who ate there, sat together. The Egyptians could not eat with <i>Hebrews</i>, because that would make the Egyptians ashamed. 


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The brothers sat in front of Joseph. The servants told them to sit in special places, from the oldest to the youngest. And the brothers were surprised. <n>The brothers were surprised because Joseph knew their ages. 


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The servants gave the brothers food from Joseph’s table. And they gave Benjamin 5 times more food than his brothers. So the brothers ate and drank <i>wine</i> with Joseph.


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Joseph told his servant, ‘Fill the men’s bags. Give them as much food as their animals can carry. And put each man’s <i>silver</i> in the top of the bag. 


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Then take my <i>silver</i> cup. And put it in the top of the youngest man’s bag. Put it with the <i>silver</i> that he brought to pay for his food.’ And the servant did as Joseph said. 


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They had not gone very far away from the city. Then Joseph said to his servant, ‘Go after those men. Go now. And when you find them, say to them. “Why have you done bad things? We did only good things for you. 


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You have taken my master’s own cup. It is the cup that he drinks from. And he uses it to know what will happen. What you did is wrong.” ’


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So Joseph’s servant went after the men. He found them. And he said the words that Joseph had told him. 


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But the men said to him, ‘Why do you say these things my <i>lord</i>? Your servants would not do a thing like that!’ 


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We even gave back the <i>silver</i> that we found in our bags. We found it when we returned to Canaan. But we gave it back. So why would we take <i>silver</i> or gold from your master’s house? 


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If any one of us has this cup, they will die. And the rest of us will become my <i>lord</i>’s slaves.’ 


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The servant said, ‘Very well. It will be as you say. Whoever has the cup, will become my slave. The rest of you will go free.’ 


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Then the servant began to look in the bags. He began with the oldest man’s bag. And he finished with the youngest man’s bag. And he found the cup in Benjamin’s bag. 


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When this happened they tore their clothes. They tore them because they were very <i>upset</i>. Then they put their bags back on their <i>donkeys</i>. And they returned to the city.


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Joseph was still in his house. And Judah and his brothers arrived. And they threw themselves on the ground in front of Joseph. 


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Joseph said, ‘What have you done? Do you not know about a man like me? I can find out what people do.’ 


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Judah said, ‘I do not know what to say to you, my <i>lord</i>. There is nothing that we can do. We cannot show you that we did not do this. God knows that we have done wrong. We are your slaves. We are all your slaves. One man owns the bag where you found your cup. He is your slave too.’ 


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But Joseph said, ‘I would not do a thing like that! Only the man whose bag contained the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can return to your father. You may go as friends.’


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Then Judah went up to Joseph. He said, ‘Please my <i>lord</i>. Let me speak to you. You are like Pharaoh, but please do not be angry with me. 


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And we replied, “We have a father. He is old. And he has a young son. This son was born when our father was old. His brother is dead. And he is the only remaining son of his mother. And his father loves him.” 


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But you said to us “Your youngest brother must come with you. If he does not come, you will not see my face again.” 


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But we said, “We cannot go. We can only go if our youngest brother comes with us. Unless our youngest brother is with us, we cannot see the man’s face again.” 


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One of them went away from me. And I said, ‘He has been eaten by a wild animal.’ And I have not seen him after that. 


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If you take my youngest son from me, something bad may happen to him. Then I will die, because I will be so sad.” ’ 


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Judah said, ‘I could go back to my father. But my father lives because of this boy. And if the boy is not with us, then my father will die. He will die because he is so sad. He will die because we did not bring the boy back. 


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He will see that the boy is not with us. And he will die. Because we did not bring the boy back to him, he will be so sad. 


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I promised my father that I would keep the boy safe. I said, “I will bring the boy back. If I do not, then you can say that it was because of me. You can say this for the rest of my life!” 


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Please let me stay here. Let me stay as your slave instead of the boy. And let the boy return with his brothers. 


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I cannot go back to my father. Not if the boy is not with me. No! Do not let me see how sad my father will be.’ <n>In chapter 44, Joseph wants to know if his brothers have changed. He wants to know this. Will they let Benjamin stay in Egypt, so that they can return to Canaan? Judah shows that he has changed. He says that he will stay in Egypt, as a slave. He will stay so that Benjamin can go home to his father. <n>In verse 34, Judah remembers when Jacob thought that Joseph was dead. He remembers how sad Jacob was. 


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After Judah said this, Joseph could not stop himself from crying. In front of all his servants he shouted, ‘Make everyone leave me!’ So there was no one with Joseph except his brothers. And he told his brothers who he was. 


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Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers did not answer him. They did not answer him because they were too frightened. They were frightened because Joseph was with them. <n>The brothers were frightened because they had sold Joseph, as a slave. They did not know what Joseph would do to them. 


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Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they did this he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph. I am the one that you sold into Egypt! 


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Now, do not <i>worry</i>. And do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me. Do not be angry with yourselves because God sent me! He sent me in front of you. He sent me so that I could save people from dying. 


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There has been a <i>famine</i> for 2 years, in this land. And no food will grow for another 5 years. 


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But God sent me in front of you, so that you would stay alive. And to make sure that your <i>descendants</i> live. 


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So you did not send me here. God sent me here. He made me an officer to Pharaoh. I have more authority than any other officer. I have authority over all of Egypt. And I rule all Egypt.’ <n>In 40:15, Joseph says that he should not be in prison. But everything that happened to him was in God’s plan. Now Joseph knows that. God wanted Jacob and his family to stay alive when there was <i>famine</i>. That is why God did this. 


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‘Now hurry back to my father. Say to him, “This is what your son Joseph says. ‘God has made me <i>lord</i> over all Egypt. Come to me. Come now. 


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You can live in the place called Goshen. You and your children can live there. And your grandchildren can live there. And all your animals and everything that you have can live there. And you will be near me. 


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I will give you everything that you need. Because there are still 5 years of <i>famine</i> to come. If you do not come, you and your <i>household</i> will have nothing.” 


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Tell my father how much authority I have in Egypt. And tell him about everything that you saw here. And bring my father here quickly.’ 


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Then Joseph kissed all of his brothers. And he wept over them. After this, his brothers talked to him.


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Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Tell your brothers, “Do this. Put food on your <i>donkeys</i>’ backs. And return to Canaan. 


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And bring your father. And bring your families. Bring them back to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt. And you will have everything that Egypt can give you.” ’ 


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Pharaoh said, ‘You must also tell them, “Do this. Take some carts from Egypt. They are for your wives and children. And get your father. Then come here.” <n>The carts were for the women and children to sit on. Then they would not need to walk on the long journey. Carts have wheels and animals pull them. (<i>Chariots</i> and cars all need wheels to move.) 


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<b>“</b>Do not <i>worry</i>. You do not have to bring everything from your own country. The best of everything in Egypt will be yours.” ’


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So the sons of <i>Israel</i> (that is Jacob) did this. Joseph gave them carts as Pharaoh told him. He also gave them food for their journey. 


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Joseph gave each brother new clothes. But he gave Benjamin 300 pieces of <i>silver</i> and 5 sets of clothes. 


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And Joseph sent these things to his father: <n>10 <i>donkeys</i> carrying the best things from Egypt <n>10 female <i>donkeys</i> carrying food and bread <n>and other food for the journey.


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They told him, ‘Joseph is still alive!’ He rules over all of Egypt.’ Jacob was surprised. And he did not believe what they said. 


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So the brothers told Jacob everything that Joseph had said to them. And Jacob saw the carts that Joseph sent to carry him back to Egypt. So Jacob began to be happy. 


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And <i>Israel</i> (that is Jacob) said, ‘I am sure! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.’


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So <i>Israel</i> (Jacob) left Canaan. He took everything that was his. When he came to Beersheba, he offered <i>sacrifices</i> to God, the God of his father Isaac. 


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And God spoke to <i>Israel</i> in a dream at night. He said, ‘Jacob! Jacob!’ And Jacob replied, ‘Yes.’ 


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God said, ‘I am God. I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will make you have many <i>descendants</i> there. 


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I will go to Egypt with you. And I will bring you back again. And you will be with Joseph when you die.’


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Then Jacob left Beersheba. And <i>Israel</i>’s sons took their father Jacob and their wives and children. They all sat on the carts that Pharaoh sent to take them to Egypt. 


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They also took all their animals and everything that they had got in Canaan. And Jacob and all his family went to Egypt. 


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He took his sons and grandsons, and his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family to Egypt.


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These are the names of the sons of <i>Israel</i>, (that is, the <i>descendants of</i> Jacob). Reuben was the first-born of Jacob. 


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The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah, (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. 


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These were the sons that Leah gave birth to in Paddan Aram. Jacob was their father. Leah also gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. These sons and daughters of Jacob’s were 33 in all. 


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The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel. 


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These were the children that Zilpah gave birth to. Jacob was their father. Leah gave Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. There were 16 children in all. 


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In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph. Their mother was Asenath daughter of Potiphera, <i>priest</i> of On. 


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These were the sons born to Jacob. Their mother was Bilhah. Rachel gave her to Jacob as a wife. There were 7 in all. 


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Jacob’s <i>descendants</i> (not counting his son’s wives) were 66. All these people went with him to Egypt. 


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Jacob’s family came to 70 people. This included Joseph’s 2 sons. They were born in Egypt. All these were in Egypt with Jacob.


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Joseph had his chariot prepared. And he went to Goshen to meet his father <i>Israel</i>. Joseph saw Jacob. And Joseph hugged his father and wept for a long time. <n>Horses pull <i>chariots</i>. And important people ride in <i>chariots</i>. 


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Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now I am ready to die. Because I have seen for myself that you are still alive.’ 


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Then Joseph spoke to his brother and to his father’s <i>household</i>. He said, ‘I will go and speak to Pharaoh. I will say to him, “My brothers and my father’s <i>household</i> have come to me. They were living in Canaan. 


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The men are <i>shepherds</i>. They keep animals safe. And they have brought their animals and everything that they have.” 


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Then you should answer, “We are <i>herdsmen</i>. This is what we have always done. And our <i>ancestors</i> were <i>herdsmen</i>.” Then Pharaoh will let you stay in the place called Goshen. Say this because Egyptians hate <i>shepherds</i> and <i>herdsmen</i>. And the Egyptians do not want to live near them.’ <n>Goshen was a place where <i>herdsmen</i> lived. It had lots of grass for animals to eat. Joseph tells his brothers to say that they are <i>herdsmen</i>. Then the Egyptians would not want to live near them, and Pharaoh would send them to Goshen. 


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Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, ‘My father and brothers, and all their animals are now in Goshen. They have come from Canaan. And they have brought everything that belongs to them.’ 


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Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your job?’ The brothers replied, ‘We are <i>shepherds</i>. And our <i>ancestors</i> were <i>shepherds</i>.’ 


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They said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come here because the <i>famine</i> is very bad in Canaan. We would like to stay here for a while because our animals do not have any grass to eat. Now, please let us, who are your servants, stay in Goshen.’ 


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The land of Egypt is here for them. Your fathers and brothers can stay in the best part of the land. They can live in Goshen. You may know some of them who are good at what they do. If you do, then they can keep my own animals safe.’


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Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and difficult. And I am not as old as my <i>ancestors</i> were.’ <n>Abraham was alive for 175 years (25:7). And Isaac was alive for 180 years (35:28). 


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So Joseph’s father and brothers stayed in Egypt. And Joseph gave them houses in the best part of the land. This was in the place called Rameses. Joseph did as Pharaoh had told him to. <n>Rameses is the Egyptian name for Goshen. 


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Joseph also gave food to his father, his brothers and all his father’s <i>household</i>. He gave them enough food for themselves and all their children.


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But, because the <i>famine</i> was bad, no food grew in all of Egypt. Everyone in Egypt and Canaan was hungry and thin. This was because they had no food to eat. 


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Joseph had all the money in Egypt. He received it from the people in return for food. And Joseph brought all the money to Pharaoh’s <i>palace</i>. 


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Soon the people did not have any more money. Everyone came to Joseph and said, ‘Give us food. Do not let us die. We do not have any more money.’ 


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And Joseph replied, ‘Then bring me your animals. Because you do not have any more money, I will give you food. But you must give me your animals in return. 


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So the people brought their animals to Joseph. And he sold them food in return for their animals. They brought horses, sheep, goats, cows and <i>donkeys</i>. And Joseph sold them enough food for the year. They used their animals to buy the food. 


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The year ended. And the people came to Joseph again and said, ‘You know that we do not have any money. And our animals now belong to you. We have nothing left to sell. We only have our land and ourselves. 


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Do not let us die! And do not let our fields stay empty because we do not have seed to plant. Give us food. And we will be Pharaoh’s slaves. And our land will belong to Pharaoh. Give us seed to plant. Give it to us so that we will not die. And then our fields will not be empty.’


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So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Because the <i>famine</i> was very bad, all the Egyptians sold their fields for food. So Pharaoh owned all the land. 


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But Joseph did not buy the land belonging to the <i>tribe</i> of the <i>priests</i>. He did not buy it because Pharaoh gave the <i>priests</i> enough food. So the <i>priests</i> did not sell their land. 


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Joseph said to the people, ‘I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now I will give you some seed to plant in the fields. 


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But when the plants are ready to eat, you must give 1/5th to Pharaoh. You may keep the other 4/5th. You may keep it for seed to plant again. And for food for you, your <i>households</i> and your children.’ 


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So Joseph made a <i>law</i> about the land of Egypt. The <i>law</i> was that 1/5th (or 20%) of all food grown, belonged to Pharaoh. Only the land belonging to the <i>priests</i> did not belong to Pharaoh. And this <i>law</i> is still obeyed today. <n>Verse 26, ‘still obeyed today’ means that the <i>law</i> was still obeyed when Genesis was written. 


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For all of that time, the <i>Israelites</i> stayed in Goshen. They had <i>property</i> there. And they had many children. 


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The time came for <i>Israel</i> (that is Jacob) to die. So he called for his son Joseph. Jacob said to him, ‘If you agree, put your hand under my thigh. And promise that you will be kind to me. And promise that you will do as I ask. Do not bury me in Egypt.’ <n>Joseph put his hand under Jacob’s thigh. He was promising to do as Jacob asked. He put his hand under Jacob’s thigh to show this. (See also 24:2.) The thigh is the top of the leg. 


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Jacob said, ‘When I die, carry my body out of Egypt. And bury me where my <i>ancestors</i> are buried. Joseph said, ‘I will do as you say.’ 


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Jacob said ‘Promise me.’ Then Joseph made a promise to him. And <i>Israel</i> rested on the top of his <i>staff</i> and <i>worshipped</i> there.


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Some time passed. And someone told Joseph, ‘Your father is ill.’ So, Joseph took his 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 


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Someone told Jacob, ‘Your son Joseph has come to you.’ So <i>Israel</i> made himself as strong as he could. And he sat up on the bed. 


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Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God <i>Almighty</i> appeared to me at Luz. That is in Canaan. And he <i>blessed</i> me there. 


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He said to me, “I am going to make good things happen to you, and give you many <i>descendants</i>. I will make you into a great group of people. And I will give you this land. And your <i>descendants</i> will have this land when you die.” 


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Now you have 2 sons. They were born before I came to Egypt. They will be like my own sons. People will think of Ephraim and Manasseh as my sons, as they think of Reuben and Simeon as my sons. 


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Any children born to you after them will be your own children. They will <i>inherit</i> the land of their brothers. 


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Rachel died on our journey from Paddan. I was very sad. She died a few miles from Ephrath. So I buried her there, next to the road to Ephrath (that is Bethlehem).’ <n>Ephraim and Manasseh will <i>inherit</i> along with Jacob’s other sons. 


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Joseph replied, ‘They are my sons. God gave them to me in Egypt.’ Then <i>Israel</i> said, ‘Bring them to me so that I can <i>bless</i> them.’ 


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Now <i>Israel</i> could not see very well. He could not see because he was old. So Joseph brought his sons close to <i>Israel</i>. And his father kissed them and hugged them. 


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Israel said to Joseph, ‘I never thought that I would see your face again. And now God has let me see your children too.’ 


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Then Joseph removed his sons from Jacob’s knees. And he <i>bowed down</i>. And put his face to the ground. 


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And Joseph took his 2 sons. He put Ephraim by <i>Israel</i>’s left hand. And he put Manasseh by <i>Israel</i>’s right hand. Then he brought his sons close to <i>Israel</i>. <n>Manasseh was the oldest son. This son usually received the <i>blessing</i> from his father. The father put his right hand on the head of the son who would receive his <i>blessing</i>. 


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But <i>Israel</i> put out his right hand. And he put it on Ephraim’s head. But Ephraim was the youngest son. <i>Israel</i> crossed his arms. And he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head. But Manasseh was the oldest son. 


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Then <i>Israel blessed</i> Joseph. He said, ‘May God <i>bless</i> these boys. He is the God in front of whom my <i>ancestors</i> Abraham and Isaac walked. He is the God who has been my <i>shepherd</i> all my life, until this day. 


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He is the <i>Angel</i> who kept me safe. May he <i>bless</i> these boys. May they be called by my name, and the names of my <i>ancestors</i> Abraham and Isaac. And may they have many <i>descendants</i> and fill the earth.’ <n>Verse 15 ‘in front of whom my <i>ancestors</i> Abraham and Isaac walked’ means that Abraham and Isaac <i>worshipped</i> and obeyed God. <n>‘shepherd’ – a <i>shepherd</i> keeps sheep safe. They will not let anything bad happen to their sheep. Jacob is saying that God is like a <i>shepherd</i>. The sheep are the people who love and <i>worship</i> him. He keeps his people safe as a <i>shepherd</i> keeps his sheep safe. <n>Verse 16 ‘<i>Angel</i>’ – God appeared to Jacob as an <i>angel</i> (32:29). <n>‘Called by my name and the name of Abraham and Isaac’ means that they will be known as <i>descendants of</i> Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God appeared to them and <i>blessed</i> them. 


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Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph thought that this was wrong. So he took hold of his father’s hand. And he moved it from Ephraim’s head. And he put it on Manasseh’s head. 


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But Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And he said, ‘I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will also have many <i>descendants</i>. And he will become famous. But Ephraim his younger brother will be better known than he. And Ephraim’s <i>descendants</i> will become many <i>tribes</i>.’ 


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That day Jacob <i>blessed</i> them. He said, ‘In your name <i>Israel</i> will give this <i>blessing</i>. “May God be good to you, as he was to Ephraim and Manasseh.” ’ And <i>Israel</i> put Ephraim before Manasseh. <n>This <i>blessing</i> Jacob said was also said to other people for many years after this. Jacob is saying that God will be good to Ephraim and Manasseh. And people will remember how good God was to them. 


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Then <i>Israel</i> said to Joseph, ‘I will die soon. But God will be with you. And he will take you back to the land where your <i>ancestors</i> lived. 


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And you are over your brothers. So, I give you the part of the land that I took from the Amorites. It is the land that I fought for. <n>Jacob is giving Joseph an extra <i>inheritance</i>. 


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Then Jacob called for his sons. He said, ‘Come here to me. Then I can tell you what will happen to you, in future years.


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Sons of Jacob come together and listen. Listen to your father, <i>Israel</i>.’ <n>Now Jacob says what is going to happen to each of his sons and to their <i>descendants</i>. 


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Jacob said, ‘Reuben you are my oldest son. You were my first child after I became a man. Of all my sons, you think yourself most important. And you are the strongest.


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Yet you are as wild as the sea. People will no longer know you as the most important son (or first-born son) because you went to your father’s bed. And you slept with my <i>concubine</i>. This was a wrong thing to do. You made me ashamed.


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Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their <i>swords</i> only to hurt people. <n>Verse 4 See also 35:22. <n>Verse 5 See also 34:26. 


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I will not take part in their plans. They kill men when they are angry. And they hurt animals only because they want to. So, I will not meet with them.


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May they be <i>cursed</i> because they are angry. This is because they are so cruel. And I will make your <i>descendants</i> live with other people. They will not have their own land. They will live all over the country of <i>Israel</i>.


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Judah, your brothers will <i>praise</i> you. You will kill your enemies. Your father’s sons will <i>bow down</i> to you.


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Judah is like a wild animal that has eaten its meal. He rests after eating. Nobody would want to wake a wild animal.


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The royal sceptre will not leave him. And the <i>staff</i> of rulers will stay with him. It will stay with him until one man comes. That will be the man that it belongs to. And everyone will obey that man.’ <n>Judah will be like a king. Then the person that God has chosen will come to take his place. Bible students think that this means King David, then Christ. <n>A royal sceptre is something that a king holds. Its shape is like a stick with a ball on the top. 


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<b>‘</b>Judah will tie his <i>donkey</i> to a <i>vine</i>. He will tie his horse to the best branch. He will wash his clothes in red <i>wine</i>.’ <n>A vine is a plant. <i>Grapes</i> grow on it These make <i>wine</i>. Its branches grow over many things. Vines were valuable plants in <i>Old Testament</i> times. <n>Jacob is saying that Judah will be very rich. He will tie his horse to the best branch of a valuable plant. And he will wash his clothes in <i>wine</i>. He will be very rich. 


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<b>‘</b>His eyes are red from drinking lots of <i>wine</i>. And his teeth are white from drinking milk.’ <n>Jacob is saying that Judah will have plenty of everything. 


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<b>‘</b>Zebulun will live by the sea. And his town will be a safe place for ships to stay. His land will go as far as Sidon.


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He saw how good his resting-place was. And he saw how nice the country was. So he stayed there. And he worked like a slave for other people.’ <n>Jacob is saying that Issachar is strong. He is saying that he will work like a <i>donkey</i>. <i>Donkeys</i> carry heavy things in their saddlebags. Issachar will work for other people, for food and a nice place to stay. 


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<b>‘</b>Dan will be a ruler for his people. His <i>descendants</i> will be like other <i>tribes</i> of <i>Israel</i>. They are a small <i>tribe</i>. But they will still be like the other tribes.


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He will be as dangerous as a snake on the road. He will be like a snake that bites the feet of horses. Then the person falls off the horse.


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I look to you to keep me safe <i>Lord</i>.’ <n>Verse 18 Jacob says a small <i>prayer</i>, then he continues. 


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Asher will have good food. It will be good enough for kings to eat.’ <n>The land where Asher lives will be good land. And he will grow very good food. The food will be so good that kings will buy it to eat. 


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Joseph is like a <i>vine</i> that has lots of fruit. It grows by a well and the branches go over a wall.’ <n>Jacob means that Joseph’s <i>descendants</i> will go and live all over the land. 


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But he stayed strong and beat them. That was because the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob (the <i>Shepherd</i>, the Rock of <i>Israel</i>) helped him.’ <n>Mighty One is another name for God. It means that God is very strong. <i>Shepherd</i> is also a name for God (see 48:15). Rock of <i>Israel</i>, means that God is strong and does not change. Jacob is showing this. He knows that God has helped Joseph. He also knows that he is still helping him. 


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<b>‘</b>The <i>Almighty</i> (the God of Jacob) <i>blesses</i> you. So he gives you the <i>blessings</i> of the <i>heaven</i> above and the <i>blessings</i> of the deep that lies below. And he gives you the <i>blessings</i> of the breasts and womb.’ <n>‘Blessings of <i>heaven</i> above’ and ‘blessings of the deep’ mean that God will give Joseph’s <i>descendants</i> good land and water to put on the land. <n>‘Blessings of the breasts and womb’ means that Joseph’s <i>descendants</i>, and their animals will have many young ones. 


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<b>‘</b>The <i>blessings</i> of your father are greater than the <i>blessing</i> of my <i>ancestors</i>. They go up to the top of the mountains that last for ever. They are for Joseph, who was separate from his brothers.


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Benjamin is like a hungry wild animal. He kills an animal and eats it in the morning. In the evening, he gives what remains to his people.’ <n>Jacob is saying that Benjamin will go out and kill his enemies in the morning. And he will return in the evening. In the evening, he will give what he has taken from his enemies to his people. 


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All these are the 12 <i>tribes</i> of <i>Israel</i>. And this is what their father told them. He told them when he <i>blessed</i> them. He told each son what would happen to his <i>descendants</i>. <n>Verse 28 ‘the 12 <i>tribes</i> of <i>Israel</i>’ – the <i>descendants of</i> each son would become a separate group of people. 


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Then Jacob said to his 12 sons, ‘I am about to die. So take my body from here. Take my body to Canaan. Bury me with my <i>ancestors</i>, in the <i>grave</i> in the field that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. 


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The <i>grave</i> is in the field of Machpelah. That is near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham bought this as a place to bury people. He bought it from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought the <i>grave</i> with the field. 


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That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. And it is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And this is where I buried Leah. 


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Jacob finished telling his sons what he wanted them to do. And he lay on his bed. He died. And he went to be with his <i>ancestors</i> who had died before him.


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Then Joseph spoke to his servants who were doctors. He told them to put special oil and material on Jacob’s body. They did this so that it would stay whole. And it would not smell. So, Joseph’s servants did as he said. 


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The servants did this for 40 days. Because that is how long it takes to put the special oil and material on a body. And the Egyptians were sad for 70 days because Jacob died. <n>People put oil and materials on a body to keep it and to stop it smelling. Because it would be a long time before they would bury the body. <n>Usually they only did this to rich and important Egyptians when they died. <n>‘The Egyptians were sad for 70 days’ means that they would show that they were sad. They did this when someone important died. Jacob was important in Egypt because he was Joseph’s father. 


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The days of showing that they were sad ended. And Joseph said to Pharaoh’s officers, ‘If you agree, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him: 


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“My father made me make a promise. He said, ‘I am going to die soon. Bury me in the <i>grave</i> that I dug myself. This is in Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.” ’ 


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So Joseph went to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officers went with him. These were the important people who lived in Pharaoh’s <i>palace</i>. And the important people who lived in Egypt went with Joseph. 


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And every one in Joseph’s <i>household</i> went to bury Jacob. All his brothers and everyone in his brothers’ <i>households</i> went. They did not take their children or their animals. They left these in Goshen. 


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They came to Atad, near the River Jordan. They stopped at the place where people separated food plants. (They separated the good to eat parts from the parts that they could not eat.) And they stayed there for 7 days. And they showed that they were very sad. They were sad because Jacob died. 


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The people were showing that they were sad. The Canaanites saw this at Atad. And they said, ‘The Egyptians are showing that they are sad. This is because someone died.’ And they called that place Abel Mizraim. 


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They carried his body to Canaan. And they buried him in the <i>grave</i>. That was in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. Abraham had bought the <i>grave</i> from Ephron the Hittite. He had bought it with the field. 


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So Joseph buried his father. Then he returned to Egypt together with his brothers. And everyone who went with him returned too.


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So Jacob was dead. And Joseph’s brothers were frightened. They said to each other, ‘We did a bad thing to Joseph. Perhaps he now wants to do something bad to us.’ 


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“This is what you are to say to Joseph: I, Jacob ask you to <i>forgive</i> your brothers the wrong that they did against you.” Now, please <i>forgive</i> our <i>sins</i>. <i>Forgive</i> the <i>sins</i> of the servants of the God of your father.’ When Joseph received their message, he wept. 


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Then his brothers came. And they <i>bowed down</i> to the ground in front of Joseph. They said, ‘We are your slaves.’ 


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‘You wanted to hurt me. But God wanted what you did for his good plan. God is saving many lives because I am here. 


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So do not be frightened. I will give you what you need for you, and your children.’ And Joseph spoke kind words to them. So, they knew that he would not hurt them.


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And he saw the 3rd <i>descendants of</i> Ephraim. And Makir, son of Manasseh put his children on Joseph’s knees. <n>Makir’s children were called Joseph’s children. 


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Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will come and help you. And he will take you out of Egypt. He will take you to the land that he promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ 


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And Joseph made the sons of <i>Israel</i> make a promise. He said, ‘God will come and help you. When this happens, you must carry my bones away from this place.’ 


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So Joseph died when he was 110 years old. And they put special oil and materials on his body. And they put his body in a special box. <n>Hundreds of years passed. Then God came to help the <i>descendants of</i> the sons of <i>Israel</i>, as he promised. Moses took Joseph’s bones from Egypt when his <i>descendants</i> (the Children of <i>Israel</i>) left. The report of this is in the book of Exodus. (This is the next book of the Bible). <n>In the book of Exodus 13:19 it says, ‘Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. This was because Joseph had made the sons of <i>Israel</i> make a promise. He had said, “God will come and help you. Then you must carry my bones with you, from this place.” ’ <n>Conclusion <n>The <i>descendants of</i> the 12 sons of <i>Israel</i> became God’s people. They were called <i>Jews</i>. Christ was a <i>descendant of</i> Judah. <n>God spoke about Christ. He told Abraham that he would <i>bless</i> everyone on the earth, through his <i>descendants</i>.


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The sons of <i>Israel</i> went to Egypt with Jacob. Each one went with his family. Here are their names:


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After some time, Joseph died and his brothers also died. All the people who had lived during Joseph’s life died. 


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But the <i>Israelites</i> had lots of children and they grew into a very large family. There were so many of them that they filled the country.


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After some more time had passed, a new king began to rule in Egypt. He did not know anything about Joseph. 


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We must be very careful. If we do nothing, even more of them will be born. Then, if there is a war they will join our enemies. The enemies and the <i>Israelites</i> will fight against us and then the <i>Israelites</i> will leave the country.’


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So the <i>Egyptians</i> made the <i>Israelites</i> work as slaves. Their masters made life difficult for the <i>Israelites</i>. They made the <i>Israelites</i> work for <i>Pharaoh</i>, to build cities. The names of the cities were Pithom and Rameses. They were cities in which the <i>Egyptians</i> stored food. <n>Verse 8 ‘He did not know anything about Joseph.’ The new king did not know what had happened before. He did not know how Joseph had given food to the <i>Egyptians</i> in a time of <i>famine</i>. You can read about this in Genesis, chapters 37 - 50. 


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The <i>Egyptians</i> made life more difficult for the <i>Israelites</i> but the <i>Israelites</i> became more in number. They had many children and they lived in every part of the country. Because of this, the <i>Egyptians</i> began to be afraid of them. 


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The <i>Egyptians</i> made the lives of the <i>Israelites</i> very sad because of their work. The <i>Israelites</i> worked with <i>bricks</i> and <i>mortar</i>. They also did many different jobs in the fields. The <i>Egyptians</i> were cruel. They made the <i>Israelites</i> do all this difficult work.


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There were two <i>Israelite</i> women who helped the other <i>Israelite</i> women at the birth of their children. These two women were called Shiphrah and Puah. The King of Egypt spoke to them. He said: 


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‘When you help the <i>Israelite</i> women at the birth of their children, do this: <n>If they have a baby boy, kill him. <n>If they have a baby girl, let her live.’


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Then the King of Egypt caused the two women to come to him. He asked them: ‘Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?’ 


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The two women answered Pharaoh. They said, ‘<i>Israelite</i> women are not like <i>Egyptian</i> women. <i>Israelite</i> women are very strong. Their babies are born very quickly, before we arrive at the house.’


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Because of this, God was kind to the two women. The people grew in number and they became very strong. 


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Then Pharaoh spoke to his people. He said: ‘When an <i>Israelite</i> boy is born, you must throw him in the river. But you can let the baby girls live.’


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At this time, there was an <i>Israelite</i> man who belonged to the big family of Levi. He married a woman who also belonged to that big family. 


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A baby boy was born. His mother saw that he was a very beautiful baby. So she hid him for three months. 


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Then the woman could not continue to hide him. So she took a basket that someone had made from dry river grass. She painted the basket with sticky black paint, to keep the water out of it. The mother put her baby in the basket. Then she put the basket on the edge of the river, among the river grasses. <n>The <i>Israelite</i> woman did not want her beautiful baby to die. She would not let the <i>Egyptians</i> throw him into the river. She believed that God would keep her baby safe. 


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Now the daughter of <i>Pharaoh</i> came to wash in the river. And her servant girls walked by the edge of the river. Then <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter saw the basket among the river grasses. So she sent one of her servant girls to fetch it. 


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When <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby. He was crying and she was sorry for him. She said: ‘This is one of the <i>Israelite</i> children.’ 


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Then the baby’s sister spoke to <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter. She said, ‘Do you want me to fetch one of the <i>Israelite</i> women? She can <i>nurse</i> this baby for you.’


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<i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter spoke to the baby’s mother. She said: ‘Take this baby away and <i>nurse</i> him for me. I will pay you to do this.’ So the woman took the baby and she <i>nursed</i> him. 


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When the baby was older, his mother brought him to <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter. He became her son and she called him Moses. She said: ‘I will call him Moses because I pulled him out of the water.’ <n>Moses’ mother believed that God would keep her baby safe. God did not fail to do this for her. Moses became like a son to <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter. His mother <i>nursed</i> him at first. But later he grew to be a man in <i>Pharaoh</i>’s <i>palace</i>. God had important things for Moses to do in future times. <n>Moses runs away to Midian</n>


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Many years later, Moses grew to be a man. At that time, he went out to look at the <i>Israelites</i>. He knew that he was an <i>Israelite</i> too. He saw them as they worked without any rest. Then he saw an <i>Egyptian</i> who was hitting an <i>Israelite</i>. Yes, the <i>Egyptian</i> was hitting someone from Moses’ own country! 


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Moses looked in every direction. He saw nobody near. Then Moses killed the <i>Egyptian</i> and he hid his dead body in the sand. 


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Moses went out again the next day and he saw two <i>Israelites</i>. They were fighting together. Moses spoke to the man who was hurting the other man. He said to him: ‘Why are you hitting your friend?’


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The man answered: ‘You should not be a ruler and a <i>judge</i> over us. Perhaps you are going to kill me, as you killed the <i>Egyptian</i>.’ Then Moses was afraid. He said to himself: ‘People know what I have done!’ 


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Then someone told <i>Pharaoh</i> about it. <i>Pharaoh</i> tried to kill Moses. But Moses ran away from <i>Pharaoh</i>. He went to the country called Midian and he stayed there. Moses sat down by a well in the country called Midian. <n>Moses was very angry because of what he saw. He was angry because of what the <i>Egyptians</i> did to the <i>Israelites</i>. He also saw one of his own people who was hitting another <i>Israelite</i>. Moses did not like it when people were not fair to each other. <n>The country called Midian was about 300 kilometres to the east of Egypt. It was also about 300 kilometres south from the country called Canaan (which was the same as <i>Israel</i>). 


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Now the <i>priest</i> of Midian had 7 daughters. These 7 girls came to get water out of the well. They filled the long stone dishes with water so that their father’s animals could drink. 


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But the <i>shepherds</i> who lived in that place arrived. They made the girls go away. So Moses stood up and he helped the 7 girls. He gave water to their animals. <n>The animals were sheep and goats. The <i>shepherds</i> were not kind to the daughters of the <i>priest</i> of Midian. Moses was kind to the girls. He always wanted to help weak people. That is why he had killed an <i>Egyptian</i>. 


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When the girls came to Reuel, their father, he asked them a question. He said: ‘Why have you come home so soon today?’


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They answered: ‘An <i>Egyptian</i> saved us from the <i>shepherds</i>. He also took water out of the well and he gave it to the animals.’ 


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Reuel said to his daughters, ‘Where is the man? You should not have left him there. Ask him to come here so that he can eat bread with us.’ 


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After several months, Zipporah gave birth to a baby boy. Moses called the boy Gershom. He called him that because he said: ‘I have been a stranger in a foreign country.’ <n>Moses called his son ‘Gershom’ which means ‘a foreign person’. Moses remembered that he (Moses) really belonged to the <i>Israelites</i>. He did not belong to Midian. Reuel’s daughters had thought that Moses was an <i>Egyptian</i>. This was because he was wearing <i>Egyptian</i> clothes. <n>God was kind to Moses because he had been kind to Reuel’s daughters. Moses was happy to have a place in Reuel’s family. He was happy to marry Zipporah. He was happy to have a son. 


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After a long time had passed, the king of Egypt died. The <i>Israelites</i> were very sad because they were slaves. They shouted aloud for help from God. 


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God heard them crying because they were slaves. He remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 


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So God looked at the <i>Israelites</i>. He knew that they needed his help. <n>Now the king was dead. So the <i>Israelites</i> hoped that things would get better. They prayed that God would bring help to them. God heard them. God always hears his people when they pray. 


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Moses fed the animals of Jethro the <i>priest</i> of Midian and he kept them safely. Jethro was his wife’s father (the same person as Reuel). Moses led the animals to the far side of the <i>desert</i>. He came to Horeb, the mountain of God.


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There the <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> showed himself to Moses. The <i>angel</i> looked like a fire that was burning in the middle of a bush. Moses looked at the bush and he saw that it was on fire. The bush was burning but the fire still did not destroy it. 


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Moses said to himself: ‘I will go and see this strange thing. I want to see why the bush is not burned.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> saw that Moses came to see the bush. And God called to Moses from inside the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’ Moses answered: ‘Here I am.’


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God said to Moses: ‘Do not come near this place. Remove your shoes from your feet. The place where you stand is <i>holy</i> ground.’ 


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Then God said: ‘I am the God of your fathers. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face. He was afraid to look at God. <n>God used an <i>angel</i> to show himself to Moses. The <i>angel</i> looked like a fire in a burning bush. Moses came near to the bush. And then he knew that it was <i>holy</i>. He heard God’s voice. In those days, people removed their shoes when they <i>worshipped</i> God. They still do this in some places today. Moses knew that he was in a very <i>holy place</i>. The God of his fathers spoke to him, the one, true God. ‘Fathers’ here means <i>ancestors</i>. Moses was very afraid. God is <i>holy</i>. If we could see God, we would be afraid too. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said: ‘I have certainly seen the troubles of my people in Egypt. I have heard that they cry because of their slave masters. I know how sad they are. 


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So I have come down to save them from the <i>Egyptians</i>. I will bring them from Egypt to another country. It will be a good country and a wide country. There will be a lot of good food and drink, enough for everyone. It is the place where all these <i>nations</i> live now: the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Perizzites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>. 


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And now I have heard <i>Israel</i>’s people cry. I have seen how the <i>Egyptians</i> do bad things to them. 


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But Moses said to God: ‘I am not an important person. I cannot go to Pharaoh. I cannot lead the <i>Israelites</i> out of Egypt!’


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God said to Moses: ‘I will be with you. After you have led the people out of Egypt you will <i>worship</i> me on this mountain. That will show people that I have sent you.’ <n>Moses need not be afraid to do what God <i>commands</i> him to do. God will be with him. God will always give people help when they obey him. 


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Then Moses answered God. He said: ‘If I go to the <i>Israelites</i>, they will ask me a question. I shall say: “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But then they will ask me, “What is God’s name?” What then shall I say to them?’


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God said to Moses: ‘I am who I am! Say to the <i>Israelites</i>: “I AM has sent me to you.” ’ <n>‘I am who I am.’ These words are very difficult to understand. They are difficult to explain in the English language. The words can mean, ‘I am what I am.’ They can also mean, ‘I will be what I will be.’ God does not need anyone or anything else. He alone made all things. All things need him. Without him they would not be. He was God before he made the world. He is God now, at the present time. He will be God in the future time. 


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God also said to Moses: ‘Say this to the <i>Israelites</i>: “This is the God who has sent me to you. He is the <i>Lord</i>, the God of your fathers. He is the God of Abraham. He is the God of Isaac and Jacob.” This is my name for all time. People will always remember me by this name.


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Go and bring together the leaders of <i>Israel</i>. Say to them, “God has shown himself to me. He is the <i>Lord</i> and the God of your fathers. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God said to me: ‘I have watched you <i>Israelites</i> in Egypt. I have seen what the <i>Egyptians</i> have done to you. 


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I have promised that I will bring you out of your difficult life in Egypt. I will bring you into the country of the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Perizzites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>. It is a country with more than enough good food and drink.’ ”


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The leaders of the<i>Israelites</i> will listen to you. Then you must go with them to the king of Egypt. Say to him: “The <i>Lord</i>, the God of the <i>Israelites</i> has met with us. Please let us go on a journey of three days, into the <i>desert</i>. We must <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> our God there.” 


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I know that the king of Egypt will not want to let you go. He will only let you go if someone more powerful than himself causes him to obey.


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So I will show him my powerful authority. I will cause very strange and bad things to happen to Egypt. I will do great and powerful things to that country. After that, Pharaoh will let you go.


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And I will cause the <i>Egyptians</i> to think good things about the <i>Israelites</i>. So when you go, they will give you many gifts. 


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Each <i>Israelite</i> woman must ask for gifts from the <i>Egyptian</i> women. They must ask the <i>Egyptian</i> women who live near them. They must also ask those who live with them in their houses. They must ask for <i>silver</i> things and gold things. They must also ask for expensive clothes. You must dress your sons and your daughters in these clothes. In this way, you will take everything valuable away from the <i>Egyptians</i>.’


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Then Moses answered: ‘But perhaps the leaders of Israel will not believe me. Perhaps they will not listen to my voice. Perhaps they will say: “The <i>Lord</i> did not show himself to you.” ’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘What is that thing in your hand?’ Moses answered: ‘It is a stick.’


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The <i>Lord</i> said: ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So Moses threw it on the ground. Then the stick became a snake and Moses ran from the snake! 


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But the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Put out your hand and catch the snake by the tail.’ So Moses put out his hand and he caught the snake. Then it became a stick in his hand again. 


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God said, ‘Do this, and they will believe you. They will believe that the <i>Lord</i> has shown himself to you. It is the <i>Lord</i>, who is the God of their fathers. It is the <i>Lord</i>, who is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Put your hand inside your clothes, near to your heart.’ So Moses did this. When he took his hand out again, it had become as white as snow. It was like the hand of a man who had the illness called <i>leprosy</i>.


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Then God said: ‘Put your hand back inside your clothes, near to your heart.’ So Moses did that. And when he took his hand out, it was well again. It was the same as the other parts of his body.


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God said, ‘They may not believe you. They may not think that the first <i>sign</i> is important. But they may still believe the second <i>sign</i>. 


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But if they will not believe the two <i>signs</i>, you can do something else. If they do not listen to you, then take some water from the River Nile. Pour it on the dry ground. The water that you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’ <n>These <i>signs</i> would show the <i>Israelites</i> that Moses has the power of God. 


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But Moses said to the <i>Lord</i>: ‘Oh Master, I cannot speak well. I could not speak well before. And I cannot speak well now, since you have spoken to me. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Who has made human mouths? Who makes a person that cannot speak? Who makes a person that cannot hear? Who makes a person that cannot see? Who makes a person that can see? It is I, the <i>Lord</i>, who does all these things. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> became angry with Moses. He said: ‘Aaron, the <i>Levite</i>, is your brother. I know that he can speak well. And he is coming to meet you. When Aaron sees you he will be very happy. 


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Then you must speak to him. You must tell him what to say. I will help both of you to speak. And I will teach you what you must do. 


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Aaron will speak to the people for you. You will be like God to him. You will tell Aaron what to say. 


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Take this stick with you. You will use this stick to do the <i>signs</i>.’ <n>God gave Aaron to Moses, to give help to him. <n>Moses returns to Egypt</n>


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Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife’s father. Moses said to Jethro: ‘Please let me return to my family in Egypt. I must see if they are still alive.’ So Jethro said to Moses: ‘Go in peace.’ <n>‘Go in peace’ means that Jethro agreed with Moses. He thought that it was a good thing for Moses to see his family in Egypt. 


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The <i>Lord</i> had said to Moses while he was still in Midian: ‘Go back to Egypt. All the men who tried to kill you are now dead.’ 


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So Moses put his wife and his sons on a <i>donkey</i> and they started on the journey back to Egypt. And Moses carried the stick of God in his hand.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘When you return to Egypt you must do the <i>signs</i>. Do all the <i>signs</i> that I gave you the power to do. Do them in front of Pharaoh. But I will make Pharaoh angry and cruel. Because of this, he will not let the people go.


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Then you must speak to Pharaoh. You must say: “The <i>Lord</i> says, ‘<i>Israel</i> is my first son. 


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I have already said to you: “Let my son go so that he can <i>worship</i> me.” But if you refuse to let him go, I will kill your first son.’ ” ’


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On the way to Egypt, there was a house where people can rest on their journey. God met Moses there and God was going to kill him. 


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But Zipporah took a sharp stone and she cut off her son’s <i>foreskin</i> with the stone. Then Zipporah threw the <i>foreskin</i> at Moses’ feet. She said: ‘You are a husband of blood to me.’ 


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So God did not do anything bad to Moses. Then Zipporah said to Moses: ‘You are a husband of blood, because of this <i>circumcision</i>.’ <n>A long time before this, God had told Abraham that he must <i>circumcise</i> himself and every male person in his house. All the men that would be born into that family must obey this <i>command</i>. This was the <i>sign</i> of God’s promise to Abraham and his family. Because Moses had not <i>circumcised</i> his son, he had not obeyed God’s <i>command</i>. Zipporah <i>circumcised</i> their son because God would have killed Moses. Because she obeyed God, Moses did not die. It is very important to obey God. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Aaron: ‘Go into the <i>desert</i> to meet Moses.’ So Aaron went. He met Moses at the mountain of God and he kissed him. 


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Then Moses told Aaron all that the <i>Lord</i> had told him to say. He also told Aaron about all the special <i>signs</i>. God had <i>commanded</i> Moses to show these signs to the <i>Israelites</i> and to Pharaoh.


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Then Moses and Aaron went to Egypt. They brought together all the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i>. 


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Aaron told them all the things that God had said to Moses. Then Moses did the <i>signs</i> in front of the people. 


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And the people believed Aaron and Moses. They put their heads down and they <i>worshipped</i> God. They had heard that God had come to his people. God had seen their hard life and he was sorry for them. That is why they <i>worshipped</i> God. 


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After this, Moses and Aaron went to visit Pharaoh. They said to him: ‘Listen to what the <i>Lord</i> says. He is the God of <i>Israel</i>. He says, “Let my people go. Let them prepare a party for me in the <i>desert</i>.” ’


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But Pharaoh said: ‘I do not know the <i>Lord</i>. I do not know why I should obey his voice. I do not know why I should let the <i>Israelites</i> go. I do not know the <i>Lord</i>. Neither will I let the <i>Israelites</i> go.’


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Moses and Aaron said: ‘The God of the <i>Israelites</i> has met us. Please let us go. We must go on a journey of three days into the <i>desert</i>. There we must give gifts to the <i>Lord</i> our God. If we do not do this, God may attack us with illness. Or he may use soldiers to attack us.’


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But the king of Egypt said: ‘Moses and Aaron, you must not take the people away from their work! Go back to your jobs!’ 


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And Pharaoh said: ‘Look, there are now many people in the country. But you stop them doing their work.’


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On that day, Pharaoh gave a <i>command</i> to the masters of the slaves. He also gave the <i>command</i> to the leaders of the work. 


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This was the <i>command</i>: ‘Do not give the people any more <i>straw</i> with which to make <i>bricks</i>. They must find their own <i>straw</i>. 


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But they must still make the same number of <i>bricks</i> as before. Do not let the amount become smaller. They are lazy. That is why they ask to go. They say: “Let us go to give gifts to our God.” 


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So you must cause them to work harder. They will then be too busy to listen to false words.’ <n>Verse 7 ‘<i>straw</i> with which to make <i>bricks</i>’ When they made <i>bricks</i>, they mixed <i>straw</i> with the <i>clay</i>. This made the <i>bricks</i> stronger. Pharaoh was making the <i>Israelites</i> work harder. Now they had to look for <i>straw</i> before they could use it in the <i>bricks</i>. 


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So the slaves’ masters and the leaders of the work went to the people. They said to them: ‘Pharaoh says: “I will not give you <i>straw</i>. 


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You must find your own <i>straw</i>, where you can. But you will still have to make the same number of <i>bricks</i>.” ’ 


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The slaves’ masters made the <i>Israelites</i> work fast. They said: ‘Finish your work for each day, as when you had <i>straw</i>.’ 


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Pharaoh’s slave masters hit the leaders who had authority over the people. They said to them: ‘Why have you not made as many <i>bricks</i> today, as you did before?’


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Then the <i>Israelite</i> leaders went to Pharaoh. They asked him: ‘Why do you do these things to us, your servants? 


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Our masters do not give us any <i>straw</i>. But they say “Make <i>bricks</i>!” Then they hit us. But it is your people that are doing wrong things.’


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But Pharaoh said: ‘You are lazy! You are only lazy! That is why you say: “Let us go. Let us take gifts to the <i>Lord</i>.” 


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Now go and do your work. Nobody will give you any <i>straw</i>. But you must make the same number of <i>bricks</i>.’


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The <i>Israelite</i> leaders heard Pharaoh say: ‘You must make the same number of <i>bricks</i> as you made before.’ Then they knew that they were in bad trouble. 


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Then the <i>Israelite</i> leaders met with Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them to return from Pharaoh. 


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And the leaders spoke to Moses and Aaron. They said: ‘We hope that the <i>Lord</i> will look at you. We hope that the Lord will <i>judge</i> you! You have made us like a bad smell to Pharaoh and to his servants. You have given them a reason to kill us.’


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Then Moses returned to the <i>Lord</i>. He said: ‘Oh Master, why have you done bad things to this people? Why did you send me to them? 


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I came to speak in your name. But since I spoke to Pharaoh, he has done only bad things to the people. And you have done nothing to save your people.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses. He said: ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of my powerful <i>signs</i>, he will let my people go. Because of my powerful <i>signs</i>, he will <i>command</i> them to leave his country.’


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I showed myself to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, as God <i>Almighty</i>. But I did not let them know me by my name, the <i>Lord</i>. 


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I also made my special promise to them. I promised to give them the country of Canaan. I promised to give them the country where they had lived as foreign people. 


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And I have heard the <i>Israelites</i> when they cry. They cry because the <i>Egyptians</i> cause them to live as slaves. I have remembered my special promise. 


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So you must say this to the <i>Israelites</i>. “I am the <i>Lord</i>. I will remove you from the authority of the <i>Egyptians</i>. You will not be their slaves again. I will bring you back to myself by my powerful authority. I will <i>judge</i> the <i>Egyptians</i> by the great things that I will do. 


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I will make you my own people and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>. I am your God who saved you from the authority of the <i>Egyptians</i>. 


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And I will bring you to another country. I made a very serious promise to give that other country to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you and it will be your own country. I am the <i>Lord</i>.” ’


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Moses reported these words to the <i>Israelites</i>. But they did not listen to him, because their <i>Egyptian</i> masters were so cruel to them. They refused to hope for good things. Their <i>Egyptian</i> masters had broken their <i>spirits</i> and made them very sad.


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‘Go and speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him that he must let the <i>Israelites</i> go out of his country.’ 


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But Moses said to the <i>Lord</i>: ‘Look! Even the <i>Israelites</i> have not listened to me. So why should Pharaoh listen to me? My lips are unable to speak good words from God.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses and Aaron about the <i>Israelites</i> and about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to lead the <i>Israelites</i> out of the country called Egypt. <n>The <i>Ancestors</i> of Moses and Aaron</n>


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These were the leaders of the whole families: <n>The sons of Reuben, <i>Israel</i>’s oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were Reuben’s families.


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The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a <i>Canaanite</i> woman. These were Simeon’s families.


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These are the names of the sons of Levi from the oldest to the youngest: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived for 137 years.


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The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. <n>These were the families of Levi from the oldest to the youngest.


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Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. Aaron and Moses were their sons. Amram lived for 137 years.


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Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon. Elisheba’s children were: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.


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Eleazar, Aaron’s son, married one of Putiel’s daughters. Phinehas was their son. <n>These were the leaders of the families of the <i>Levites</i>.


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This Aaron and Moses are the same men to whom the <i>Lord</i> spoke. He said: ‘Lead the <i>Israelites</i> out of the country of Egypt. Lead them out as an army of people.’ 


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Yes, it was the same Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They told him that the <i>Israelites</i> would leave Egypt. <n>Aaron will speak for Moses</n>


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Then Moses said: ‘Look, my lips are unable to speak good words from God. Why should Pharaoh listen to me?’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Look, I have made you like God to Pharaoh. And your brother Aaron will be your <i>prophet</i>. 


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You must say everything that I <i>command</i> you. Your brother Aaron must <i>command</i> Pharaoh to let the <i>Israelites</i> go. Pharaoh must let them go out of his country.’ <n>A prophet is a person that speaks God’s words. Aaron would be like a <i>prophet</i> for Moses. He would repeat Moses’ words to the people. 


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‘But I will make Pharaoh angry and cruel. He will refuse to listen to you. I will do even more great <i>signs</i> and strange things in the country called Egypt. 


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But Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. Then I will show my authority to Egypt. And I will remove my army, my people the <i>Israelites</i>, out of the country called Egypt. I will lead them out with powerful authority. 


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Then the <i>Egyptians</i> will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>. They will know this when I <i>judge</i> Egypt. They will know it when I lead the <i>Israelites</i> out of Egypt.’ <n>Moses’ stick becomes a snake</n>


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‘Pharaoh will say: “Show me one of your special <i>signs</i>.” Then you must say to Aaron: “Take your stick and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a snake.” ’


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So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did everything that the <i>Lord</i> had <i>commanded</i> them. Aaron threw down his stick in front of Pharaoh and his servants. And the stick became a snake! 


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> his clever men to come in. These men, the <i>magicians</i> of Egypt, did the same thing as Aaron. They did it by their bad, powerful authority. 


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Each <i>magician</i> threw down his stick and it became a snake. But Aaron’s stick ate their sticks! 


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But still Pharaoh felt angry and cruel. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. This was what the <i>Lord</i> had said would happen. <n>A magician does strange, powerful things with <i>Satan</i>’s help. What they do is called magic. The <i>Egyptians</i> were afraid of snakes and they <i>worshipped</i> them. But Aaron’s stick ate the magicians’ sticks. God was showing them that he is more powerful than magic. <n>Moses makes water into blood</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘There is no change in Pharaoh’s thoughts. He refuses to let the people go. 


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Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes to the river. Wait for him by the edge of the river. Then take in your hand the stick that became a snake. 


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Then say to him: “The <i>Lord</i>, the God of the <i>Israelites</i> has sent me to you. The <i>Lord</i> says: ‘Let my people go. Let them <i>worship</i> me in the <i>desert</i>.’ But until now, you have not listened. 


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So this is what the <i>Lord</i> says: ‘In this way, you will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>. Moses will hit the water with the stick that is in his hand. And the water will become blood. 


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And the fish in the water will die. And the river will have a very bad smell. Then the <i>Egyptians</i> will not want to drink the water from the river.’ ” ’


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And the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Say to Aaron: “Take your stick. Lift up your hand over the waters of Egypt. Lift it up over their rivers and their streams. Lift it up over their ponds and pools of water. They will all become blood. There will be blood in every part of the country called Egypt. There will be blood in all the stone pots. There will be blood also in every bucket that men have made from wood.” ’


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Moses and Aaron obeyed the <i>Lord</i>. Aaron lifted up the stick in front of Pharaoh and his servants. He hit the water in the river with the stick. Then all the water in the river became blood. 


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The fish in the river died. The river became bad and the <i>Egyptians</i> could not drink its water. There was blood in every part of the country called Egypt.


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But the <i>magicians</i> of Egypt did the same thing by their bad powerful authority. So there was no change in Pharaoh’s thoughts. He still refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. The <i>Lord</i> had said that this would happen. 


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And the <i>Egyptians</i> dug holes near the river to find water to drink. They could not drink the water from the river itself. <n>The river gave the <i>Egyptians</i> all that they needed. It was called the River Nile. It gave water to drink and to put on food plants. At certain times the river rose over the fields and it gave food to the plants. The <i>Egyptians</i> needed the river Nile so that they could live. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him: “These are the words of the <i>Lord</i>. Let my people go. Let them <i>worship</i> me. 


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The river will be full of <i>frogs</i>. The <i>frogs</i> will come into your house. They will jump into your bed. They will come into the houses of your servants. They will come into the houses of your people. They will jump into the hot places where you cook your food. They will jump into the dishes where you mix your flour and water.


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The <i>frogs</i> will jump up on you. They will jump up on your people and on all your servants.” ’ <n>A <i>frog</i> is a small animal with four legs that lives in water. It can also live on the land. It can jump with its long back legs. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Say to Aaron: “Take your stick in your hand. Then raise your hand. Lift it up over the rivers, the streams and the pools. You will cause <i>frogs</i> to come up over the whole country of Egypt.” ’


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So Aaron lifted up his hand over the waters of Egypt. Then the <i>frogs</i> came up over the whole country of Egypt.


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But the <i>magicians</i> did the same thing by their bad powerful authority. They also made <i>frogs</i> come up on the country of Egypt.


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him. He said: ‘Ask the <i>Lord</i> to remove the <i>frogs</i> from me and from my people. Then I will let your people go. They can <i>sacrifice</i> to the <i>Lord</i>.’ 


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Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘You can choose the time when I will speak to God. Then I will ask God to do this for you, for your servants and for your people. I will ask God to remove the <i>frogs</i> from you and from your house. The <i>frogs</i> will remain only in the river.’


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And Pharaoh said: ‘Do it tomorrow.’ <n>Moses answered: ‘It will be as you say. Then you will know that there is nobody like the <i>Lord</i> our God. 


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The <i>frogs</i> will leave you and your house. They will leave the houses of your servants and your people. They will remain only in the river.’


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So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Then Moses prayed to the <i>Lord</i> about the <i>frogs</i> that he had brought on Pharaoh. 


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And the <i>Lord</i> did what Moses asked. The <i>frogs</i> died in the houses, in the yards and in the fields. 


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But when Pharaoh saw that the <i>frogs</i> were dead, he became angry again. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. The <i>Lord</i> had said that this would happen. <n>The <i>gnats</i> arrive</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Say to Aaron, “Lift up your stick and hit the dirt on the ground. It will become <i>gnats</i> in the whole country of Egypt.” ’


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Moses and Aaron obeyed God. Aaron lifted up his hand and he hit the dirt with his stick. Then <i>gnats</i> flew on to all the people and on to all the animals. The dirt on the ground became <i>gnats</i> through the whole country of Egypt. 


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Then the <i>magicians</i> tried to make <i>gnats</i> by their bad powerful authority. But they could not do it. And the <i>gnats</i> were on all the people and on all the animals.


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Then the <i>magicians</i> said to Pharaoh: ‘This is the work of God.’ But there was no change in Pharaoh’s thoughts. He would not listen to the <i>magicians</i>. God had said that this would happen. <n>The flies arrive</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Get up early in the morning. Meet Pharaoh when he goes out to the water. Then say to him: “The <i>Lord</i> says: ‘Let My people go. Let them <i>worship</i> me. 


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If you do not let my people go, I will send thousands of flies on you. I will send them on your servants and on your people. I will send them into your houses. The houses of the <i>Egyptians</i> will be full of flies. The flies will even cover the ground that the houses stand on.


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But on that day, the country of Goshen will be separate. That is where my people live. There will be no flies there. Then you will know that I, the <i>Lord</i>, am in this country.


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I will make a difference between my people and your people. This <i>sign</i> will happen tomorrow.’ ” ’


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And this is what the <i>Lord</i> did. Great numbers of flies came into Pharaoh’s house and into his servants’ houses. The flies destroyed the whole country of Egypt.


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him. He said: ‘Go! You can <i>sacrifice</i> to your God here, in the country of Egypt.’ 


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But Moses said: ‘It would not be right to do that. The <i>Egyptians</i> do not like our <i>sacrifices</i> of animals to the <i>Lord</i> our God. If we <i>sacrifice</i> these animals, the <i>Egyptians</i> will throw stones at us. They will throw them until we are dead. 


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We must go on a journey for three days, into the <i>desert</i>. Then we shall <i>sacrifice</i> to the <i>Lord</i> our God, as he <i>commands</i> us.’


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So Pharaoh said: ‘I will let you go. You can <i>sacrifice</i> to the <i>Lord</i> your God in the <i>desert</i>. But do not go very far away. And pray for me too.’


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Then Moses said: ‘I will leave you now. And I will pray to the <i>Lord</i>. Tomorrow, all the flies will leave the country of Egypt. They will fly away from your servants and from your people. But be careful! Do not do wrong things to us, as you did before. At that time, you did not let the people <i>sacrifice</i> to the <i>Lord</i>.’


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And the <i>Lord</i> did what Moses asked him. All the flies left Pharaoh and his servants and his people. Not one fly remained! 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him: “The <i>Lord</i>, the God of the <i>Israelites</i> says: ‘Let my people go. Let them <i>worship</i> me. 


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the <i>Lord</i> will send a very bad illness on your animals. All your animals in the fields will become ill. The horses, the <i>donkeys</i>, the <i>camels</i>, the cows, the sheep and the goats will all become very ill.


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But the <i>Lord</i> will make a difference between the animals of the <i>Israelites</i> and the animals of the <i>Egyptians</i>. None of the animals of the <i>Israelites</i> will die.’ ” ’


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And God decided when this thing would happen. He said: ‘Tomorrow I will do this thing in the country of Egypt.’ 


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So on the next day, God did it! All the animals of the <i>Egyptians</i> died. But not one of the animals of the <i>Israelites</i> died. 


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Pharaoh sent men to see what had happened. And they reported that not one of the animals of the <i>Israelites</i> was dead! But there was no change in Pharaoh’s mind. He did not let the people go. <n>The illness of <i>boils</i></n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Take in your hands some ashes from the fire. Throw them up in the air as Pharaoh watches. 


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They will become very small bits of dirt over the whole country of Egypt. These will cause <i>boils</i> to appear on the skin. Both people and animals will have these <i>boils</i> on their skin, through the whole country.’


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So they took ashes from the fire and they stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes up in the air. And <i>boils</i> appeared on both people and animals. 


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Because of the <i>boils</i>, the <i>magicians</i> could not stand in front of Moses. All the <i>Egyptians</i> had <i>boils</i>, even the <i>magicians</i>. 


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But Pharaoh refused to listen to them. The <i>Lord</i> had told Moses that this would happen. The <i>Lord</i> himself made it happen. <n>Pieces of ice fall on the whole country of Egypt</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Get up early in the morning and go to Pharaoh. Say to him: “This is what the <i>Lord</i>, the God of the <i>Israelites</i> says: ‘Let my people go to <i>worship</i> me. 


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Or this time, I will send all my worst troubles against you. I will send them against your servants and against your people. I want you to know that there is nobody like me in the whole earth. That is why I am doing this. 


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Already I could have killed you and your people with one very bad trouble. I could have removed you from the earth. 


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But I have let you live, to show you my power. This is so that people will speak about my powerful name, over the whole world. 


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Look! Tomorrow at this time, I will send a very great storm. Heavy pieces of ice will fall. Nobody has ever seen anything like this in Egypt. From Egypt’s first day as a country, nobody has seen a storm like this. 


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Now send your servants out. They must bring all your animals from the fields into the buildings. The ice will fall on every human and on every animal that is outside. They will all die.’ ” ’


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Then those of Pharaoh’s servants who were afraid of the <i>Lord</i>’s words obeyed God. They quickly brought their slaves and animals inside the buildings. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Lift up your hand towards the sky. Then ice will fall over all the country of Egypt. It will fall on every person and on every animal. It will fall on every plant that grows in all the fields in Egypt.’


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When Moses lifted up his stick towards the sky, the <i>Lord</i> sent a great storm. And the <i>Lord</i> rained large pieces of ice upon the country of Egypt. Also, fire ran along the ground. 


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The ice knocked down everything that was in the fields. In the whole country of Egypt it hit both people and animals. It knocked down every plant in the fields and it broke every tree. 


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But in the country of Goshen, there were no pieces of ice. That was where <i>Israel</i>’s people lived.


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him. And Pharaoh said: ‘This time, I have done a wrong thing. The <i>Lord</i> is right. I and my people are wrong. 


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Pray to the <i>Lord</i> because we have had enough storms and ice. I will let you go! You do not need to stay here now.’


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Then Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘When I have left the city, I will lift my hands to the <i>Lord</i>. I will pray to him. Then the storm will stop and there will be no more ice. Then you will know that the whole world belongs to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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But I know you and your servants. You still do not believe in the <i>Lord</i> God.’ <n>Moses knew that Pharaoh and his servants were not really afraid of God. They only wanted their problems to go away. They wanted the bad things that were happening to stop. 


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The large pieces of ice had destroyed the <i>flax</i> and the <i>barley</i>. This was because the barley plants were ready for men to cut them. And the <i>flax</i> plants had buds on them. 


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But the ice had not destroyed the wheat and the spelt. This was because they appeared out of the ground later. <n>‘Flax’ is a plant. People make cloth from the flax plant. A ‘bud’ is a flower that has not yet opened. The ice destroyed the buds because they were weak. ‘Barley’ is a food plant. The ice destroyed the weak tops of the barley plants. ‘Wheat’ is a food plant and so is ‘spelt’. These plants had not yet grown up from the ground. So the ice did not destroy them. 


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Then Moses left Pharaoh and Moses went out of the city. Moses lifted up his hands to the <i>Lord</i>. Then the storms and the ice stopped. The rain also stopped falling on the earth.


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Pharaoh saw that the rain and the ice and the storms had stopped. But he did a wrong thing again. He and his servants did not do what they had promised to do. There had been no change in his thoughts. 


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Pharaoh still refused to listen to God. He did not let the <i>Israelites</i> go. This is what the <i>Lord</i> had said would happen. Moses had told Pharaoh these words.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Go in to Pharaoh. I have caused him not to listen to me. And I have caused his servants also not to listen to me. I have done this so that I can show my <i>signs</i> among them. 


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You can tell your sons and your grandsons how I <i>punished</i> the <i>Egyptians</i>. You can tell them about the <i>signs</i> that I have done among them. In this way, you will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>.’


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So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said to him: ‘The <i>Lord</i>, the God of the <i>Israelites</i> says: “You still refuse to obey me. Let my people go. Let them <i>worship</i> me. 


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And they will cover the whole country. Nobody will be able to see the ground. They will eat everything that the ice has not destroyed. This will include every tree that is still growing in your fields.


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They will fill your houses. They will fill your servants’ houses. And they will fill the <i>Egyptians</i>’ houses. It will be like nothing your father or your grandfather have ever seen. It has never happened before.” ’ Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.


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Pharaoh’s servants said to him: ‘Stop keeping this man with us, to cause problems. Let the people go, to <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> their God. Surely you know now that they have destroyed Egypt!’ 


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So Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him again. He said: ‘Go, <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> your God. But which of you will go?’


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And Moses said: ‘We will all go, both young people and old people. We will take our sons and daughters. We will take our animals, because we must have a party for the <i>Lord</i>.’


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Pharaoh said to them: ‘The <i>Lord</i> will certainly be with you, if ever I let you go with your women and children! I can see that you have decided to do something bad. 


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No! Only the men can go and <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i>. That is what you have asked for.’ And Pharaoh was angry and he sent Moses and Aaron away from him. <n>Verse 10 ‘The <i>Lord</i> will certainly be with you’. Pharaoh does not really want the <i>Lord</i> to be with them. If he let the families go, he would be doing a good thing to the <i>Israelites</i>. It would be like God was going with them. But Pharaoh does not want to do this. He does not want to do a good thing for the <i>Israelites</i>. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Lift up your hand over the country of Egypt. Then <i>locusts</i> will fly over the country of Egypt. They will eat every plant in the country, all that the ice has not destroyed.’


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So Moses lifted up his stick over the country of Egypt. And the <i>Lord</i> caused an east wind to blow across the country, for the whole day and the whole night. In the morning, the east wind had brought the <i>locusts</i>. 


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And the <i>locusts</i> flew into every part of the country of Egypt. They landed everywhere, thousands of <i>locusts</i>. There had never been so many <i>locusts</i> in one place before. And it will never happen again. 


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The <i>locusts</i> covered all the ground, until the ground became black with <i>locusts</i>. They ate all the plants in the country. They ate all the fruit of the trees. They ate everything that the ice had not destroyed. Not one green thing remained on tree or plant, in all the country of Egypt.


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Then Pharaoh quickly <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him. He said: ‘I have done bad things against the <i>Lord</i> your God and against you. 


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Please <i>forgive</i> me once more for the bad things that I have done. Please ask the <i>Lord</i> your God to remove this cruel and dangerous trouble from me.’


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And the <i>Lord</i> changed the wind to a very strong west wind. This wind lifted the <i>locusts</i> and it carried them into the Red Sea. Not one <i>locust</i> remained in all the country of Egypt. 


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But the <i>Lord</i> caused Pharaoh to change his mind and he would not let the <i>Israelites</i> go. <n>The ‘Red Sea’ is also called the Sea of Reeds (water grasses). It is to the east of Egypt <n>God makes Egypt completely dark</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses. He said: ‘Lift up your hand towards the sky. Then it will be dark over the whole country of Egypt. It will be so dark that people will be able to feel it.’ 


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So Moses lifted up his hand towards the sky and it became completely dark through the whole country of Egypt. It was dark for three days. 


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People could not see each other. Nobody could get up and move about for three days. But all the <i>Israelites</i> had light in the places where they lived.


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses to come to him. He said: ‘Go, <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i>. Even your women and your children can go with you. Only your animals must remain.’ 


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But Moses said: ‘You must also let us take animals with us. We will <i>sacrifice</i> them and burn them, as gifts to the <i>Lord</i> our God.’ <n>The <i>Israelites</i> killed animals as <i>sacrifices</i>. Then they burned them on a stone table as a gift to God. 


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‘We must take our animals with us. Not one can remain behind. We will use some of them to <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> our God. Until we arrive in the <i>desert</i>, we will not know which animals. But we will use some of them, to <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> our God.’


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Then Pharaoh said to Moses: ‘Go away from me! Never appear in front of me again! On the day that you see my face, you will die!’ 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘I will bring one more bad trouble on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Then Pharaoh will let you go away. He will really cause you to go out of the country completely. 


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Tell the people now what they must do. Every man must ask the <i>Egyptians</i> that live near him for gold and <i>silver</i>. Every woman must do the same thing.’ 


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And the <i>Lord</i> made the <i>Egyptians</i> think well of the <i>Israelites</i>. Also, Pharaoh’s servants and the <i>Egyptian</i> people thought very well of Moses.


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So Moses said: ‘The <i>Lord</i> says this: “At about midnight, I will walk through the country of Egypt. 


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Then all the <i>firstborn</i> sons in the country of Egypt will die. The <i>firstborn</i> son of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will die. The <i>firstborn</i> son of the slave, the woman who makes flour, will die. Even the <i>firstborn</i> of the animals will die.” ’ <n>Verse 5 ‘the slave, the woman who makes flour’. This was very hard work. The women had to break up the food seeds with a heavy stone. When they did this, the seeds became flour. <n>The <i>firstborn</i> son of every family in Egypt would die during that night. There would be no difference between the rich family and the poor family. 


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‘ “Everyone will be crying loudly in the whole country called Egypt. Never before have the people felt so sad or cried so loudly. It will never happen again. 


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But among the <i>Israelites</i>, not even a wild animal will attack any of them. Then you will know that the <i>Lord</i> makes a difference between Egypt and <i>Israel</i>.” 


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All these servants of yours will come to me. They will fall down in front of me. They will say to me: “Go! Both you and all the people who follow you.” And then, I will leave.’ Then Moses was very angry and he left Pharaoh.


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The <i>Lord</i> had said to Moses: ‘Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. But then I will do even greater <i>signs</i> in the country of Egypt.’ 


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Moses and Aaron did all these signs in front of Pharaoh. But the <i>Lord</i> made Pharaoh angry and cruel. So Pharaoh would not let the <i>Israelites</i> go out of his country.


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Tell the <i>Israelites</i> that the 10th day of this month is special. Each man must take a young sheep for his family. Take one young sheep for each home. 


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The family may be too small to eat a whole sheep. Then they must eat it with another small family. You must decide this by how much each person can eat. 


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Each young sheep must have nothing wrong with it. It must be a male that is one year old. It can be either a young sheep or a young goat.


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Keep the young sheep safe until the 14th day of the month. Then all <i>Israel</i>’s people must kill the young sheep in the evening. 


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Then they must take some of the blood. They must put it on the wood that is round the door of their houses. They must do this to the houses where they will eat the young sheep. 


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That night, they must cook the meat over the fire and they must eat it. They must eat it with special plants and with bread that has no <i>yeast</i> in it. 


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You must cook the meat, but do not boil it in water. Cook the meat over the fire, with the head, the legs and the inside parts of the animal. 


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You must eat all of the meat before the morning comes. If you cannot eat it before the morning, then you must burn it. 


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This is how you must eat the young sheep: Fix your belt round your coat, put your shoes on your feet. Take your stick in your hand and eat the food quickly. <n>This meal will be called the <i>Passover</i> of the <i>Lord</i>.


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I will pass through the country of Egypt on that night. I will kill every <i>firstborn</i>, both men and animals. I will <i>punish</i> all the gods of Egypt. I am the <i>Lord</i>. 


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The blood will be a <i>sign</i> for you, on all the houses where you live. When I see the blood on the house, then I will pass over you. No bad thing will touch you, when I attack the country of Egypt.’ <n>Verse 13 ‘I will pass over you.’ This is where the English word ‘Passover’ comes from. God made a promise. He would not kill anyone in a house that had blood on the door. He would ‘pass over’ that house. 


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‘You must remember this day as a special day every year. On this day, you must make a special party for the <i>Lord</i>. You must obey this rule in your families for all time. 


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For 7 days, you must eat bread with no <i>yeast</i> in it. On the first day, you must remove all <i>yeast</i> from your houses. Whoever eats bread with <i>yeast</i> in it, during the 7 days, he does a bad thing. You must remove him from <i>Israel</i>’s people. 


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On the first day, you must bring together all the people to a special meeting. And you must do the same thing on the 7th day. On these special days, you must not do any work except to prepare food. This is the only work that you can do.


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Enjoy the meal of the bread with no <i>yeast</i> in it. It was on this same day that I brought your armies out of Egypt. That is why you must enjoy this day as a special day, for all time. This is a rule that you must always obey. 


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In the first month, you must eat bread without <i>yeast</i> in it. Do this from the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day. 


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You must not have any <i>yeast</i> in your houses, for 7 days. Whoever eats anything with <i>yeast</i> in it, he does a bad thing. You must remove that person from the rest of the <i>Israelites</i>. You must do this if that person is a foreign person. You must also do it if he was born in that country. 


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Eat nothing that has <i>yeast</i> in it. Whatever country you live in, you must eat bread without <i>yeast</i> in it.’


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Then Moses <i>commanded</i> the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i> to come to him. He said to them: ‘Go and choose young sheep immediately, for your families. Then kill the animals for the <i>Passover</i> party. 


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Take some <i>hyssop</i>. Make it wet with the blood that is in the dish. Then put some of the blood on the wood that is round your door. Nobody must go out of the door of his house until the morning.’ <n>‘Hyssop’ is a plant with lots of leaves. They held the hyssop in the hand and they used it like a paint brush. They painted some of the blood on the pieces of wood round the doors. 


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‘The <i>Lord</i> will pass through the country and he will kill the <i>Egyptians</i>. But when the <i>Lord</i> sees the blood on the wood round the door, he will pass over that house. He will stop the person who kills. The <i>Lord</i> will not let him come into your houses. The <i>Lord</i> will not let him kill you. <n>‘The person who kills’ was a special <i>angel</i>. 


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You will come into the country that the <i>Lord</i> promised to give you. Then you must obey these rules. 


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Then you must say to them: “It is the <i>Lord</i>’s <i>Passover</i> party. The <i>Lord</i> passed over the houses of the <i>Israelites</i> when they were in Egypt. He killed the <i>Egyptians</i> but he saved the people in our houses.” ’ Then the people bent their heads and they <i>worshipped</i> God. 


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At midnight, the <i>Lord</i> killed all the <i>firstborn</i> sons in the country of Egypt. The <i>firstborn</i> son of Pharaoh, the king, died. But also, the <i>firstborn</i> son of any man who was in prison died. Every <i>firstborn</i> son in Egypt died. All the <i>firstborn</i> animals died also. 


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Pharaoh and all his servants got up in the middle of the night. All the <i>Egyptians</i> also got up in the middle of the night. Everyone was crying in Egypt because there was a dead person in every home. <n>The <i>Israelites</i> leave Egypt</n>


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Then Pharaoh <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron to come to him, during the night. He said: ‘Get up! Go away from my people! You and all the <i>Israelites</i>, go! Go. And <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i>, as you want to. 


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Take all your animals with you, as you have said. Go away! But ask God to do good things to me too.’


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The <i>Egyptians</i> really wanted the <i>Israelites</i> to leave. They wanted to send them out of the country immediately. The <i>Egyptians</i> said: ‘If we do not send them away immediately, we will all die!’ 


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So the <i>Israelites</i> took their bread before they had cooked it. They had not even put the <i>yeast</i> into it. They put the bread in dishes and they covered it with clothes. Then they carried the dishes on their shoulders. 


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The <i>Israelites</i> had obeyed Moses. They had asked the <i>Egyptians</i> for <i>silver</i> and gold. They had also asked them for clothes. 


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The <i>Lord</i> had made the <i>Egyptians</i> think good thoughts about the <i>Israelites</i>. Because of this, the <i>Egyptians</i> let them have all that they asked for. So the <i>Israelites</i> took everything that was valuable from the <i>Egyptians</i>.


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Then the <i>Israelites</i> travelled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600 000 men who walked. There were also many women and children. 


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Many other people travelled with them. And they had a very large number of animals, both sheep and cows. 


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The <i>Israelites</i> cooked the bread that they had brought with them from Egypt. It had no <i>yeast</i> in it, because the <i>Israelites</i> left Egypt quickly. The <i>Egyptians</i> had pushed them out. The <i>Israelites</i> did not have time to make bread with <i>yeast</i> in it. Nor did they have time to prepare any other food. <n>When you make bread with <i>yeast</i> in it, you must wait for the bread to become light and full of air. Then you can cook it. This takes some time. The <i>Israelites</i> were in a hurry. They did not have time for this. 


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It was on the last day of the 430 years that all the <i>Lord</i>’s people left the country called Egypt. 


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The <i>Lord</i> did not sleep on that night, when he brought the <i>Israelites</i> out of Egypt. Because of this, all the <i>Israelites</i> must not sleep during this special night, every year. They and their families must remember this rule, for all time. They must do this, to thank the <i>Lord</i>. <n>‘The <i>Lord</i> did not sleep.’ This does not mean that God sometimes sleeps. It means that God was watching the <i>Israelites</i> in a special way. He was watching them, when they left Egypt. He was keeping them safe. So the <i>Israelites</i> must have a special party on this night, every year, to thank God. <n>Rules for the <i>Passover</i> party</n>


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses and Aaron: ‘These are the rules for the<i>Passover</i> party. <n>No foreign person can eat the <i>Passover</i> food. 


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You must eat the meat in one house. You must not take any of the meat outside the house. You must not break any of the bones in the meat. 


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There may be a foreign person who lives among you. He may want to enjoy the <i>Lord</i>’s <i>Passover</i> too. But he must first <i>circumcise</i> himself and all the males in his house. Then he can enjoy the <i>Passover</i> party, like a man who is born in <i>Israel</i>. But no male person without <i>circumcision</i> can enjoy the <i>Passover</i> party. 


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All the <i>Israelites</i> did everything that the <i>Lord</i> had <i>commanded</i> Moses and Aaron. 


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And on the same day, the <i>Lord</i> brought the <i>Israelites</i> out of Egypt, like a large army of people.


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He said: ‘Keep every <i>firstborn</i> male separate and special for me. Every male who is the first to be born of his mother is mine. He is mine, whether he is man or animal.’ <n>God had killed the <i>firstborn</i> sons of the <i>Egyptians</i>, but he had saved the <i>firstborn</i> sons of the <i>Israelites</i>. Because of this, the <i>firstborn</i> sons were special. God said: ‘They are mine.’ 


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Moses said to the people: ‘Remember this day, the day when you came out of Egypt. You left the place where you were slaves. The <i>Lord</i> brought you out with powerful authority. Remember! Do not eat anything that that has <i>yeast</i> in it on this day. 


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The <i>Lord</i> will bring you to the country of the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>. God promised your <i>ancestors</i> that he would give that country to you. It is a country where there is plenty to eat and to drink. When the <i>Lord</i> brings you in, you must enjoy the <i>Passover</i> party in this month. 


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For 7 days you must eat bread without <i>yeast</i> in it. Then on the 7th day you must have a party for the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Eat bread without <i>yeast</i> during those 7 days. There must not be anything that has <i>yeast</i> in it among you. Nobody must see any <i>yeast</i> anywhere, in the whole of your country. 


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On that day, you must tell your son the reason for this. Say to him: “I do this because of what the <i>Lord</i> did for me. This is because he brought me out of Egypt.” 


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This special time will be like a sign on your hand. It will be like something that you fix between your eyes. It will cause you to remember. Then you will not forget to speak always about the <i>Law</i> of the <i>Lord</i>. It is because the <i>Lord</i> brought you out of Egypt with great power. 


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The <i>Lord</i> will bring you into the country of the <i>Canaanites</i>. It is the country that he promised to you and to your <i>ancestors</i>. He will give it to you. 


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You must give to the <i>Lord</i> all the males that are born first. All the male animals that are born first are the <i>Lord</i>’s animals. 


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When a <i>donkey</i> is born first, you must kill a young sheep instead of the <i>donkey</i>. If you do not do that, then the <i>donkey</i> must die. You must break its neck. If your son is born first, then you must kill an animal instead of your son.


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One day, your son may ask you a question: “What does this mean?” Then you must say to him: “The <i>Lord</i> brought us out of Egypt with powerful authority. He brought us from the place where we were slaves. 


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Pharaoh completely refused to let us go. But the <i>Lord</i> killed all the <i>firstborn</i> sons in the country of Egypt. He killed all the <i>firstborn</i> males, both people and animals. That is why I do this. I kill and I give to the <i>Lord</i> all the <i>firstborn</i> male animals. But I do not kill the <i>firstborn</i> sons. Instead, I kill an animal for each <i>firstborn</i> son and I give it to God.” 


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So, it will be like a sign on your hand and something between your eyes. It will cause you to remember. You will remember that the <i>Lord</i> brought us out of Egypt with his powerful authority.’ <n>The <i>Israelites</i> cross the Red Sea</n>


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When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them through the country of the <i>Philistines</i>. This was near, but God did not do that. God said: ‘If the people see war, they may change their minds. Then they may return to Egypt.’ 


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So God led the people round by the <i>desert</i> road. They went toward the Red Sea. When the <i>Israelites</i> came out of the country of Egypt, they were ready to fight.


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Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. Joseph had caused the <i>Israelites</i> to promise to do this. He had said: ‘God will save you and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.’ <n>We can read about this in Genesis 50:24-25. Joseph was one of Jacob’s sons who became a ruler in Egypt. He died there. But he did not want his family to bury him in Egypt. He wanted them to bury him in the country called Canaan. 


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The <i>Israelites</i> moved on from Succoth. Then they stayed at Etham, on the edge of the <i>desert</i>. And the <i>Lord</i> went in front of them. 


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During the day, God led them in a cloud that went in front of them. During the night, he went in a cloud that had fire in it. This gave them light, so they could travel during the day or the night. 


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The cloud did not leave the people during the day. Nor did the fire in the cloud leave them during the night. It was always in front of them.


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He said: ‘Tell the <i>Israelites</i> that they must stop. Tell them that they must stay near Pihahiroth. This is a place between Migdol and the sea. They must stay by the sea, across from Baal-zephon. 


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Then Pharaoh will think: “The <i>Israelites</i> are confused. They are walking round and round the country. The <i>desert</i> has shut them in.” 


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And I will cause Pharaoh to think cruel thoughts. He will go after the <i>Israelites</i>. Then I will show how great I am, by Pharaoh and his whole army. Because of this, the <i>Egyptians</i> will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>.’ So the <i>Israelites</i> obeyed God.


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Someone told the king of Egypt that the <i>Israelites</i> had run away. Then Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about the <i>Israelites</i>. They said: ‘We have done a silly thing. We have let the <i>Israelites</i> go. We have lost our slaves!’ 


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He took 600 of his best <i>chariots</i> with him. He also took all the other <i>chariots</i> of Egypt, with officers to drive them. 


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And the <i>Lord</i> made Pharaoh, king of Egypt think more cruel thoughts. So Pharaoh followed after the brave <i>Israelites</i>, when they marched out.


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The <i>Egyptians</i> went after the <i>Israelites</i>. They went with all Pharaoh’s horses, <i>chariots</i> and soldiers. They came near to the <i>Israelites</i>, who were by the sea. It was near Pihahiroth, across from Baal-zephon.


text:
Pharaoh was coming nearer. The <i>Israelites</i> looked up. They saw that the <i>Egyptians</i> had marched after them. Then the <i>Israelites</i> were afraid and they shouted aloud to the <i>Lord</i>. 


text:
They said to Moses: ‘There are many places in Egypt to bury dead people! You did not have to bring us here! Have you brought us here to die in the <i>desert</i>? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? 


text:
We said to you in Egypt: “Leave us alone. Let us work for the <i>Egyptians</i>.” It would have been better for us to do that. Then, anyway, we would not die in the <i>desert</i>!’


text:
Then Moses spoke to the people. He said: ‘Do not be afraid. Stand quietly. See how the <i>Lord</i> will save you today. The <i>Egyptians</i> that you see today you will never see again. 


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Do not shout aloud to me. <i>Command</i> the <i>Israelites</i> to march on. 


text:
Lift up your stick. Lift up your hand over the sea. Then the water will become two separate parts. Then the <i>Israelites</i> can cross the sea on dry ground. 


text:
I will make the <i>Egyptians</i> angry and they will follow the <i>Israelites</i> into the sea. And I will show my powerful authority by Pharaoh and by his army and by all his <i>chariots</i>. 


text:
The <i>angel</i> of God went in front of the army of the <i>Israelites</i>. Now he moved and he went behind them. The special cloud moved also and it stood behind the army. 


text:
It stood between the <i>Egyptian</i> army and the <i>Israelite</i> army. During the whole night, the <i>Egyptians</i> were in the dark, because of the cloud. But the <i>Israelites</i> were in the light, because there was fire in the cloud. So the <i>Egyptians</i> stayed away from the <i>Israelites</i> during the whole night.


text:
Then Moses lifted up his hand over the sea. During that whole night, the <i>Lord</i> made the sea go back. He did this with a strong wind that made the water into two separate parts. The ground below the sea became like dry land. 


text:
Then the <i>Israelites</i> walked on the dry ground in the middle of the sea. The water was like a wall on their right side and on their left side.


text:
The <i>Egyptians</i> went after them and followed them into the middle of the sea. All Pharaoh’s horses and his <i>chariots</i> did this. And so did the men who drove the <i>chariots</i>. 


text:
In the early morning, the <i>Lord</i> looked down, from the cloud with fire in it. He looked at the <i>Egyptian</i> army and he confused them. 


text:
Their <i>chariots</i> could not move easily in the sand. It became very difficult for the <i>Egyptians</i> to drive their <i>chariots</i>. So the <i>Egyptians</i> said: ‘Let us run away from the <i>Israelites</i>. It is the <i>Lord</i> who fights for them, against Egypt.’


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses. He said: ‘Lift up your hand over the sea. Then the waters will return. They will cover the <i>Egyptians</i>, their <i>chariots</i> and the men who drive them.’ 


text:
So Moses lifted up his hand over the sea. And at dawn, the sea returned to its own place. The <i>Egyptians</i> ran away from the water, as fast as they could. But the <i>Lord</i> killed them. The <i>Egyptians</i> drowned in the middle of the sea. 


text:
The water returned. It covered the <i>chariots</i> and the men that drove them. The water covered Pharaoh’s whole army that had followed the <i>Israelites</i> into the sea. Not one of those men remained alive.


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But the <i>Israelites</i> walked on dry ground through the sea. The water was like a wall on their right side and on their left side. 


text:
On that day, the <i>Lord</i> saved the <i>Israelites</i> from the <i>Egyptians</i>. The <i>Israelites</i> saw the dead bodies of the <i>Egyptians</i>, which lay on the shore. 


text:
Then the <i>Israelites</i> saw what a great thing the <i>Lord</i> had done against the <i>Egyptians</i>. So the <i>Israelites</i> were afraid of the <i>Lord</i>. But they believed that he loved them. They also loved and obeyed Moses, the <i>Lord</i>’s servant.


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Then Moses and the <i>Israelites</i> sang this song to the <i>Lord</i>: <n>I will sing to the <i>Lord</i>, because he is great and powerful. <n>He threw horses and the men who ride them into the sea.


text:
The <i>Lord</i> makes me strong and he gives me a song. He has saved me. <n>He is my God and I will <i>praise</i> him. <n>He is my father’s God and I will <i>praise</i> him.


text:
He threw Pharaoh’s <i>chariots</i> and armies into the sea. <n>Pharaoh’s best officers drowned in the Red Sea.


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Your right hand, <i>Lord</i>, was great and very powerful. <n>Your right hand, <i>Lord</i>, killed the enemy.


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With your powerful authority, you killed your enemies. <n>You were very angry with them. You killed them, like a fire burns dry grass.


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The enemy said: ‘I will go after them. I will catch them. <n>I will take good things from these <i>Israelites</i> and I will give them to my army. <n>I will be very happy to do this! I will pull out my sharp knife and I will kill them.’


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But you blew on the waters and the sea covered your enemies. <n>They went down like heavy metal in the great waters.


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Oh <i>Lord</i>, there is nobody like you among the gods! There is nobody like you anywhere! <n>You are so great and so <i>holy</i>. You frighten us with your bright light. <n>You do great and powerful things.


text:
Because your love never changes, you have led your people. <n>They are the ones that you have saved. <n>With your strong hand, you will be their guide to your <i>holy</i> home.


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The people in other countries will hear and they will be very afraid. <n>You will frighten the people in Philistia with a great pain.


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The rulers of Edom will feel weak and very afraid. <n>The leaders of Moab cannot stand. They are so much afraid. <n>All the people in Canaan will run away.


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They are very afraid of your powerful authority. <n>They cannot move. They have become like stones that do not move. <n>And they will remain like that, until your people pass by them, <i>Lord</i>. <n>They will not move, until your own people have passed by them.


text:
You will bring in your people. You will bring them to live on your own mountain. <n><i>Lord</i>, it is the place that you have prepared for your home. <n>It is the <i>holy place</i>, <i>Lord</i>, that you yourself have built.


text:
Pharaoh’s horses and his <i>chariots</i> had gone into the sea, with the men who drove them. Then the <i>Lord</i> had made the waters of the sea come back over them. But the <i>Israelites</i> had walked through the sea on dry ground. 


text:
Then Miriam, Aaron’s sister, who was a female <i>prophet</i>, took a <i>tambourine</i> in her hand. All the other women followed Miriam, with <i>tambourines</i> in their hands. They danced when Miriam sang to them. <n>A tambourine is a thing with which we can make music. To make a tambourine, you fix leather to a circle of wood. You hold the tambourine with one hand. With the other hand, you hit the leather, to make a sound. 


text:
This is the song that she sang: <n>‘Sing to the <i>Lord</i>! <n>He is great and powerful. <n>He threw into the sea <n>the horse and the man who rides it!’ <n>The waters of Marah and Elim</n>


text:
Then Moses led the <i>Israelites</i> away from the <i>Red Sea</i>. They travelled into the <i>desert</i> called Shur. They walked into the <i>desert</i> for three days and they could not find any water. 


text:
Then, when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there. They tasted the water, but it was bad. That is why they called that place ‘Marah’. Marah means ‘it tastes bad’. 


text:
Then Moses prayed to the <i>Lord</i> and the <i>Lord</i> showed Moses a special piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water and then the water became clean and good. <n>In that place, the <i>Lord</i> made a rule and a <i>law</i> for the <i>Israelites</i>. He checked them there, in that place. 


text:
He said: ‘Be careful to listen to the voice of the <i>Lord</i>, your God. Do what he says is right. Obey his <i>commands</i> and all his rules. Then I will not bring on you the illnesses that I gave to the <i>Egyptians</i>. I am the <i>Lord</i>. I make you well again.’


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Then they came to Elim. There they found 12 wells of water and 70 <i>palm trees</i>. And the <i>Israelites</i> stayed there, by the water.


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Then all the <i>Israelites</i> left Elim and they came into the <i>desert</i> called Sin. This is between Elim and Sinai. They arrived in the <i>desert</i> on the 15th day of the second month after they had left the country called Egypt. 


text:
When they were in the <i>desert</i>, all the <i>Israelites</i> said bad things against Moses and Aaron. 


text:
The <i>Israelites</i> said to them: ‘We wish that the <i>Lord</i> had killed us in Egypt! There, we sat round pots of meat. We ate all the food that we wanted. But now you have brought us into this <i>desert</i>. We shall all die, every one of us, because there is no food to eat.’


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses. He said: ‘I will cause bread to fall down from the sky for you. Each day, the people must go out and pick up enough bread for that day. In this way I will discover what they are like. I will discover whether they will obey my rules. 


text:
So Moses and Aaron spoke to the <i>Israelites</i>. They said: ‘In the evening, you will know who brought you out of Egypt. It was the <i>Lord</i>! 


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And in the morning, you will see how great and powerful the <i>Lord</i> is. The <i>Lord</i> has heard the bad things that you have said against him. We, Moses and Aaron, are not important. You should not say bad things against us.’ 


text:
And Moses also said: ‘The <i>Lord</i> will give you meat to eat in the evening. And in the morning, he will give you all the bread that you want. He will do this because he has heard you. He has heard the bad things that you have said against him. Aaron and I are not important. You have said bad things against the <i>Lord</i>, not against us.’


text:
Then Moses spoke to Aaron: ‘Say to all the <i>Israelites</i>: “Come near, in front of the <i>Lord</i>. He has heard the bad things that you have said against him.” ’ 


text:
While Aaron spoke, the <i>Israelites</i> looked toward the <i>desert</i>. And they saw the <i>glory</i> of the <i>Lord</i>! It appeared in the cloud.


text:
He said: ‘I have heard the bad things that the <i>Israelites</i> have said against me. Tell them this: “In the evening, you will eat meat. And in the morning you will eat all the bread that you want. Then you will know that I am the <i>Lord</i> your God.” ’


text:
That same evening, <i>quails</i> flew down and they covered the whole ground. <n>A quail is a small bird. The <i>Israelites</i> caught and killed the quails. Then they cooked and ate them. <n>And in the morning, there was something like rain on all the ground where the <i>Israelites</i> were living. 


text:
When the ground was dry again, small white pieces of material remained on the ground in the <i>desert</i>. They looked like little pieces of ice. 


text:
When the <i>Israelites</i> saw these pieces, they said: ‘What is it?’ They did not understand what it was. But Moses said to them: ‘This is the bread that the <i>Lord</i> has given to you. It is for you to eat. 


text:
This is what the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i>: “Every man must pick up as much as he needs to eat. Pick up about two litres for each person who lives in your <i>tent</i>.” ’


text:
So the <i>Israelites</i> did this. Some of them picked up a lot of the food. Some of them picked up a little food. 


text:
But when they measured the amount, everyone had the right amount of food. The person who had picked up a lot did not have too much. And the person who had picked up only a little food still had enough food. Each person had picked up what he needed.


text:
But some of them did not listen to Moses. They kept part of the food until the morning. But very small snakes appeared in it. And it began to have a bad smell. Then Moses was angry with those people.


text:
Each morning, everyone picked up as much food as he needed. But when the heat of the sun became strong, the food became soft. Then it went away. 


text:
On the sixth day, the <i>Israelites</i> picked up twice as much food. They picked up four litres for each person. Then the leaders of the people reported this to Moses. 


text:
Moses said to them: ‘This is what the <i>Lord commanded</i> you to do. He said: “Tomorrow is a special day for rest. It is a <i>Sabbath</i> day, for the <i>Lord</i>. Cook the food that you want to cook. Boil the food that you want to boil. And you can keep whatever remains, until the morning.” ’


text:
So they kept the food until the morning, as Moses had said. The food did not have a bad smell and there were no small snakes in it. 


text:
Moses said: ‘Eat it today, because this day is a <i>Sabbath</i> to the <i>Lord</i>. You will not find any food on the ground today. 


text:
On six days of the week, you must pick it up from the ground. But on the 7th day of the week, there will be none of this food on the ground. That is because the 7th day is the <i>Sabbath</i> day.’


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses. He said: ‘The people always refuse to obey my <i>commands</i>. They always refuse to do what I say! 


text:
Remember that the <i>Lord</i> has given the <i>Sabbath</i> to you. That is why he gives you enough food for two days. He does this on the sixth day. Then everyone must stay at home on the 7th day. Nobody must go out on the 7th day.’ 


text:
Now the <i>Israelites</i> called the special food ‘<i>manna</i>’. It was white, like <i>coriander</i> seed. When they tasted the <i>manna</i>, it was like thin pieces of bread with <i>honey</i> in it. <n>‘Coriander’ is a food plant. People use the seeds to make food taste good. 


text:
And Moses said: ‘This is what the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i>. He said: “Keep 1 omer of <i>manna</i> (this is equal to 2 litres) for the people in future times. Then they will see the bread that I fed to you in the <i>desert</i>. I gave this to you when I brought you out of the country called Egypt.” ’


text:
So Moses spoke to Aaron. He said: ‘Put one <i>omer</i> of <i>manna</i> into a pot. Then put the pot in the <i>tabernacle</i>. We must keep it, so that our people can see it in the future times.’


text:
And Aaron did what the <i>Lord</i> had said to Moses. He put the pot in front of the <i>Testimony</i>, to keep it safe. <n>Verse 34 tells us about something that happened at a later time. In Exodus 25:10, 16, we read that Moses made a special box called the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i>. In the box he put the Testimony. This was two stones on which God had written his 10 rules. After Moses had made the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i>, Aaron put the pot of <i>manna</i> into it. 


text:
The <i>Israelites</i> ate the <i>manna</i> for 40 years, until they had finished their journey. They ate it until they came to the country called Canaan.


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Then all the <i>Israelites</i> travelled away from the <i>desert</i> called Sin. They moved from one place to another, when the <i>Lord commanded</i> them. When they came to Rephidim, there was no water. The people had nothing to drink. 


text:
Because of this, the people quarrelled with Moses. They said: ‘Give us water to drink!’ And Moses said to them: ‘You should not quarrel with me! You should not try to make the <i>Lord</i> angry!’


text:
But the people needed water very much and they said bad things against Moses. They said: ‘You should not have brought us out of Egypt! You will kill us and our children and our animals. We will die, because we have no water.’


text:
Then Moses shouted aloud to the <i>Lord</i>. ‘What shall I do with these people? They will throw stones at me soon. Then they will throw them until I am dead.’


text:
The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Walk in front of the people. Bring some of the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i> with you. Take your stick in your hand, the stick with which you hit the River Nile. Go! 


text:
I will stand there, in front of you, by the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock, and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.’ So Moses did this, while the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i> watched him. 


text:
And he called that place Massah and Meribah, because the <i>Israelites</i> quarrelled there. And they tried to make the <i>Lord</i> angry. They said: ‘Is the <i>Lord</i> with us, or is he not with us?’ <n>‘Massah’ means ‘try to make a person angry’. ‘Meribah’ means ‘a quarrel’. <n>The <i>Israelites</i> beat the <i>Amalekites</i></n>


text:
Moses said to Joshua: ‘Choose some of our men. Then go out and fight with the <i>Amalekites</i>. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill. And I will hold God’s stick in my hand.’


text:
So Joshua fought against the <i>Amalekites</i>. He obeyed the words of Moses. Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 


text:
When Moses lifted up his hand, the <i>Israelites</i> were winning in the fight. But when Moses brought his hand down, the <i>Amalekites</i> were winning in the fight. 


text:
Moses hands became tired. So Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses and he sat on the stone. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands. Aaron stood on one side of Moses and Hur stood on the other side. They held his hands up, until sunset. 


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Write these things on a <i>scroll</i>. Then you will remember them. Joshua must hear my words because I will kill all of the <i>Amalekites</i>. Nobody in the whole world will remember them.’


text:
Moses said: ‘I lifted up my hands to the <i>Lord</i> on his seat, where he rules. I prayed to him. Now the <i>Lord</i> has said that he will always fight against the <i>Amalekites</i>.’ <n>A ‘banner’ is a large piece of cloth that someone fixes to a stick. Soldiers carry banners when they go to fight. The banner is like a sign. It tells the enemy that you are coming. 


text:
Jethro, the <i>priest</i> of Midian, was the father of Moses’ wife. He heard about all the things that God had done for Moses and for the <i>Israelites</i>. He also heard how the <i>Lord</i> had brought <i>Israel</i> out of Egypt.


text:
and her two sons into his house. One son was called Gershom. Moses said about him, ‘I have become a stranger in a foreign country.’ 


text:
The other son was called Eliezer. Moses said about him, ‘My father’s God gave me help. He saved me from Pharaoh, when Pharaoh wanted to kill me.’ <n>The name Gershom means ‘a foreign person’. The name Eliezer means ‘My God gives me help’. 


text:
Then Jethro came to Moses in the <i>desert</i>. Moses was staying near the mountain of God. Jethro brought with him Moses’ sons and Moses’ wife. 


text:
Jethro had sent a message to Moses. He said: ‘I am Jethro, your wife’s father. I am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.’


text:
So Moses went out to meet his wife’s father. Moses bent his head and he kissed Jethro. They spoke together and then they went into the <i>tent</i>. 


text:
Moses told his wife’s father about all the things that the <i>Lord</i> had done to Pharaoh. He told him also what the <i>Lord</i> had done to the <i>Egyptians</i> because of the <i>Israelites</i>. He told Jethro about the troubles that had happened to them during the journey. And Moses told him how the <i>Lord</i> had saved his people, the <i>Israelites</i>.


text:
Jethro was very happy to listen to Moses. Moses repeated to him how the <i>Lord</i> had saved the <i>Israelites</i> from the authority of the <i>Egyptians</i>. 


text:
Jethro said: ‘Let us thank the <i>Lord</i>, who saved you from the authority of Pharaoh and the <i>Egyptians</i>. He saved all the people also from the authority of the <i>Egyptians</i>. 


text:
Now I know that the <i>Lord</i> is greater than all other gods. The <i>Lord</i> did these things to the people who were cruel towards the <i>Israelites</i>.’ 


text:
Then Jethro, the father of Moses’ wife, brought an animal, and other gifts, to God. And Aaron came, with all the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i>. They ate a meal together with Jethro, where God could see them.


text:
The next day, Moses sat down to <i>judge</i> the people. They stood round him from morning until evening. 


text:
Jethro saw all that Moses did for the people. Then he said: ‘What is this that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone and <i>judge</i> the people? These people stand round you during the whole day.’


text:
When they cannot agree, they come to me. I decide between them and I tell them about God’s <i>laws</i> and rules.’


text:
Both you and the people who come to you will become too tired. The work is too much for you. You cannot do it alone. 


text:
Now listen to me! I will give you some good ideas, and God will make you strong. You must be the person who speaks to God, for the <i>Israelites</i>. Bring their quarrels to him. 


text:
Teach them the rules and <i>laws</i>. Show them how they should live. Explain to them the things that they must do.


text:
But you must choose <i>wise</i> men from all the people. They must be men who obey God. They must be good men, who will not do false things. Make these men officers over groups of the people. Some groups will be 1000 people; some groups will be 100 people. Some groups will be 50 people and some will be only 10 people. 


text:
Let them work as <i>judges</i> for the people, every day. They can decide the small problems, but they must bring the difficult problems to you. That will make your work easier, because they will work with you. 


text:
If God <i>commands</i> you to do this, please obey him. Then the work will not be too hard for you. You will keep your good health. And all these people will go home and they will be happy.’


text:
Moses chose good and <i>wise</i> men from all the <i>Israelites</i>. He made them leaders and officers of the people. Some were officers over 1000 people; some were officers over 100 people. Some were officers over 50 people and some were officers over 10 people. 


text:
They worked as <i>judges</i> for the people at all times. They told Moses about the difficult problems, but they decided the easy problems without his help.


text:
Three whole months after the <i>Israelites</i> left Egypt, they came to the <i>Desert</i> of Sinai. 


text:
After they left Rephidim, they arrived in the <i>Desert</i> of Sinai. The <i>Israelites</i> put up their <i>tents</i> in the <i>desert</i>, in front of the mountain.


text:
Then Moses went up the mountain to God. The <i>Lord</i> spoke to him from the mountain. He said: ‘This is what you must say to Jacob’s children and grandchildren and to the <i>Israelites</i>. 


text:
“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt. You know how I carried you. I carried you like a large bird carries her young birds on her <i>wings</i>. And I brought you to myself. 


text:
Now, obey me completely and love my promises. Then I will make you my special people that I love. I have chosen you only, from all the people in other countries. The whole world is mine, 


text:
but you will all become my <i>priests</i>. You will become a special family to me, a family that I can love.” These are the words that you must speak to the <i>Israelites</i>.’


text:
So Moses returned and he brought together all the leaders of the <i>Israelites</i>. He repeated to them all the words that the <i>Lord</i> had <i>commanded</i> him. 


text:
The people all replied together. They said: ‘We will do everything that the <i>Lord</i> has said.’ Then Moses repeated their answer to the <i>Lord</i>.


text:
The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud. Then the people will hear me speak to you. And they will always believe everything that you say.’ Then Moses told the <i>Lord</i> the words that the people had said.


text:
And the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Go to the people. Make them ready to meet with me. Today and tomorrow they must wash their clothes. 


text:
They must be ready on the third day. On that day, the <i>Lord</i> will come down on <i>Mount</i> Sinai. And all the people will see him. 


text:
Do not let the people come too near to the mountain. Say to them: “Be careful! Do not go up the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain must die. 


text:
You must throw stones at him until he dies. Or you must shoot at him with <i>arrows</i>. Nobody must touch him. You must not let him live, whether he is a man or an animal. The people must wait until they hear a loud sound of music. Then they can go up to the mountain.” ’


text:
Then Moses came down from the mountain. He <i>commanded</i> the people to make themselves ready for God. And the people washed their clothes. 


text:
On the morning of the third day, there was a great storm. The people heard loud noises and they saw bright lights. A dark cloud was there over the mountain and the people heard very loud music. They were so afraid that their bodies were <i>shaking</i>. <n>In this storm, there was thunder (very loud noises in the sky). There was also lightning (bright lights in the sky). 


text:
Smoke covered <i>Mount</i> Sinai because the <i>Lord</i> came down on the mountain, like a fire. The smoke rose up from the mountain, like smoke from a great fire. The whole mountain moved about, 


text:
and the sound of the music became louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.


text:
The <i>Lord</i> came down to the top of <i>Mount</i> Sinai. Then he told Moses that he must come to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up the mountain 


text:
and the <i>Lord</i> spoke to him. He said: ‘Go down to the people. Tell them that they must stay away from the mountain. They must not try to see the <i>Lord</i>. If they do, they will die. 


text:
Even the <i>priests</i>, who come near to the <i>Lord</i>, must make themselves ready for God. If they do not obey this word, the <i>Lord</i> will be very angry with them.’


text:
Moses said to the <i>Lord</i>: ‘The people cannot come up <i>Mount</i> Sinai. You yourself told us that we must put things round the mountain. You told us that we must make the mountain special. You told us that we must stay away from the edge of the mountain.’


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The <i>Lord</i> replied: ‘Go down. Bring Aaron up with you. But the <i>priests</i> and the people must obey my <i>command</i>. They must not try to come up to the <i>Lord</i>. If they did, the <i>Lord</i> would be very angry with them.’


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‘I am the <i>Lord</i> your God. I brought you out of Egypt, out of the country where you were slaves.


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You must not make any false god for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything in the sky. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the water. 


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You must not bend down your head to a false god, nor <i>worship</i> it. I, the <i>Lord</i> your God, will be angry if you do not remember me. I will <i>punish</i> the children for the bad things that their fathers do. I will even <i>punish</i> the grandchildren and their children. I will do this to those who hate me. 


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But I will love thousands of people who love me. These are the people who obey my <i>commandments</i>.


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You must not use the name of the <i>Lord</i> your God in a wrong way. The <i>Lord</i> will be angry with anyone who uses his name in a wrong way.


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But the seventh day is a <i>Sabbath</i> to the <i>Lord</i> your God. You must not do any work on that day. Your son and your daughter must not work on that day. Your male servant and your female servant must not work on that day. The stranger who lives among you and even your animals must not work on that day. 


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In six days, the <i>Lord</i> made the sky, the earth and the sea. He also made everything that is in them. But on the seventh day, the <i>Lord</i> rested. And he <i>blessed</i> the seventh day and he made it special.


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Always be very kind to your father and your mother. Then you will live for many years in the country that the <i>Lord</i> will give to you.


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You must not want to take your <i>neighbour</i>’s house, or his wife, or his servants. You must not want to take his cow, or his <i>donkey</i>, or anything that your <i>neighbour</i> has.’


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The people saw the very bright light and they heard the loud noises. They heard the loud music and they saw the smoke on the mountain. They were so afraid that they could not stop their bodies moving. They would not come near. 


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They said to Moses: ‘Speak to us yourself. We will listen to you. But do not let God speak to us. If he does, we will die.’


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Moses said to the people: ‘Do not be afraid. God has only come to <i>test</i> you. He wants you to love him. He wants you to obey him. Then you will not want to do bad things.’


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So the people stayed away from the mountain. But Moses walked toward the thick, dark cloud, where God was.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Tell the <i>Israelites</i> this: “You yourselves have heard me speak to you from <i>heaven</i>. 


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Do not make any gods to be equal to me. Do not make for yourselves gods out of <i>silver</i> or out of gold. 


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Make a table out of earth for me. Burn your dead animals upon it and also your other gifts to me. I will cause people in many places to love my name. And in those places, I will come to you and I will make you happy. 


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You can make a table of stone for me also. But do not build it with stones that you have cut. If you use tools on the stones, the table will not be clean for God.


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If you buy an <i>Israelite</i> slave, he must work for you for six years. But in the seventh year he is a free man. He can leave you. He does not have to pay you any money. 


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If he came to you alone, he is free to leave alone. If he came with a wife, she can leave with him. 


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But if his master gives him a wife, she is her master’s slave. And if she has had children, they are also her master’s slaves. Only the husband can leave the master.


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But perhaps the slave may say: “I love my master, my wife and my children. I will not go away like a free man!” 


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Then his master must take him in front of the <i>judges</i>. He must lead him to the door, or to the edge of the door. There the master must push the sharp point of a tool through the slave’s ear. Then he will always be his master’s slave.


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Perhaps a man may sell his daughter as a slave. She is not free to leave her master, as the male slaves are, after six years. Her master has chosen her for himself. 


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If he does not like her, he must let someone from her family buy her from him. He cannot sell her to a foreign person. He has not done what he promised to her. 


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If the man marries another woman, he must not forget the first woman. He must continue to give her food and clothes. He must be kind to her because she is still his wife. 


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If he does not do these three things, she can leave him. She does not have to pay him any money. <n>When people attack other people</n>


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Perhaps a person will hit another person and kill him. This is murder. The person who does it must die. 


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But perhaps he did not want to do it, but God let it happen. Then the man must run away to a place that I will show him. 


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But a man may decide to kill another man. Then you must take him away from my table and you must kill him.


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You must kill anyone who <i>steals</i> another person. He might sell him or keep him. <n>You must kill the bad man when you catch him.


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Perhaps two men may quarrel. One man hits the other man with a stone or with his fist. <n>The second man does not die but he has to stay in bed. 


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Then he gets up and walks about outside, with his stick. Then nobody will <i>judge</i> the first man. But he must pay the man whom he hurt. This man cannot work until he is completely well again.


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Perhaps a man may hit his male or female slave with a stick. If the slave dies because of this, you must <i>punish</i> the man. 


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But if the slave becomes well again after one or two days, do not <i>punish</i> the man. The slave is his own.


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When two men fight together, perhaps one man may hit a woman. That woman may be with child. Then she gives birth to her child before the right time. If the cruel man has not hurt the child, he must pay money to her husband. He must pay the amount of money that the husband asks. A <i>judge</i> must agree that the amount is fair. 


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You must take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth. You must take a hand for a hand or a foot for a foot. 


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You must take a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.’ <n>If the cruel man has hurt the child, they must hurt him too. If the child dies, the man must die. Every part of the child that the man has hurt, they must hurt that part of the man. A ‘burn’ is a mark on the body that fire causes. A ‘wound’ is a place where someone has cut the skin. A ‘bruise’ is a mark on the skin where someone has hit a person. 


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‘If a man hits the eye of a male or female slave, he may destroy the eye. Then he must let the slave go away free because of his bad eye. 


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Perhaps a man may knock out the tooth of a male or female slave. Then he must let the slave go away free, because of his lost tooth.


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Perhaps a male cow may attack a person and kill him. Then you must throw stones at the male cow until it dies. You must not eat the meat from that male cow. But do not <i>punish</i> the master of the male cow. 


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But perhaps that male cow has attacked people before. Perhaps someone has told his master about this, but the man has not listened. He has not kept the male cow in a safe place and the animal has killed a person. Then you must throw stones at the animal but you must also kill his master. 


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If it attacks a male or female slave, the animal’s master must pay 30 <i>silver</i> coins. He must give it to the slave’s master and he must kill the animal.


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If a man finds a hole, he must cover it. If he digs a hole, he must cover it. If he does not do this, a cow or a <i>donkey</i> may fall into it. 


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Then the man who dug the hole must pay for the loss of the animal. He must pay money to the animal’s master but he can keep the dead animal for himself.


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If one man’s male cow attacks another man’s male cow, it may die. Then they must sell the animal that is alive. Each man can have half of the money and half of the dead animal. 


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But perhaps that male cow has attacked another animal before. Someone has told the animal’s master about this, but he has not listened. He has not kept the animal in a safe place. So he must pay the other man for the loss of his animal. But he can keep the dead animal for himself.


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Perhaps a bad man may take a cow or a sheep. He may kill it or he may sell it. Then he must pay the animal’s master. He must pay five cows for the one cow that he took. And he must pay four sheep for the one sheep that he took.


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Perhaps someone may catch a bad man, just as he goes into another man’s house. He hits the bad man and the bad man dies. This thing is not murder, if it happens at night. But if it happens during the day, it is murder.


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A man who takes another man’s animal must certainly give it back. If he cannot do this, then someone must buy him as a slave. And he must give the money to the man whose animal he took.


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Perhaps someone will find the animal alive, in the man’s field. Then the man must give back two animals. He must do this, whether it was a cow, or a <i>donkey</i>, or a sheep.


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A man’s animals may eat grass in his field or in his garden of <i>grapes</i>. But perhaps he may let them go and eat grass in another man’s field. This is a wrong thing to do. So he must pay back to the other man the best food from his own field.


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Someone may light a fire in a field and it begins to burn the bushes. Then the fire becomes bigger and hotter. It burns some of the food that is growing in the field. It may even burn the whole field. Then the person who lit the fire must pay money to the farmer. He has destroyed the farmer’s food.


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Perhaps a man may give some <i>silver</i> or other things to his <i>neighbour</i>. He asks his <i>neighbour</i> to keep them safe for him. But a bad man comes and he takes the things from the <i>neighbour</i>’s house. If you catch the bad man, then he must pay for these things. He must pay twice the value of the things that he took. 


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But if you do not find the bad man, then take the <i>neighbour</i> to the <i>judges</i>. They must agree whether he has taken the other man’s things for himself.


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The <i>judges</i> must <i>judge</i> when there is a quarrel between two people about things. <n>They may argue about an animal or some clothes or anything that is lost. If one of them says: “This is mine!” they must both come to the <i>judges</i>. The <i>judges</i> will choose which man is wrong. Then that man must pay back twice the value to his <i>neighbour</i>.


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Perhaps a man may ask his <i>neighbour</i> to keep one of his animals for him. Then someone hurts the animal or it may die. Or perhaps a bad man takes it away while nobody sees him. 


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This problem has an answer. The <i>neighbour</i> can make a special promise, in front of the <i>Lord</i>. He can promise to say what is true. He can say that he did not take the other man’s animal for himself. The other man must believe these words. He must not ask his <i>neighbour</i> to pay him any money. 


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But perhaps a wild animal killed it. Then the <i>neighbour</i> must show the pieces that are left. Then he will not have to pay for the loss of the animal.


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Perhaps a man may lend an animal to his <i>neighbour</i>. Then the animal dies while the man is not present. Or someone may hurt the animal. The <i>neighbour</i> must pay for the loss of the animal. 


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But if the man is with his animal, then the <i>neighbour</i> does not have to pay. Perhaps the <i>neighbour</i> gave the man some money, so that he could use his animal. If the animal dies, then that money will pay him back for his loss.


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Perhaps a man may have sex with a young girl. She has not yet promised to marry anyone. Then that man must marry her. He must pay the bride-price to her father. 


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Her father may completely refuse to give her to the man. But the man must still pay the bride-price for a girl who is not married.’ <n>The ‘bride-price’ is the price that a man had to pay, if he wanted to marry a girl. He paid it to her father, who decided the price. It was often cows, sheep or <i>donkeys</i>. 


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You must kill any person who gives gifts to a false god. People must only bring gifts to the <i>Lord</i>.


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Always be kind to a foreign person. Do not be cruel to him, because you were strangers in the country called Egypt.


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and I will be angry with you. I will kill you in a war. You will leave your wives and children without husbands and fathers.


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You may lend money to one of my people who needs help. But do not be like the people in other countries. They cause poor people to pay extra money for the help. 


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He needs his coat, to keep him warm at night. It is the only warm thing that he has. When he shouts aloud to me, I will hear him. I am a kind God and I love men and women.


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You must give your <i>firstborn</i> sons to me. <n>Do the same thing with your cows and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for 7 days. But on the eighth day, you must give them to me.


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You will be my special people. So do not eat any meat that wild animals have killed. Instead, you must throw it to the dogs. They can eat it.


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Do not follow other people, to do wrong things. When you speak in front of a <i>judge</i>, let your words be true. Do not speak false words, to be like everyone else. 


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Perhaps you may find your enemy’s cow or <i>donkey</i> as it runs away. You must certainly return it to him. 


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Perhaps you may see your enemy’s <i>donkey</i> fall down. The basket on its back is too full of heavy things. Do not leave the <i>donkey</i> there. You must certainly give your enemy help with his animal.


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Always be fair to your poor people when they stand in front of a <i>judge</i>. Do not refuse to be fair to them. 


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Refuse to listen to false words against anyone. I will not let anyone go free who has done a wrong thing. So do not kill a person who has not done a wrong thing.


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Do not accept money as a gift, to do what is wrong. You will not be able to <i>judge</i> properly, because of this gift. Also, it will confuse the words of a good man.


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Do not be cruel to a foreign person. You yourselves know what it feels like. So do not do it. Remember! You were foreign people in Egypt. <n><i>Laws</i> about the <i>Sabbath</i></n>


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But during the seventh year, you must let your fields lie empty. Do not dig them and do not plant them. Then the poor people among you can get food from your fields. And the wild animals can eat any food that remains. Do the same thing with your gardens of fruit.


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Do your work for six days, but do not work on the seventh day. Then your cow and your <i>donkey</i> can rest. Also, the foreign person and the slave who was born in your home can have some rest. Then they will become strong and happy.


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Be careful to obey all my words to you. Do not ask any other gods for help. Do not let anyone hear the names of other gods from your lips. <n>The three parties that happen during each year</n>


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Enjoy the party of bread that has no <i>yeast</i> in it. For 7 days, you must eat bread that you have made without any <i>yeast</i>. I have <i>commanded</i> you to do this. Do it at the right time during the month Abib. It was in that month that you came out of Egypt. Nobody must come to me with nothing in his hands.


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Enjoy the party of <i>harvest</i> with the first food that you bring from your fields. <n>Enjoy another party at the end of the year. This will be when you bring in all of your food from the fields.’ <n>The <i>Israelites</i> enjoyed the <i>harvest</i> party when they picked the first food from the fields. <n>The third party happened later, when they brought in the whole <i>harvest</i>. 


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If you give to me an animal as a gift, you may offer its blood. But do not offer it together with anything that has <i>yeast</i> in it. <n>Do not keep the <i>fat</i> from my special gifts until the next morning.


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When you pick the first food from your fields, put the best food into a basket. Then bring it to the house of the <i>Lord</i> your God. <n>Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. <n>God’s <i>angel</i> will go in front of the <i>Israelites</i></n>


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Look! I send an <i>angel</i> in front of you, to keep you safe on the journey. He will bring you to the place that I have prepared for you. 


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Be careful to watch him. Listen to what he says to you. Do not refuse to obey him because he will not <i>forgive</i> you. This is because he is called by my name. 


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Be careful to listen to his words. Do everything that I say to you. Then I will be an enemy to your enemies. I will fight against anyone who fights against you. 


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My <i>angel</i> will go in front of you. He will bring you into the country of the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Perizzites</i>, the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>. I will kill all of them. 


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Do not bend your heads in front of their gods. Do not <i>worship</i> these gods. And do not copy the things that these people do. Destroy the gods and break their special stones into small pieces. 


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<i>Worship</i> me, the <i>Lord</i> your God, and then I will make your bread and water very good. I will remove illness from among you. 


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Your women will all have babies. None of the babies will be born before it is ready. I will give a long life to every person.


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I will go in front of you and I will make everyone afraid of me. I will confuse the people in every country where you go. I will cause all your enemies to run away from you. 


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I will send in front of you cruel insects that fly. These will cause the <i>Hivites</i>, the <i>Canaanites</i> and the <i>Hittites</i> to run away from you. 


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But I will not remove these people in one year. If I did that, the country would become empty. And then there would be too many wild animals. 


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I will remove them slowly, one group after another group. Then you will become strong and you will fill the country yourselves.


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I will decide where the edges of your country will be. The country will be from the Red Sea to the Sea of the <i>Philistines</i>. And it will be from the <i>desert</i> to the River Euphrates. I will give to you the people who live in these countries. Then you will send them away from you. 


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Do not let them live in your country. They will certainly cause you to do wrong things against me. If you <i>worship</i> their gods, you will become their slaves.’


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Then God said to Moses: ‘Come up to the <i>Lord</i>. Come with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 of the leaders of <i>Israel</i>. You must <i>worship</i> me, but do not come near. 


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Then Moses told the people all the <i>Lord</i>’s words and rules. And the people answered together: ‘We will do everything that the <i>Lord</i> has said.’ 


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Then Moses wrote down everything that the <i>Lord</i> had said. <n>The next morning, Moses got up early and he built a stone table. He built it at the lowest part of the mountain. Then he put up 12 large stones, one stone for each big family of <i>Israel</i>. 


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Moses took half of the blood of these animals and he put it in pots. He <i>sprinkled</i> the other half of the blood over the stone table. 


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Then he took the <i>scroll</i> of the <i>covenant</i> and he read it to the people. They replied: ‘We will do everything that the <i>Lord</i> has said. We will obey him.’


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Then Moses took the blood in the pots and he <i>sprinkled</i> it on the people. He said: ‘This blood will cause you to remember the <i>covenant</i> that the <i>Lord</i> has made with you. He has made the <i>covenant</i> with you, with all these words on the <i>scroll</i>.’


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They saw the God of <i>Israel</i>. Under his feet was something like a path of valuable blue stone. It shone like the sky itself. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here and I will give the flat stones to you. I have written on them the <i>Law</i> and the rules. So now you can teach them to the people.’


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He said to the leaders: ‘Wait here for us. We will come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. Anyone who cannot agree with his brothers can go to them.’


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The <i>Lord</i>’s special bright light appeared on <i>Mount</i> Sinai. The cloud covered the mountain for 6 days. Then on the seventh day, the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses from inside the cloud. 


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The <i>Lord</i>’s special bright light looked like a fire that destroyed everything. When the <i>Israelites</i> looked at it, they saw it like a fire. 


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Then Moses climbed the mountain and he went into the cloud. And he stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.


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‘Tell the <i>Israelites</i> that they must bring me a gift. Every person who wants to give can do so. You must receive the gifts for me. 


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These are the gifts that you must receive from the people: <n>gold <n><i>silver</i> and <i>bronze</i>


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<i>olive oil</i> for the lights <n>sweet powder from plants for the special oil, to make a lovely smell


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many different stones, all valuable, to fix on to the <i>priest</i>’s special clothes.’ <n>Gold, silver and bronze are valuable metals. The blue, <i>purple</i> and red material would perhaps be cotton. The white material was <i>linen</i>. People make this from a plant called <i>flax</i>. <i>Acacia</i> wood is very strong and hard. Sweet powder comes from many different plants. The <i>Israelites</i> mixed it with <i>olive oil</i>. 


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‘You must <i>command</i> the <i>Israelites</i> to make a special place for me. Then I will come and live among them. 


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I will show you how to make this <i>tabernacle</i> and everything inside it. But you must make it completely as I tell you. <n>The <i>Ark</i></n>


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The <i>Israelites</i> must make a box of <i>acacia</i> wood. It must be one metre long, three quarters of a metre wide and three quarters of a metre high. 


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Make four gold rings and fix them to the feet of the box. Fix two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 


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Then put into the <i>Ark</i> the words of the <i>covenant</i> that I have written. I will give these to you.


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Make one <i>angel</i> on one end of the lid and the second <i>angel</i> on the other end. The two <i>angels</i>, one at each end, must be part of the lid. 


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The <i>angels</i>’ <i>wings</i> must point to the sky and they must make a shadow over the lid. Each <i>angel</i>’s face must look toward the other <i>angel</i> and toward the lid. 


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Put the lid on the top of the <i>Ark</i>. Put the words of the <i>covenant</i> that I have written into the <i>Ark</i>. I will give these words to you. 


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I will meet with you there, above the lid, between the two <i>angels</i>. The <i>angels</i> are over the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>covenant</i>. I will meet with you and I will give to you all my <i>commands</i> for the <i>Israelites</i>. <n>The table</n>


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Make a table out of <i>acacia</i> wood. Make it one metre long, half a metre wide and three quarters of a metre high. 


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Make four gold rings for the table. Fix them to the four corners, where the four legs of the table are. 


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The rings must be very near to the extra piece of wood. They will hold the sticks that you will use to carry the table. 


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Make the plates and the spoons out of gold, also the pots and the dishes. You will use these to pour out the gifts of drink. 


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Put the special loaves of bread on this table. They must be there in front of me always. <n>The <i>lampstand</i></n>


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Make a <i>lampstand</i> out of gold. Use a hammer to make it the right shape. Make its cups like open <i>almond</i> flowers and some that are not yet open. You must make every part of the <i>lampstand</i> from one piece of gold. 


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Put three cups like <i>almond</i> flowers on one branch and three on the next branch. Make some of these flowers open and some not yet open. Put three cups on each of the six branches of the <i>lampstand</i>. 


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On the <i>lampstand</i> itself, put four cups like <i>almond</i> flowers, some open and some not yet open. 


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Put one flower, not yet open, under the first pair of branches. Put a second flower, not yet open, under the second pair of branches. Put the third flower, not yet open, under the third pair of branches. There are six branches on the <i>lampstand</i>. 


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You must make the flowers and the branches from the same piece of gold as the <i>lampstand</i>. Use a hammer to make the gold into the right shape.


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Then make 7 <i>lamps</i> and fix them to the <i>lampstand</i>. Fix them so that they will light the space in front of it. 


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You must make small tools from gold, with which to clean the <i>lamps</i>. You must also make dishes for it. 


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Be careful how you make all these things. You must copy them completely as you saw them on the mountain.


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Make the <i>tabernacle</i> with 10 curtains of very good material, white, blue, <i>purple</i> and red. Tell a <i>wise</i> worker that he must make pictures of <i>angels</i> in the curtains. 


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On the edge of the last curtain in the set, fix rings of blue material. Do the same thing on the last curtain of the other set. 


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Make 50 rings on one curtain and 50 rings on the last curtain of the other set. Make the rings on one curtain opposite to the rings on the other curtain. 


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Then make 50 small pieces of gold to fasten the curtains together. Then the <i>tabernacle</i> will be one piece of work.


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Fix five of the curtains together to make one set. Fix the other six curtains together to make a second set. Hang the sixth curtain over the end curtain of the first set. This will be at the front of the <i>tent</i>. 


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Make 50 rings of material along the edge of the last curtain in the first set. Then make 50 rings along the edge of the last curtain in the second set. 


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Then make 50 small pieces of <i>bronze</i>. Use them to fasten the <i>tent</i> together. Then the <i>tent</i> will be one piece of work. 


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The curtains for the <i>tent</i> will be longer than the curtains for the <i>tabernacle</i>. The extra half of the curtain will hang at the back of the <i>tabernacle</i>. 


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The curtains of the <i>tent</i> will be half a metre longer on both sides. The extra material will cover the sides of the <i>tabernacle</i>. 


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Use red sheep <i>skins</i> to cover the <i>tent</i>. Then use <i>badger skins</i> to cover the sheep <i>skins</i>.


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Make two extra pieces on each board, next to each other. Make all the boards of the <i>tabernacle</i> like this. 


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Then make 40 pieces of <i>silver</i>, with a hole in each piece. The boards will stand in the holes. There must be two holes for each board. The extra pieces on each board will fit into the holes. 


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You must fix them together at the lower edge and at the top. Use a ring to fix them together. Make both the corners the same. 


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You must also cut pieces of <i>acacia</i> wood to fix across the boards of the <i>tabernacle</i>. Cut five pieces for the boards on one side 


text:
and five pieces for the boards on the other side. Cut five pieces for the boards on the west, at the far end of the <i>tabernacle</i>. 


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The piece of wood in the centre must reach from one end to the other. Fix it at the middle of the boards. 


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Cover the boards with gold and make gold rings. These rings will hold the pieces of wood that you fix across the boards. Then cover the pieces of wood also with gold.


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Make a curtain out of blue, <i>purple</i>, red and soft white material. A <i>wise</i> man must put into it a picture of <i>angels</i>. 


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Hang it up with gold rings from four sticks of <i>acacia</i> wood. Cover these sticks with gold. Then fix them on four pieces of <i>silver</i> that have holes in the centre. 


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Hang up the curtain and put the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i> behind the curtain. So the <i>Holy Place</i> will be separate from the Most <i>Holy Place</i>. The curtain will hang between them. 


text:
Put the table outside the curtain on the north side of the <i>tabernacle</i>. Put the <i>lampstand</i> on the opposite side of the <i>tabernacle</i>, on the south side.


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Make a curtain for the door of the <i>tent</i>. Make it out of blue, <i>purple</i> and red material and out of special white material. Someone who can do <i>wise</i> work with material must make the curtain. 


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Make gold rings for this curtain and make five sticks out of <i>acacia</i> wood. Cover the sticks with gold and make five pieces of <i>bronze</i> to hold them.


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Make an <i>altar</i> out of <i>acacia</i> wood. It must be 1¼ metres high and the top must be square, 2¼ metres long and wide. 


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Make four <i>horns</i>, one at each corner. The <i>horns</i> and the <i>altar</i> must be one piece of work. Then cover it all with <i>bronze</i>. 


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Make all the tools for the <i>altar</i> out of <i>bronze</i>. Make pots to remove the ashes. Make spades, dishes and forks for the meat. Make buckets out of metal to carry the fire. 


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You must put the sticks into the rings when you carry the <i>altar</i>. There will be a stick on two sides of the <i>altar</i>. 


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Make the <i>altar</i> out of boards. You must make it like the thing that the <i>Lord</i> showed you on the mountain. <n>The yard</n>


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Make a yard for the <i>tabernacle</i>. The south side must be 46 metres long. It must have curtains of special white material. 


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Make 20 sticks for the curtains and 20 pieces of <i>bronze</i> with holes in them. The sticks will stand in these. Make small pieces of <i>silver</i> and rings of material on the sticks, to fasten the curtains. 


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The north side of the yard must also be 46 metres long. It must also have curtains, sticks, <i>silver</i> pieces and rings of material.


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The west end of the yard must be 23 metres wide. Make curtains for it and 10 sticks to stand on 10 pieces of <i>bronze</i>. 


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Make curtains 7 metres long on one side of the open space where you go in. Make three sticks that stand on three pieces of <i>bronze</i>, for the curtains. 


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Make a curtain, 9 metres long, for the open space where you go into the yard. Make it out of blue, <i>purple</i> and red material together with special white material. Choose a <i>wise</i> worker to make the curtain. Make four sticks that stand on four pieces of <i>bronze</i> for the curtain. 


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Make small pieces of <i>silver</i> to fix the curtains on all the sticks round the yard. Every stick must stand in a small piece of <i>bronze</i>. 


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The yard must be 46 metres long and 23 metres wide. Make the curtains out of special white material, 2¼ metres long and with pieces of <i>bronze</i> to stand on. 


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Make everything of <i>bronze</i> that you will use in the <i>tabernacle</i>. This includes the small sharp sticks that fix the <i>tent</i> and the yard to the ground. <n><i>Olive oil</i> for the <i>lampstand</i></n>


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<i>Command</i> the <i>Israelites</i> to bring you clean oil from fresh <i>olives</i>. This oil is to burn in the <i>lamps</i>. They must always give light. 


text:
Aaron and his sons must keep a light in the <i>lamps</i> from evening until morning. Put these lights in the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. They are for the <i>Lord</i> to see. Put them outside the curtain that hangs in front of the <i>Testimony</i>. You must make this a rule for the <i>Israelites</i>. It is a rule also for those who are not yet born.


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Fetch Aaron your brother with his sons, from among the <i>Israelites</i>. The names of Aaron’s sons are Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. I want them to be my servants, my <i>priests</i>. 


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Make special clothes for your brother Aaron. These clothes will show that he is important and special to me. 


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I have made certain men very <i>wise</i> so that they can make these clothes. Tell them that they must make Aaron’s clothes. The clothes must be ready for the day when I make him my servant, my <i>priest</i>. 


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These are the clothes that the <i>wise</i> men must make: <n>a <i>breastpiece</i> <n>an <i>ephod</i> <n>a <i>robe</i> <n>a <i>tunic</i> <n>a <i>turban</i> <n>a long belt. <n>They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and for his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can be my servants, my <i>priests</i>. 


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The <i>wise</i> men must use beautiful material, gold, blue, <i>purple</i>, red and white. <n>The <i>ephod</i></n>


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Make the <i>ephod</i> out of gold and out of blue, <i>purple</i> and red material. Use also special white material that a <i>wise</i> worker has made. 


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On two of its corners you must fix pieces for Aaron’s shoulders. Then you can fasten the <i>ephod</i>. 


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Make the special belt like the <i>ephod</i>. The belt and the <i>ephod</i> must be one piece of work. You must make them with gold and with blue, <i>purple</i> and red material and with special white material.


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Take two <i>onyx</i> stones. With a sharp tool, write on them the names of the sons of <i>Israel</i>. 


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Begin with the name of the oldest son and finish with the name of the youngest son. Write six names on one stone and six names on the other. 


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Write these names on the two stones like a <i>wise</i> man draws on valuable metal. Then fix the stones to some thin gold pieces that you have made beautiful. 


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Fasten the stones on the shoulder pieces of the <i>ephod</i>. When the <i>Lord</i> sees the stones, he will remember his promises to the sons of <i>Israel</i>. Aaron will carry the names on his shoulders and the <i>Lord</i> will see them. 


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and two <i>chains</i> of gold. Fix these <i>chains</i> to the thin pieces of gold. <n>The <i>breastpiece</i></n>


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A <i>wise</i> worker must make the <i>breastpiece</i>. This will give Aaron help when he must decide any matter. Make it like the <i>ephod</i>, out of gold and out of blue, <i>purple</i> and red material. Use special white material too. 


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Then fix four sets of valuable stones on it. Fix a <i>ruby</i>, a <i>topaz</i> and a <i>beryl</i> in the first set. 


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Fix a <i>chrysolite</i>, an <i>onyx</i> and a <i>jasper</i> in the fourth set. Fix each stone in a thin piece of gold that you have made beautiful. 


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There will be 12 stones, one stone for each of <i>Israel</i>’s sons. You must write their names on the stones with a sharp tool. Write one name on each stone.


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Then make two gold rings for the <i>chains</i>. Fasten them to two corners of the <i>breastpiece</i>. 


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Fasten the other ends of the <i>chains</i> to the shoulder pieces of the <i>ephod</i>, in the front. 


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Make two gold rings and fasten them to the two other corners of the <i>breastpiece</i>. Put them inside, next to the <i>ephod</i>. 


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Make two more gold rings. Fix them to the lower edge of the shoulder pieces, on the front of the <i>ephod</i>. Put them just above the <i>ephod</i>’s belt. 


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Tie the rings of the <i>breastpiece</i> to the rings of the <i>ephod</i> with a line of blue cotton. Fix it to the belt, then the <i>breastpiece</i> and the belt will not become separated.


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When Aaron goes into the <i>Holy Place</i>, he will wear the <i>breastpiece</i> over his heart. So he will carry the names of <i>Israel</i>’s sons over his heart. And the <i>Lord</i> will always remember the <i>Israelites</i>. 


text:
Put the <i>Urim</i> and <i>Thummim</i> in the <i>breastpiece</i>. Then they will also be over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the <i>Lord</i>’s home. So Aaron will always carry over his heart the help that he needs. He will always carry this help with him, to decide matters for the <i>Israelites</i>. <n>Other clothes for the <i>priests</i></n>


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Make a hole in the centre of the <i>robe</i>, for the <i>priest</i>’s head. You must make a <i>collar</i> round this hole, and then it will not tear. 


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Make <i>pomegranates</i> out of blue, <i>purple</i> and red material. Fix them to the lower edge of the <i>robe</i>, with gold bells between them. 


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Fix a bell, then a <i>pomegranate</i>, a bell, then a <i>pomegranate</i> round the whole lower edge of the <i>robe</i>.


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Aaron must wear the <i>robe</i> when he works as the <i>Lord</i>’s servant. The bells will make a sound when he goes into the <i>Holy Place</i>. And they will make a sound when he comes out. So he will not die.


text:
Aaron will wear the <i>turban</i>, with the plate, on his head for a special reason. When the <i>Israelites</i> bring gifts to God, Aaron himself will carry any bad things in the gifts. Then the <i>Lord</i> will accept the gifts because of the <i>turban</i> on Aaron’s head. 


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Make the <i>tunic</i> and the <i>turban</i> out of good white material. A <i>wise</i> worker must make the long belt.


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Make <i>tunics</i>, long belts and hats for Aaron’s sons. These things will make them look important and beautiful. 


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Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and on his sons. Then pour oil on their heads and give them authority. Make them separate from the other <i>Israelites</i> so that they can be the <i>Lord</i>’s <i>priests</i>.


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Aaron and his sons must wear them when they go into the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. They must also wear them when they go near to the <i>altar</i> in the <i>Holy Place</i>. Then the <i>Lord</i> will not become angry with them, and they will not die. This rule is for Aaron and for all his children and grandchildren. The rule remains the same for all time.


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When you make the <i>priests</i> separate, do it in this way: Take a young male cow and two male sheep. They must not have anything wrong with them. 


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Make some bread from good flour, with no <i>yeast</i> in it. Use oil to make cakes and biscuits also. 


text:
Then take the special clothes. Dress Aaron in the <i>tunic</i>, the <i>robe</i>, the <i>ephod</i> and the <i>breastpiece</i>. Fasten the <i>ephod</i> on him with the special belt. 


text:
Put the hats on their heads, then tie the long belts on Aaron and on his sons. These men and their sons and grandsons will be <i>priests</i> for all time. This is a special gift to them for always. This is how you must make Aaron and his sons separate:


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Bring the male cow to the front of the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the male cow’s head. 


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Take some of the male cow’s blood. Use your finger to put some blood on the <i>horns</i> of the <i>altar</i>. Pour the blood that remains on the ground round the <i>altar</i>. 


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Take all the <i>fat</i> that is round the inside parts of the animal. Take the <i>skin</i> that covers the <i>liver</i>. Take both the <i>kidneys</i> with the <i>fat</i> that is round them. Burn all these things on the <i>altar</i>. 


text:
Kill it and take the blood to the <i>altar</i>. Throw some of the blood on to every side of the <i>altar</i>. 


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Cut the male sheep in pieces and wash the inside parts and the legs. Then put them with the head and with the other pieces. 


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Burn the whole male sheep on the <i>altar</i>. It is a gift to the <i>Lord</i> and a good smell. You will offer this gift to the <i>Lord</i> by fire.


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Kill it and put some of the blood on the right ears of Aaron and his sons. Put some blood also on their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then throw some blood on to every side of the <i>altar</i>. 


text:
Mix together some of the blood on the <i>altar</i> and some of the special oil. Put this on to Aaron and on to his clothes. Put it also on to his sons and on to their clothes. Then Aaron and his sons and their clothes will be <i>holy</i>.


text:
Take all the <i>fat</i> from this male sheep. Take the <i>fat</i> tail, the <i>fat</i> round the inside parts and the <i>skin</i> round the <i>liver</i>. Take also the two <i>kidneys</i> with the <i>fat</i> round them. And take the top part of the right leg. (You will use this male sheep when you give authority to Aaron and to his sons.) 


text:
Take out of the basket a loaf of bread that has no <i>yeast</i> in it. Take also a cake with oil in it and a biscuit. These are all in the basket that is in front of the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then lift these things up to the <i>Lord</i> as a gift. 


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Now take them and burn them on the <i>altar</i>, with the animal as a gift. They will make a good smell, a gift to the <i>Lord</i> that you offer by fire.


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Take the <i>breast</i> of this special male sheep. First lift it up to the <i>Lord</i> as a gift that you offer to him. Then you can eat it.


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You must make <i>holy</i> the pieces of the sheep that are for Aaron and his sons. These are the <i>breast</i> and the top part of the leg. You have lifted them up first to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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This must always be the regular gift from the <i>Israelites</i> to Aaron and his sons. The <i>Israelites</i> must supply this food for the <i>priests</i> from their gifts to the <i>Lord</i>.


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Aaron’s <i>holy</i> clothes will belong to the males in his family for all time. Those men will become separate and take authority. Then they can wear the clothes. 


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The son who becomes <i>priest</i> after Aaron’s death must wear his clothes. When that son comes to the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting, he must wear the clothes for 7 days. He must wear them while he does the <i>Lord</i>’s work in the <i>Holy Place</i>.


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Aaron and his sons must eat the meat, and the bread from the basket. They must do this at the door of the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. 


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They must eat these gifts, by which they have paid for their authority and special importance. No other person can eat this meat because it is <i>holy</i>.


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But if any of this meat remains until the morning, you must burn it. Burn also any bread that remains. You must not eat it because it is <i>holy</i>.


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Do everything that I have <i>commanded</i> you, for Aaron and his sons. Make them <i>holy</i> and give them authority during 7 days. 


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Kill a male cow each day, as a gift. This animal that you offer dies instead of you, for your <i>sin</i>.’ <n>We read in Hebrews 9:22 that blood is necessary to make almost everything clean and <i>holy</i>. Without blood, God cannot <i>forgive</i> the bad things that we do. God saw the blood of the animals that the <i>Israelites</i> killed. He knew that one day Jesus would die for the <i>sins</i> of many people. When bad men killed Jesus, he bled. His <i>holy</i> blood washes us clean from <i>sin</i>, when we believe in him. He died for our <i>sins</i> instead of us. God <i>punished</i> him, instead of us. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that God put all our <i>sins</i> on Jesus. Jesus had no <i>sins</i> of his own. <n>‘Make the <i>altar</i> completely clean. Pay for it with a gift and pour oil on it. This will make it special and <i>holy</i>. 


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Do this to the <i>altar</i> for 7 days, and then it will become very <i>holy</i>. Anything that touches the <i>altar</i> will become <i>holy</i> too.


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You must offer a regular gift on the <i>altar</i> each day. This gift must be two young sheep that are one year old. 


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With the first young sheep, offer two litres of good flour. Mix this with one litre of <i>olive oil</i>. Offer also one litre of <i>wine</i> as a gift of drink. 


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Kill the other young sheep in the evening. Offer it with the same gifts of food and drink as in the morning. There will be a good smell from this gift to the <i>Lord</i>, by fire.


text:
I give this <i>commandment</i> for all the <i>Israelites</i> who will be born in future years. You must offer this regular gift by fire, to me. Offer it at the door of the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. I will meet you there and I will speak to you. 


text:
I will meet the <i>Israelites</i> there also and the place will become <i>holy</i> because of my <i>glory</i>.


text:
So I will make the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting <i>holy</i> and separate. I will do the same thing to the <i>altar</i> and to Aaron and to his sons. They will work for me as <i>priests</i>. 


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They will know that I am the <i>Lord</i> their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the <i>Lord</i> their God.’


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The <i>altar</i> must be square. Make it ½ metre long, ½ metre wide and 1 metre high. The <i>altar</i>’s <i>horns</i> must be part of it, one piece of wood. 


text:
Make two gold rings for the <i>altar</i>, below the extra piece of gold. These rings must be on opposite sides of the <i>altar</i>. They will hold the sticks with which you will carry it. 


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There is a curtain in front of the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i>. Put the <i>altar</i> in front of that curtain, in front of the special lid. This lid covers the <i>ark</i> and I will meet you there.


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Aaron must burn <i>incense</i> with a good smell on the <i>altar</i> every morning. He must do this when he checks the <i>lamps</i>. 


text:
He must burn <i>incense</i> again when he lights the <i>lamps</i> in the evening. <i>Incense</i> must burn for the <i>Lord</i> every day for all time. 


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Do not offer any different <i>incense</i> on this <i>altar</i>. Do not offer any animals or food plants as gifts on this <i>altar</i>. And do not pour a gift of drink on it. 


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Once every year, Aaron must pay the price for <i>sin</i> on this <i>altar</i>. He must pay this price with the blood of the male cow that he offers. Every year, a <i>priest</i> must do this, for all time. It is most <i>holy</i> to the <i>Lord</i>.’ <n>Money that pays the price for each life</n>


text:
‘When you count the <i>Israelites</i>, each person must pay the <i>Lord</i> a price for his life. Each person must do this at the time when you count him. Then nothing bad will happen to him at that time. 


text:
Each person must give a <i>silver</i> coin when you count him. The weight of this coin is six <i>grams</i> and it is a gift to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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You must count every person who is 20 years old or more. And each person must offer his gift to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Rich people must not give more than six <i>grams</i> of <i>silver</i>. Poor people must not give less when they offer this gift to the <i>Lord</i>. It is the price that each person must pay for his life. 


text:
Receive this money from the <i>Israelites</i>. Use it for anything that you need for the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. Then the <i>Lord</i> will always remember that you belong to him. You have paid money for your lives.


text:
Make a very large dish for water out of <i>bronze</i>. And make something from <i>bronze</i> for it to stand on. Put it between the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting and the <i>altar</i> and fill it with water.


text:
Every time they go into the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting, they must wash their hands and their feet. Then they will not die. Also, before they offer a gift by fire on the <i>altar</i>, they must wash. 


text:
Then they will not die when they offer a gift to the <i>Lord</i>. This is a rule for all time, for Aaron and for everyone that is born into his family.’ <n>Special oil to make things <i>holy</i></n>


text:
‘Mix together these good <i>spices</i>: <n>6 kilos of <i>liquid myrrh</i> <n>3 kilos of sweet <i>cinnamon</i> <n>3 kilos of sweet <i>cane</i>


text:
Make these into a <i>holy</i> oil, the special oil that makes things <i>holy</i>. It will be the work of a <i>wise</i> chemist. 


text:
Then pour a little oil on all of these things: <n>the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting <n>the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i>


text:
You must make all these things separate so that they will be most <i>holy</i>. Then anything that touches them will become <i>holy</i>.


text:
Pour some of the <i>holy</i> oil on Aaron’s head and on the heads of his sons. Make them separate, and then they can work for me as <i>priests</i>. 


text:
Do not pour it on the bodies of men who are not <i>priests</i>. Do not make any of this oil to use for other things. It is <i>holy</i> and you must always think about it as <i>holy</i>. 


text:
Nobody must make a sweet smell like this oil. Nobody must put this oil on any person except on a <i>priest</i>. Anyone who does not obey this rule must die.” ’ <n>Sweet <i>incense</i></n>


text:
Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Take sweet <i>spices</i>, (<i>gum resin</i>, <i>onycha</i>, <i>galbanum</i> and <i>frankincense</i>) in equal amounts. 


text:
Give them to a chemist and let him make them into <i>incense</i>, with a lovely smell. It must have salt in it and it must be clean and <i>holy</i>. 


text:
Make some of the <i>incense</i> into powder. Put this in front of the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i>, in the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. I will meet you there. It will be most <i>holy</i> to you. 


text:
Do not make any <i>incense</i> like this for yourselves. Think about it always as <i>holy</i> to the <i>Lord</i>. 


text:
He knows how to draw beautiful pictures of things. Then he makes them out of gold, <i>silver</i> and <i>bronze</i>. 


text:
He knows how to cut valuable stones. Then he puts them into pieces of gold or <i>silver</i>. He knows how to work with wood. He makes beautiful things and he always does good work.


text:
And I have chosen Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the big family of Dan, to help Bezalel. Also, I have made all the workers very <i>wise</i>. They will make everything that I have <i>commanded</i> you. 


text:
They will make the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting and the <i>Ark</i> of the <i>Covenant</i> with its special lid. They will make all the other things in the <i>tent</i> too. 


text:
They will make the table and all the things on it. They will make the <i>lampstand</i> out of <i>pure</i> gold and the <i>altar</i> where you will offer <i>incense</i>. 


text:
They will make the other <i>altar</i>. On that other <i>altar</i>, you will burn the animals that are gifts to me. They will make the very large dish for water and its metal <i>base</i>.


text:
These <i>wise</i> men will also make clothes. They will make the special clothes for Aaron the <i>priest</i> and for his sons. His sons will wear these clothes when they work as <i>priests</i>. 


text:
The <i>wise</i> men will also make the special oil and the <i>incense</i> that has a lovely smell. These are for the <i>Holy Place</i>. They must make them completely as I <i>commanded</i> you.’ <n>The <i>Sabbath</i></n>


text:
‘Say to the <i>Israelites</i>: “You must keep my <i>Sabbaths</i> as special days. This will be something special for you and for me. The children that will be born will see it. Then they will know that I am the <i>Lord</i>. It is I who make you <i>holy</i>.


text:
Keep the <i>Sabbath</i> special because it is a <i>holy</i> day to you. You must kill anyone who does bad things on the <i>Sabbath</i>. Anyone who works on that day must die. 


text:
You must work for six days, but the seventh day is a <i>Sabbath</i> for rest. It is a <i>holy</i> day to the <i>Lord</i>. You must kill any person who does any work on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. 


text:
The <i>Israelites</i> must keep the <i>Sabbath</i> as a special day and they must enjoy it. They must do this for all time. It is a special <i>covenant</i> and it will always be with them.” 


text:
It will be something special between me and the <i>Israelites</i> for all time. This is because the <i>Lord</i> made the sky and the earth in six days. Then, on the seventh day, he did not work but he rested.’


text:
The <i>Lord</i> finished his words to Moses on <i>Mount</i> Sinai. Then the <i>Lord</i> gave Moses the two flat stones of the <i>Testimony</i>. God had written on these stones with his own finger.


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Moses was on the mountain for a very long time. So the <i>Israelites</i> went to Aaron. They said: ‘Get up! Make some gods for us who will lead us. This man, Moses, brought us up out of Egypt. But we do not know where he is now. We do not know what has happened to him.’


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Then Aaron answered them: ‘Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters. Then bring the rings to me.’ 


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Aaron took the rings and he made a false god from the gold. He used a tool to make the false god in the shape of a young cow. Then the <i>Israelites</i> said: ‘This is your god, <i>Israel</i>. He brought you up out of Egypt!’


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When Aaron saw this, he built an <i>altar</i> in front of the young cow. He shouted: ‘Tomorrow, there will be a party to the <i>Lord</i>.’ 


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So, on the next day, the <i>Israelites</i> got up early. They offered gifts of dead animals on the <i>altar</i> and they brought other gifts also. After this they sat down and they ate a meal. They drank and then they played bad games together.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Go down the mountain. The <i>Israelites</i> that you brought out of Egypt have become bad people. 


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They have turned away from my <i>commandments</i> already. They have made for themselves a false god in the shape of a young cow. They have bent their heads to it. They have brought gifts of dead animals to it. They have said: “These are your gods, <i>Israel</i>, who have brought you out of Egypt.” ’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘I have seen these people. They are <i>proud</i> and they do not obey me. 


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Now leave me, so that I can be very angry with them. I will kill them and I will make you into a great <i>nation</i>.’


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But Moses asked the <i>Lord</i> his God to listen to him. Moses said: ‘<i>Lord</i>, please do not be so angry with your own family! You brought them out of Egypt with strong and powerful authority. 


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The <i>Egyptians</i> will say: “God led the <i>Israelites</i> out of Egypt so that he could kill them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to destroy them completely.” Please stop being angry. Please be sorry for your own people and do not kill them. 


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Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and <i>Israel</i>. Remember the promise that you made to them. You said: “I will give you as many children and grandchildren as there are stars in the sky. I have promised to give this whole country to them. And it will be their country for all time.” ’ 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> was sorry for the people that he had chosen. He did not kill them as he had decided to.


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Moses turned and he went down the mountain. He carried the two flat stones of the <i>Testimony</i> in his hands. God had written on both sides of the stones. 


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The <i>Israelites</i> were shouting and Joshua heard the noise. He said to Moses: ‘I can hear the sound of war in the <i>camp</i>!’ 


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But Moses answered: ‘It is not the sound of soldiers who are beating their enemies. It is not the sound of soldiers who run away from their enemies. It is the sound of singers that I can hear.’


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Then Moses came near to the <i>camp</i>. He saw the young cow and the <i>Israelites</i> who were dancing. He became very angry. He threw the two stones on to the ground. He broke them into pieces where he stood. 


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Then he took the young cow that they had made. He burned it in the fire. He made it into powder and he poured it into the water. Then he <i>commanded</i> the <i>Israelites</i> to drink that water.


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Moses said to Aaron: ‘You should not have caused these people to do such a bad <i>sin</i>. What did they do to you?’ 


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They said to me: “Make us some gods that will lead us. This man called Moses brought us out of Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.” 


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So I said to them: “If anyone has any gold rings, he must remove them.” Then they gave the gold to me. I threw it into the fire and this young cow came out of the fire!’


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All the <i>Israelites</i> were running about. And Moses saw that they were doing bad things in the <i>camp</i>. Aaron had let them do bad things. They would have felt ashamed if their enemies had seen them. 


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So Moses stood at the edge of the <i>camp</i>. He said: ‘Everyone who loves the <i>Lord</i> must come to me.’ Then all the <i>Levites</i> went to Moses.


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Then Moses said to the <i>Levites</i>: ‘This is the message from the <i>Lord</i>, the God of <i>Israel</i>. “Every man must take his <i>sword</i> in his hand. You must go from one end of the <i>camp</i> to the other. And each man must kill his brother and his friend and his <i>neighbour</i>.” ’ 


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The <i>Levites</i> obeyed the <i>command</i> of Moses and about three thousand <i>Israelites</i> died on that day. 


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Then Moses said to the <i>Levites</i>: ‘The <i>Lord</i> has made you his special people today. He has <i>blessed</i> you today because you have <i>punished</i> your own sons and brothers.’


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On the next day, Moses said to the <i>Israelites</i>: ‘You have done a very bad thing. But now I will go up to the <i>Lord</i>. Perhaps I can pay the price for your <i>sin</i>.’


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So Moses returned to the <i>Lord</i>. He said to the <i>Lord</i>: ‘These people have done a very bad thing. They have made gods out of gold for themselves! 


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But now, please <i>forgive</i> them! And if you cannot <i>forgive</i> them, then take my name out of your book.’


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The <i>Lord</i> answered Moses: ‘I will take out of my book the name of everyone who has <i>sinned</i> against me. 


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Now go! Lead the <i>Israelites</i> to the place that I have spoken about. My <i>angel</i> will go in front of you. But on the right day I will <i>punish</i> them for their <i>sin</i>.’


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And the <i>Lord punished</i> the <i>Israelites</i> with a bad illness because of what they had done. They had done bad things with the young cow that Aaron had made.


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘You and the <i>Israelites</i> must all leave this place. You brought them out of Egypt. You must lead them to the country that I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I promised to give the country to their children and grandchildren, for all time. 


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I will send an <i>angel</i> in front of you. He will throw out the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Perizzites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>. 


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Go to that country where there is enough food and drink for everyone. But I will not go with you because you will not obey my <i>commandments</i>. I might go with you. But then I might kill you as you travel.’


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The <i>Israelites</i> heard the message and God’s words frightened them. They began to cry and nobody put on his beautiful stones. 


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The <i>Lord</i> had said to Moses: ‘Speak to the <i>Israelites</i>. Say to them: “You are people who will not obey me. If I go with you, even for a moment, I may kill you. I may kill you as you travel. Now remove your beautiful stones. Then I will decide what I will do with you.” ’ 


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So the <i>Israelites</i> threw off their beautiful stones near <i>Mount</i> Horeb. <n>The <i>Tent</i> of Meeting</n>


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Now Moses put up a special <i>tent</i> outside the <i>camp</i>, in every place where the <i>Israelites</i> stayed. He called it the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. Anyone could go there and listen to the <i>Lord</i>’s words. The <i>Tent</i> of Meeting was outside the <i>camp</i>.


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When Moses went out to the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting, all the people would stand at the doors of their <i>tents</i>. They would watch Moses until he went into the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. 


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When Moses went into the <i>tent</i>, the special cloud would come down. The cloud would stay at the door of the <i>tent</i> while the <i>Lord</i> spoke to Moses.


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Every time that the people saw the special cloud at the door of the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting, they all stood up. Then each person <i>worshipped</i> at the door of his <i>tent</i>. 


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The <i>Lord</i> would speak to Moses as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the <i>camp</i>. But Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed in the <i>tent</i>. He was a young man who helped Moses. <n>Moses wants to see God’s <i>glory</i></n>


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Moses said to the <i>Lord</i>: ‘You have said to me: “Lead these people.” But whom will you send with me? You have not told me. You have said: “I know you by your name. You give me pleasure and I love you.” 


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If you love me, please tell me your thoughts. I want to understand you. I want you to love me always. Remember that the <i>Israelites</i> are your own family.’


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If you do not go with us, nobody will know about you. Nobody will know that we give you pleasure. We will not be special people. We will be like everyone else in the world.’


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And the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘I will certainly do this thing that you have asked for. This is because you give me pleasure. Also, I know you by your name.’


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And the <i>Lord</i> said: ‘I will cause all my <i>goodness</i> to pass in front of you. I will tell you my name, that I am the <i>Lord</i>. I will be kind to anyone that I choose. I will show my love to anyone that I choose. 


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When my <i>glory</i> passes in front of you, I will put you in a hole in the rock. I will cover you with my hand until I have passed in front of you. 


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The <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Cut two flat stones like the first stones. Then I will write on them all the words that I wrote on the first stones. You broke the first stones into pieces.’ <n>In chapter 32:19, we read how Moses threw down the first stones. He broke them because he was so angry with the <i>Israelites</i>. Aaron had made a young cow from gold and everyone was <i>worshipping</i> it. 


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‘Make yourself ready in the morning and come up <i>Mount</i> Sinai. Show yourself to me there, on the top of the mountain. 


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Nobody must come with you. Nobody must be anywhere on the mountain. Even the animals must not eat grass in front of the mountain.’


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So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones. He went up <i>Mount</i> Sinai early in the morning as the <i>Lord</i> had <i>commanded</i> him. And he carried the two flat stones in his hands. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> came down in the special cloud and he stood by Moses. The <i>Lord</i> spoke with a loud voice and he said: ‘The <i>Lord</i> is my name!’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> passed in front of Moses. He said in a loud voice: ‘The <i>Lord</i>! The <i>Lord</i>! The kind God who loves you becomes angry very slowly. He is a God of love who does not change. 


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He loves thousands of people. He <i>forgives</i> the bad things that they do. He <i>forgives</i> many people who do not obey him. He even <i>forgives</i> people who do bad things against him. But he does not forget to <i>punish</i> bad people. He <i>punishes</i> children and grandchildren for the bad things that their fathers did. He continues to <i>punish</i> them, even the children of the grandchildren.’


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He said: ‘<i>Lord</i>, if you love me, please go with us! I know that we have often not obeyed you. But please <i>forgive</i> the bad things that we have done. Take us with you as your own family.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said: ‘I will make a <i>covenant</i> with you. I will do great and special things in front of all the <i>Israelites</i>. Nobody has done things like these before, in any country in the world. Your <i>neighbours</i> will see these great things that I, the <i>Lord</i>, will do for you. And they will feel afraid of you. 


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Obey what I <i>command</i> you today. Then I will go in front of you. And I will throw out these people: the <i>Amorites</i>, the <i>Canaanites</i>, the <i>Hittites</i>, the <i>Perizzites</i>, the <i>Hivites</i> and the <i>Jebusites</i>.


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Do not make friends with the people in the country where you are going. If you did, they would teach you to do wrong things. 


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You must break their <i>altars</i> and destroy their special stones. You must cut down the tall sticks that they call <i>holy</i>. 


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Do not <i>worship</i> any other god. The <i>Lord</i> your God will not let you love any god except himself.


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Be careful! Do not make friends with those people who live in that country. When they do bad things in front of their gods, they will ask you to do it with them. Then they will give you their bad food to eat. 


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Perhaps you may choose some of their daughters for your sons to marry. These daughters will still <i>worship</i> their gods. And they will teach your sons to do the same bad things.


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Enjoy the party of bread that has no <i>yeast</i> in it. Eat this bread for 7 days, as I <i>commanded</i> you. Do this on the right date in the month of Abib. This is because you came out of Egypt in that month.


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Every first child or young animal that is born is my own. You must include every first male that is born of your cows and your sheep. 


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You must pay for every first <i>donkey</i> that is born. You must give a young sheep to me to pay for the <i>donkey</i>. If you do not pay for it, you must break its neck. And you must pay for every first son that is born. Nobody must come to me without a gift in his hand.


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You must work for six days but on the seventh day you must rest. Even when it is time to plough, you must rest on the seventh day. And when it is time to bring in your <i>harvest</i>, you must still rest on the seventh day.


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Enjoy the party of weeks when you cut the first of your food plants. Enjoy the party of <i>harvest</i> at the end of the year. 


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Three times in the year, all your men must appear in front of the <i>Lord</i>. He is your king, the God of <i>Israel</i>. 


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He will go in front of you and he will throw out your enemies. He will give you more and more land. And when you leave it, three times in the year, nobody will take it from you.


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Do not offer to me the blood of an animal with anything that has <i>yeast</i> in it. And do not keep any of the meat from the <i>Passover</i> party until the next morning.


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When you cut the first of your food plants, bring the best to the <i>Lord</i>’s house. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.’


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to Moses: ‘Write down these words, because I have made a <i>covenant</i> with you and with the <i>Israelites</i>. These words tell you about my <i>covenant</i>.’ 


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Moses was there, with the <i>Lord</i>, for 40 days and 40 nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the flat stones the words of God’s <i>covenant</i>. He wrote down the ten <i>commandments</i>. <n>Moses’ face shines</n>


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Moses came down from <i>Mount</i> Sinai with the two stones of the <i>covenant</i> in his hands. But he did not know that his face was shining. His face was shining because he had spoken with the <i>Lord</i>. 


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But Moses shouted to them. So Aaron and the leaders of the people came back to him. Then Moses talked to them. 


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After this, all the <i>Israelites</i> came near to Moses. And he gave them all the <i>commands</i> that the <i>Lord</i> had given to him on <i>Mount</i> Sinai.


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But when he spoke with the <i>Lord</i> in the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting, he removed the cloth. When he came out, he repeated God’s <i>commands</i> to the <i>Israelites</i>. 


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They saw that his face shone. So Moses would put the thin cloth over his face again. The cloth would stay there until he spoke with the <i>Lord</i> again.


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Moses brought all the <i>Israelites</i> together. Then he said to them: ‘These are the <i>Lord</i>’s <i>commandments</i> to you. 


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You must work for six days but the seventh day will be your <i>holy</i> day. It will be a day of rest to the <i>Lord</i>. Anyone who works on that day must die. 


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Do not light a fire in any of your homes on the <i>Sabbath</i> day.’ <n>Materials for the <i>tabernacle</i></n>


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Take a gift for the <i>Lord</i> from the things that you have. Everyone who wants to give can bring a gift of gold, <i>silver</i> and <i>bronze</i>. 


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<i>onyx</i> stones and other valuable stones. And you will put these stones on the <i>ephod</i> and on the <i>breastpiece</i>.


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Every <i>wise</i> person among you must make all the things that the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i>. 


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Make the <i>tabernacle</i>, with its <i>tent</i> that covers it. Make all the different parts for it, as I have described them to you. 


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Make the table with its sticks and all its dishes. Make the special bread that you will put on the table. 


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Make the <i>altar</i> for <i>incense</i> with its sticks, the special oil and the <i>incense</i> that has a sweet smell. Make the curtain for the door of the <i>tabernacle</i>. 


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Make the <i>altar</i> where you will burn animals as gifts to the <i>Lord</i>. Make all the different tools for the <i>altar</i>, as I have described them to you. Make the very large dish for water and its <i>base</i>. 


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Make the curtains for the yard and for the door of the yard. Make the sticks for the curtains and the <i>bases</i>. 


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Make the special clothes for Aaron and for his sons to wear. They are <i>priests</i> and they will work for the <i>Lord</i>. This is why they must wear special clothes.’


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Many of them really wanted to give a gift to the <i>Lord</i>. So they each brought something to offer for the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. They also brought materials for the special clothes. 


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Both men and women brought beautiful things of gold that they had worn on their bodies. They all brought their gold things as a special gift of love to the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Everyone who had blue, <i>purple</i> or red material brought it. Also, they brought special white cloth. People who had goats’ hair, red sheep <i>skins</i> and <i>badger skins</i> brought them. 


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Those who brought gifts of <i>silver</i> or <i>bronze</i> offered them to the <i>Lord</i>. Everyone who had <i>acacia</i> wood brought it for the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting.


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Every <i>wise</i> woman worked with her hands. She brought what she had made, blue, <i>purple</i> and red material or special white cloth. 


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The leaders of the <i>Israelites</i> brought valuable stones to fix on the <i>ephod</i> and on the <i>breastpiece</i>. 


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They also brought <i>spices</i> and <i>olive oil</i>. These things were for the light, for the special oil and for the <i>incense</i> with a lovely smell. 


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Many <i>Israelite</i> men and women wanted to offer gifts. They were happy to bring these gifts to the <i>Lord</i>. Moses needed these gifts to make everything for the <i>Lord</i>. That was because the <i>Lord</i> had <i>commanded</i> the <i>Israelites</i> to make all these things. <n>Bezalel and Oholiab</n>


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Then Moses said to the <i>Israelites</i>: ‘Look! The <i>Lord</i> has chosen Bezalel, who is the son of Uri, and the grandson of Hur. He belongs to the big family of Judah. 


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The <i>Lord</i> has filled him with the Spirit of God and has made him very <i>wise</i>. He knows how to make many different things. 


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He can cut and fix valuable stones. He can make things from wood. And everything that he makes is beautiful.


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Bezalel and Oholiab are both <i>wise</i> men who can teach other people. Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach, from the big family of Dan. And the <i>Lord</i> has made them both <i>wise</i> teachers. 


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The <i>Lord</i> has given them very <i>wise</i> minds that are full of good ideas. They draw plans of beautiful things, and then they make them. They use many different materials to make lovely things. And they are both masters at their work.’


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Then Moses said: ‘So Bezalel and Oholiab will do the work that the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i>. And every person that the <i>Lord</i> has made <i>wise</i> will work with them. They will build the <i>Holy Place</i> that the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i>.’


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Then Moses brought together Bezalel, Oholiab and every <i>wise</i> person who enjoyed work. These were people that the <i>Lord</i> had prepared. 


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They received from Moses all the gifts that the <i>Israelites</i> had brought. They would use these gifts to build the <i>Holy Place</i>. And the <i>Israelites</i> continued to bring gifts every morning. 


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Then the <i>wise</i> workers who were building the <i>Holy Place</i> left the work. They went to Moses and they said: 


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‘The people are bringing more gifts than we need for the <i>Tent</i> of Meeting. This is what the <i>Lord</i> has <i>commanded</i> us to do.’


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Then Moses gave a <i>command</i> and he sent it round the whole <i>camp</i>. He said: ‘No man or woman must offer anything more for the <i>Holy Place</i>.’ So Moses did not let the <i>Israelites</i> bring any more gifts. 


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All the <i>wise</i> workers made the <i>tabernacle</i> with ten curtains of soft white material. The same <i>wise</i> people used blue, <i>purple</i> and red cotton to make pictures of <i>angels</i> in the curtains. 


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The workers fixed five of the curtains to make one large curtain. Then they did the same thing with the other five curtains. 


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Then they made 50 small pieces of gold to fix each pair of rings. So they fastened the two sets of curtains each to the other and the <i>tabernacle</i> became one thing.


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Then they used red sheep <i>skins</i> to cover the <i>tent</i>. And they used <i>badger skins</i> to cover the sheep <i>skins</i>.


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For the <i>tabernacle</i>, the workers made boards that stood up. They made them out of <i>acacia</i> wood. 


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Each board had two extra pieces at one end to join them together. They made all the boards for the <i>tabernacle</i> like this. 


