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the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.


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God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.


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And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’


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So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.


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And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.


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God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.


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Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so.


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The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.


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And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,


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God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.


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to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.


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And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’


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So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.


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God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’


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And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so.


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God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.


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Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’


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So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.


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God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’


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God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.


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And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.


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God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.


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And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.


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So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.


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These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Another Account of the Creation In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,


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when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground;


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then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.


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And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.


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Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


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The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;


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The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.


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but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’


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Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’


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So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.


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The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.


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So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.


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And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.


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Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.’


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The First Sin and Its Punishment Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’


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but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’


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for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’


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So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.


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Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.


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They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.


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He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’


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He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’


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Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’


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The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.


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I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.’


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To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’


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And to the man he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it”, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;


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By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’


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Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’—


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therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.


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He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.


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Cain Murders Abel Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.’


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and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,


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If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’


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Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.


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Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’


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And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!


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And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.


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When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’


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Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’


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Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.


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Beginnings of Civilization Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.


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To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech.


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Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.


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Lamech said to his wives: ‘Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.


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Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.’


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To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord.


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Adam’s Descendants to Noah and His Sons This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God.


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Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them ‘Humankind’ when they were created.


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When Adam had lived for one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.


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The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters.


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Seth lived after the birth of Enosh for eight hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan for eight hundred and fifteen years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Kenan lived after the birth of Mahalalel for eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Mahalalel lived after the birth of Jared for eight hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah for three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech for seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had other sons and daughters.


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he named him Noah, saying, ‘Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.’


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Lamech lived after the birth of Noah for five hundred and ninety-five years, and had other sons and daughters.


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The Wickedness of Humankind When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them,


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Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’


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The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.


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The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.


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So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’


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Noah Pleases God These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.


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And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth.


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Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.


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This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.


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Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.


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For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.


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But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.


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And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.


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Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.


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Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.’


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The Great Flood Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.


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Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate;


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and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.


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For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.’


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And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.


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Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground,


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In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.


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On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons, entered the ark,


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they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature.


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And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.


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The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.


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The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.


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The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered;


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And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings;


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He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.


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The Flood Subsides But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided;


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the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,


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and the waters gradually receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days the waters had abated;


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and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.


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The waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.


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but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.


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and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.


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In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.


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Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’


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And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.


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God’s Promise to Noah Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.


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And when the Lord smelt the pleasing odour, the Lord said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.


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As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’


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The Covenant with Noah God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.


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The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered.


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Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.


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For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.


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Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind.


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and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.


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I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’


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God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:


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I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.


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When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’


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God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’


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Noah and His Sons The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.


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Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.


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May God make space for Japheth, and let him live in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.’


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Nations Descended from Noah These are the descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; children were born to them after the flood.


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From these the coastland peoples spread. These are the descendants of Japheth in their lands, with their own language, by their families, in their nations.


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The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.


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He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.’


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the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterwards the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.


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And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.


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These are the descendants of Ham, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.


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To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.


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To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.


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The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country of the east.


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These are the descendants of Shem, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.


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These are the families of Noah’s sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.


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And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.


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Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’


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And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.


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Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’


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So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.


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Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.


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Descendants of Shem These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood;


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and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad for five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah for four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber for four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg for four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu for two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Reu lived after the birth of Serug for two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.


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and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah for one hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.


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Descendants of Terah Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.


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Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.


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Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.


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The Call of Abram Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.


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I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.


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I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’


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So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.


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Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,


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Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.


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Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.


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From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord.


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Abram and Sarai in Egypt Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land.


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When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance;


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and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.


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Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’


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When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.


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And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.


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So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?


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Why did you say, “She is my sister”, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and be gone.’


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And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.


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Abram and Lot Separate So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.


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He journeyed on by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,


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to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.


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so that the land could not support both of them living together; for their possessions were so great that they could not live together,


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and there was strife between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.


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Then Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we are kindred.


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Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.’


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Lot looked about him, and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.


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So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastwards; thus they separated from each other.


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Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom.


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The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northwards and southwards and eastwards and westwards;


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I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.


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So Abram moved his tent, and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.


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Lot’s Captivity and Rescue In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim,


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these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).


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In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,


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then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-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 out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim


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with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five.


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Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.


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So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way;


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Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.


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When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.


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He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.


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Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.


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Abram Blessed by Melchizedek After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).


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and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’ And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.


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But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth,


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that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, “I have made Abram rich.”


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I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.’


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God’s Covenant with Abram After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’


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But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’


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But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’


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He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’


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Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’


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He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’


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He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.


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As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.


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Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years;


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but I will bring judgement on the nation that they serve, and afterwards they shall come out with great possessions.


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And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’


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When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.


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On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,


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The Birth of Ishmael Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar,


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and Sarai said to Abram, ‘You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.


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So, after Abram had lived for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.


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He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.


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Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!’


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But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.


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The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.


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And he said, ‘Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai.’


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The angel of the Lord also said to her, ‘I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.’


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And the angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.


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He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.’


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So she named the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi’; for she said, ‘Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?’


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The Sign of the Covenant When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.


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No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.


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I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.


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I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.


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And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.’


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God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.


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This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.


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You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.


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Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.


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Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.


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Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.’


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God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.


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I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’


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Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’


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God said, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.


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As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.


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But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.’


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Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.


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and all the men of his house, slaves born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.


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A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.


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He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.


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Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’


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And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’


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Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.


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Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.


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Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.


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Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.


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So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’


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The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?”


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Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’


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Judgement Pronounced on Sodom Then the men set out from there, and they looked towards Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way.


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seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?


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No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.’


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Then the Lord said, ‘How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!


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I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.’


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So the men turned from there, and went towards Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.


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Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?


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Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’


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And the Lord said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’


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Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’


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Again he spoke to him, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’


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Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’


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He said, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’


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Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’


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And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.


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The Depravity of Sodom The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground.


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He said, ‘Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way.’ They said, ‘No; we will spend the night in the square.’


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But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.


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But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house;


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and they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.’


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Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.’


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But they replied, ‘Stand back!’ And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near the door to break it down.


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But the men inside reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.


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And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they were unable to find the door.


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Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed Then the men said to Lot, ‘Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city—bring them out of the place.


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For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.’


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So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ‘Up, get out of this place; for the Lord is about to destroy the city.’ But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.


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When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be consumed in the punishment of the city.’


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But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and left him outside the city.


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When they had brought them outside, they said, ‘Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.’


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your servant has found favour with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.


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Look, that city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!’


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He said to him, ‘Very well, I grant you this favour too, and will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.


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Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.’ Therefore the city was called Zoar.


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and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.


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and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the Plain, and saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace.


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So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had settled.


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The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon Now Lot went up out of Zoar and settled in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; so he lived in a cave with his two daughters.


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And the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the world.


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Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.’


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So they made their father drink wine that night; and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.


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On the next day, the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Look, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.’


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So they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger rose, and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.


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The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi; he is the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day.


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Abraham and Sarah at Gerar From there Abraham journeyed towards the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien,


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Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’ And King Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah.


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But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman.’


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Did he not himself say to me, “She is my sister”? And she herself said, “He is my brother.” I did this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.’


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Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.


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Now then, return the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours.’


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So Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were very much afraid.


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Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done.’


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Abraham said, ‘I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.


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Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.


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And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, “This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.”’


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Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.


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To Sarah he said, ‘Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.’


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Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.


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For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.


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The Birth of Isaac The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised.


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And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’


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Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.


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But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.


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So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’


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But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you.


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So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.


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Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, ‘Do not let me look on the death of the child.’ And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.


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And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.


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Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.


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God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow.


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Abraham and Abimelech Make a Covenant At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, ‘God is with you in all that you do;


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now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have resided as an alien.’


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Abimelech said, ‘I do not know who has done this; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.’


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And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?’


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He said, ‘These seven ewe lambs you shall accept from my hand, in order that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well.’


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When they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.


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Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.


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The Command to Sacrifice Isaac After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’


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He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’


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So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him.


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Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’


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Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.


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Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’


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Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.


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When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.


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But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’


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He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’


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And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son.


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So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’


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and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,


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I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,


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and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.’


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So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.


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The Children of Nahor Now after these things it was told Abraham, ‘Milcah also has borne children, to your brother Nahor:


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Sarah’s Death and Burial Sarah lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah’s life.


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And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.


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‘I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’


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‘Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold from you any burial ground for burying your dead.’


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He said to them, ‘If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar,


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so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying-place.’


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Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,


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‘No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in the presence of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.’


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He said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, ‘If you only will listen to me! I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.’


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‘My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.’


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Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.


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So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed


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to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all who went in at the gate of his city.


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After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.


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The field and the cave that is in it passed from the Hittites into Abraham’s possession as a burying-place.


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The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.


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Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh


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and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live,


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The servant said to him, ‘Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?’


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The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, “To your offspring I will give this land”, he will send his angel before you; you shall take a wife for my son from there.


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But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.’


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So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.


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Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.


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He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was towards evening, the time when women go out to draw water.


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And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.


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I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.


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Let the girl to whom I shall say, “Please offer your jar that I may drink”, and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’


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Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water-jar on her shoulder.


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The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.


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When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.’


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So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.


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When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,


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and said, ‘Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?’


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and said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness towards my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.’


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As soon as he had seen the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, ‘Thus the man spoke to me’, he went to the man; and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring.


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He said, ‘Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?’


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So the man came into the house; and Laban unloaded the camels, and gave him straw and fodder for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.


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Then food was set before him to eat; but he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told my errand.’ He said, ‘Speak on.’


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The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.


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And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.


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My master made me swear, saying, “You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;


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But he said to me, “The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house.


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Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.”


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‘I came today to the spring, and said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!


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I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,’


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and who will say to me, ‘Drink, and I will draw for your camels also’—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.”


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‘Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water-jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, “Please let me drink.”


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She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, “Drink, and I will also water your camels.” So I drank, and she also watered the camels.


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Then I asked her, “Whose daughter are you?” She said, “The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.” So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.


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Then I bowed my head and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.


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Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.’


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Then Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good.


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Look, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.’


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And the servant brought out jewellery of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.


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Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, ‘Send me back to my master.’


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Her brother and her mother said, ‘Let the girl remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.’


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But he said to them, ‘Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go, that I may go to my master.’


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And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, ‘May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.’


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Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.


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and said to the servant, ‘Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?’ The servant said, ‘It is my master.’ So she took her veil and covered herself.


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Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.


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The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.


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But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastwards to the east country.


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Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.


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His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,


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Ishmael’s Descendants These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave-girl, bore to Abraham.


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These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,


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These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.


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(This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)


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They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down alongside all his people.


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The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,


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and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.


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Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.


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The children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it is to be this way, why do I live?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord.


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And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’


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Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.


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When the boys grew up, Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.


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Esau Sells His Birthright Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.


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Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!’ (Therefore he was called Edom.)


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Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.


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Isaac and Abimelech Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.


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The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.


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Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfil the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.


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I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring,


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When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister’; for he was afraid to say, ‘My wife,’ thinking, ‘or else the men of the place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah, because she is attractive in appearance.’


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When Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him fondling his wife Rebekah.


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So Abimelech called for Isaac, and said, ‘So she is your wife! Why then did you say, “She is my sister”?’ Isaac said to him, ‘Because I thought I might die because of her.’


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Abimelech said, ‘What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.’


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So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, ‘Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.’


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(Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.)


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Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham; for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names that his father had given them.


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the herders of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herders, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So he called the well Esek, because they contended with him.


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He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, ‘Now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.’


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And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham’s sake.’


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So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.


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Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.


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Isaac said to them, ‘Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?’


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They said, ‘We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you


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so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’


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In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.


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That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, ‘We have found water!’


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Esau’s Hittite Wives When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;


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Isaac Blesses Jacob When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, ‘My son’; and he answered, ‘Here I am.’


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Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me.


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Then prepare for me savoury food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.’


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Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it,


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“Bring me game, and prepare for me savoury food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.”


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Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savoury food for your father, such as he likes;


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But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, ‘Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin.


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Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.’


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His mother said to him, ‘Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.’


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So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savoury food, such as his father loved.


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Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob;


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Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.’


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But Isaac said to his son, ‘How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?’ He answered, ‘Because the Lord your God granted me success.’


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Then Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.’


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So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’


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He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.


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Then he said, ‘Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.’ So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.


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So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, ‘Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.


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May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.


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Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!’


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Esau’s Lost Blessing As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting.


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He also prepared savoury food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, ‘Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.’


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Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, ‘Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!’


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When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, father!’


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Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing.’ Then he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’


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Isaac answered Esau, ‘I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?’


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Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!’ And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.


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Then his father Isaac answered him: ‘See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.


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By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose, you shall break his yoke from your neck.’


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Jacob Escapes Esau’s Fury Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’


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But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, ‘Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.


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until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?’


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Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?’


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Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, ‘You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.


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Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.


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May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.


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May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.’


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Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.


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Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, ‘You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women’,


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Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.


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He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.


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And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.


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And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring;


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and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.


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Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’


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And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’


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So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.


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Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,


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and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.’


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As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it; for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large,


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and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.


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He said to them, ‘Is it well with him?’ ‘Yes,’ they replied, ‘and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.’


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He said, ‘Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.’


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But they said, ‘We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.’


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Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.


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And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.


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When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,


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Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’


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Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.


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Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.’


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So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.


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When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’


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Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me for another seven years.’


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So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban for another seven years.


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Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, ‘Because the Lord has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.’


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She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also’; and she named him Simeon.


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Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons’; therefore he was named Levi.


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She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the Lord’; therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.


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When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I shall die!’


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Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’


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Then she said, ‘Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.’


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Then Rachel said, ‘God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son’; therefore she named him Dan.


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Then Rachel said, ‘With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed’; so she named him Naphtali.


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When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.


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In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’


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But she said to her, ‘Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?’ Rachel said, ‘Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.’


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When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, ‘You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.’ So he lay with her that night.


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Leah said, ‘God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband’; so she named him Issachar.


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Then Leah said, ‘God has endowed me with a good dowry; now my husband will honour me, because I have borne him six sons’; so she named him Zebulun.


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Jacob Prospers at Laban’s Expense When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country.


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Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know very well the service I have given you.’


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But Laban said to him, ‘If you will allow me to say so, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you;


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Jacob said to him, ‘You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.


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For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly; and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?’


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He said, ‘What shall I give you?’ Jacob said, ‘You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it:


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let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.


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So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.’


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But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in charge of his sons;


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and he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock.


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Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the rods.


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He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering-places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,


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the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted.


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Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock.


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Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the rods,


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but for the feebler of the flock he did not lay them there; so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.


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Thus the man grew exceedingly rich, and had large flocks, and male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.


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Jacob Flees with Family and Flocks Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, ‘Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.’


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Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.’


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and said to them, ‘I see that your father does not regard me as favourably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.


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yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.


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If he said, “The speckled shall be your wages”, then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said, “The striped shall be your wages”, then all the flock bore striped.


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‘During the mating of the flock I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats that leaped upon the flock were striped, speckled, and mottled.


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And he said, “Look up and see that all the goats that leap on the flock are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.


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I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and return to the land of your birth.”’


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Then Rachel and Leah answered him, ‘Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house?


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Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has been using up the money given for us.


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All the property that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.’


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and he drove away all his livestock, all the property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.


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So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates, and set his face towards the hill country of Gilead.


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So he took his kinsfolk with him and pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.


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But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad.’


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Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country of Gilead.


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Laban said to Jacob, ‘What have you done? You have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword.


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Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre.


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And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? What you have done is foolish.


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It is in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, “Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”


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Even though you had to go because you longed greatly for your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?’


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Jacob answered Laban, ‘Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.


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But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is yours, and take it.’ Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.


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So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent, and entered Rachel’s.


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Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt all about in the tent, but did not find them.


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And she said to her father, ‘Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.’ So he searched, but did not find the household gods.


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Then Jacob became angry, and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is my offence? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?


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Although you have felt about through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsfolk and your kinsfolk, so that they may decide between us two.


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These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.


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That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.


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It was like this with me: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.


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These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you for fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.


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If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked you last night.’


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Laban and Jacob Make a Covenant Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, ‘The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about their children whom they have borne?


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And Jacob said to his kinsfolk, ‘Gather stones,’ and they took stones, and made a heap; and they ate there by the heap.


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and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, ‘The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.


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If you ill-treat my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.’


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This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.


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May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor’—the God of their father—‘judge between us.’ So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,


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and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the height and called his kinsfolk to eat bread; and they ate bread and tarried all night in the hill country.


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Early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them; then he departed and returned home.


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Jacob Sends Presents to Appease Esau Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,


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instructing them, ‘Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have lived with Laban as an alien, and stayed until now;


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and I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves; and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favour in your sight.”’


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The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, ‘We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.’


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Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies,


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thinking, ‘If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, then the company that is left will escape.’


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And Jacob said, ‘O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, “Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good”,


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I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.


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Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come and kill us all, the mothers with the children.


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Yet you have said, “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number.”’


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thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.


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These he delivered into the hand of his servants, each drove by itself, and said to his servants, ‘Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between drove and drove.’


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He instructed the foremost, ‘When Esau my brother meets you, and asks you, “To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?”


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then you shall say, “They belong to your servant Jacob; they are a present sent to my lord Esau; and moreover he is behind us.”’


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He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, ‘You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him,


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and you shall say, “Moreover your servant Jacob is behind us.”’ For he thought, ‘I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterwards I shall see his face; perhaps he will accept me.’


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Jacob Wrestles at Peniel The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.


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When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.


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Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’


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Then the man said, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.’


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Then Jacob asked him, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him.


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So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’


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Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.


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Jacob and Esau Meet Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.


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He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.


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He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.


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When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he said, ‘Who are these with you?’ Jacob said, ‘The children whom God has graciously given your servant.’


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Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and finally Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.


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Esau said, ‘What do you mean by all this company that I met?’ Jacob answered, ‘To find favour with my lord.’


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Jacob said, ‘No, please; if I find favour with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God—since you have received me with such favour.


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Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything I want.’ So he urged him, and he took it.


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But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me; and if they are overdriven for one day, all the flocks will die.


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Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.’


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So Esau said, ‘Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.’ But he said, ‘Why should my lord be so kind to me?’


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But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore the place is called Succoth.


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Jacob Reaches Shechem Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram; and he camped before the city.


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And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for one hundred pieces of money the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent.


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The Rape of Dinah Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the region.


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When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force.


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Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.


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just as the sons of Jacob came in from the field. When they heard of it, the men were indignant and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.


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But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The heart of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.


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You shall live with us; and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it, and get property in it.’


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Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, ‘Let me find favour with you, and whatever you say to me I will give.


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Put the marriage present and gift as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me; only give me the girl to be my wife.’


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The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.


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They said to them, ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.


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Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised.


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Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people.


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And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honoured of all his family.


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So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,


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‘These people are friendly with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters.


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Only on this condition will they agree to live among us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.


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Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live among us.’


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And all who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.


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Dinah’s Brothers Avenge Their Sister On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city unawares, and killed all the males.


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They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.


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And the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.


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They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.


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All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey.


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Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.’


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Jacob Returns to Bethel God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’


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So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes;


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then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.’


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So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.


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As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them.


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Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,


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and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.


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And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.


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God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ So he was called Israel.


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God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you.


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The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.’


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Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink-offering on it, and poured oil on it.


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The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had a difficult labour.


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When she was in her difficult labour, the midwife said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; for now you will have another son.’


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As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.


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and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.


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While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.


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The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.


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The Death of Isaac Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens.


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And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.


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Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah son of Zibeon the Hivite,


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and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.


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Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob.


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For their possessions were too great for them to live together; the land where they were living could not support them because of their livestock.


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


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(Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.


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


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These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah son of Zibeon: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.


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Clans and Kings of Edom These are the clans of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the clans Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,


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Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the clans of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah.


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These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: the clans Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the clans of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.


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These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the clans Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the clans born of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.


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These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon.


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Husham died, and Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Avith.


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Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, and Hadar succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-zahab.


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These are the names of the clans of Esau, according to their families and their localities by their names: the clans Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,


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Magdiel, and Iram; these are the clans of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their settlements in the land that they held.


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Joseph Dreams of Greatness Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan.


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This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.


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Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves.


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But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.


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There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.’


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His brothers said to him, ‘Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?’ So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.


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He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, ‘Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’


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But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, ‘What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?’


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And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’


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So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem,


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The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan.


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Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’


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Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.


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So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore;


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Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.


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Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?


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Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed.


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When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.


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They had the long robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, ‘This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.’


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He recognized it, and said, ‘It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.’


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Then Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son for many days.


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All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.’ Thus his father bewailed him.


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Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.


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Judah and Tamar It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.


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There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her.


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Then Judah said to Onan, ‘Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.’


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But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.


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Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, ‘Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up’—for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.


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In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheep-shearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.


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she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.


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He went over to her at the roadside, and said, ‘Come, let me come in to you’, for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, ‘What will you give me, that you may come in to me?’


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He answered, ‘I will send you a kid from the flock.’ And she said, ‘Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.’


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He said, ‘What pledge shall I give you?’ She replied, ‘Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.’ So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.


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When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her.


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He asked the townspeople, ‘Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?’ But they said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’


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So he returned to Judah, and said, ‘I have not found her; moreover, the townspeople said, “No prostitute has been here.”’


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Judah replied, ‘Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.’


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About three months later Judah was told, ‘Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.’ And Judah said, ‘Bring her out, and let her be burned.’


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As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, ‘It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.’ And she said, ‘Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.’


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Then Judah acknowledged them and said, ‘She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.’ And he did not lie with her again.


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While she was in labour, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, ‘This one came out first.’


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But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, ‘What a breach you have made for yourself!’ Therefore he was named Perez.


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Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.


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The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master.


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His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands.


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So Joseph found favour in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.


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From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.


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So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking.


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But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand.


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He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’


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And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her.


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One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house,


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she caught hold of his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me!’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.


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she called out to the members of her household and said to them, ‘See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice;


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and she told him the same story, saying, ‘The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me;


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When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, ‘This is the way your servant treated me’, he became enraged.


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And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison.


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But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer.


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The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.


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The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.


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The Dreams of Two Prisoners Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.


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and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.


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The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody.


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One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning.


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So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’


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They said to him, ‘We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.’


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So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, ‘In my dream there was a vine before me,


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and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters ripened into grapes.


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Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.’


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within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.


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But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place.


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For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.’


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When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favourable, he said to Joseph, ‘I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head,


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and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.’


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within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.’


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On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.


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Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,


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Then seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.


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Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk.


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In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.


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Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard.


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A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each according to his dream.


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Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon. When he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.


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And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’


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Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt.


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but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke.


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I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk,


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and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.’


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Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.


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The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine.


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After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land.


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The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous.


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And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.


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Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.


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Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years.


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Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.


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That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.’


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So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.


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You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.’


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Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.


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He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, ‘Bow the knee!’ Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.


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Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.’


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Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.


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Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt.


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He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it.


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So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.


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Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.


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Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ‘For’, he said, ‘God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.’


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and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread.


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When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.’


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And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.


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Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.


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Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you keep looking at one another?


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I have heard’, he said, ‘that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.’


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But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him.


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Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan.


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Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.


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When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. ‘Where do you come from?’ he said. They said, ‘From the land of Canaan, to buy food.’


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Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. He said to them, ‘You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land!’


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They said, ‘We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.’


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Here is how you shall be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here!


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Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison, in order that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are spies.’


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if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the famine of your households,


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and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus your words will be verified, and you shall not die.’ And they agreed to do so.


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They said to one another, ‘Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.’


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Then Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.’


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He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their eyes.


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Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This was done for them.


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When one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging-place, he saw his money at the top of the sack.


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He said to his brothers, ‘My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!’ At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’


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When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,


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We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.”


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Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, “By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way.


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Bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.”’


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As they were emptying their sacks, there in each one’s sack was his bag of money. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed.


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And their father Jacob said to them, ‘I am the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!’


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Then Reuben said to his father, ‘You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.’


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But he said, ‘My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol.’


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And when they had eaten up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, ‘Go again, buy us a little more food.’


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But Judah said to him, ‘The man solemnly warned us, saying, “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.”


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but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, “You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.”’


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They replied, ‘The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?” What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, “Bring your brother down”?’


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Then Judah said to his father Israel, ‘Send the boy with me, and let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die—you and we and also our little ones.


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I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever.


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Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man—a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.


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Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the top of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.


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may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, so that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.’


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So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.


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When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, ‘Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.’


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Now the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, ‘It is because of the money, replaced in our sacks the first time, that we have been brought in, so that he may have an opportunity to fall upon us, to make slaves of us and take our donkeys.’


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and when we came to the lodging-place we opened our sacks, and there was each one’s money in the top of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it back with us.


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Moreover, we have brought down with us additional money to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.’


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He replied, ‘Rest assured, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sacks for you; I received your money.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them.


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When the steward had brought the men into Joseph’s house, and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder,


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they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they had heard that they would dine there.


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When Joseph came home, they brought him the present that they had carried into the house, and bowed to the ground before him.


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He inquired about their welfare, and said, ‘Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?’


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They said, ‘Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.’ And they bowed their heads and did obeisance.


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Then he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, ‘Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!’


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With that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with affection for his brother, and he was about to weep. So he went into a private room and wept there.


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They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.


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When they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement.


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Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.


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Joseph Detains Benjamin Then he commanded the steward of his house, ‘Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the top of his sack.


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Put my cup, the silver cup, in the top of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.’ And he did as Joseph told him.


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When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to his steward, ‘Go, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, “Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup?


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Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does he not indeed use it for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.”’


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They said to him, ‘Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing!


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Look, the money that we found at the top of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?


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Should it be found with any one of your servants, let him die; moreover, the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.’


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He said, ‘Even so; in accordance with your words, let it be: he with whom it is found shall become my slave, but the rest of you shall go free.’


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He searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.


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Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house while he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him.


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Joseph said to them, ‘What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practise divination?’


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And Judah said, ‘What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; here we are then, my lord’s slaves, both we and also the one in whose possession the cup has been found.’


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But he said, ‘Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the one in whose possession the cup was found shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.’


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Judah Pleads for Benjamin’s Release Then Judah stepped up to him and said, ‘O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh himself.


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And we said to my lord, “We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.”


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We said to my lord, “The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.”


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Then you said to your servants, “Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.”


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we said, “We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother goes with us, will we go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.”


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If you take this one also from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my grey hairs in sorrow to Sheol.”


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Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life,


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when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring down the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.


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For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, “If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life.”


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Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers.


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For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.’


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Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.


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Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.


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Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.


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And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.


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For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest.


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God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.


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So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.


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Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.


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You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.


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I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.”


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And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you.


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You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’


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When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, ‘Joseph’s brothers have come’, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.


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Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Say to your brothers, “Do this: load your animals and go back to the land of Canaan.


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Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of the land.”


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You are further charged to say, “Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.


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The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.


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To each one of them he gave a set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments.


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To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.


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Then he sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, ‘Do not quarrel along the way.’


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And they told him, ‘Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.’ He was stunned; he could not believe them.


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But when they told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.


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Jacob Brings His Whole Family to Egypt When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.


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Then he said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.


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I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.’


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Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.


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They also took their livestock and the goods that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,


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his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.


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Now these are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his offspring, who came to Egypt. Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn,


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The children of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.


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The children of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the children of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.


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(these are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; in all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three).


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The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The children of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel


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(these are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons).


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To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.


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(these are the children of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all).


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All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own offspring, not including the wives of his sons, were sixty-six persons in all.


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The children of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.


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Jacob Settles in Goshen Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph to lead the way before him into Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen,


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Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.


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Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, ‘I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, “My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.


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The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.”


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you shall say, “Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our ancestors”—in order that you may settle in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians.’


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So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen.’


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Pharaoh said to his brothers, ‘What is your occupation?’ And they said to Pharaoh, ‘Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were.’


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They said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.’


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The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.’


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Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.


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Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred and thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn.’


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Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.


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And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependants.


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The Famine in Egypt Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.


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Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.


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When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, ‘Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.’


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And Joseph answered, ‘Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.’


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So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.


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When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, ‘We cannot hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.


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Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.’


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So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s.


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Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.


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Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land.


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And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.’


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So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.


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The Last Days of Jacob Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.


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Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years.


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When the time of Israel’s death drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, ‘If I have found favour with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.


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When I lie down with my ancestors, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.’ He answered, ‘I will do as you have said.’


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Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons After this Joseph was told, ‘Your father is ill.’ So he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.


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And Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me,


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and said to me, “I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers; I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for a perpetual holding.”


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Therefore your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are now mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are.


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As for the offspring born to you after them, they shall be yours. They shall be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance.


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For when I came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath’ (that is, Bethlehem).


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Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons, whom God has given me here.’ And he said, ‘Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.’


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Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, and he could not see well. So Joseph brought them near him; and he kissed them and embraced them.


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Israel said to Joseph, ‘I did not expect to see your face; and here God has let me see your children also.’


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Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel’s left, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel’s right, and brought them near him.


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But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.


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He blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,


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the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth.’


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When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.


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Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father! Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.’


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But his father refused, and said, ‘I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.’


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So he blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you Israel will invoke blessings, saying, “God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.”’ So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.


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Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors.


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I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers, the portion that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.’


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Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons Then Jacob called his sons, and said: ‘Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.


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‘Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigour, excelling in rank and excelling in power.


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Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel because you went up on to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—you went up on to my couch!


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May I never come into their council; may I not be joined to their company— for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.


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Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.


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‘Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you.


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Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness—who dares rouse him up?


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The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.


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Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes;


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‘Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.


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he saw that a resting-place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labour.


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Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backwards.


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Yet his bow remained taut, and his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,


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by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.


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The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.


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‘Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil.’


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All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.


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Jacob’s Death and Burial Then he charged them, saying to them, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors—in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,


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in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.


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There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—


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When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.


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Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel;


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they spent forty days in doing this, for that is the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him for seventy days.


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When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph addressed the household of Pharaoh, ‘If now I have found favour with you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows:


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My father made me swear an oath; he said, “I am about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore let me go up, so that I may bury my father; then I will return.’


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So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,


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as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.


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When they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed a time of mourning for his father for seven days.


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When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning on the threshing-floor of Atad, they said, ‘This is a grievous mourning on the part of the Egyptians.’ Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan.


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They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.


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After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.


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Joseph Forgives His Brothers Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?’


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“Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.” Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.’ Joseph wept when they spoke to him.


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Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.


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So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.


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Joseph’s Last Days and Death So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s household; and Joseph lived for one hundred and ten years.


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Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph’s knees.


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Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die; but God will surely come to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’


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So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, ‘When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.’


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And Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.


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But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.


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Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’


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Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh.


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But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.


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and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.


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‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’


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But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.


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So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’


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The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’


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Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’


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The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months.


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When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.


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The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.


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When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said.


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Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’


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Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it.


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When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’


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Moses Flees to Midian One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labour. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk.


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When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, ‘Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?’


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He answered, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known.’


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When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.


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The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.


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But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defence and watered their flock.


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When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, ‘How is it that you have come back so soon today?’


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They said, ‘An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.’


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She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, ‘I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.’


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After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.


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Moses at the Burning Bush Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.


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There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.


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Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’


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When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’


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Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’


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He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.


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Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings,


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and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.


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But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’


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He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’


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The Divine Name Revealed But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’


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God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.”’


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God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”: This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.


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Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.


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I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”


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They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.”


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So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go.


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I will bring this people into such favour with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed;


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each woman shall ask her neighbour and any woman living in the neighbour’s house for jewellery of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians.’


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Moses’ Miraculous Power Then Moses answered, ‘But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, “The Lord did not appear to you.”’


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And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw the staff on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses drew back from it.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Reach out your hand, and seize it by the tail’—so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand—


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‘so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.’


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Again, the Lord said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ He put his hand into his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.


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Then God said, ‘Put your hand back into your cloak’—so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body—


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If they will not believe even these two signs or heed you, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.’


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But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’


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Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?


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Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad.


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You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.


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He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him.


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Moses Returns to Egypt Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, ‘Please let me go back to my kindred in Egypt and see whether they are still living.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’


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The Lord said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt; for all those who were seeking your life are dead.’


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So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt; and Moses carried the staff of God in his hand.


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And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.


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I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.”’


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But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it, and said, ‘Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’


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The Lord said to Aaron, ‘Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.’ So he went; and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.


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Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him.


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Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people.


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The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had given heed to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.


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Bricks without Straw Afterwards Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”’


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But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.’


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Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.’


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But the king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labours!’


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Pharaoh continued, ‘Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!’


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‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves.


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But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, “Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.”


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Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labour at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.’


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So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, ‘Thus says Pharaoh, “I will not give you straw.


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Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.”’


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The taskmasters were urgent, saying, ‘Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.’


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And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, ‘Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?’


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Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, ‘Why do you treat your servants like this?


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No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, “Make bricks!” Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.’


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Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.’


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The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, ‘You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.’


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They said to them, ‘The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odour with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’


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Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me?


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Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.’


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Israel’s Deliverance Assured Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.’


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I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name “The Lord” I did not make myself known to them.


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I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens.


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I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.


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Say therefore to the Israelites, “I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement.


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I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians.


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I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.”’


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Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.


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But Moses spoke to the Lord, ‘The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?’


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Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, charging them to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.


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The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron The following are the heads of their ancestral houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.


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The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.


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The following are the names of the sons of Levi according to their genealogies: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years.


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The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years.


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The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their genealogies.


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Amram married Jochebed his father’s sister and she bore him Aaron and Moses, and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years.


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Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.


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Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites by their families.


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It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, ‘Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.’


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It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, the same Moses and Aaron.


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.


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You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.


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When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgement.


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The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.’


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‘When Pharaoh says to you, “Perform a wonder”, then you shall say to Aaron, “Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.”’


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So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.


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Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.


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The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.


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Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the river bank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.


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Say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness.’ But until now you have not listened.


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Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord.’ See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.


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The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”’


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Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the river, and all the water in the river was turned into blood,


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and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt.


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But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.


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And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.


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The Second Plague: Frogs Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.


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The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.


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And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.”’


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So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.


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Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’


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Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.’


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And he said, ‘Tomorrow.’ Moses said, ‘As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God,


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the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.’


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Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.


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But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.


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The Third Plague: Gnats Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.”’


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And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.


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The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals.


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And the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God!’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.


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The Fourth Plague: Flies Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.


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For if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies; so also the land where they live.


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But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land.


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Thus I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.”’


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The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.


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But Moses said, ‘It would not be right to do so; for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us?


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We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.’


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So Pharaoh said, ‘I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.’


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Then Moses said, ‘As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’


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And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained.


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The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.


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the hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly pestilence your livestock in the field: the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.


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But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.”’


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And on the next day the Lord did so; all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died.


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Pharaoh inquired and found that not one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the people go.


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The Sixth Plague: Boils Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.


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It shall become fine dust all over the land of Egypt, and shall cause festering boils on humans and animals throughout the whole land of Egypt.’


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So they took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused festering boils on humans and animals.


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The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils afflicted the magicians as well as all the Egyptians.


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But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.


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The Seventh Plague: Thunder and Hail Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.


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For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.


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For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.


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But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth.


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Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.


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Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.”’


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Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place.


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt.’


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Then Moses stretched out his staff towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;


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there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.


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The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field, and shattered every tree in the field.


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Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.


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Moses said to him, ‘As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.


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So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth.


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But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials.


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So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.


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The Eighth Plague: Locusts Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them,


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and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.’


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So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.


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They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field.


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They shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials and of all the Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.”’ Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.


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Pharaoh’s officials said to him, ‘How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?’


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So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, ‘Go, worship the Lord your God! But which ones are to go?’


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Moses said, ‘We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, because we have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.’


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He said to them, ‘The Lord indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you! Plainly you have some evil purpose in mind.


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No, never! Your men may go and worship the Lord, for that is what you are asking.’ And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.’


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So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; when morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts.


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The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again.


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They covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was black; and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; nothing green was left, no tree, no plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.


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Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.


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Do forgive my sin just this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing from me.’


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The Lord changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.


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The Ninth Plague: Darkness Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.’


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So Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.


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People could not see one another, and for three days they could not move from where they were; but all the Israelites had light where they lived.


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Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your children may go with you.’


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But Moses said, ‘You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt-offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God.


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Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord until we arrive there.’


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Then Pharaoh said to him, ‘Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.’


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Warning of the Final Plague The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away.


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Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbour and every woman is to ask her neighbour for objects of silver and gold.’


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The Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials, and in the sight of the people.


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Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock.


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Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been nor will ever be again.


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But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.


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Then all these officials of yours shall come down to me, and bow low to me, saying, “Leave us, you and all the people who follow you.” After that I will leave.’ And in hot anger he left Pharaoh.


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh will not listen to you, in order that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.’


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Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.


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This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.


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Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household.


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If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.


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Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.


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You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.


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They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.


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They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.


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Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.


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You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.


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This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord.


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For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord.


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The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.


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This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.


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Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel.


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On the first day you shall hold a solemn assembly, and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work shall be done on those days; only what everyone must eat, that alone may be prepared by you.


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You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual ordinance.


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In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread.


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For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land.


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Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb.


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Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning.


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For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.


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When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance.


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you shall say, “It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.”’ And the people bowed down and worshipped.


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The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.


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Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his officials and all the Egyptians; and there was a loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.


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Then he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, ‘Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord, as you said.


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The Exodus: From Rameses to Succoth The Egyptians urged the people to hasten their departure from the land, for they said, ‘We shall all be dead.’


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So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading-bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders.


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The Israelites had done as Moses told them; they had asked the Egyptians for jewellery of silver and gold, and for clothing,


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and the Lord had given the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians.


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The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.


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They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt; it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.


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At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.


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That was for the Lord a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. That same night is a vigil to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites throughout their generations.


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Directions for the Passover The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it,


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It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.


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If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it;


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Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine.


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The Festival of Unleavened Bread Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten.


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When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month.


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For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the Lord.


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Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory.


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You shall tell your child on that day, “It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.”


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It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.


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The Consecration of the Firstborn ‘When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you,


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you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.


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But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem.


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When in the future your child asks you, “What does this mean?” you shall answer, “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.


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When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.”


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It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.’


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The Pillars of Cloud and Fire When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’


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So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.


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And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, ‘God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.’


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The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.


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Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.


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‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea.


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Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.’


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I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.’


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When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed towards the people, and they said, ‘What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?’


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he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.


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The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly.


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The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.


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As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.


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They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?


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Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’


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But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.


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But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.


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Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.


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And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.’


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The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.


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It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.


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Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.


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The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.


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The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers.


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At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic.


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He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’


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The Pursuers Drowned Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’


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So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.


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The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.


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But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.


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Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.


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Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.


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The Song of Moses Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.


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The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.


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‘Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.


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In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.


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At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.


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The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.”


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‘Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendour, doing wonders?


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‘In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.


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Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; trembling seized the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.


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Terror and dread fell upon them; by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone until your people, O Lord, passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by.


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You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O Lord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.


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When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.


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The Song of Miriam Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.


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And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’


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Bitter Water Made Sweet Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went for three days in the wilderness and found no water.


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When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.


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He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test.


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He said, ‘If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.’


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Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water.


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Bread from Heaven The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.


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The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.


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On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.’


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So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, ‘In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,


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and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?’


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And Moses said, ‘When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.’


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Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.”’


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And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.


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‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”’


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In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.


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When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.


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When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.


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This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.”’


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But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.


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But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them.


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On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,


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he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”’


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So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it.


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Moses said, ‘Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.


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See! The Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.’


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The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.


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Moses said, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.”’


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And Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.’


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The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.


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Water from the Rock From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.


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The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’


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But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’


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So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.


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I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.


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He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’


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Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some men for us and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’


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So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.


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Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.


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But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this as a reminder in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’


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He said, ‘A hand upon the banner of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’


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Jethro’s Advice Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.


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along with her two sons. The name of one was Gershom (for he said, ‘I have been an alien in a foreign land’),


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and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, ‘The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh’).


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Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses’ sons and wife to him.


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He sent word to Moses, ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.’


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Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent.


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Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.


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Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians.


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Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.’


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And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt-offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.


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The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening.


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When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?’


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When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.’


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You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.


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Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God;


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teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.


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You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.


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Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.


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If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.’


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Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.


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And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves.


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The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai At the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.


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They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.


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Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites:


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You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.


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Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,


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but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.’


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So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.


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The people all answered as one: ‘Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.’ The People Consecrated When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord,


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the Lord said to Moses: ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes


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and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.


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You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, “Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death.


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No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.” When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.’


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So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes.


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On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.


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Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain.


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Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently.


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As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder.


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When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people not to break through to the Lord to look; otherwise many of them will perish.


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Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them.’


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Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, “Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.”’


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The Lord said to him, ‘Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them.’


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You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.


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You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,


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but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.


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You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.


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But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.


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For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.


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Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.


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You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.


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When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance,


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and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.’


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Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.’


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The Law concerning the Altar The Lord said to Moses: Thus you shall say to the Israelites: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven.


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You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt-offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.


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But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it.


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When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.


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If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.


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If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s and he shall go out alone.


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But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person’,


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then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.


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If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her.


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If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.


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And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.


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If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.


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But if someone wilfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution.


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Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.


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When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed,


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but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for full recovery.


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When a slave-owner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished.


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But if the slave survives for a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property.


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When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.


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When a slave-owner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye.


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If the owner knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave shall be let go, a free person, to compensate for the tooth.


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Laws concerning Property When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.


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If the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not restrained it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.


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If a ransom is imposed on the owner, then the owner shall pay whatever is imposed for the redemption of the victim’s life.


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If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall pay to the slave-owner thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.


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If someone leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,


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the owner of the pit shall make restitution, giving money to its owner, but keeping the dead animal.


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If someone’s ox hurts the ox of another, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the price of it; and the dead animal they shall also divide.


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But if it was known that the ox was accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not restrained it, the owner shall restore ox for ox, but keep the dead animal.


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Laws of Restitution When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. The thief shall make restitution, but if unable to do so, shall be sold for the theft.


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When the animal, whether ox or donkey or sheep, is found alive in the thief’s possession, the thief shall pay double.


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When someone causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets livestock loose to graze in someone else’s field, restitution shall be made from the best in the owner’s field or vineyard.


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When fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire shall make full restitution.


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When someone delivers to a neighbour money or goods for safe keeping, and they are stolen from the neighbour’s house, then the thief, if caught, shall pay double.


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If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall be brought before God, to determine whether or not the owner had laid hands on the neighbour’s goods.


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In any case of disputed ownership involving ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any other loss, of which one party says, ‘This is mine’, the case of both parties shall come before God; the one whom God condemns shall pay double to the other.


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When someone delivers to another a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, without anyone seeing it,


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an oath before the Lord shall decide between the two of them that the one has not laid hands on the property of the other; the owner shall accept the oath, and no restitution shall be made.


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If it was mangled by beasts, let it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not be made for the mangled remains.


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When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies, the owner not being present, full restitution shall be made.


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If the owner was present, there shall be no restitution; if it was hired, only the hiring fee is due.


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Social and Religious Laws When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.


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But if her father refuses to give her to him, he shall pay an amount equal to the bride-price for virgins.


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my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.


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If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.


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for it may be your neighbour’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbour cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.


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You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.


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You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: for seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.


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You shall be people consecrated to me; therefore you shall not eat any meat that is mangled by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.


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Justice for All You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness.


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You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice;


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When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.


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Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty.


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You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.


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You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.


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but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.


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For six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your home-born slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.


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Be attentive to all that I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.


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You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.


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You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labour, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour.


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You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my festival remain until the morning.


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The choicest of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.


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The Conquest of Canaan Promised I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.


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Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him.


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But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.


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When my angel goes in front of you, and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,


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you shall not bow down to their gods, or worship them, or follow their practices, but you shall utterly demolish them and break their pillars in pieces.


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You shall worship the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from among you.


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I will send my terror in front of you, and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.


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And I will send the pestilence in front of you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.


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I will not drive them out from before you in one year, or the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply against you.


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Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.


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I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will hand over to you the inhabitants of the land, and you shall drive them out before you.


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They shall not live in your land, or they will make you sin against me; for if you worship their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.


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The Blood of the Covenant Then he said to Moses, ‘Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.


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Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.’


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Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, ‘All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.’


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And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel.


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He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord.


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Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.


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Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’


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Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’


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On the Mountain with God Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,


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and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.


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God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank.


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’


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To the elders he had said, ‘Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.’


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The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud.


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Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.


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Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.


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Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering; from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me.


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In accordance with all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.


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The Ark of the Covenant They shall make an ark of acacia wood; it shall be two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.


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You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make a moulding of gold upon it all round.


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You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side.


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Then you shall make a mercy-seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width.


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You shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.


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Make one cherub at one end, and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubim at its two ends.


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The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy-seat with their wings. They shall face each other; the faces of the cherubim shall be turned towards the mercy-seat.


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You shall put the mercy-seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I shall give you.


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There I will meet you, and from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant, I will deliver to you all my commands for the Israelites.


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The Table for the Bread of the Presence You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.


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You shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.


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You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these.


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You shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink-offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.


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The Lampstand You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes, and its petals shall be of one piece with it;


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and there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;


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three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.


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On the lampstand itself there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyxes and petals.


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There shall be a calyx of one piece with it under the first pair of branches, a calyx of one piece with it under the next pair of branches, and a calyx of one piece with it under the last pair of branches—so for the six branches that go out of the lampstand.


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Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it one hammered piece of pure gold.


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You shall make the seven lamps for it; and the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.


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And see that you make them according to the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.


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The Tabernacle Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and crimson yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skilfully worked into them.


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The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be of the same size.


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Five curtains shall be joined to one another; and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another.


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You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set; and likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.


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You shall make fifty loops on the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another.


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You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be one whole.


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You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains.


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The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall be of the same size.


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You shall join five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent.


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You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.


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You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent together, so that it may be one whole.


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The part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half-curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.


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The cubit on one side, and the cubit on the other side, of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it.


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There shall be two pegs in each frame to fit the frames together; you shall make these for all the frames of the tabernacle.


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and you shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under the first frame for its two pegs, and two bases under the next frame for its two pegs;


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and their forty bases of silver, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame;


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they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring; it shall be the same with both of them; they shall form the two corners.


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And so there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.


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and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear to the west.


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You shall overlay the frames with gold, and shall make their rings of gold to hold the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.


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Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.


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The Curtain You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim skilfully worked into it.


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You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver.


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You shall hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the ark of the covenant inside, within the curtain; and the curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy.


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You shall set the table outside the curtain, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table; and you shall put the table on the north side.


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You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework.


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You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.


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The Altar of Burnt-Offering You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and it shall be three cubits high.


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You shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.


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You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.


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You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze; and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.


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the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.


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The Court and Its Hangings You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twisted linen one hundred cubits long for that side;


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its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.


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Likewise, for its length on the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, their pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.


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For the width of the court on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of hangings, with ten pillars and ten bases.


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For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework; it shall have four pillars and with them four bases.


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All the pillars around the court shall be banded with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze.


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The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twisted linen and bases of bronze.


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All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.


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The Oil for the Lamp You shall further command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that a lamp may be set up to burn regularly.


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In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a perpetual ordinance to be observed throughout their generations by the Israelites.


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Vestments for the Priesthood Then bring near to you your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.


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And you shall speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with skill, that they make Aaron’s vestments to consecrate him for my priesthood.


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These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a chequered tunic, a turban, and a sash. When they make these sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests,


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The Ephod They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, skilfully worked.


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The decorated band on it shall be of the same workmanship and materials, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.


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six of their names on one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.


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As a gem-cutter engraves signets, so you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall mount them in settings of gold filigree.


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You shall set the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.


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and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.


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The Breastplate You shall make a breastpiece of judgement, in skilled work; you shall make it in the style of the ephod; of gold, of blue and purple and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen you shall make it.


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You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald shall be the first row;


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There shall be twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.


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and you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece.


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the two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings, and so attach it in front to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.


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You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.


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You shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the decorated band of the ephod.


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The breastpiece shall be bound by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it may lie on the decorated band of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod.


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So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgement on his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a continual remembrance before the Lord.


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In the breastpiece of judgement you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgement of the Israelites on his heart before the Lord continually.


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It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding round the opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it may not be torn.


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On its lower hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all round the lower hem, with bells of gold between them all round—


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Aaron shall wear it when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he may not die.


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You shall make a rosette of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’


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It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favour before the Lord.


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You shall make the chequered tunic of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.


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For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics and sashes and head-dresses; you shall make them for their glorious adornment.


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You shall put them on your brother Aaron, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests.


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You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; they shall reach from the hips to the thighs;


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Aaron and his sons shall wear them when they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place; or they will bring guilt on themselves and die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants after him.


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The Ordination of the Priests Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,


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and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil. You shall make them of choice wheat flour.


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You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.


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Then you shall take the vestments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the decorated band of the ephod;


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and you shall gird them with sashes and tie head-dresses on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual ordinance. You shall then ordain Aaron and his sons.


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You shall bring the bull in front of the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull,


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and shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and all the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.


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You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and turn them into smoke on the altar.


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But the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin-offering.


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Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,


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and you shall slaughter the ram, and shall take its blood and dash it against all sides of the altar.


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Then you shall cut the ram into its parts, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its parts and its head,


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and turn the whole ram into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt-offering to the Lord; it is a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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and you shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet, and dash the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.


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Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing-oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his vestments and on his sons and his sons’ vestments with him; then he and his vestments shall be holy, as well as his sons and his sons’ vestments.


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You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fat-tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ordination),


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and one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord;


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and you shall place all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raise them as an elevation-offering before the Lord.


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Then you shall take them from their hands, and turn them into smoke on the altar on top of the burnt-offering of pleasing odour before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.


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You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and raise it as an elevation-offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion.


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You shall consecrate the breast that was raised as an elevation-offering and the thigh that was raised as an elevation-offering from the ram of ordination, from that which belonged to Aaron and his sons.


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These things shall be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons from the Israelites, for this is an offering; and it shall be an offering by the Israelites from their sacrifice of offerings of well-being, their offering to the Lord.


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The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be passed on to his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.


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The son who is priest in his place shall wear them for seven days, when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.


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and Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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They themselves shall eat the food by which atonement is made, to ordain and consecrate them, but no one else shall eat of them, because they are holy.


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If any of the flesh for the ordination, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.


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Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, just as I have commanded you; over seven days you shall ordain them.


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Also every day you shall offer a bull as a sin-offering for atonement. Also you shall offer a sin-offering for the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it, to consecrate it.


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For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall become holy.


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The Daily Offerings Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day.


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and with the first lamb one-tenth of a measure of choice flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink-offering.


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And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and shall offer with it a grain-offering and its drink-offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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It shall be a regular burnt-offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you, to speak to you there.


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I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests.


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And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.


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The Altar of Incense You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.


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It shall be one cubit long, and one cubit wide; it shall be square, and shall be two cubits high; its horns shall be of one piece with it.


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You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides all round and its horns; and you shall make for it a moulding of gold all round.


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And you shall make two golden rings for it; under its moulding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall hold the poles with which to carry it.


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You shall place it in front of the curtain that is above the ark of the covenant, in front of the mercy-seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet you.


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Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it,


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and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening he shall offer it, a regular incense-offering before the Lord throughout your generations.


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You shall not offer unholy incense on it, or a burnt-offering, or a grain-offering; and you shall not pour a drink-offering on it.


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Once a year Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement on its horns. Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blood of the atoning sin-offering. It is most holy to the Lord.


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When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, at registration all of them shall give a ransom for their lives to the Lord, so that no plague may come upon them for being registered.


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This is what each one who is registered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.


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The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half-shekel, when you bring this offering to the Lord to make atonement for your lives.


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You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and shall designate it for the service of the tent of meeting; before the Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of the ransom given for your lives.


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You shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it;


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When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to make an offering by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.


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They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die: it shall be a perpetual ordinance for them, for him and for his descendants throughout their generations.


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Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty, and two hundred and fifty of aromatic cane,


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and you shall make of these a sacred anointing-oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing-oil.


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You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, in order that they may serve me as priests.


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It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.


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Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an unqualified person shall be cut off from the people.’


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The Lord said to Moses: Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (an equal part of each),


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and you shall beat some of it into powder, and put part of it before the covenant in the tent of meeting where I shall meet you; it shall be for you most holy.


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When you make incense according to this composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to the Lord.


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and I have filled him with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft,


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Moreover, I have appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have given skill to all the skilful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you:


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the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the mercy-seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,


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and the finely worked vestments, the holy vestments for the priest Aaron and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests,


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and the anointing-oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place. They shall do just as I have commanded you.


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You yourself are to speak to the Israelites: ‘You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.


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You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people.


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For six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.


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Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant.


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It is a sign for ever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’


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The Two Tablets of the Covenant When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.


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The Golden Calf When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’


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Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’


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He took the gold from them, formed it in a mould, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’


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When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.’


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They rose early the next day, and offered burnt-offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely;


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they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”’


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Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’


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But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?


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Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.


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Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.”’


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Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back.


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The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.


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When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, ‘There is a noise of war in the camp.’


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But he said, ‘It is not the sound made by victors, or the sound made by losers; it is the sound of revellers that I hear.’


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As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.


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He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.


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Moses said to Aaron, ‘What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?’


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And Aaron said, ‘Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil.


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They said to me, “Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”


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So I said to them, “Whoever has gold, take it off”; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!’


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When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies),


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then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!’ And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.


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He said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbour.”’


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Moses said, ‘Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.’


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On the next day Moses said to the people, ‘You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.’


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So Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold.


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But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.’


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But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.’


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The Command to Leave Sinai The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “To your descendants I will give it.”


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I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.


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Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.’


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For the Lord had said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.”’


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The Tent outside the Camp Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.


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Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.


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When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.


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When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tents.


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Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent.


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Moses’ Intercession Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight.”


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Now if I have found favour in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favour in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’


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For how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’


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The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.’


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And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.


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and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;


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Moses Makes New Tablets The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke.


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Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to me, on the top of the mountain.


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No one shall come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain; and do not let flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.’


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So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.


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The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,


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keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’


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He said, ‘If now I have found favour in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.’


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The Covenant Renewed He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.


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Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.


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Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you.


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You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice.


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And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods.


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You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.


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The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.


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For six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in ploughing time and in harvest time you shall rest.


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You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year.


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For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.


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You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning.


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The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.


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The Lord said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.


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He was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.


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The Shining Face of Moses Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.


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When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him.


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But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them.


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Afterwards all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.


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but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,


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the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.


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Sabbath Regulations Moses assembled all the congregation of the Israelites and said to them: These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do:


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For six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of solemn rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.


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Preparations for Making the Tabernacle Moses said to all the congregation of the Israelites: This is the thing that the Lord has commanded:


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Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze;


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and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing-oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance, the entrance of the tabernacle;


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the altar of burnt-offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin with its stand;


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the finely worked vestments for ministering in the holy place, the holy vestments for the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests.


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Offerings for the Tabernacle Then all the congregation of the Israelites withdrew from the presence of Moses.


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And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and brought the Lord’s offering to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the sacred vestments.


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So they came, both men and women; all who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earings and signet rings and pendants, all sorts of gold objects, everyone bringing an offering of gold to the Lord.


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And everyone who possessed blue or purple or crimson yarn or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or fine leather, brought them.


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Everyone who could make an offering of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s offering; and everyone who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work, brought it.


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All the skilful women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun in blue and purple and crimson yarns and fine linen;


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All the Israelite men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill-offering to the Lord.


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Bezalel and Oholiab Then Moses said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;


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he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft,


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He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of artisan or skilled designer.


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Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilful to whom the Lord has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.


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Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilful to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work;


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and they received from Moses all the freewill-offerings that the Israelites had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill-offerings every morning,


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so that all the artisans who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed,


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and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.’


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So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ So the people were restrained from bringing;


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Construction of the Tabernacle All those with skill among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains; they were made of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and crimson yarns, with cherubim skilfully worked into them.


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The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains were of the same size.


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He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set; likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set;


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he made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite one another.


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And he made fifty clasps of gold, and joined the curtains one to the other with clasps; so the tabernacle was one whole.


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The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were of the same size.


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He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain.


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and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under the first frame for its two pegs, and two bases under the next frame for its two pegs.


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and their forty bases of silver, two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next frame.


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They were separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring; he made two of them in this way, for the two corners.


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and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward.


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And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made rings of gold for them to hold the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.


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He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen, with cherubim skilfully worked into it.


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For it he made four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver.


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He also made a screen for the entrance to the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework;


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and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their bases with gold, but their five bases were of bronze.


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Making the Ark of the Covenant Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; it was two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.


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He cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two rings on its other side.


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He made a mercy-seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its width.


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one cherub at one end, and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the mercy-seat he made the cherubim at its two ends.


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The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy-seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were turned towards the mercy-seat.


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Making the Table for the Bread of the Presence He also made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.


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And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink-offerings.


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Making the Lampstand He also made the lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand were made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes, and its petals were of one piece with it.


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There were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;


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On the lampstand itself there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyxes and petals.


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There was a calyx of one piece with it under the first pair of branches, a calyx of one piece with it under the next pair of branches, and a calyx of one piece with it under the last pair of branches.


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Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it, the whole of it one hammered piece of pure gold.


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Making the Altar of Incense He made the altar of incense of acacia wood, one cubit long, and one cubit wide; it was square, and was two cubits high; its horns were of one piece with it.


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He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides all round, and its horns; and he made for it a moulding of gold all round,


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and made two golden rings for it under its moulding, on two opposite sides of it, to hold the poles with which to carry it.


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Making the Anointing-Oil and the Incense He made the holy anointing-oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.


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Making the Altar of Burnt-Offering He made the altar of burnt-offering also of acacia wood; it was five cubits long, and five cubits wide; it was square, and three cubits high.


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He made horns for it on its four corners; its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.


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He made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans: all its utensils he made of bronze.


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And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar, to carry it with them; he made it hollow, with boards.


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He made the basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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Making the Court of the Tabernacle He made the court; for the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits long;


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its twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.


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For the north side there were hangings one hundred cubits long; its twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.


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For the west side there were hangings fifty cubits long, with ten pillars and ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.


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And so for the other side; on each side of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars and three bases.


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The bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver; the overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver.


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The screen for the entrance to the court was embroidered with needlework in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine twisted linen. It was twenty cubits long and, along the width of it, five cubits high, corresponding to the hangings of the court.


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There were four pillars; their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their bands of silver.


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Materials of the Tabernacle These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant, which were drawn up at the commandment of Moses, the work of the Levites being under the direction of Ithamar son of the priest Aaron.


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and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, engraver, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen.


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All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, measured by the sanctuary shekel.


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The silver from those of the congregation who were counted was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, measured by the sanctuary shekel;


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a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, measured by the sanctuary shekel), for everyone who was counted in the census, from twenty years old and upwards, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men.


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The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the curtain: one hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent for a base.


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Of the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals and made bands for them.


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with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar,


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the bases all around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.


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Making the Vestments for the Priesthood Of the blue, purple, and crimson yarns they made finely worked vestments, for ministering in the holy place; they made the sacred vestments for Aaron; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Gold leaf was hammered out and cut into threads to work into the blue, purple, and crimson yarns and into the fine twisted linen, in skilled design.


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The decorated band on it was of the same materials and workmanship, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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The onyx stones were prepared, enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel.


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He set them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.


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and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree.


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There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.


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and they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece;


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Two ends of the two cords they had attached to the two settings of filigree; in this way they attached it in front to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.


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Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.


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They made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the decorated band of the ephod.


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They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it should lie on the decorated band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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and the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening in a coat of mail, with a binding round the opening, so that it might not be torn.


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On the lower hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.


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They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the lower hem of the robe all round, between the pomegranates;


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a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate all round on the lower hem of the robe for ministering; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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and the turban of fine linen, and the head-dresses of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen,


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and the sash of fine twisted linen, and of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, embroidered with needlework; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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They made the rosette of the holy diadem of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’


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The Work Completed In this way all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished; the Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;


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the covering of tanned rams’ skins and the covering of fine leather, and the curtain for the screen;


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the golden altar, the anointing-oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent;


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the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;


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the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;


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the finely worked vestments for ministering in the holy place, the sacred vestments for the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his sons to serve as priests.


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You shall bring in the table, and arrange its setting; and you shall bring in the lampstand, and set up its lamps.


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You shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant, and set up the screen for the entrance of the tabernacle.


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You shall set the altar of burnt-offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,


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Then you shall take the anointing-oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it shall become holy.


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You shall also anoint the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar shall be most holy.


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Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water,


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and put on Aaron the sacred vestments, and you shall anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve me as priest.


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and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests: and their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout all generations to come.


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Moses set up the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars;


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and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He took the covenant and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy-seat above the ark;


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and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the curtain for screening, and screened the ark of the covenant; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle,


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He set the altar of burnt-offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt-offering and the grain-offering as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed; as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He set up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen at the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.


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The Cloud and the Glory Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.


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Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.


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Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey;


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For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.


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Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When any of you bring an offering of livestock to the Lord, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock.


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If the offering is a burnt-offering from the herd, you shall offer a male without blemish; you shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, for acceptance in your behalf before the Lord.


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You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you.


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The bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the parts, with the head and the suet, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar;


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but its entrails and its legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt-offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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If your gift for a burnt-offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, your offering shall be a male without blemish.


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It shall be slaughtered on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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It shall be cut up into its parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar;


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but the entrails and the legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall offer the whole and turn it into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt-offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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If your offering to the Lord is a burnt-offering of birds, you shall choose your offering from turtle-doves or pigeons.


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The priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar.


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He shall remove its crop with its contents and throw it at the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes.


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He shall tear it open by its wings without severing it. Then the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt-offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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Grain-Offerings When anyone presents a grain-offering to the Lord, the offering shall be of choice flour; the worshipper shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it,


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and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. After taking from it a handful of the choice flour and oil, with all its frankincense, the priest shall turn this token portion into smoke on the altar, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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And what is left of the grain-offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy part of the offerings by fire to the Lord.


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When you present a grain-offering baked in the oven, it shall be of choice flour: unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil.


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If your offering is grain prepared on a griddle, it shall be of choice flour mixed with oil, unleavened;


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You shall bring to the Lord the grain-offering that is prepared in any of these ways; and when it is presented to the priest, he shall take it to the altar.


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The priest shall remove from the grain-offering its token portion and turn this into smoke on the altar, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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And what is left of the grain-offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings by fire to the Lord.


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No grain-offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you must not turn any leaven or honey into smoke as an offering by fire to the Lord.


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You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of choice products, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing odour.


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You shall not omit from your grain-offerings the salt of the covenant with your God; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.


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If you bring a grain-offering of first fruits to the Lord, you shall bring as the grain-offering of your first fruits coarse new grain from fresh ears, parched with fire.


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And the priest shall turn a token portion of it into smoke—some of the coarse grain and oil with all its frankincense; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Offerings of Well-Being If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being, if you offer an animal of the herd, whether male or female, you shall offer one without blemish before the Lord.


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You shall lay your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash the blood against all sides of the altar.


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You shall offer from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails;


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the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.


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Then Aaron’s sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt-offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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If your offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord is from the flock, male or female, you shall offer one without blemish.


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and lay your hand on the head of the offering. It shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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You shall present its fat from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the Lord: the whole broad tail, which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails;


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the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys.


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and lay your hand on its head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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You shall present as your offering from it, as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails;


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Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food-offering by fire for a pleasing odour. All fat is the Lord’s.


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It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.


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Speak to the people of Israel, saying: When anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them:


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If it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull of the herd without blemish as a sin-offering to the Lord.


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He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull; the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.


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The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.


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The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord; and the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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He shall remove all the fat from the bull of sin-offering: the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails;


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the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins; and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys,


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just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of well-being. The priest shall turn them into smoke upon the altar of burnt-offering.


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But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, as well as its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung—


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all the rest of the bull—he shall carry out to a clean place outside the camp, to the ash heap, and shall burn it on a wood fire; at the ash heap it shall be burned.


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If the whole congregation of Israel errs unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, and incur guilt;


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when the sin that they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin-offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.


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The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.


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and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain.


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He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting; and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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He shall do with the bull just as is done with the bull of sin-offering; he shall do the same with this. The priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.


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He shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin-offering for the assembly.


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When a ruler sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and incurs guilt,


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once the sin that he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without blemish.


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He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat; it shall be slaughtered at the spot where the burnt-offering is slaughtered before the Lord; it is a sin-offering.


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The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt-offering.


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All its fat he shall turn into smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of well-being. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.


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If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, and incurs guilt,


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when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed.


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You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin-offering; and the sin-offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt-offering.


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The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.


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He shall remove all its fat, as the fat is removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odour to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven.


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You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin-offering; and it shall be slaughtered as a sin-offering at the spot where the burnt-offering is slaughtered.


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The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.


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You shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the sheep is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.


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When any of you sin in that you have heard a public adjuration to testify and—though able to testify as one who has seen or learned of the matter—do not speak up, you are subject to punishment.


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Or when any of you touch any unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing—and are unaware of it, you have become unclean, and are guilty.


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Or when you touch human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become unclean—and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty.


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Or when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter in an oath, and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall in any of these be guilty.


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And you shall bring to the Lord, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, a female from the flock, a sheep or a goat, as a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for your sin.


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But if you cannot afford a sheep, you shall bring to the Lord, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, two turtle-doves or two pigeons, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering.


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You shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin-offering, wringing its head at the nape without severing it.


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He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin-offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin-offering.


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And the second he shall offer for a burnt-offering according to the regulation. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.


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But if you cannot afford two turtle-doves or two pigeons, you shall bring as your offering for the sin that you have committed one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin-offering; you shall not put oil on it or lay frankincense on it, for it is a sin-offering.


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You shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall scoop up a handful of it as its memorial portion, and turn this into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the Lord; it is a sin-offering.


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Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for whichever of these sins you have committed, and you shall be forgiven. Like the grain-offering, the rest shall be for the priest.


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When any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, you shall bring, as your guilt-offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt-offering.


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And you shall make restitution for the holy thing in which you were remiss, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt-offering, and you shall be forgiven.


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If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, you have incurred guilt, and are subject to punishment.


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You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, or the equivalent, as a guilt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven.


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When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbour in a matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbour,


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or have found something lost and lied about it—if you swear falsely regarding any of the various things that one may do and sin thereby—


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when you have sinned and realize your guilt, and would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to you, or the lost thing that you found,


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or anything else about which you have sworn falsely, you shall repay the principal amount and shall add one-fifth to it. You shall pay it to its owner when you realize your guilt.


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And you shall bring to the priest, as your guilt-offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt-offering.


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The priest shall make atonement on your behalf before the Lord, and you shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and incur guilt thereby.


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Command Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the ritual of the burnt-offering. The burnt-offering itself shall remain on the hearth upon the altar all night until the morning, while the fire on the altar shall be kept burning.


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The priest shall put on his linen vestments after putting on his linen undergarments next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt-offering on the altar, and place them beside the altar.


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Then he shall take off his vestments and put on other garments, and carry the ashes out to a clean place outside the camp.


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The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not go out. Every morning the priest shall add wood to it, lay out the burnt-offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat pieces of the offerings of well-being.


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This is the ritual of the grain-offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, in front of the altar.


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They shall take from it a handful of the choice flour and oil of the grain-offering, with all the frankincense that is on the offering, and they shall turn its memorial portion into smoke on the altar as a pleasing odour to the Lord.


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Aaron and his sons shall eat what is left of it; it shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place; in the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it.


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It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.


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Every male among the descendants of Aaron shall eat of it, as their perpetual due throughout your generations, from the Lord’s offerings by fire; anything that touches them shall become holy.


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This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour as a regular offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.


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It shall be made with oil on a griddle; you shall bring it well soaked, as a grain-offering of baked pieces, and you shall present it as a pleasing odour to the Lord.


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And so the priest, anointed from among Aaron’s descendants as a successor, shall prepare it; it is the Lord’s—a perpetual due—to be turned entirely into smoke.


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Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the ritual of the sin-offering. The sin-offering shall be slaughtered before the Lord at the spot where the burnt-offering is slaughtered; it is most holy.


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The priest who offers it as a sin-offering shall eat of it; it shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting.


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Whatever touches its flesh shall become holy; and when any of its blood is spattered on a garment, you shall wash the bespattered part in a holy place.


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An earthen vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; but if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water.


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But no sin-offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting for atonement in the holy place; it shall be burned with fire.


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at the spot where the burnt-offering is slaughtered, they shall slaughter the guilt-offering, and its blood shall be dashed against all sides of the altar.


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the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which shall be removed with the kidneys.


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The priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a guilt-offering.


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The guilt-offering is like the sin-offering, there is the same ritual for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.


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So, too, the priest who offers anyone’s burnt-offering shall keep the skin of the burnt-offering that he has offered.


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And every grain-offering baked in the oven, and all that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle, shall belong to the priest who offers it.


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But every other grain-offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron equally.


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Further Instructions This is the ritual of the sacrifice of the offering of well-being that one may offer to the Lord.


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If you offer it for thanksgiving, you shall offer with the thank-offering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of choice flour well soaked in oil.


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With your thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being you shall bring your offering with cakes of leavened bread.


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From this you shall offer one cake from each offering, as a gift to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who dashes the blood of the offering of well-being.


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And the flesh of your thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being shall be eaten on the day it is offered; you shall not leave any of it until morning.


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But if the sacrifice you offer is a votive offering or a freewill-offering, it shall be eaten on the day that you offer your sacrifice, and what is left of it shall be eaten the next day;


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If any of the flesh of your sacrifice of well-being is eaten on the third day, it shall not be acceptable, nor shall it be credited to the one who offers it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall incur guilt.


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Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned. As for other flesh, all who are clean may eat such flesh.


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But those who eat flesh from the Lord’s sacrifice of well-being while in a state of uncleanness shall be cut off from their kin.


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When any one of you touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature—and then eats flesh from the Lord’s sacrifice of well-being, you shall be cut off from your kin.


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The fat of an animal that died or was torn by wild animals may be put to any use, except that you must not eat it.


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If any one of you eats the fat from an animal of which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord, you who eat it shall be cut off from your kin.


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Speak to the people of Israel, saying: Any one of you who would offer to the Lord your sacrifice of well-being must yourself bring to the Lord your offering from your sacrifice of well-being.


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Your own hands shall bring the Lord’s offering by fire; you shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be raised as an elevation-offering before the Lord.


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The priest shall turn the fat into smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons.


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the one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood and fat of the offering of well-being shall have the right thigh for a portion.


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For I have taken the breast of the elevation-offering, and the thigh that is offered, from the people of Israel, from their sacrifices of well-being, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.


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This is the portion allotted to Aaron and to his sons from the offerings made by fire to the Lord, once they have been brought forward to serve the Lord as priests;


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these the Lord commanded to be given them, when he anointed them, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel throughout their generations.


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This is the ritual of the burnt-offering, the grain-offering, the sin-offering, the guilt-offering, the offering of ordination, and the sacrifice of well-being,


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which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, when he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai.


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Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing-oil, the bull of sin-offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;


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And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting,


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He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He then put the decorated band of the ephod around him, tying the ephod to him with it.


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And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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Then Moses took the anointing-oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.


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He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its base, to consecrate them.


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And Moses brought forward Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and fastened sashes around them, and tied head-dresses on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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He led forward the bull of sin-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of sin-offering,


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and it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on each of the horns of the altar, purifying the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it.


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Moses took all the fat that was around the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and turned them into smoke on the altar.


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But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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Then he brought forward the ram of burnt-offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,


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And after the entrails and the legs were washed with water, Moses turned into smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt-offering for a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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Then he brought forward the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,


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and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.


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After Aaron’s sons were brought forward, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet; and Moses dashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.


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He took the fat—the broad tail, all the fat that was around the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat—and the right thigh.


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From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh.


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He placed all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raised them as an elevation-offering before the Lord.


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Then Moses took them from their hands and turned them into smoke on the altar with the burnt-offering. This was an ordination-offering for a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation-offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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Then Moses took some of the anointing-oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments.


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And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, ‘Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination-offerings, as I was commanded, “Aaron and his sons shall eat it”;


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You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day when your period of ordination is completed. For it will take seven days to ordain you;


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You shall remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the Lord’s charge so that you do not die; for so I am commanded.’


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Aaron’s Priesthood Inaugurated On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.


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He said to Aaron, ‘Take a bull calf for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.


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And say to the people of Israel, “Take a male goat for a sin-offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt-offering;


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and an ox and a ram for an offering of well-being to sacrifice before the Lord; and a grain-offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.”’


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They brought what Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting; and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.


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And Moses said, ‘This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.’


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Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Draw near to the altar and sacrifice your sin-offering and your burnt-offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and sacrifice the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the Lord has commanded.’


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The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar.


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But the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver from the sin-offering he turned into smoke on the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses;


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Then he slaughtered the burnt-offering. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he dashed it against all sides of the altar.


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And they brought him the burnt-offering piece by piece, and the head, which he turned into smoke on the altar.


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He washed the entrails and the legs and, with the burnt-offering, turned them into smoke on the altar.


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Next he presented the people’s offering. He took the goat of the sin-offering that was for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin-offering like the first one.


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He presented the grain-offering, and, taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition to the burnt-offering of the morning.


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He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of well-being for the people. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, which he dashed against all sides of the altar,


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and the fat of the ox and of the ram—the broad tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the appendage of the liver.


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and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron raised as an elevation-offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.


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Aaron lifted his hands towards the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the offering of well-being.


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Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.


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Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.


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Nadab and Abihu Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them.


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Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord meant when he said, “Through those who are near me I will show myself holy, and before all the people I will be glorified.”’ And Aaron was silent.


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Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, ‘Come forward, and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.’


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And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘Do not dishevel your hair, and do not tear your vestments, or you will die and wrath will strike all the congregation; but your kindred, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning that the Lord has sent.


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You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the anointing-oil of the Lord is on you.’ And they did as Moses had ordered.


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Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute for ever throughout your generations.


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and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.


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Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: Take the grain-offering that is left from the Lord’s offerings by fire, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy;


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you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the offerings by fire to the Lord; for so I am commanded.


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But the breast that is elevated and the thigh that is raised, you and your sons and daughters as well may eat in any clean place; for they have been assigned to you and your children from the sacrifices of the offerings of well-being of the people of Israel.


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The thigh that is raised and the breast that is elevated they shall bring, together with the offerings by fire of the fat, to raise for an elevation-offering before the Lord; they are to be your due and that of your children for ever, as the Lord has commanded.


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Then Moses made inquiry about the goat of the sin-offering, and—it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and said,


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‘Why did you not eat the sin-offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and God has given it to you that you may remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.


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Its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.’


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And Aaron spoke to Moses, ‘See, today they offered their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before the Lord; and yet such things as these have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin-offering today, would it have been agreeable to the Lord?’


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Speak to the people of Israel, saying: From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat.


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But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat the following: the camel, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you.


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The rock-badger, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you.


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The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cloven-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.


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Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.


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These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.


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But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you


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and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable.


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These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,


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But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground.


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Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind.


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Unclean Animals By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening,


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and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.


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Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean.


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All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening,


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and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.


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These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according to its kind,


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These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.


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And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or skin or sacking, any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean.


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And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.


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Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel.


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Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you.


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But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean.


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If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.


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Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.


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Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever moves on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable.


text:
You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them, and so become unclean.


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For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth.


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For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.


text:
This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth,


text:
to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.


text:
Speak to the people of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean for seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.


text:
Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed.


text:
If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.


text:
When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt-offering, and a pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin-offering.


text:
He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female.


text:
If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.


text:
When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.


text:
The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.


text:
But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days.


text:
The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him for seven days more.


text:
The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.


text:
But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest.


text:
The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.


text:
The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling,


text:
it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean.


text:
But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see,


text:
then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean.


text:
the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease.


text:
the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.


text:
and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest.


text:
The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous disease, broken out in the boil.


text:
But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him for seven days.


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But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.


text:
Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white,


text:
the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a leprous disease; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease.


text:
But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white, and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him for seven days.


text:
The priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease.


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But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.


text:
the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard.


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If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin,


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he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more.


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On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.


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the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.


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But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.


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the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.


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If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean.


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But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead.


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The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a leprous disease in the skin of the body,


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The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’


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He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.


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if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a leprous disease and shall be shown to the priest.


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He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading leprous disease; it is unclean.


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He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woollen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading leprous disease; it shall be burned in fire.


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If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof or in anything of skin,


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the priest shall command them to wash the article in which the disease appears, and he shall put it aside for seven days more.


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The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed colour, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the leprous spot is on the inside or on the outside.


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If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin.


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If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears.


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But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.


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This is the ritual for a leprous disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is clean or unclean.


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This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest;


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the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination. If the disease is healed in the leprous person,


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the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedar wood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed.


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The priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel.


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He shall take the living bird with the cedar wood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.


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He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the open field.


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The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall live outside his tent for seven days.


text:
On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.


text:
On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, and a grain-offering of three-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.


text:
The priest who cleanses shall set the person to be cleansed, along with these things, before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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The priest shall take one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt-offering, along with the log of oil, and raise them as an elevation-offering before the Lord.


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He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin-offering and the burnt-offering are slaughtered in the holy place; for the guilt-offering, like the sin-offering, belongs to the priest: it is most holy.


text:
The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt-offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.


text:
and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.


text:
Some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt-offering.


text:
The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord:


text:
the priest shall offer the sin-offering, to make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterwards he shall slaughter the burnt-offering;


text:
and the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the grain-offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf and he shall be clean.


text:
But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt-offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain-offering, and a log of oil;


text:
also two turtle-doves or two pigeons, such as he can afford, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering.


text:
On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the Lord;


text:
and the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt-offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall raise them as an elevation-offering before the Lord.


text:
The priest shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt-offering and shall take some of the blood of the guilt-offering, and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.


text:
and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord.


text:
The priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot, where the blood of the guilt-offering was placed.


text:
The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord.


text:
one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering, along with a grain-offering; and the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one being cleansed.


text:
This is the ritual for one who has a leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.


text:
When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession,


text:
the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house.’


text:
The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean; and afterwards the priest shall go in to inspect the house.


text:
He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface,


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The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house,


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the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.


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He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.


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They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.


text:
If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it,


text:
the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean.


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He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.


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and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.


text:
If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed.


text:
For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedar wood and crimson yarn and hyssop,


text:
and shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.


text:
Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood and hyssop and crimson yarn;


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and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.


text:
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When any man has a discharge from his member, his discharge makes him ceremonially unclean.


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The uncleanness of his discharge is this: whether his member flows with his discharge, or his member is stopped from discharging, it is uncleanness for him.


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Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything on which he sits shall be unclean.


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Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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All who sit on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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All who touch the body of the one with the discharge shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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If the one with the discharge spits on persons who are clean, then they shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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All who touch anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and all who carry such a thing shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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All those whom the one with the discharge touches without his having rinsed his hands in water shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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Any earthen vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.


text:
When the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean.


text:
On the eighth day he shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest.


text:
The priest shall offer them, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord for his discharge.


text:
If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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Everything made of cloth or of skin on which the semen falls shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening.


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If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


text:
When a woman has a discharge of blood that is her regular discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.


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Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean; everything also upon which she sits shall be unclean.


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Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


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Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening;


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whether it is the bed or anything upon which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening.


text:
If any man lies with her, and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean for seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.


text:
If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, for all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.


text:
Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity.


text:
Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.


text:
On the eighth day she shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


text:
The priest shall offer one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord for her unclean discharge.


text:
Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.


text:
This is the ritual for those who have a discharge: for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby,


text:
for her who is in the infirmity of her period, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.


text:
The Day of Atonement The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died.


text:
The Lord said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy-seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.


text:
Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering.


text:
He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on.


text:
He shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.


text:
Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin-offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.


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but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, so that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.


text:
Aaron shall present the bull as a sin-offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a sin-offering for himself.


text:
He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain


text:
and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the covenant, or he will die.


text:
He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.


text:
He shall slaughter the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat.


text:
Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.


text:
No one shall be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.


text:
Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement on its behalf, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on each of the horns of the altar.


text:
He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.


text:
When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.


text:
Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.


text:
The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.


text:
Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting, and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there.


text:
He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people.


text:
The one who sets the goat free for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterwards may come into the camp.


text:
The bull of the sin-offering and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire.


text:
The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterwards may come into the camp.


text:
This shall be a statute to you for ever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you.


text:
For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.


text:
The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments.


text:
He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.


text:
This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.


text:
Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them: This is what the Lord has commanded.


text:
If anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp,


text:
and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, he shall be held guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and he shall be cut off from the people.


text:
This is in order that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and offer them as sacrifices of well-being to the Lord.


text:
The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odour to the Lord,


text:
so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations.


text:
And say to them further: Anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt-offering or sacrifice,


text:
and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it to the Lord, shall be cut off from the people.


text:
Eating Blood Prohibited If anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut that person off from the people.


text:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.


text:
Therefore I have said to the people of Israel: No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood.


text:
And anyone of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside among them, who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.


text:
For the life of every creature—its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the people of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.


text:
All persons, citizens or aliens, who eat what dies of itself or what has been torn by wild animals, shall wash their clothes, and bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening; then they shall be clean.


text:
You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.


text:
My ordinances you shall observe and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born abroad.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father, since she is your sister.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness.


text:
You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are your flesh; it is depravity.


text:
And you shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.


text:
You shall not give any of your offspring to sacrifice them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.


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You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it: it is perversion.


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Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves.


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Thus the land became defiled; and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.


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But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the citizen or the alien who resides among you


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(for the inhabitants of the land, who were before you, committed all of these abominations, and the land became defiled);


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otherwise the land will vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.


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So keep my charge not to commit any of these abominations that were done before you, and not to defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.


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Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.


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You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.


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When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable in your behalf.


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It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, or on the next day; and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire.


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All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the Lord; and any such person shall be cut off from the people.


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When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.


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You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.


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You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning.


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You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling-block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.


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You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbour.


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You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbour: I am the Lord.


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You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbour, or you will incur guilt yourself.


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You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.


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You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.


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If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave, designated for another man but not ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, since she has not been freed;


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but he shall bring a guilt-offering for himself to the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as guilt-offering.


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And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of guilt-offering before the Lord for his sin that he committed; and the sin he committed shall be forgiven him.


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When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall regard their fruit as forbidden; for three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten.


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But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that their yield may be increased for you: I am the Lord your God.


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You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.


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Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land may not become prostituted and full of depravity.


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Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.


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The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.


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You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.


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Say further to the people of Israel: Any of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside in Israel, who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death.


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I myself will set my face against them, and will cut them off from the people, because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.


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And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes to them, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death,


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I myself will set my face against them and against their family, and will cut them off from among their people, them and all who follow them in prostituting themselves to Molech.


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If any turn to mediums and wizards, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them, and will cut them off from the people.


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All who curse father or mother shall be put to death; having cursed father or mother, their blood is upon them.


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If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.


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The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.


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If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.


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If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.


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If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you.


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If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.


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If a woman approaches any animal and has sexual relations with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.


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If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, he shall be subject to punishment.


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If a man lies with a woman having her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow and she has laid bare her flow of blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people.


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You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to lay bare one’s own flesh; they shall be subject to punishment.


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If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall be subject to punishment; they shall die childless.


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If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.


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You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out.


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You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.


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But I have said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.


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You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.


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You shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.


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A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death, their blood is upon them.


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The Holiness of Priests The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives,


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likewise, for a virgin sister, close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her.


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They shall not make bald spots upon their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or make any gashes in their flesh.


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They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord’s offerings by fire, the food of their God; therefore they shall be holy.


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They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God,


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and you shall treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, I who sanctify you, am holy.


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When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death.


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The priest who is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing-oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the vestments, shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his vestments.


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He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother.


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He shall not go outside the sanctuary and thus profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing-oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.


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A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, a prostitute, these he shall not marry. He shall marry a virgin of his own kin,


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Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God.


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For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long,


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or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.


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No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God.


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But he shall not come near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries; for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.


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Direct Aaron and his sons to deal carefully with the sacred donations of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they may not profane my holy name; I am the Lord.


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Say to them: If anyone among all your offspring throughout your generations comes near the sacred donations, which the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he is in a state of uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord.


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No one of Aaron’s offspring who has a leprous disease or suffers a discharge may eat of the sacred donations until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse or a man who has had an emission of semen,


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and whoever touches any swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or any human being by whom he may be made unclean—whatever his uncleanness may be—


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the person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat of the sacred donations unless he has washed his body in water.


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When the sun sets he shall be clean; and afterwards he may eat of the sacred donations, for they are his food.


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That which died or was torn by wild animals he shall not eat, becoming unclean by it: I am the Lord.


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They shall keep my charge, so that they may not incur guilt and die in the sanctuary for having profaned it: I am the Lord; I sanctify them.


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No lay person shall eat of the sacred donations. No bound or hired servant of the priest shall eat of the sacred donations;


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but if a priest acquires anyone by purchase, the person may eat of them; and those that are born in his house may eat of his food.


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but if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced, without offspring, and returns to her father’s house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food. No lay person shall eat of it.


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If a man eats of the sacred donation unintentionally, he shall add one-fifth of its value to it, and give the sacred donation to the priest.


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causing them to bear guilt requiring a guilt-offering, by eating their sacred donations: for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.


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Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them: When anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing in Israel presents an offering, whether in payment of a vow or as a freewill-offering that is offered to the Lord as a burnt-offering,


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to be acceptable in your behalf it shall be a male without blemish, of the cattle or the sheep or the goats.


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When anyone offers a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, in fulfilment of a vow or as a freewill-offering, from the herd or from the flock, to be acceptable it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.


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Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or having a discharge or an itch or scabs—these you shall not offer to the Lord or put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the Lord.


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An ox or a lamb that has a limb too long or too short you may present for a freewill-offering; but it will not be accepted for a vow.


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Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord; such you shall not do within your land,


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nor shall you accept any such animals from a foreigner to offer as food to your God; since they are mutilated, with a blemish in them, they shall not be accepted in your behalf.


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When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day onwards it shall be acceptable as the Lord’s offering by fire.


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When you sacrifice a thanksgiving-offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your behalf.


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You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel: I am the Lord; I sanctify you,


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Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: These are the appointed festivals of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed festivals.


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The Sabbath, Passover, and Unleavened Bread For six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.


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These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall celebrate at the time appointed for them.


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In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover-offering to the Lord,


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and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.


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For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work at your occupations.


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Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.


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He shall raise the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may find acceptance; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall raise it.


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On the day when you raise the sheaf, you shall offer a lamb a year old, without blemish, as a burnt-offering to the Lord.


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And the grain-offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord; and the drink-offering with it shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.


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You shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your settlements.


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The Festival of Weeks And from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of the elevation-offering, you shall count off seven weeks; they shall be complete.


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You shall count until the day after the seventh sabbath, fifty days; then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord.


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You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation-offering, each made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first fruits to the Lord.


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You shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, one young bull, and two rams; they shall be a burnt-offering to the Lord, along with their grain-offering and their drink-offerings, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.


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You shall also offer one male goat for a sin-offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of well-being.


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The priest shall raise them with the bread of the first fruits as an elevation-offering before the Lord, together with the two lambs; they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.


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On that same day you shall make proclamation; you shall hold a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a statute for ever in all your settlements throughout your generations.


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When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.


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Speak to the people of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts.


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Now, the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall deny yourselves and present the Lord’s offering by fire;


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and you shall do no work during that entire day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.


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For anyone who does not practise self-denial during that entire day shall be cut off from the people.


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And anyone who does any work during that entire day, such a one I will destroy from the midst of the people.


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It shall be to you a sabbath of complete rest, and you shall deny yourselves; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your sabbath.


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Speak to the people of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there shall be the festival of booths to the Lord.


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For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord’s offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.


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These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you shall celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire—burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, sacrifices and drink-offerings, each on its proper day—


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apart from the sabbaths of the Lord, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your votive offerings, and apart from all your freewill-offerings, which you give to the Lord.


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Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.


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On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.


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You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute for ever throughout your generations.


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so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.


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Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.


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Aaron shall set it up in the tent of meeting, outside the curtain of the covenant, to burn from evening to morning before the Lord regularly; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations.


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The Bread for the Tabernacle You shall take choice flour, and bake twelve loaves of it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf.


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You shall put pure frankincense with each row, to be a token offering for the bread, as an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Every sabbath day Aaron shall set them in order before the Lord regularly as a commitment of the people of Israel, as a covenant for ever.


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They shall be for Aaron and his descendants, who shall eat them in a holy place, for they are most holy portions for him from the offerings by fire to the Lord, a perpetual due.


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Blasphemy and Its Punishment A man whose mother was an Israelite and whose father was an Egyptian came out among the people of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a certain Israelite began fighting in the camp.


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The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name in a curse. And they brought him to Moses—now his mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan—


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Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him.


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One who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be put to death.


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fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered.


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One who kills an animal shall make restitution for it; but one who kills a human being shall be put to death.


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Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel; and they took the blasphemer outside the camp, and stoned him to death. The people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord.


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For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield;


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but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.


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You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.


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You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath—you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound labourers who live with you;


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The Year of Jubilee You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years.


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Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month—on the day of atonement—you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land.


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And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.


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That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.


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When you buy from your neighbour, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop-years.


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If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you.


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You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.


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When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old.


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The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.


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If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next-of-kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.


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the years since its sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned.


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But if there are not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.


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If anyone sells a dwelling-house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of redemption shall be for one year.


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If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, a house that is in a walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.


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But houses in villages that have no walls around them shall be classed as open country; they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.


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As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites shall for ever have the right of redemption of the houses in the cities belonging to them.


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Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites—houses sold in a city belonging to them—shall be released in the jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel.


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If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.


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Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.


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I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.


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If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves.


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They shall remain with you as hired or bound labourers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.


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Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.


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For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold.


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As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves.


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You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property.


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You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.


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If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family,


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after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them,


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or their uncle or their uncle’s son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves.


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They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired labourer.


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and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption.


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As a labourer hired by the year they shall be under the alien’s authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight.


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And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year.


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For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.


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Rewards for Obedience You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord your God.


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I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.


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Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land.


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And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword shall go through your land.


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Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.


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I will look with favour upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you; and I will maintain my covenant with you.


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You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new.


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I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.


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if you spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant,


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I in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.


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I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down by your enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall flee though no one pursues you.


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And if in spite of this you will not obey me, I will continue to punish you sevenfold for your sins.


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Your strength shall be spent to no purpose: your land shall not yield its produce, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.


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If you continue hostile to me, and will not obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins.


text:
I will let loose wild animals against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted.


