# verses

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The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.


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


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God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was,


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God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,' and that is how it was.


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God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.


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God said, 'Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth'; and that is how it was.


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The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good.


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


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and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth'; and that is how it was.


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God made the two great lights - the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night - and the stars.


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


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God said, 'Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.'


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God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good.


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Then God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'


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God said, 'Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature -each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast'; and that is how it was.


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God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.


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Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.'


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


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God blessed them: God said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.'


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Then God said, 'Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit.


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And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant.' And that is how it was.


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


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On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.


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God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.


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Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when ADONAI, God, made earth and heaven,


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there was as yet no wild bush on the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for ADONAI, God, had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the ground.


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Then ADONAI, God, formed a person [Hebrew: adam] from the dust of the ground [Hebrew: adamah] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being.


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ADONAI, God, planted a garden toward the east, in 'Eden, and there he put the person whom he had formed.


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Out of the ground ADONAI, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


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The name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.


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except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.'


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ADONAI, God, said, 'It isn't good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.'


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So from the ground ADONAI, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name.


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So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.


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Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh.


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The rib which ADONAI, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person.


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The man-person said, 'At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman [Hebrew: ishah], because she was taken out of Man [Hebrew: ish].'


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This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.


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Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which ADONAI, God, had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, 'You are not to eat from any tree in the garden'?'


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but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, 'You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.''


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because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'


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When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate.


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Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.


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


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He answered, 'I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.'


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He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?'


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ADONAI, God, said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman answered, 'The serpent tricked me, so I ate.'


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ADONAI, God, said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.


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I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.'


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To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.'


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To Adam he said, 'Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, 'You are not to eat from it,' the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live.


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You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground - for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.'


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ADONAI, God, said, 'See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever -'


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therefore ADONAI, God, sent him out of the garden of 'Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.


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So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east of the garden of 'Eden the k'ruvim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.


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The man had sexual relations with Havah his wife; she conceived, gave birth to Kayin [acquisition] and said, 'I have acquired a man from ADONAI.'


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and Hevel too brought from the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat. ADONAI accepted Hevel and his offering


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If you are doing what is good, shouldn't you hold your head high? And if you don't do what is good, sin is crouching at the door - it wants you, but you can rule over it.'


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Kayin had words with Hevel his brother; then one time, when they were in the field, Kayin turned on Hevel his brother and killed him.


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ADONAI said to Kayin, 'Where is Hevel your brother?'And he replied, 'I don't know; am I my brother's guardian?'


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He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!


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Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood at your hands.


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When you farm the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive, wandering the earth.'


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You are banning me today from the land and from your presence. I will be a fugitive wandering the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.'


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ADONAI answered him, 'Therefore, whoever kills Kayin will receive vengeance sevenfold,' and ADONAI put a sign on Kayin, so that no one who found him would kill him.


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Kayin had sexual relations with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Hanokh. Kayin built a city and named the city after his son Hanokh.


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To Hanokh was born 'Irad. 'Irad fathered Mechuya'el, Mechuya'el fathered Metusha'el, and Metusha'el fathered Lemekh.


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Lemekh took himself two wives; the name of the one was 'Adah, while the name of the other was Tzilah.


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Tzilah gave birth to Tuval-Kayin, who forged all kinds of tools from brass and iron; the sister of Tuval-Kayin was Na'amah.


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Lemekh said to his wives, ''Adah and Tzilah, listen to me; wives of Lemekh, hear what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a young man who injured me.


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Adam again had sexual relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Shet [granted], 'For God has granted me another seed in place of Hevel, since Kayin killed him.'


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To Shet too was born a son, whom he called Enosh. That is when people began to call on the name of ADONAI.


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he created them male and female; he blessed them and called them Adam [humankind, man] on the day they were created.


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whom he called Noach [restful]; for he said, 'This one will comfort us in our labor, in the hard work we do with our hands [to get what comes] from the ground that ADONAI cursed.'


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the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.


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ADONAI said, 'My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.'


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The N'filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.


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ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only.


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ADONAI said, 'I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them.'


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Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God.


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God saw the earth, and, yes, it was corrupt; for all living beings had corrupted their ways on the earth.


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God said to Noach, 'The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth.


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Make yourself an ark of gofer-wood; you are to make the ark with rooms and cover it with pitch both outside and inside.


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Here is how you are to build it: the length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width seventy-five feet and its height forty-five feet.


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You are to make an opening for daylight in the ark eighteen inches below its roof. Put a door in its side; and build it with lower, second and third decks.


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'Then I myself will bring the flood of water over the earth to destroy from under heaven every living thing that breathes; everything on earth will be destroyed.


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


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'From everything living, from each kind of living being, you are to bring two into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they are to be male and female.


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Of each kind of bird, each kind of livestock, and each kind of animal creeping on the ground, two are to come to you, so that they can be kept alive.


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Also take from all the kinds of food that are eaten, and collect it for yourself; it is to be food for you and for them.'


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ADONAI said to Noach, 'Come into the ark, you and all your household; for I have seen that you alone in this generation are righteous before me.


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Of every clean animal you are to take seven couples, and of the animals that are not clean, one couple;


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also of the birds in the air take seven couples - in order to preserve their species throughout the earth.


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For in seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth.'


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


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On the seventeenth day of the second month of the 600th year of Noach's life all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the sky were opened.


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On that same day Noach entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Yefet the sons of Noach, Noach's wife and the three wives of his sons accompanying them;


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they, and every animal of every species, all the livestock of every species, every animal that creeps on the ground of every species, and every bird of every species - all sorts of winged creatures.


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Those that entered went in, male and female, from every kind of living being, as God had ordered him; and ADONAI shut him inside.


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The flood was forty days on the earth; the water grew higher and floated the ark, so that it was lifted up off the earth.


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All living beings that moved on the earth perished - birds, livestock, other animals, insects, and every human being,


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He wiped out every living thing on the surface of the ground - not only human beings, but livestock, creeping animals and birds in the air. They were wiped out from the earth; only Noach was left, along with those who were with him in the ark.


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God remembered Noach, every living thing and all the livestock with him in the ark; so God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to go down.


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Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the sky were stopped, the rain from the sky was restrained,


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and the water came back from completely covering the earth. It was after 150 days that the water went down.


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The water kept going down until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.


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But the dove found no place for her feet to rest, so she returned to him in the ark, because the water still covered the whole earth. He put out his hand, took her and brought her in to him in the ark.


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The dove came in to him in the evening, and there in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf, so Noach knew that the water had cleared from the earth.


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By the first day of the first month of the 601st year the water had dried up from off the earth; so Noach removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry.


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Bring out with you every living thing you have with you - birds, livestock and every animal that creeps on the earth - so that they can swarm on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth.'


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every animal, every creeping thing and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.


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Noach built an altar to ADONAI. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar.


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ADONAI smelled the sweet aroma, and ADONAI said in his heart, 'I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person's heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done.


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So long as the earth exists, sowing time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.'


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The fear and dread of you will be upon every wild animal, every bird in the air, every creature populating the ground, and all the fish in the sea; they have been handed over to you.


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Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; just as I gave you green plants before, so now I give you everything -


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I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being.


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Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made human beings in his image.


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and with every living creature that is with you - the birds, the livestock and every wild animal with you, all going out of the ark, every animal on earth.


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I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.'


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God added, 'Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come:


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I am putting my rainbow in the cloud - it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth.


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I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings.


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The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth.'


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God said to Noach, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth.'


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Shem and Yefet took a cloak, put it over both their shoulders, and, walking backward, went in and covered their naked father. Their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father lying there shamefully exposed.


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Here is the genealogy of the sons of Noach - Shem, Ham and Yefet; sons were born to them after the flood.


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From these the islands of the nations were divided into their lands, each according to its language, according to their families, in their nations.


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The sons of Kush were S'va, Havilah, Savta, Ra'mah and Savt'kha. The sons of Ra'mah were Sh'va and D'dan.


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He was a mighty hunter before ADONAI- this is why people say, 'Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before ADONAI.'


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The border of the Kena'ani was from Tzidon, as you go toward G'rar, to 'Azah; as you go toward S'dom, 'Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, to Lesha.


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These were the descendants of Ham, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.


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Children were also born to Shem, ancestor of all the descendants of 'Ever and older brother of Yefet.


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To 'Ever were born two sons. One was given the name Peleg [division], because during his lifetime the earth was divided. His brother's name was Yoktan.


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These were the descendants of Shem, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.


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These were the families of the sons of Noach, according to their generations, in their nations. From these the nations of the earth were divided up after the flood.


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It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar and lived there.


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They said to one another, 'Come, let's make bricks and bake them in the fire.' So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar.


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Then they said, 'Come, let's build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.'


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ADONAI said, 'Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they're starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them!


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For this reason it is called Bavel [confusion] - because there ADONAI confused the language of the whole earth, and from there ADONAI scattered them all over the earth.


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Here is the genealogy of Shem. Shem was 100 years old when he fathered Arpakhshad two years after the flood.


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Then Avram and Nachor took wives for themselves. The name of Avram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nachor's wife was Milkah the daughter of Haran. He was the father of Milkah and of Yiskah.


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Terach took his son Avram, his son Haran's son Lot, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram's wife; and they left Ur of the Kasdim to go to the land of Kena'an. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there.


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Now ADONAI said to Avram, 'Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.


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I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing.


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I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.'


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So Avram went, as ADONAI had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran.


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Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena'an and entered the land of Kena'an.


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Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh'khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena'ani were then in the land.


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ADONAI appeared to Avram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' So he built an altar there to ADONAI, who had appeared to him.


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He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-El and pitched his tent. With Beit-El to the west and 'Ai to the east, he built an altar there and called on the name of ADONAI.


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But there was a famine in the land, so Avram went down into Egypt to stay there, because the famine in the land was severe.


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When he came close to Egypt and was about to enter, he said to Sarai his wife, 'Here now, I know that you are a good-looking woman;


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so that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife,' and kill me but keep you alive.


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Please say that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me for your sake, and so that I will stay alive because of you.'


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Pharaoh's princes saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.


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He treated Avram well for her sake, giving him sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.


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Pharaoh called Avram and said, 'What is this that you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?


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Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my own wife? Now therefore, here is your wife! Take her, and go away!'


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So Pharaoh gave orders concerning him to his men, and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had.


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As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and 'Ai,


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But the land could not support their living together, because their possessions were too great for them to remain together.


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Moreover, quarreling arose between Avram's and Lot's herdsmen. The Kena'ani and the P'rizi were then living in the land.


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Avram said to Lot, 'Please, let's not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours, since we're kinsmen.


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Isn't the whole land there in front of you? Please separate yourself from me - if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.'


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Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Yarden was well watered everywhere, before ADONAI destroyed S'dom and 'Amora, like the garden of ADONAI, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Tzo'ar.


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So Lot chose all the plain of the Yarden for himself, and Lot traveled eastward; thus they separated themselves from each other.


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Avram lived in the land of Kena'an; and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, setting up his tent near S'dom.


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ADONAI said to Avram, after Lot had moved away from him, 'Look all around you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west.


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and I will make your descendants as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth - so that if a person can count the specks of dust on the earth, then your descendants can be counted.


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Avram moved his tent and came to live by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hevron. There he built an altar to ADONAI.


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When Amrafel was king of Shin'ar, Aryokh king of Elasar, K'dorla'omer king of 'Elam and Tid'al king of Goyim;


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they made war together against Bera king of S'dom and against Birsha king of 'Amora, Shin'av king of Admah, Shem'ever king of Tzvoyim, and the king of Bela (which is the same as Tzo'ar).


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In the fourteenth year K'dorla'omer and the kings with him came and defeated the Refa'im in 'Asht'rot-Karnayim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Eimim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim


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Next they turned back, came to 'Ein-Mishpat (which is the same as Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the 'Amaleki, and also the Emori, who lived in Hatzatzon-Tamar.


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Then the kings of S'dom, 'Amora, Admah, Tzvoyim and Bela (that is, Tzo'ar) came out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Siddim Valley


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against K'dorla'omer king of 'Elam, Tid'al king of Goyim, Amrafel king of Admah and Aryokh king of Elasar, four kings against the five.


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Now the Siddim Valley was full of clay pits; and when the kings of S'dom and 'Amora fled, some fell into them; while the rest fled to the hills.


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But as they left, they took Lot, Avram's brother's son, and his possessions; since he was living in S'dom.


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Someone who had escaped came and told Avram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Emori, brother of Eshkol and brother of 'Aner; all of them allies of Avram.


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When Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, who had been born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.


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During the night he and his servants divided his forces against them, then attacked and pursued them all the way to Hovah, north of Dammesek.


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He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, together with the women and the other people.


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After his return from slaughtering K'dorla'omer and the kings with him, the king of S'dom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley, also known as the King's Valley.


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and blessed be El 'Elyon, who handed your enemies over to you.' Avram gave him a tenth of everything.


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But Avram answered the king of S'dom, 'I have raised my hand in an oath to ADONAI, El 'Elyon, maker of heaven and earth,


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that I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal thong of anything that is yours; so that you won't be able to say, 'I made Avram rich.'


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I will take only what my troops have eaten and the share of the spoil belonging to the men who came with me -'Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; let them have their share.'


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Some time later the word of ADONAI came to Avram in a vision: 'Don't be afraid, Avram. I am your protector; your reward will be very great.'


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Avram replied, 'ADONAI, God, what good will your gifts be to me if I continue childless; and Eli'ezer from Dammesek inherits my possessions?


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But the word of ADONAI came to him: 'This man will not be your heir. No, your heir will be a child from your own body.'


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Then he brought him outside and said, 'Look up at the sky, and count the stars - if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!'


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Then he said to him, 'I am ADONAI, who brought you out from Ur-Kasdim to give you this land as your possession.'


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He answered him, 'Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove and a young pigeon.'


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He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn't cut the birds in half.


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ADONAI said to Avram, 'Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there four hundred years.


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But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions.


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Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment.'


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After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts.


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That day ADONAI made a covenant with Avram: 'I have given this land to your descendants - from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River -


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so Sarai said to Avram, 'Here now, ADONAI has kept me from having children; so go in and sleep with my slave-girl. Maybe I'll be able to have children through her.'Avram listened to what Sarai said.


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It was after Avram had lived ten years in the land of Kena'an that Sarai Avram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife.


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Avram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she became aware that she was pregnant, she looked on her mistress with contempt.


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Sarai said to Avram, 'This outrage being done to me is your fault! True, I gave my slave-girl to you to sleep with; but when she saw that she was pregnant, she began holding me in contempt. May ADONAI decide who is right - I or you!'


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However, Avram answered Sarai, 'Look, she's your slave-girl. Deal with her as you think fit.'Then Sarai treated her so harshly that she ran away from her.


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and said, 'Hagar! Sarai's slave-girl! Where have you come from, and where are you going?' She answered, 'I'm running away from my mistress Sarai.'


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The angel of ADONAI said to her, 'I will greatly increase your descendants; there will be so many that it will be impossible to count them.'


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The angel of ADONAI said to her, 'Look, you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You are to call him Yishma'el [God pays attention] because ADONAI has paid attention to your misery.


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He will be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, living his life at odds with all his kinsmen.'


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So she named ADONAI who had spoken with her El Ro'i [God of seeing], because she said, 'Have I really seen the One who sees me [and stayed alive]?'


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This is why the well has been called Be'er-Lachai-Ro'i [well of the one who lives and sees]; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.


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When Avram was 99 years old ADONAI appeared to Avram and said to him, 'I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted.


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Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations.


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'I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after you.


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I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Kena'an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.'


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God said to Avraham, 'As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.


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Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised.


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You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.


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Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you.


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The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.


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Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin -that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant.'


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God said to Avraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess].


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I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.'


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At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed - he thought to himself, 'Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?'


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God answered, 'No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz'chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.


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But as for Yishma'el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.


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But I will establish my covenant with Yitz'chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.'


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Avraham took Yishma'el his son, all the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every male among the people in Avraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, just as God had said to him.


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


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ADONAI appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day.


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He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground,


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and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.''Very well,' they replied, 'do what you have said.'


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Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes.'


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


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Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.


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He said, 'I will certainly return to you around this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.'Sarah heard him from the entrance of the tent, behind him.


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ADONAI said to Avraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and ask, 'Am I really going to bear a child when I am so old?'


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Is anything too hard for ADONAI? At the time set for it, at this season next year, I will return to you; and Sarah will have a son.'


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Sarah denied it, saying, 'I didn't either laugh,' because she was afraid. He said, 'Not so - you did laugh.'


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The men set out from there and looked over toward S'dom, and Avraham went with them to see them on their way.


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inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him?


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For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of ADONAI and to do what is right and just, so that ADONAI may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.'


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that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know.'


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Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there?


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Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn't the judge of all the earth do what is just?'


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ADONAI said, 'If I find in S'dom fifty who are righteous, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.'


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Avraham answered, 'Here now, I, who am but dust and ashes, have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai.


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What if there are five less than fifty righteous?'He said, 'I won't destroy it if I find forty-five there.'


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He spoke to him yet again: 'What if forty are found there?' He said, 'For the sake of the forty I won't do it.'


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He said, 'I hope Adonai won't be angry if I speak. What if thirty are found there?' He said, 'I won't do it if I find thirty there.'


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He said, 'Here now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. What if twenty are found there?' He said, 'For the sake of the twenty I won't destroy it.'


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He said, 'I hope Adonai won't be angry if I speak just once more. What if ten are found there?' He said, 'For the sake of the ten I won't destroy it.'


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ADONAI went on his way as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.


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The two angels came to S'dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S'dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground.


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He said, 'Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant's house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.''No,' they answered, 'we'll stay in the square.'


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But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.


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But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house -young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S'dom.


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They called Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!'


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Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don't do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.'


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'Stand back!' they replied. 'This guy came to live here, and now he's decided to play judge. For that we'll deal worse with you than with them!'Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door.


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Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn't find the doorway.


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The men said to Lot, 'Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city - son-in-law, your sons, your daughters - bring them out of this place;


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because we are going to destroy it. ADONAI has become aware of the great outcry against them, and ADONAI has sent us to destroy it.'


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Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, 'Get up and leave this place, because ADONAI is going to destroy the city.' But his sons-in-law didn't take him seriously.


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When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. 'Get up,' they said, 'and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.'


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But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand and the hands of his two daughters -ADONAI was being merciful to him - and led them, leaving them outside the city.


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When they had brought them out, he said, 'Flee for your life! Don't look behind you, and don't stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.'


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Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can't escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.


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Look, there's a town nearby to flee to, and it's a small one. Please let me escape there - isn't it just a small one? -and that way I will stay alive.'


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He replied, 'All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won't overthrow the city of which you have spoken.


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Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can't do anything until you arrive there.' For this reason the city was named Tzo'ar [small].


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He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground.


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and looked out toward S'dom and 'Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace!


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But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.


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Lot went up from Tzo'ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo'ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.


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The firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there isn't a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world.


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Come, let's have our father drink wine; then we'll sleep with him, and that way we'll enable our father to have descendants.'


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So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn't know when she lay down or when she got up.


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The following day, the older said to the younger, 'Here, I slept last night with my father. Let's make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we'll enable our father to have descendants.'


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They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn't know when she lay down or when she got up.


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The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-'Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of 'Amon to this day.


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Avraham traveled from there toward the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. While living as an alien in G'rar,


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Avraham was saying of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister'; so Avimelekh king of G'rar sent and took Sarah.


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But God came to Avimelekh in a dream one night and said to him, 'You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, since she is someone's wife.'


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Didn't he himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In doing this, my heart has been pure and my hands innocent.'


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God said to him in the dream, 'Yes, I know that in doing this, your heart has been pure; and I too have kept you from sinning against me. This is why I didn't let you touch her.


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Therefore, return the man's wife to him now. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will live. But if you don't return her, know that you will certainly die - you and all who belong to you.'


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Avimelekh got up early in the morning, called all his servants and told them these things; and the men became very afraid.


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Then Avimelekh called Avraham and said to him, 'What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you to cause you to bring on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that are just not done.'


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Avraham replied, 'It was because I thought, 'There could not possibly be any fear of God in this place, so they will kill me in order to get my wife.'


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But she actually is also my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother, and so she became my wife.


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When God had me leave my father's house, I told her, 'Do me this favor: wherever we go, say about me, 'He is my brother.'''


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Avimelekh took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Avraham; and he returned to him Sarah his wife.


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To Sarah he said, 'Here, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. That will allay the suspicions of everyone who is with you. Before everyone you are cleared.'


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Avraham prayed to God, and God healed Avimelekh and his wife and slave-girls, so that they could have children.


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For ADONAI had made every woman in Avimelekh's household infertile on account of Sarah Avraham's wife.


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Sarah said, 'God has given me good reason to laugh; now everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.'


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And she said, 'Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children? Nevertheless, I have borne him a son in his old age!'


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The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham gave a great banquet on the day that Yitz'chak was weaned.


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But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom Hagar had borne to Avraham, making fun of Yitz'chak;


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so Sarah said to Avraham, 'Throw this slave-girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave-girl's son as your heir along with my son Yitz'chak!'


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But God said to Avraham, 'Don't be distressed because of the boy and your slave-girl. Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz'chak who will be counted.


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Avraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child; then he sent her away. After leaving, she wandered in the desert around Be'er-Sheva.


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and went and sat down, looking the other way, about a bow-shot's distance from him; because she said, 'I can't bear to watch my child die.' So she sat there, looking the other way, crying out and weeping.


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God heard the boy's voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What's wrong with you, Hagar? Don't be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the boy in his present situation.


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Get up, lift the boy up, and hold him tightly in your hand, because I am going to make him a great nation.'


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


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At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, 'God is with you in everything you do.


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Therefore, swear to me here by God that you will never deal falsely with me or with my son or grandson; but according to the kindness with which I have treated you, you will treat me and the land in which you have lived as a foreigner.


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Avimelekh answered, 'I don't know who has done this. You didn't tell me, and I heard about it only today.'


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Avimelekh asked Avraham, 'What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have put by themselves?'


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This is why that place was called Be'er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] - because they both swore an oath there.


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When they made the covenant at Be'er-Sheva, Avimelekh departed with Pikhol the commander of his army and returned to the land of the P'lishtim.


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Avraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be'er-Sheva, and there he called on the name of ADONAI, the everlasting God.


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He said, 'Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz'chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.'


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Avraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together with Yitz'chak his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, departed and went toward the place God had told him about.


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Avraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go there, worship and return to you.'


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Avraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Yitz'chak his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together.


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Yitz'chak spoke to Avraham his father: 'My father?' He answered, 'Here I am, my son.' He said, 'I see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'


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Avraham replied, 'God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son'; and they both went on together.


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They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz'chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood.


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He said, 'Don't lay your hand on the boy! Don't do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.'


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Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.


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Avraham called the place ADONAI Yir'eh [ADONAI will see (to it), ADONAI provides] -as it is said to this day, 'On the mountain ADONAI is seen.'


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He said, 'I have sworn by myself - says ADONAI- that because you have done this, because you haven't withheld your son, your only son,


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I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendants to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies,


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and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed - because you obeyed my order.'


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So Avraham returned to his young men. They got up and went together to Be'er-Sheva, and Avraham settled in Be'er-Sheva.


text:
Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba, also known as Hevron, in the land of Kena'an; and Avraham came to mourn Sarah and weep for her.


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'I am a foreigner living as an alien with you; let me have a burial site with you, so that I can bury my dead wife.'


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'Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us, so choose any of our tombs to bury your dead - not one of us would refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.'


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and spoke with them. 'If it is your desire to help me bury my dead, then listen to me: ask 'Efron the son of Tzochar


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to give me the cave of Makhpelah, which he owns, the one at the end of his field. He should sell it to me in your presence at its full value; then I will have a burial site of my own.'


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'Efron the Hitti was sitting among the sons of Het, and he gave Avraham his answer in the presence of the sons of Het who belonged to the ruling council of the city:


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'No, my lord, listen to me: I'm giving you the field, with its cave - I'm giving it to you. In the presence of my people I give it to you.'


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and spoke to 'Efron in their hearing: 'Please be good enough to listen to me. I will pay the price of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.'


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'My lord, listen to me. A plot of land worth 400 silver shekels - what is that between me and you? Just bury your dead.'


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Avraham got the point of what 'Efron had said, so he weighed out for 'Efron the amount of money he had specified in the presence of the sons of Het, 400 silver shekels of the weight accepted among merchants [ten pounds].


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Thus the field of 'Efron in Makhpelah, which is by Mamre - the field, its cave and all the trees in and around it - were deeded


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to Avraham as his possession in the presence of the sons of Het who belonged to the ruling council of the city.


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Then Avraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Makhpelah, by Mamre, also known as Hevron, in the land of Kena'an.


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The field and its cave had been purchased by Avraham from the sons of Het as a burial-site which would belong to him.


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Avraham said to the servant who had served him the longest, who was in charge of all he owned, 'Put your hand under my thigh;


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because I want you to swear by ADONAI, God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena'ani, among whom I am living;


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The servant replied, 'Suppose the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land. Must I then bring your son back to the land from which you came?'


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ADONAI, the God of heaven - who took me away from my father's house and away from the land I was born in, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'I will give this land to your descendants'- he will send his angel ahead of you; and you are to bring a wife for my son from there.


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But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from your obligation under my oath. Just don't bring my son back there.'


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The servant put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master and swore to him concerning the matter.


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Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and all kinds of gifts from his master, got up and went to Aram-Naharayim, to Nachor's city.


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Toward evening, when the women go out to draw water, he had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well.


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He said, 'ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, please let me succeed today; and show your grace to my master Avraham.


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I will say to one of the girls, 'Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.' If she answers, 'Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz'chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master.'


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Before he had finished speaking, Rivkah the daughter of B'tu'el son of Milkah the wife of Nachor Avraham's brother, came out with her jug on her shoulder.


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The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, never having had sexual relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jug and came up.


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When she was through letting him drink, she said, 'I will also draw water for your camels until they have drunk their fill.'


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She quickly emptied her jug into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and kept on drawing water for all his camels.


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The man gazed at her in silence, waiting to find out whether ADONAI had made his trip successful or not.


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When the camels were done drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces


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and asked, 'Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?'


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Then he said, 'Blessed be ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master; because ADONAI has guided me to the house of my master's kinsmen.'


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Rivkah had a brother named Lavan. When he saw the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists besides, and when he heard his sister Rivkah's report of what the man had said to her, he ran out to the spring and found the man standing there by the camels.


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'Come on in,' he said, 'you whom ADONAI has blessed! Why are you standing outside when I have made room in the house and prepared a place for the camels?'


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So the man went inside, and while the camels were being unloaded and provided straw and fodder, water was brought for him to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.


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But when a meal was set before him, he said, 'I won't eat until I say what I have to say.' Lavan said, 'Speak.'


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ADONAI has greatly blessed my master, so that he has grown wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.


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Sarah my master's wife bore my master a son when she was old, and he has given him everything he has.


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My master made me swear, saying, 'You are not to choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena'ani, among whom I am living;


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Avraham answered me, 'ADONAI, in whose presence I live, will send his angel with you to make your trip successful; and you are to pick a wife for my son from my kinsmen in my father's house;


text:
this will release you from your obligation under my oath. But if, when you come to my kinsmen, they refuse to give her to you, this too will release you from my oath.'


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'So today, I came to the spring and said, 'ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, if you are causing my trip to succeed in its purpose,


text:
then, here I am, standing by the spring. I will say to one of the girls coming out to draw water, 'Let me have a sip of water from your jug.'


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If she answers, 'Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the woman you intend for my master's son.'


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And even before I had finished speaking to my heart, there came Rivkah, going out with her jug on her shoulder; she went down to the spring and drew water. When I said to her, 'Please let me have a drink,'


text:
she immediately lowered the jug from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will water your camels as well.'So I drank, and she had the camels drink too.


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'I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' and she answered, 'The daughter of B'tu'el son of Nachor, whom Milkah bore to him.'Then I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists,


text:
bowed my head, prostrated myself before ADONAI and blessed ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, for having led me in the right way to obtain my master's brother's [grand]daughter for his son.


text:
'So now if you people intend to show grace and truth to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I can turn elsewhere.'


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Lavan and B'tu'el replied, 'Since this comes from ADONAI, we can't say anything to you either bad or good.


text:
Rivkah is here in front of you; take her and go. Let her be your master's son's wife, as ADONAI has said.'


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Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry, together with clothing, and gave them to Rivkah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and mother.


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He and his men then ate and drank and stayed the night. In the morning they got up; and he said, 'Send me off to my master.'


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Her brother and mother said, 'Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she will go.'


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He answered them, 'Don't delay me, since ADONAI has made my trip successful, but let me go back to my master.'


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They blessed Rivkah with these words: 'Our sister, may you be the mother of millions, and may your descendants possess the cities of those who hate them.'


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Then Rivkah and her maids mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rivkah and went on his way.


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Meanwhile, Yitz'chak, one evening after coming along the road from Be'er-Lachai-Ro'i - he was living in the Negev -


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She said to the servant,'Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?'When the servant replied, 'It's my master,' she took her veil and covered herself.


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Then Yitz'chak brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rivkah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus was Yitz'chak comforted for the loss of his mother.


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The sons of Midyan were 'Eifah, 'Efer, Hanokh, Avida and Elda'ah. All these were descendants of K'turah.


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But to the sons of the concubines he made grants while he was still living and sent them off to the east, to the land of Kedem, away from Yitz'chak his son.


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Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people.


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Yitz'chak and Yishma'el his sons buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of 'Efron the son of Tzochar the Hitti, by Mamre,


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the field which Avraham purchased from the sons of Het. Avraham was buried there with Sarah his wife.


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These are the names of the sons of Yishma'el, listed in the order of their birth. The firstborn of Yishma'el was N'vayot; followed by Kedar, Adbe'el, Mivsam,


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These are the sons of Yishma'el, and these are their names, according to their settlements and camps, twelve tribal rulers.


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This is how long Yishma'el lived: 137 years. Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people.


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Yishma'el's sons lived between Havilah and Shur, near Egypt as you go toward Ashur; he settled near all his kinsmen.


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Yitz'chak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of B'tu'el the Arami from Paddan-Aram and sister of Lavan the Arami, to be his wife.


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Yitz'chak prayed to ADONAI on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. ADONAI heeded his prayer, and Rivkah became pregnant.


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The children fought with each other inside her so much that she said, 'If it's going to be like this, why go on living?' So she went to inquire of ADONAI,


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who answered her, 'There are two nations in your womb. From birth they will be two rival peoples. One of these peoples will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.'


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The first to come out was reddish and covered all over with hair, like a coat; so they named him 'Esav [completely formed, that is, having hair already].


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Then his brother emerged, with his hand holding 'Esav's heel, so he was called Ya'akov [he catches by the heel, he supplants]. Yitz'chak was sixty years old when she bore them.


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The boys grew; and 'Esav became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman; while Ya'akov was a quiet man who stayed in the tents.


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and said to Ya'akov, 'Please! Let me gulp down some of that red stuff - that red stuff! I'm exhausted!' (This is why he was called Edom [red].)


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Then Ya'akov gave him bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, got up and went on his way. Thus 'Esav showed how little he valued his birthright.


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A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz'chak went to G'rar, to Avimelekh king of the P'lishtim.


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Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, because I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants. I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Avraham your father -


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I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless themselves.


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All this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do -he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings.'


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The men of the place asked him about his wife, and out of fear he said, 'She is my sister.' He thought, 'If I tell them she's my wife, they might kill me in order to take Rivkah. After all, she is a beautiful woman.'


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But one day, after he had lived there a long time, Avimelekh king of the P'lishtim happened to be looking out of a window when he spotted Yitz'chak caressing Rivkah his wife.


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Avimelekh summoned Yitz'chak and said, 'So she is your wife, after all! How come you said, 'She is my sister'?' Yitz'chak responded, 'Because I thought, 'I could get killed because of her.''


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Avimelekh said, 'What is this you have done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!'


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Then Avimelekh warned all the people: 'Whoever touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.'


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Yitz'chak planted crops in that land and reaped that year a hundred times as much as he had sowed. ADONAI had blessed him.


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Now the P'lishtim had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells his father's servants had dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father.


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Avimelekh said to Yitz'chak, 'You must go away from us, because you have become much more powerful than we are.'


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Yitz'chak reopened the wells which had been dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father, the ones the P'lishtim had stopped up after Avraham died, and called them by the names his father had used for them.


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But the herdsmen of G'rar quarreled with Yitz'chak's herdsmen, claiming, 'That water is ours!' So he called the well 'Esek [quarrel], because they quarreled with him.


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He went away from there and dug another well, and over that one they didn't quarrel. So he called it Rechovot [wide open spaces] and said, 'Because now ADONAI has made room for us, and we will be productive in the land.'


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ADONAI appeared to him that same night and said, 'I am the God of Avraham your father. Don't be afraid, because I am with you; I will bless you and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Avraham.'


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There he built an altar and called on the name of ADONAI. He pitched his tent there, and there Yitz'chak's servants dug a well.


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Yitz'chak said to them, 'Why have you come to me, even though you were unfriendly to me and sent me away?'


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They answered, 'We saw very clearly that ADONAI has been with you; so we said, 'Let there be an oath between us: let's make a pact between ourselves and you


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that you will not harm us, just as we have not caused you offense but have done you nothing but good and sent you on your way in peace. Now you are blessed by ADONAI.''


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The next morning, they got up early and swore to each other. Then Yitz'chak sent them on their way, and they left him peacefully.


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That very day Yitz'chak's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, 'We have found water.'


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So he called it Shiv'ah [oath, seven], and for this reason the name of the city is Be'er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] to this day.


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When 'Esav was forty years old, he took as wives Y'hudit the daughter of Be'eri the Hitti and Basmat the daughter of Elon the Hitti.


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In the course of time, after Yitz'chak had grown old and his eyes dim, so that he couldn't see, he called 'Esav his older son and said to him, 'My son?' and he answered, 'Here I am.'


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Therefore, please take your hunting gear - your quiver of arrows and your bow; go out in the country, and get me some game.


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Make it tasty, the way I like it; and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you [as firstborn], before I die.'


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Rivkah was listening when Yitz'chak spoke to his son 'Esav. So when 'Esav went out to the country to hunt for game and bring it back,


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'Bring me game, and make it tasty, so I can eat it. Then I will give you my blessing in the presence of ADONAI, before my death.'


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Go to the flock, and bring me back two choice kids. I will make it tasty for your father, the way he likes it;


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and you will bring it to your father to eat; so that he will give his blessing to you before his death.'


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Suppose my father touches me -he'll know I'm trying to trick him, and I'll bring a curse on myself, not a blessing!'


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So he went, got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared them in the tasty way his father loved.


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Next, Rivkah took 'Esav her older son's best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on Ya'akov her younger son;


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Ya'akov said to his father, 'I am 'Esav your firstborn. I've done what you asked me to do. Get up now, sit down, eat the game, and then give me your blessing.'


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Yitz'chak said to his son, 'How did you find it so quickly, my son?' He answered, 'ADONAI your God made it happen that way.'


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Yitz'chak said to Ya'akov, 'Come here, close to me, so I can touch you, my son, and know whether you are in fact my son 'Esav or not.'


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Ya'akov approached Yitz'chak his father, who touched him and said, 'The voice is Ya'akov's voice, but the hands are 'Esav's hands.'


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However, he didn't detect him; because his hands were hairy like his brother 'Esav's hands; so he gave him his blessing.


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He said, 'Bring it here to me, and I will eat my son's game, so that I can give you my blessing.' So he brought it up to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank.


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He approached and kissed him. Yitz'chak smelled his clothes and blessed Ya'akov with these words: 'See, my son smells like a field which ADONAI has blessed.


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May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be lord over your kinsmen, let your mother's descendants bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!'


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But as soon as Yitz'chak had finished giving his blessing to Ya'akov, when Ya'akov had barely left his father's presence, 'Esav his brother came in from his hunting.


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He too had prepared a tasty meal and brought it to his father, and now he said to his father, 'Let my father get up and eat from his son's game, so that you may give me your blessing.'


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Yitz'chak his father said to him, 'Who are you?' and he answered, 'I am your son, your firstborn, 'Esav.'


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Yitz'chak began trembling uncontrollably and said, 'Then who was it that took game and brought it to me? I ate it all just before you came, and I gave my blessing to him. That's the truth, and the blessing must stand.'


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When 'Esav heard his father's words he burst into loud, bitter sobbing. 'Father, bless me too,' he begged.


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'Esav said, 'His name, Ya'akov [he supplants], really suits him - because he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and here, now he has taken away my blessing!' Then he asked, 'Haven't you saved a blessing for me?'


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Yitz'chak answered 'Esav, 'Look, I have made him your lord, I have given him all his kinsmen as servants, and I have given him grain and wine to sustain him. What else is there that I can do for you, my son?'


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'Esav said to his father, 'Have you only one blessing, my father? Father, bless me too!''Esav wept aloud,


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and Yitz'chak his father answered him: 'Here! Your home will be of the richness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above.


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You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will shake his yoke off your neck.'


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'Esav hated his brother because of the blessing his father had given him. 'Esav said to himself, 'The time for mourning my father will soon come, and then I will kill my brother Ya'akov.'


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But the words of 'Esav her older son were told to Rivkah. She sent for Ya'akov her younger son and said to him, 'Here, your brother 'Esav is comforting himself over you by planning to kill you.


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Your brother's anger will turn away from you, and he will forget what you did to him. Then I'll send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you on the same day?'


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Rivkah said to Yitz'chak, 'I'm sick to death of Hitti women! If Ya'akov marries one of the Hitti women, like those who live here, my life won't be worth living.'


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So Yitz'chak called Ya'akov, and, after blessing him, charged him: 'You are not to choose a wife from the Hitti women.


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Go now to the home of B'tu'el your mother's father, and choose a wife there from the daughters of Lavan your mother's brother.


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May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful and increase your descendants, until they become a whole assembly of peoples.


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And may he give you the blessing which he gave Avraham, you and your descendants with you, so that you will possess the land you will travel through, the land God gave to Avraham.'


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So Yitz'chak sent Ya'akov away; and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Lavan, son of B'tu'el the Arami, the brother of Rivkah Ya'akov's and 'Esav's mother.


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Now 'Esav saw that Yitz'chak had blessed Ya'akov and sent him away to Paddan-Aram to choose a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, 'You are not to choose a Kena'ani woman as your wife,'


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So 'Esav went to Yishma'el and took, in addition to the wives he already had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma'el Avraham's son, the sister of N'vayot, to be his wife.


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He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep.


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He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of ADONAI were going up and down on it.


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Then suddenly ADONAI was standing there next to him; and he said, 'I am ADONAI, the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of Yitz'chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants.


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Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed.


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Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I won't leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'


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Then he became afraid and said, 'This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!'


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Ya'akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top


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Ya'akov took this vow: 'If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear,


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and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God's house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you.'


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As he looked, he saw a well in a field; and there were three flocks of sheep lying there next to it; because they watered the sheep from that well. The stone on the well's mouth was large,


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and only when all the flocks had gathered there would they roll the stone away from the opening of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the well's opening.


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He asked them, 'Are things going well with him?''Yes,' they answered, 'and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.'


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He said, 'Look, there's still plenty of daylight left; and it isn't time to bring the animals home; so water the sheep; then go, and put them out to pasture.'


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They answered, 'We can't, not until all the flocks have been gathered together, and they roll the stone away from the opening of the well. That's when we water the sheep.'


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While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, because she took care of them.


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When Ya'akov saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother's brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother's brother, Ya'akov went up and rolled the stone away from the opening of the well and watered the flock of Lavan his mother's brother.


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Ya'akov told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rivkah's son; and she ran and told her father.


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When Lavan heard the news of Ya'akov his sister's son, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Ya'akov told Lavan all that had happened.


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Lavan said to him, 'You are indeed my own flesh and blood.' After Ya'akov had stayed with him for a whole month,


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Lavan said to him, 'Why should you work for me for nothing, just because you are my relative? Tell me how much I should pay you.'


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Now Lavan had two daughters; the name of the older was Le'ah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.


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Ya'akov had fallen in love with Rachel and said, 'I will work for you seven years in exchange for Rachel your younger daughter.'


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So Ya'akov worked seven years for Rachel, and it seemed only a few days to him, because he was so much in love with her.


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Ya'akov said to Lavan, 'Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her.'


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In the evening he took Le'ah his daughter and brought her to Ya'akov, and he went in and slept with her.


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In the morning Ya'akov saw that he was with Le'ah, and he said to Lavan, 'What kind of thing is this that you've done to me? Didn't I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?'


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Lavan answered, 'In our place that isn't how it's done, to give the younger daughter before the firstborn.


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Finish the marriage week of this one, and we'll give you the other one also in exchange for the work you will do for me during yet another seven years.'


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Ya'akov agreed to this, so he finished her week, and Lavan gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.


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So not only did Ya'akov go in and sleep with Rachel, but he also loved Rachel more than Le'ah. Then he served Lavan another seven years.


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Le'ah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she named Re'uven [see, a son!], for she said, 'It is because ADONAI has seen how humiliated I have been, but now my husband will love me.'


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She conceived again, gave birth to a son and said, 'It is because ADONAI has heard that I am unloved; therefore he has given me this son also.' So she named him Shim'on [hearing].


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Once more she conceived and had a son; and she said, 'Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.' Therefore she named him Levi [joining].


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She conceived yet again, had a son and said, 'This time I will praise ADONAI'; therefore she named him Y'hudah [praise]. Then she stopped having children.


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When Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Ya'akov, she envied her sister and said to Ya'akov, 'Give me children, or I will die!'


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This made Ya'akov angry at Rachel; he answered, 'Am I in God's place? He's the one who is denying you children.'


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She said, 'Here is my maid Bilhah. Go, sleep with her, and let her give birth to a child that will be laid on my knees, so that through her I too can build a family.'


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Rachel said, 'God has judged in my favor; indeed he has heard me and given me a son.' Therefore she called him Dan [he judged].


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Rachel said, 'I have wrestled mightily with my sister and won,' and called him Naftali [my wrestling].


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When Le'ah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her slave-girl and gave her to Ya'akov as his wife.


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During the wheat harvest season Re'uven went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Le'ah. Rachel said to Le'ah, 'Please give me some of your son's mandrakes [so that I can be fertile].'


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She answered, 'Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you have to take my son's mandrakes too?' Rachel said, 'Very well; in exchange for your son's mandrakes, sleep with him tonight.'


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When Ya'akov came in from the field in the evening, Le'ah went out to meet him and said, 'You have to come and sleep with me, because I've hired you with my son's mandrakes.' So Ya'akov slept with her that night.


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Le'ah said, 'God has given me my hire, because I gave my slave-girl to my husband.' So she called him Yissakhar [hire, reward].


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Le'ah said, 'God has given me a wonderful gift. Now at last my husband will live with me, since I have borne him six sons.'And she called him Z'vulun [living together].


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After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya'akov said to Lavan, 'Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country.


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Let me take my wives, for whom I have served you, and my children; and let me go. You know very well how faithfully I have served you.'


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Lavan answered him, 'If you regard me favorably, then please listen: I have observed the signs that ADONAI has blessed me on account of you.


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Ya'akov replied, 'You know how faithfully I have served you and how your livestock have prospered under my care.


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The few you had before I came have increased substantially; ADONAI has blessed you wherever I went. But now, when will I provide for my own household?'


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Lavan said, 'What should I give you?''Nothing,' answered Ya'akov, 'just do this one thing for me: once more I will pasture your flock and take care of it.


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I will also go through the flock and pick out every speckled, spotted or brown sheep, and every speckled or spotted goat; these and their offspring will be my wages.


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And I will let my integrity stand as witness against me in the future: when you come to look over the animals constituting my wages, every goat that isn't speckled or spotted and every sheep that isn't brown will count as stolen by me.'


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That day Lavan removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, every one with white on it, and all the brown sheep; turned them over to his sons;


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Ya'akov took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white streaks on them by peeling off the bark.


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Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,


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Ya'akov divided the lambs and had the animals mate with the streaked and the brown in the flock of Lavan. He also kept his own livestock separate and did not have them mix with Lavan's flock.


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Whenever the hardier animals came into heat, Ya'akov would set up the rods in the watering troughs; so that the animals would see them and conceive in front of them;


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but he didn't set up the rods in front of the weaker animals. Thus the more feeble were Lavan's and the stronger Ya'akov's.


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In this way the man became very rich and had large flocks, along with male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.


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But then he heard what Lavan's sons were saying: 'Ya'akov has taken away everything that our father once had. It's from what used to belong to our father that he has gotten so rich.'


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ADONAI said to Ya'akov, 'Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you.'


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He said to them, 'I see by the way your father looks that he feels differently toward me than before; but the God of my father has been with me.


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and that your father has belittled me and has changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to do me any damage.


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If he said, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to streaked young.


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Once, when the animals were mating, I had a dream: I looked up and there in front of me the male goats which mated with the females were streaked, speckled and mottled.


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He continued, 'Raise your eyes now, and look: all the male goats mating with the females are streaked, speckled and mottled; for I have seen everything Lavan has been doing to you.


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I am the God of Beit-El, where you anointed a standing-stone with oil, where you vowed your vow to me. Now get up, get out of this land, and return to the land where you were born.''


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and he considers us foreigners, since he has sold us; moreover, he has consumed everything he received in exchange for us.


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Nevertheless, the wealth which God has taken away from our father has become ours and our children's anyway; so whatever God has told you to do, do.'


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and carried off all his livestock, along with all the riches he had accumulated, the livestock in his possession which he had acquired in Paddan-Aram, to go to Yitz'chak his father in the land of Kena'an.


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Now Lavan had gone to shear his sheep, so Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father,


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So he fled with everything he had: he departed, crossed the [Euphrates] River and set out for the hill-country of Gil'ad.


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Lavan took his kinsmen with him and spent the next seven days pursuing Ya'akov, overtaking him in the hill-country of Gil'ad.


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But God came to Lavan the Arami in a dream that night and said to him, 'Be careful that you don't say anything to Ya'akov, either good or bad.'


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When Lavan caught up with Ya'akov, Ya'akov had set up camp in the hill-country; so Lavan and his kinsmen set up camp in the hill-country of Gil'ad.


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Lavan said to Ya'akov, 'What do you mean by deceiving me and carrying off my daughters as if they were captives taken in war?


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Why did you flee in secret and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you off with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and lyres.


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I have it in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, 'Be careful that you don't say anything to Ya'akov, either good or bad.'


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Granted that you had to leave, because you longed so deeply for your father's house; but why did you steal my gods?'


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Ya'akov answered Lavan, 'Because I was afraid. I said, 'Suppose you take your daughters away from me by force?'


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But if you find your gods with someone, that person will not remain alive. So with our kinsmen to witness, if you spot anything that I have which belongs to you, take it back.' Ya'akov did not know that Rachel had stolen them.


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Lavan went into Ya'akov's tent, then into Le'ah's tent and into the tent of the two slave-girls; but he did not find them. He left Le'ah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.


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Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in the saddle of the camel and was sitting on them. Lavan felt all around the tent but did not find them.


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She said to her father, 'Please don't be angry that I'm not getting up in your presence, but it's the time of my period.' So he searched, but he didn't find the household gods.


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Then Ya'akov became angry and started arguing with Lavan. 'What have I done wrong?' he demanded. 'What is my offense, that you have come after me in hot pursuit?


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You have felt around in all my stuff, but what have you found of all your household goods? Put it here, in front of my kinsmen and yours, so that they can render judgment between the two of us!


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I have been with you for these twenty years! Your female sheep and goats haven't aborted their young, and I haven't eaten the male animals in your flocks.


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If one of your flock was destroyed by a wild animal, I didn't bring the carcass to you but bore the loss myself. You demanded that I compensate you for any animal stolen, whether by day or by night.


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Here's how it was for me: during the day thirst consumed me, and at night the cold - my sleep fled from my eyes.


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These twenty years I've been in your house - I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock; and you changed my wages ten times!


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If the God of my father, the God of Avraham, the one whom Yitz'chak fears, had not been on my side, by now you would certainly have already sent me away with nothing! God has seen how distressed I've been and how hard I've worked, and last night he passed judgment in my favor.'


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Lavan answered Ya'akov, 'The daughters are mine, the children are mine, the flocks are mine, and everything you see is mine! But what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?


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So now, come, let's make a covenant, I and you; and let it stand as a testimony between me and you.'


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Then Ya'akov said to his kinsmen, 'Gather some stones'; and they took stones, made a pile of them and ate there by the pile of stones.


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Lavan called it Y'gar-Sahaduta ['pile of witness' in Aramaic], while Ya'akov called it Gal-'Ed ['pile of witness' in Hebrew].


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and also HaMitzpah [the watchtower], because he said, 'May ADONAI watch between me and you when we are apart from each other.


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If you cause pain to my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, then, even if no one is there with us, still God is witness between me and you.'


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Lavan also said to Ya'akov, 'Here is this pile, and here is this standing-stone, which I have set up between me and you.


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May this pile be a witness, and may the standing-stone be a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and you will not pass beyond this pile and this standing-stone to me, to cause harm.


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May the God of Avraham and also the god of Nachor, the god of their father, judge between us.' But Ya'akov swore by the One his father Yitz'chak feared.


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Ya'akov offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his kinsmen to the meal. They ate the food and spent the whole night on the mountain.


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Early in the morning Lavan got up, kissed his sons and daughters, and blessed them. Then Lavan left and returned to his own place.


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Ya'akov sent messengers ahead of him to 'Esav his brother toward the land of Se'ir, the country of Edom,


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with these instructions: 'Here is what you are to say to my lord 'Esav: 'Your servant Ya'akov says, 'I have been living with Lavan and have stayed until now.


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I have cattle, donkeys and flocks, and male and female servants. I am sending to tell this news to my lord, in order to win your favor.'''


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The messengers returned to Ya'akov saying, 'We went to your brother 'Esav, and he is coming to meet you; with him are four hundred men.'


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Ya'akov became greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people, flocks, cattle and camels with him into two camps,


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saying, 'If 'Esav comes to the one camp and attacks it, at least the camp that is left will escape.'


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Then Ya'akov said, 'God of my father Avraham and God of my father Yitz'chak, ADONAI, who told me, 'Return to your country and your kinsmen, and I will do you good':


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I'm not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown your servant, since I crossed the Yarden with only my staff. But now I have become two camps.


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Please! Rescue me from my brother 'Esav! I'm afraid of him, afraid he'll come and attack me, without regard for mothers or children.


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You said, 'I will certainly do you good and make your descendants as numerous as the grains of sand by the sea, which are so many they can't be counted.''


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He stayed there that night; then he chose from among his possessions the following as a present for 'Esav his brother:


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He turned them over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, 'Cross over in front of me, and keep a space between each drove and the next


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He instructed the servant in front, 'When 'Esav my brother meets you and asks you, 'Whose servant are you? Where are you going? And whose animals are these?'


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then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Ya'akov, and they are a present he has sent to my lord 'Esav; and Ya'akov himself is just behind us.''


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He also instructed the second servant, and the third, and all that followed the droves, 'When you encounter 'Esav, you are to speak to him in the same way,


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and you are to add, 'And there, just behind us, is your servant Ya'akov.'' For he said, 'I will appease him first with the present that goes ahead of me; then, after that, I will see him myself - and maybe he will be friendly toward me.'


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He got up that night, took his two wives, his two slave-girls, and his eleven children, and forded the Yabok.


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When he saw that he did not defeat Ya'akov, he struck Ya'akov's hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him.


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The man said, 'Let me go, because it's daybreak.' But Ya'akov replied, 'I won't let you go unless you bless me.'


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Then the man said, 'From now on, you will no longer be called Ya'akov, but Isra'el; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed.'


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Ya'akov asked him, 'Please tell me your name.' But he answered, 'Why are you asking about my name?' and blessed him there.


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Ya'akov called the place P'ni-El [face of God], 'Because I have seen God face to face, yet my life is spared.'


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This is why, to this day, the people of Isra'el do not eat the thigh muscle that passes along the hip socket - because the man struck Ya'akov's hip at its socket.


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Ya'akov raised his eyes and looked out; and there was 'Esav coming, and four hundred men with him. So Ya'akov divided the children between Le'ah, Rachel and the two slave-girls,


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putting the slave-girls and their children first, Le'ah and her children second, and Rachel and Yosef last.


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Then he himself passed on ahead of them and prostrated himself on the ground seven times before approaching his brother.


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Esav looked up; on seeing the women and children, he asked, 'Who are these with you?' Ya'akov answered, 'The children God has graciously given to your servant.'


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Le'ah too and her children approached and prostrated themselves; and last came Yosef and Rachel; and they prostrated themselves.


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'Esav asked, 'What was the meaning of this procession of droves I encountered?' and he answered, 'It was to win my lord's favor.'


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Ya'akov said, 'No, please! If now I have won your favor, then accept my gift. Just seeing your face has been like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me.


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So please accept the gift I have brought you, for God has dealt kindly with me and I have enough.'Thus he urged him, until he accepted it.


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Ya'akov said to him, 'My lord knows that the children are small, and the sheep and cattle suckling their young concern me, because if they overdrive them even one day, all the flocks will die.


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Instead, please, let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the cattle ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Se'ir.'


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'Esav replied, 'Then let me leave with you some of the people I have with me.' But Ya'akov said, 'There's no need for my lord to be so kind to me.'


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Ya'akov went on to Sukkot, where he built himself a house and put up shelters for his cattle. This is why the place is called Sukkot [shelters].


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Having traveled from Paddan-Aram, Ya'akov arrived safely at the city of Sh'khem, in Kena'an, and set up camp near the city.


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From the sons of Hamor Sh'khem's father he bought for one hundred pieces of silver the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent.


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One time Dinah the daughter of Le'ah, whom she had borne to Ya'akov, went out to visit the local girls;


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and Sh'khem the son of Hamor the Hivi, the local ruler, saw her, grabbed her, raped her and humiliated her.


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But actually he was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Ya'akov; he fell in love with the girl and tried to win her affection.


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When Ya'akov heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter, his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Ya'akov restrained himself until they came.


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just as Ya'akov's sons were coming in from the field. When they heard what had happened, the men were saddened and were very angry at the outrage this man had committed against Isra'el by raping Ya'akov's daughter, something that is simply not done.


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But Hamor said to them, 'My son Sh'khem's heart is set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife;


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You will live with us, and the land will be available to you - you'll live, do business and acquire possessions here.'


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Then Sh'khem said to her father and brothers, 'Only accept me, and I will give whatever you tell me.


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The sons of Ya'akov answered Sh'khem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.


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They said to them, 'We can't do it, because it would be a disgrace to give our sister to someone who hasn't been circumcised.


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Only on this condition will we consent to what you are asking: that you become like us by having every male among you get circumcised.


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Then we'll give our daughters to you, and we'll take your daughters for ourselves, and we'll live with you and become one people.


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and the young man did not put off doing what was asked of him, even though he was the most respected member of his father's family, because he so much wanted Ya'akov' s daughter.


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'These people are peaceful toward us; therefore let them live in the land and do business in it; for, as you can see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives for ourselves, and we'll give them our daughters.


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But the people will consent to live with us and become one people only on this condition: that every male among us gets circumcised, as they themselves are circumcised.


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Won't their cattle, their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let's consent to do what they ask, and then they will live with us.'


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Everyone going out the city's gate listened to Hamor and Sh'khem his son; so every male was circumcised, every one that went out the gate of the city.


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On the third day after the circumcision, when they were in pain, two of Ya'akov's sons, Shim'on and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords, boldly descended on the city and slaughtered all the males.


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They killed Hamor and Sh'khem his son with their swords, took Dinah out of Sh'khem's house, and left.


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Then the sons of Ya'akov entered over the dead bodies of those who had been slaughtered and plundered the city in reprisal for defiling their sister.


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They took their flocks, cattle and donkeys, and everything else, whether in the city or in the field,


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everything they owned. Their children and wives they took captive, and they looted whatever was in the houses.


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But Ya'akov said to Shim'on and Levi, 'You have caused me trouble by making me stink in the opinion of the local inhabitants, the Kena'ani and the P'rizi. Since I don't have many people, they'll align themselves together against me and attack me; and I will be destroyed, I and my household.'


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God said to Ya'akov, 'Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled 'Esav your brother.'


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Then Ya'akov said to his household and all the others with him, 'Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes.


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We're going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to God, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.'


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They gave Ya'akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya'akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh'khem.


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While they were traveling, a terror from God fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya'akov.


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He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [God of Beit-El], because it was there that God was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.


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Then D'vorah, Rivkah's nurse, died. She was buried below Beit-El under the oak, which was given the name Alon-Bakhut [oak of weeping].


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God said to him, 'Your name is Ya'akov, but you will be called Ya'akov no longer; your name will be Isra'el.'Thus he named him Isra'el.


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God further said to him, 'I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations, will come from you; kings will be descended from you.


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Moreover, the land which I gave to Avraham and Yitz'chak I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.'


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Ya'akov set up a standing-stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a stone pillar. Then he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.


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Then they traveled on from Beit-El, and while there was still some distance to go before arriving in Efrat, Rachel went into labor, and she had great difficulty with it.


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While she was undergoing this hard labor, the midwife said to her, 'Don't worry, this is also a son for you.'


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But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south].


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Ya'akov set up a standing-stone on her grave; it is the stand-ing-stone of Rachel's grave to this day.


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It was while Isra'el was living in that land that Re'uven went and slept with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Isra'el heard about it. Ya'akov had twelve sons.


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And the sons of Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya'akov's sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.


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Ya'akov came home to his father Yitz'chak at Mamre, near Kiryat-Arba (also known as Hevron), where Avraham and Yitz'chak had lived as foreigners.


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Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people, an old man full of years; and his sons 'Esav and Ya'akov buried him.


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'Esav chose Kena'ani women as his wives: 'Adah the daughter of Eilon the Hitti; Oholivamah the daughter of 'Anah the daughter of Tziv'on the Hivi;


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and Oholivamah bore Ye'ush, Ya'lam and Korach. These were the sons of 'Esav born to him in the land of Kena'an.


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'Esav took his wives, his sons and daughters, the others in his household, his cattle and other animals and everything else he owned, which he had acquired in the land of Kena'an, and went off to a country distant from his brother Ya'akov.


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For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the countryside through which they were traveling couldn't support so much livestock.


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The names of 'Esav's sons were Elifaz, son of 'Adah the wife of 'Esav, and Re'u'el the son of Basmat the wife of 'Esav.


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Timnah was the concubine of Elifaz 'Esav's son, and she bore to Elifaz 'Amalek. These were the descendants of 'Adah 'Esav's wife.


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The sons of Re'u'el were Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the sons of Basmat 'Esav's wife.


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These were the sons of Oholivamah, the daughter of 'Anah the daughter of Tziv'on, 'Esav's wife: she bore to 'Esav Ye'ush, Ya'lam and Korach.


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The chieftains of the sons of 'Esav were the sons of Elifaz the firstborn of 'Esav and the chieftains of Teman, Omar, Tzefo, K'naz,


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The sons of Re'u'el 'Esav's son were the chieftains of Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the chieftains descended from Re'u'el in the land of Edom and from Basmat 'Esav's wife.


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The sons of Oholivamah 'Esav's wife were the chieftains of Ye'ush, Ya'lam and Korach. These were the chieftains descended from Oholivamah the daughter of 'Anah, 'Esav's wife.


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Dishon, Etzer and Dishan. They were the chieftains descended from the Hori, the people of Se'ir in the land of Edom.


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The sons of Tziv'on were Ayah and 'Anah. This is the 'Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while pasturing his father Tziv'on's donkeys.


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Following are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king had reigned over the people of Isra'el.


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When Husham died, Hadad the son of B'dad, who killed Midyan in the field of Mo'av, reigned in his place; the name of his city was 'Avit.


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When Ba'al-Chanan died, Hadar reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pa'u; and his wife's name was M'heitav'el the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mei-Zahav.


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These are the names of the chieftains descended from 'Esav, according to their clans, places and names: the chieftains of Timna, 'Alvah, Y'tet,


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Magdi'el and 'Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom according to their settlements in the land they owned. This is 'Esav the father of Edom.


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Ya'akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena'an.


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Here is the history of Ya'akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father.


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Now Isra'el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe.


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When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn't even talk with him in a civil manner.


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We were tying up bundles of wheat in the field when suddenly my bundle got up by itself and stood upright; then your bundles came, gathered around mine and prostrated themselves before it.'


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His brothers retorted, 'Yes, you will certainly be our king. You'll do a great job of bossing us around!'And they hated him still more for his dreams and for what he said.


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He had another dream which he told his brothers: 'Here, I had another dream, and there were the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before me.'


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He told his father too, as well as his brothers, but his father rebuked him: 'What is this dream you have had? Do you really expect me, your mother and your brothers to come and prostrate ourselves before you on the ground?'


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Isra'el asked Yosef, 'Aren't your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh'khem? Come, I will send you to them.' He answered, 'Here I am.'


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He said to him, 'Go now, see whether things are going well with your brothers and with the sheep, and bring word back to me.' So he sent him away from the Hevron Valley, and he went to Sh'khem,


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where a man found him wandering around in the countryside. The man asked him, 'What are you looking for?'


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The man said, 'They've left here; because I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dotan.''Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan.


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They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him.


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So come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these water cisterns here. Then we'll say some wild animal devoured him. We'll see then what becomes of his dreams!'


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But when Re'uven heard this, he saved him from being destroyed by them. He said, 'We shouldn't take his life.


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Don't shed blood,' Re'uven added. 'Throw him into this cistern here in the wilds, but don't lay hands on him yourselves.' He intended to rescue him from them later and restore him to his father.


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So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing,


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Then they sat down to eat their meal; but as they looked up, they saw in front of them a caravan of Yishma'elim coming from Gil'ad, their camels loaded with aromatic gum, healing resin and opium, on their way down to Egypt.


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Y'hudah said to his brothers, 'What advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?


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Come, let's sell him to the Yishma'elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.' His brothers paid attention to him.


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So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silver shekels to the Yishma'elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt.


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Re'uven returned to the cistern, and, upon seeing that Yosef wasn't in it, tore his clothes in mourning.


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Then they sent the long-sleeved robe and brought it to their father, saying, 'We found this. Do you know if it's your son's robe or not?'


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He recognized it and cried, 'It's my son's robe! Some wild animal has torn Yosef in pieces and eaten him!'


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Though all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused all consolation, saying, 'No, I will go down to the grave, to my son, mourning.' And his father wept for him.


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It was at this time that Y'hudah went off from his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah who was an 'Adulami.


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There Y'hudah saw one of the daughters of a certain Kena'ani whose name was Shua, and he took her and slept with her.


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Then she conceived yet again and had a son whom she called Shelah; he was in K'ziv when she gave birth to him.


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Y'hudah said to Onan, 'Go and sleep with your brother's wife - perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and preserve your brother's line of descent.'


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However, Onan knew that the child would not count as his; so whenever he had intercourse with his brother's wife, he spilled the semen on the ground, so as not to give his brother offspring.


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Then Y'hudah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, 'Stay a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up'; for he thought, 'I don't want him to die too, like his brothers.' So Tamar went and lived at home with her father.


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In due time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Y'hudah, died. After Y'hudah had been comforted, he went up to be with his sheep-shearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the 'Adulami.


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So she took off her widow's clothes, completely covered her face with her veil, and sat at the entrance to 'Einayim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she still was not being given to him as his wife.


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So he went over to her where she was sitting and said, not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, 'Come, let me sleep with you.' She answered, 'What will you pay to sleep with me?'


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He said, 'I will send you a kid from the flock of goats.' She said, 'Will you also give me something as a guarantee until you send it'


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He answered, 'What should I give you as a guarantee?' She said, 'Your seal, with its cord, and the staff you're carrying in your hand.' So he gave them to her, then went and slept with her; and she conceived by him.


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Y'hudah sent the kid with his friend the 'Adulami to receive the guarantee items back from the woman, but he couldn't find her.


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He asked the people near where she had been, 'Where is the prostitute who was on the road at 'Einayim?' But they answered,'There hasn't been any prostitute here.'


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So he returned to Y'hudah and said, 'I couldn't find her; also the people there said, 'There hasn't been any prostitute here.''


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Y'hudah said, 'All right, let her keep the things, so that we won't be publicly shamed. I sent the kid, but you didn't find her.'


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About three months later Y'hudah was told, 'Tamar your daughter-in-law has been acting like a whore; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of her prostitution.'Y'hudah said, 'Bring her out, and let her be burned alive!'


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When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: 'I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Determine, I beg you, whose these are - the signet, the cords and the staff.'


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Then Y'hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, 'She is more righteous than I, because I didn't let her become the wife of my son Shelah.' And he never slept with her again.


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As she was in labor, one of them put out his hand; and the midwife took his hand and tied a scarlet thread on it, saying, 'This one came out first.'


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But then he withdrew his hand, and his brother came out; so she said, 'How did you manage to break out first?'Therefore he was named Peretz [breaking out].


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Then out came his brother, with the scarlet thread on his hand, and he was given the name Zerach [scarlet].


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Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potifar, an officer of Pharaoh's and captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Yishma'elim who had brought him there.


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ADONAI was with Yosef, and he became wealthy while he was in the household of his master the Egyptian.


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Yosef pleased him as he served him, and his master appointed him manager of his household; he entrusted all his possessions to Yosef.


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From the time he appointed him manager of his household and all his possessions, ADONAI blessed the Egyptian's household for Yosef's sake; ADONAI's blessing was on all he owned, whether in the house or in the field.


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So he left all his possessions in Yosef's care; and because he had him, he paid no attention to his affairs, except for the food he ate. Now Yosef was well-built and handsome as well.


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But he refused, saying to his master's wife, 'Look, because my master has me, he doesn't know what's going on in this house. He has put all his possessions in my charge.


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In this house I am his equal; he hasn't withheld anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?'


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But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn't listen to her; he refused to sleep with her or even be with her.


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However, one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men living in the house was there indoors,


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she grabbed him by his robe and said, 'Sleep with me!' But he fled, leaving his robe in her hand, and got himself outside.


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she called the men of her house and said to them, 'Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make fools of us. He came in and wanted to sleep with me, but I yelled out loudly.


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When his master heard what his wife said as she showed him, 'Here's what your slave did to me,' he became furious.


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Yosef's master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept; and there he was in the prison.


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But ADONAI was with Yosef, showing him grace and giving him favor in the sight of the prison warden.


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The prison warden made Yosef supervisor of all the prisoners in the prison; so that whatever they did there, he was in charge of it.


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The prison warden paid no attention to anything Yosef did, because ADONAI was with him; and whatever he did, ADONAI prospered.


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Some time later it came about that the Egyptian king's cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt.


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So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, in the same place where Yosef was kept.


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The captain of the guard charged Yosef to be with them, and he became their attendant while they remained in prison.


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One night the two of them, the king of Egypt's cupbearer and his baker, there in prison, both had dreams, each dream with its own meaning.


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He asked Pharaoh's officers there with him in the prison of his master's house, 'Why are you looking so sad today?'


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They said to him, 'We each had a dream, and there's no one around who can interpret it.'Yosef said to them, 'Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.'


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and the vine had three branches. The branches budded, then it suddenly began to blossom, and finally clusters of ripe grapes appeared.


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Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.'


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Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office: you will be giving Pharaoh his cup as you used to when you were his cupbearer.


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But remember me when it goes well with you; and show me kindness, please; and mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will release me from this prison.


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For the truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing wrong that would justify putting me in this dungeon.'


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When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Yosef, 'I too saw in my dream: there were three baskets of white bread on my head.


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In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.'


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Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you -he will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.'


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On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he gave a party for all his officials, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his officials.


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and there came up out of the river seven cows, sleek and fat; and they began feeding in swamp grass.


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After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, miserable-looking and lean; and they stood by the other cows at the edge of the river.


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Then the miserable-looking and lean cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up.


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But he went to sleep again and dreamt a second time: seven full, ripe ears of grain grew out of a single stalk.


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And the thin ears swallowed up the seven full, ripe ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it had been a dream.


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In the morning he found himself so upset that he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one there could interpret them for him.


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Pharaoh was angry with his officials and put me in the prison of the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.


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There was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us -he interpreted each man's dream individually.


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Then Pharaoh summoned Yosef, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.


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Pharaoh said to Yosef, 'I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I've heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.'


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Yosef answered Pharaoh, 'It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace.'


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and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass.


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After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean -I've never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt!


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But after they had eaten them up, one couldn't tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up.


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And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.'


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Yosef said to Pharaoh, 'The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.


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The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years - the dreams are the same.


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Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind - there will be seven years of famine.


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but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land,


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and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible.


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Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.


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'Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt.


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Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.


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They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it.


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This will be the land's food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.'


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So Pharaoh said to Yosef, 'Since God has shown you all this - there is no one as discerning and wise as you -


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you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you.'


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Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Yosef's hand, had him clothed in fine linen with a gold chain around his neck


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and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, 'Bow down!' Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.


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Pharaoh said to Yosef, 'I, Pharaoh, decree that without your approval no one is to raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.'


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Pharaoh called Yosef by the name Tzafnat-Pa'neach and gave him as his wife Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. Then Yosef went out through all the land of Egypt.


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Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt; then he left Pharaoh's presence and traveled through all the land of Egypt.


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He collected all the food of these seven years in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities - the food grown in the fields outside each city he stored in that city.


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Yosef stored grain in quantities like the sand on the seashore, so much that they stopped counting, because it was beyond measure.


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Two sons were born to Yosef before the year of famine came; Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore them to him.


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Yosef called the firstborn M'nasheh [causing to forget], 'Because God has caused me to forget all the troubles I suffered at the hands of my family.'


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and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Yosef had said. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.


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When the whole land of Egypt started feeling the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, 'Go to Yosef, and do what he tells you to do.'


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The famine was over all the earth, but then Yosef opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians, since the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.


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Moreover all countries came to Egypt to Yosef to buy grain, because the famine was severe throughout the earth.


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Now Ya'akov saw that there was grain in Egypt; so Ya'akov said to his sons, 'Why are you staring at each other?


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Look,' he said, 'I've heard that there's grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we can stay alive and not die!'


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except for Binyamin, Yosef's brother. Ya'akov did not send him with his brothers, because he was afraid something might happen to him.


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The sons of Isra'el came to buy along with the others that came, since the famine extended to the land of Kena'an.


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Yosef was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Now when Yosef's brothers came and prostrated themselves before him on the ground,


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Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them; but he acted toward them as if he were a stranger and spoke harshly with them. He asked them, 'Where are you from?' They answered, 'From the land of Kena'an to buy food.'


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Remembering the dreams he had had about them, Yosef said to them, 'You are spies! You've come to spot our country's weaknesses!'


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They said, 'We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena'an; the youngest stayed with our father, and another one is gone.'


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Here's how you can prove you're not lying: as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here.


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Send one of you, and let him bring your brother. Meanwhile, you will be kept in custody. This will prove whether there is any truth in what you say. Otherwise, as Pharaoh lives, you are certainly spies.'


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If you are upright men, let one of your brothers remain incarcerated in the prison you're being kept in, while you go and carry grain back to relieve the famine in your homes.


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But bring your youngest brother to me. In this way your statements will be verified, and you won't die.' So they did it.


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They said to each other, 'We are in fact guilty concerning our brother. He was in distress and pleaded with us; we saw it and wouldn't listen. That's why this distress has come upon us now.'


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Re'uven answered them, 'Didn't I tell you, 'Don't wrong the boy'? But you wouldn't hear of it. Now comes the reckoning for his blood!'


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Yosef turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. He took Shim'on from among them and put him in prison before their eyes.


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Next he ordered that their containers be filled with grain, that every man's money be put back in his pack and that they be given provisions for the journey. When these things had been done for them,


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But at camp that night, as one of them opened his pack to give fodder to his donkey, he noticed his money - there it was, just inside his pack.


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He said to his brothers, 'My money has been restored - there it is, right in my pack!'At that, their hearts sank; they turned, trembling, to one another and said, 'What is this that God has done to us?'


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They returned to Ya'akov their father in the land of Kena'an and told him all that had happened to them.


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we are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is gone, and the youngest stayed with our father in the land of Kena'an.'


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But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'Here is how I will know that you are upright men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain to relieve the famine in your homes, and go on your way;


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but bring your youngest brother to me. By this I will know that you aren't spies, but are upright men; then I will return your brother to you; and you will do business in the land.''


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Next, as they emptied their packs, there was each man's bag of money in his pack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they became afraid.


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Ya'akov their father said to them, 'You have robbed me of my children! Yosef is gone, Shim'on is gone, now you're taking Binyamin away - it all falls on me!'


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Re'uven said to his father, 'If I don't bring him back to you, you can kill my own two sons! Put him in my care; I will return him to you.'


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But he replied, 'My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If anything were to happen to him while traveling with you, you would bring my gray hair down to Sh'ol with grief.'


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so when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, 'Go again, buy us a little food.'


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Y'hudah said to him, 'The man expressly warned us, 'You will 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 will not see my face unless your brother is with you.''


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They answered, 'The man kept questioning us about ourselves and about our kinsmen. He asked, 'Is your father still alive?''Do you have another brother?' and we answered according to the literal meaning of his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?'


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Y'hudah said to Isra'el his father, 'Send the boy with me; and we will make preparations and leave; so that we may stay alive and not die, both we and you, and also our little ones.


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I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me responsible. If I fail to bring him to you and present him to your face, let me bear the blame forever.


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Their father Isra'el answered them, 'If that's how it is, do this: take in your containers some of the land's best products, and bring the man a gift - some healing resin, a little honey, aromatic gum, opium, pistachio nuts and almonds.


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Take twice the amount of money with you; and return the money that came back with you in your packs - it could have been an oversight.


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May El Shaddai give you favor in the man's sight, so that he will release to you your other brother as well as Binyamin. As for me, if I must lose my children, lose them I will.'


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The men took that gift, and they took twice the money with them, and Binyamin; then they prepared, went down to Egypt and stood before Yosef.


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When Yosef saw Binyamin with them, he said to his household manager, 'Take the men inside the house, kill the animals and prepare the meat. These men will dine with me at noon.'


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Upon being ushered inside Yosef's house, the men became fearful. They said, 'It's because of the money that was returned in our packs the first time that we have been brought inside - so that he can use it as an excuse to attack us, take us as slaves and seize our donkeys too.'


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but when we got to camp, we opened our packs, and there inside our packs was each man's money, the full amount. We have brought it back with us;


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moreover, we have brought down other money to buy food. We have no idea who put our money in our packs.'


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'Stop worrying,' he replied, 'don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father put treasure in your packs. As for your money - I was the one who received it.'Then he brought Shim'on out to them.


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The man brought the men into Yosef's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he provided fodder for their donkeys.


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Then they got their gift ready for Yosef's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were going to eat a meal there.


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When Yosef arrived home, they went in the house and presented him with the gift they had brought with them, then prostrated themselves before him on the ground.


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He asked them how they were and inquired, 'Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?'


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He looked up and saw Binyamin his brother, his mother's son, and said, 'Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?' and added, 'May God be good to you, my son.'


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Then Yosef hurried out, because his feelings toward his brother were so strong that he wanted to cry; he went into his bedroom and there he wept.


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Then he washed his face and came out, but he controlled himself as he gave the order to serve the meal.


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They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians included at the meal by themselves - Egyptians don't eat with Hebrews, because that is abhorrent to them.


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So they sat there facing him, the firstborn in the place of honor, the youngest in last place; and the men expressed their amazement to each other.


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Each was given his serving there in front of him, but Binyamin's portion was five times as large as any of theirs. So they drank and enjoyed themselves with him.


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Then he ordered the manager of his household, 'Fill the men's packs with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money just inside his pack.


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And put my goblet, the silver one, just inside the pack of the youngest, along with his grain money.' He did what Yosef told him to do.


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but before they were far from the city Yosef said to his manager, 'Up, go after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil?


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Isn't this the goblet my lord drinks from, indeed the one he uses for divination? What you have done is evil!''


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Why, the money we found inside our packs we brought back to you from the land of Kena'an! So how would we steal silver or gold from your lord's house?


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Whichever one of us the goblet is found with, let him be put to death - and the rest of us will be my lord's slaves!'


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He replied, 'Fine; let it be as you have said: whichever one it is found with will be my slave. But the rest of you will be blameless.'


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He searched, starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the goblet was found in the pack belonging to Binyamin.


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At this, they tore their clothes from grief. Then each man loaded up his donkey and returned to the city. (A: Maftir)


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Y'hudah and his brothers arrived at Yosef's house. He was still there, and they fell down before him on the ground. (S: Maftir)


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Yosef said to them, 'How could you do such a thing? Don't you know that a man such as myself can learn the truth by divination?'


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Y'hudah said, 'There's nothing we can say to my lord! How can we speak? There's no way we can clear ourselves! God has revealed your servants' guilt; so here we are, my lord's slaves - both we and also the one in whose possession the cup was found.'


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But he replied, 'Heaven forbid that I should act in such a way. The man in whose possession the goblet was found will be my slave; but as for you, go in peace to your father.'


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Then Y'hudah approached Yosef and said, 'Please, my lord! Let your servant say something to you privately; and don't be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.


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We answered my lord, 'We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother's children he alone is left; and his father loves him.'


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We answered my lord, 'The boy can't leave his father; if he were to leave his father, his father would die.'


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we answered, 'We can't go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go down, because we can't see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'


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the one went out from me, and I said, 'Surely he has been torn to pieces,' and I haven't seen him since.


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Now if you take this one away from me too, and something happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sh'ol with grief.'


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So now if I go to your servant my father, and the boy isn't with us - seeing how his heart is bound up with the boy's heart -


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when he sees that the boy isn't with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh'ol with grief.


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For your servant himself guaranteed his safety; I said, 'If I fail to bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.'


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Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers.


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For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish.'


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At last Yosef could no longer control his feelings in front of his attendants and cried, 'Get everybody away from me!' So no one else was with him when Yosef revealed to his brothers who he was.


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Yosef said to his brothers, 'I am Yosef! Is it true that my father is still alive?' His brothers couldn't answer him, they were so dumbfounded at seeing him.


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Yosef said to his brothers, 'Please! Come closer.' And they came closer. He said, 'I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.


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But don't be sad that you sold me into slavery here or angry at yourselves, because it was God who sent me ahead of you to preserve life.


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The famine has been over the land for the last two years, and for yet another five years there will be neither plowing nor harvest.


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God sent me ahead of you to ensure that you will have descendants on earth and to save your lives in a great deliverance.


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So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.


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Hurry, go up to my father, and tell him, 'Here is what your son Yosef says: 'God has made me lord of all Egypt! Come down to me, don't delay!


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You will live in the land of Goshen and be near me - you, your children, your grandchildren, flocks, herds, everything you own.


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I will provide for you there, so that you won't become poverty-stricken, you, your household and all that you have; because five years of famine are yet to come.''


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Here! Your own eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin, that it is my own mouth speaking to you.


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Tell my father how honored I am in Egypt and everything you have seen, and quickly bring my father down here!'


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The report of this reached Pharaoh's house: 'Yosef's brothers have come'; and Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.


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Pharaoh said to Yosef, 'Tell your brothers, 'Here is what you are to do. Load up your animals, go to the land of Kena'an,


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take your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you good property in Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.


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''Moreover - and this is an order - do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little ones and your wives, and bring your father, and come.


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The sons of Isra'el acted accordingly; and Yosef gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had ordered, and gave them provisions for their journey.


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To each of them he gave a set of new clothes; but to Binyamin he gave seven-and-a-half pounds of silver and five sets of new clothes.


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Likewise, to his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the finest goods Egypt produced, as well as ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread and food for his father to eat on the return journey.


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Thus he sent his brothers on their way, and they left; he said to them, 'Don't quarrel among yourselves while you're traveling!'


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They told him, 'Yosef is still alive! He is ruler over the whole land of Egypt!' He was stunned at the news; he couldn't believe them.


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So they reported to him everything Yosef had said to them; but it was only when he saw the wagons which Yosef had sent to carry him that the spirit of Ya'akov their father began to revive.


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Isra'el took everything he owned with him on his journey. He arrived at Be'er-Sheva and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Yitz'chak.


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He said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go down to Egypt. It is there that I will make you into a great nation.


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Not only will I go down with you to Egypt; but I will also bring you back here again, after Yosef has closed your eyes.'


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So Ya'akov left Be'er-Sheva; the sons of Isra'el brought Ya'akov their father, their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry them.


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They took their cattle and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Kena'an and arrived in Egypt, Ya'akov and all his descendants with him -


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his sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him into Egypt.


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These are the names of Isra'el's children who came into Egypt, Ya'akov and his sons: Re'uven Ya'akov's firstborn;


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The sons of Y'hudah: 'Er, Onan, Shelah, Peretz and Zerach; but 'Er and Onan died in the land of Kena'an. The sons of Peretz were Hetzron and Hamul.


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These were the children of Le'ah whom she bore to Ya'akov in Paddan-Aram, with his daughter Dinah. In sum, his sons and daughters numbered thirty-three.


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The children of Asher: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, B'ri'ah, and their sister Serach. The sons of B'ri'ah were Hever and Malki'el.


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These were the children of Zilpah, whom Lavan gave to Le'ah his daughter; she bore them to Ya'akov - sixteen people.


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To Yosef in the land of Egypt were born M'nasheh and Efrayim, whom Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore to him.


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These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter; she bore them to Ya'akov - in sum, seven people.


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All the people belonging to Ya'akov coming into Egypt, his direct descendants (not counting Ya'akov's sons' wives), totaled sixty-six.


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The sons of Yosef, born to him in Egypt, were two in number. Thus all the people in Ya'akov's family who entered Egypt numbered seventy.


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Ya'akov sent Y'hudah ahead of him to Yosef, so that the latter might guide him on the road to Goshen; thus they arrived in the land of Goshen.


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Yosef prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet Isra'el his father. He presented himself to him, embraced him and wept on his neck for a long time.


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Then Isra'el said to Yosef, 'Now I can die, because I have seen your face and seen that you are still alive.'


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Yosef said to his brothers and his father's family, 'I'm going up to tell Pharaoh. I'll say to him, 'My brothers and my father's family, who were in the land of Kena'an, have come to me.


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The men are shepherds and keepers of livestock; they have brought their flocks, their herds and all their possessions.'


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tell him, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors.'This will ensure that you will live in the land of Goshen - for any shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.'


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Then Yosef went in and told Pharaoh, 'My father and brothers have come from the land of Kena'an with their flocks, livestock and all their possessions; right now they are in the land of Goshen.'


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Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' They answered Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors,'


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and added, 'We have come to live in the land, because in the land of Kena'an there is no place to pasture your servant's flocks, the famine is so severe there. Therefore, please, let your servants live in the land of Goshen.'


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and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country - let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock.'


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and Ya'akov replied, 'The time of my stay on earth has been 130 years; they have been few and difficult, fewer than the years my ancestors lived.'


text:
Yosef found a place for his father and brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the country, in the land of Ra'amses, as Pharaoh had ordered.


text:
Yosef provided food for his father, his brothers and all his father's household, taking full care of even the youngest.


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There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so that both Egypt and Kena'an grew weak from hunger.


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Yosef collected all the money there was in Egypt and Kena'an in exchange for the grain they bought, and put the money in Pharaoh's treasury.


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When all the money in Egypt had been spent, and likewise in Kena'an, all the Egyptians approached Yosef and said, 'Give us something to eat, even though we have no money; why should we die before your eyes?'


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Yosef replied, 'Give me your livestock. If you don't have money, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.'


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So they brought Yosef their livestock; and Yosef gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle and donkeys -all that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.


text:
When that year was over, they approached Yosef again and said to him, 'We won't hide from my lord that all our money is spent, and the herds of livestock belong to my lord. We have nothing left, as my lord can see, but our bodies and our land.


text:
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be enslaved to Pharaoh. But also give us seed to plant, so that we can stay alive and not die, and so that the land won't become barren.'


text:
So Yosef acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, as one by one the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine weighed on them so severely. Thus the land became the property of Pharaoh.


text:
As for the people, he reduced them to serfdom city by city, from one end of Egypt's territory to the other.


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Only the priests' land did he not acquire, because the priests were entitled to provisions from Pharaoh, and they ate from what Pharaoh provided them; therefore they did not sell their land.


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Then Yosef said to the people, 'As of today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you to sow the land.


text:
When harvest time comes, you are to give twenty percent to Pharaoh; eighty percent will be yours to keep for seed to plant in the fields, as well as for your food and for that of your households and your little ones.'


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Yosef made it a law for the country of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have twenty percent. Only the property belonging to the priests did not become Pharaoh's.


text:
Isra'el lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. They acquired possessions in it and were productive, and their numbers multiplied greatly.


text:
The time came when Isra'el was approaching death; so he called for his son Yosef and said to him, 'If you truly love me, please put your hand under my thigh and pledge that, out of consideration for me, you will not bury me in Egypt.


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Rather, when I sleep with my fathers, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.' He replied, 'I will do as you have said.'


text:
Awhile later someone told Yosef that his father was ill. He took with him his two sons, M'nasheh and Efrayim.


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saying to me, 'I will make you fruitful and numerous. I will make of you a group of peoples; and I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.'


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Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and M'nasheh will be as much mine as Re'uven and Shim'on are.


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The children born to you after them will be yours, but for purposes of inheritance they are to be counted with their older brothers.


text:
'Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died suddenly, as we were traveling through the land of Kena'an, while we were still some distance from Efrat; so I buried her there on the way to Efrat (also known as Beit-Lechem).'


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Yosef answered his father, 'They are my sons, whom God has given me here.' Ya'akov replied, 'I want you to bring them here to me, so that I can bless them.'


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Now Isra'el's eyes were dim with age, so that he could not see. Yosef brought his sons near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.


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Isra'el said to Yosef, 'I never expected to see even you again, but God has allowed me to see your children too!'


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Then Yosef took them both, Efrayim in his right hand toward Isra'el's left hand and M'nasheh in his left hand toward Isra'el's right hand, and brought them near to him.


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But Isra'el put out his right hand and laid it on the head of the younger one, Efrayim, and put his left hand on the head of M'nasheh - he intentionally crossed his hands, even though M'nasheh was the firstborn.


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Then he blessed Yosef: 'The God in whose presence my fathers Avraham and Yitz'chak lived, the God who has been my own shepherd all my life long to this day,


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the angel who has rescued me from all harm, bless these boys. May they remember who I am and what I stand for, and likewise my fathers Avraham and Yitz'chak, who they were and what they stood for. And may they grow into teeming multitudes on the earth.'


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When Yosef saw that his father was laying his right hand on Efrayim's head, it displeased him, and he lifted up his father's hand to remove it from Efrayim's head and place it instead on M'nasheh's head.


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Yosef said to his father, 'Don't do it that way, my father; for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.'


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But his father refused and said, 'I know that, my son, I know it. He too will become a people, and he too will be great; nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will grow into many nations.'


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Then he added this blessing on them that day: 'Isra'el will speak of you in their own blessings by saying, 'May God make you like Efrayim and M'nasheh.''Thus he put Efrayim ahead of M'nasheh.


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Isra'el then said to Yosef, 'You see that I am dying, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors.


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Moreover, I am giving to you a sh'khem [shoulder, ridge, share, city of Sh'khem] more than to your brothers; I captured it from the Emori with my sword and bow.'


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Then Ya'akov called for his sons and said, 'Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the acharit-hayamim.


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Though superior in vigor and power you are unstable as water, so your superiority will end, because you climbed into your father's bed and defiled it -he climbed onto my concubine's couch!


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Let me not enter their council, let my honor not be connected with their people; for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they maimed cattle.


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Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce; their fury, for it has been cruel. I will divide them in Ya'akov and scatter them in Isra'el.


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'Y'hudah, your brothers will acknowledge you, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you.


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Y'hudah is a lion's cub; my son, you stand over the prey. He crouches down and stretches like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to provoke him?


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The scepter will not pass from Y'hudah, nor the ruler's staff from between his legs, until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs; and it is he whom the peoples will obey.


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Tying his donkey to the vine, or: until Shiloh comes his donkey's colt to the choice grapevine, he washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.


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On seeing how good is settled life and how pleasant the country, he will bend his back to the burden, and submit to forced labor.


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Dan will be a viper on the road, a horned snake in the path that bites the horse's heels so its rider falls off backward.


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but his bow remained taut; and his arms were made nimble by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya'akov, from there, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Isra'el,


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by the God of your father, who will help you, by El Shaddai, who will bless you with blessings from heaven above, or: that says beautiful words. blessings from the deep, lying below, blessings from the breasts and the womb.


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The blessings of your father are more powerful than the blessings of my parents, extending to the farthest of the everlasting hills; they will be on the head of Yosef, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.


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'Binyamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, in the evening still dividing the spoil.'


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All these are the twelve tribes of Isra'el, and this is how their father spoke to them and blessed them, giving each his own individual blessing.


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Then he charged them as follows: 'I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of 'Efron the Hitti,


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the cave in the field of Makhpelah, by Mamre, in the land of Kena'an, which Avraham bought together with the field from 'Efron the Hitti as a burial-place belonging to him -


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there they buried Avraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Yitz'chak and his wife Rivkah, and there I buried Le'ah -


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When Ya'akov had finished charging his sons, he drew his legs up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.


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Then Yosef ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Isra'el.


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Forty days were spent at this, the normal amount of time for embalming. Then the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.


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When the period of mourning was over, Yosef addressed to the household of Pharaoh: 'I would like to ask a favor. Tell Pharaoh,


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'My father had me swear an oath. He said, 'I am going to die. You are to bury me in my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Kena'an.'Therefore, I beg you, let me go up and bury my father; I will return.''


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So Yosef went up to bury his father. With him went all Pharaoh's servants, the leaders of his household and the leaders of the land of Egypt,


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along with the entire household of Yosef, his brothers and his father's household; only their little ones, their flocks and their cattle did they leave in the land of Goshen.


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When they arrived at the threshing-floor in Atad, beyond the Yarden, they raised a loud and bitter lamentation, mourning for his father seven days.


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When the local inhabitants, the Kena'ani, saw the mourning on the floor of Atad they said, 'How bitterly the Egyptians are mourning!'This is why the place was given the name Avel-Mitzrayim [mourning of Egypt], there beyond the Yarden.


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they carried him into the land of Kena'an and buried him in the cave in the field of Makhpelah, which Avraham had bought, along with the field, as a burial-place belonging to him, from 'Efron the Hitti, by Mamre.


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Then, after burying his father, Yosef returned to Egypt, he, his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.


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Realizing that their father was dead, Yosef's brothers said, 'Yosef may hate us now and pay us back in full for all the suffering we caused him.'


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'Say to Yosef, 'I beg you now, please forgive your brothers' crime and wickedness in doing you harm.'' So now, we beg of you, forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.'Yosef wept when they spoke to him;


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You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good -so that it would come about as it is today, with many people's lives being saved.


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So don't be afraid -I will provide for you and your little ones.' In this way he comforted them, speaking kindly to them.


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Yosef lived to see Efrayim's great-grandchildren, and the children of M'nasheh's son Makhir were born on Yosef's knees.


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Yosef said to his brothers, 'I am dying. But God will surely remember you and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov.'


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Then Yosef took an oath from the sons of Isra'el: 'God will surely remember you, and you are to carry my bones up from here.'


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These are the names of the sons of Isra'el who came into Egypt with Ya'akov; each man came with his household:


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The descendants of Isra'el were fruitful, increased abundantly, multiplied and grew very powerful; the land became filled with them.


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but said to his people, 'Look, the descendants of Isra'el have become a people too numerous and powerful for us.


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Come, let's use wisdom in dealing with them. Otherwise, they'll continue to multiply; and in the event of war they might ally themselves with our enemies, fight against us and leave the land altogether.'


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So they put slavemasters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built for Pharaoh the storage cities of Pitom and Ra'amses.


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But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, until the Egyptians came to dread the people of Isra'el


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making their lives bitter with hard labor -digging clay, making bricks, all kinds of field work; and in all this toil they were shown no mercy.


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Moreover, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shifrah and the other Pu'ah.


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'When you attend the Hebrew women and see them giving birth,' he said, 'if it's a boy, kill him; but if it's a girl, let her live.'


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However, the midwives were God-fearing women, so they didn't do as the king of Egypt ordered but let the boys live.


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The king of Egypt summoned the midwives and demanded of them, 'Why have you done this and let the boys live?'


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The midwives answered Pharaoh, 'It's because the Hebrew women aren't like the Egyptian women -they go into labor and give birth before the midwife arrives.'


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Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: 'Every boy that is born, throw in the river; but let all the girls live.'


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When she conceived and had a son, upon seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months.


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When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket, coated it with clay and tar, put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the riverbank.


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The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river while her maids-in-attendance walked along the riverside. Spotting the basket among the reeds, she sent her slave-girl to get it.


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She opened it and looked inside, and there in front of her was a crying baby boy! Moved with pity, she said, 'This must be one of the Hebrews'children.'


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At this point, his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Would you like me to go and find you one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?'


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Pharaoh's daughter told her, 'Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will pay you for doing it.' So the woman took the child and nursed it.


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Then, when the child had grown some, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter; and she began to raise him as her son. She called him Moshe [pull out], explaining, 'Because I pulled him out of the water.'


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One day, when Moshe was a grown man, he went out to visit his kinsmen; and he watched them struggling at forced labor. He saw an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen.


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He looked this way and that; and when he saw that no one was around, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.


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The next day, he went out and saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other. To the one in the wrong he said, 'Why are you hitting your companion?'


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He retorted, 'Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian?' Moshe became frightened. 'Clearly,' he thought, 'the matter has become known.'


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When Pharaoh heard of it, he tried to have Moshe put to death. But Moshe fled from Pharaoh to live in the land of Midyan. One day, as he was sitting by a well,


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the seven daughters of the priest of Midyan came to draw water. They had filled the troughs to water their father's sheep,


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when the shepherds came and tried to drive them away. But Moshe got up and defended them; then he watered their sheep.


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They answered, 'An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; more than that, he drew water for us and watered the sheep.'


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He asked his daughters, 'Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.'


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She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom [foreigner there], for he said, 'I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.'


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Sometime during those many years the king of Egypt died, but the people of Isra'el still groaned under the yoke of slavery, and they cried out, and their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.


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Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev.


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The angel of ADONAI appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up.


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Moshe said, 'I'm going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn't being burned up.'


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When ADONAI saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, 'Moshe! Moshe!' He answered, 'Here I am.'


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He said, 'Don't come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.


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I am the God of your father,' he continued, 'the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov.' Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.


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ADONAI said, 'I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters, because I know their pain.


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I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena'ani, Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi.


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Yes, the cry of the people of Isra'el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them.


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Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra'el, out of Egypt.'


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Moshe said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra'el out of Egypt?'


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He replied, 'I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.'


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Moshe said to God, 'Look, when I appear before the people of Isra'el and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?'


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God said to Moshe, 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],' and added, 'Here is what to say to the people of Isra'el: 'Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.''


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God said further to Moshe, 'Say this to the people of Isra'el: 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has sent me to you.'This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.


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Go, gather the leaders of Isra'el together, and say to them, 'ADONAI, the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov, has appeared to me and said, 'I have been paying close attention to you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt;


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and I have said that I will lead you up out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Kena'ani, Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi, to a land flowing with milk and honey.''


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They will heed what you say. Then you will come, you and the leaders of Isra'el, before the king of Egypt; and you will tell him, 'ADONAI, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now, please, let us go three days' journey into the desert; so that we can sacrifice to ADONAI our God.'


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But I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do there. After that, he will let you go.


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Moreover, I will make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that when you go, you won't go empty-handed.


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Rather, all the women will ask their neighbors and house guests for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, with which you will dress your own sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.'


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Moshe replied, 'But I'm certain they won't believe me, and they won't listen to what I say, because they'll say, 'ADONAI did not appear to you.''


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He said, 'Throw it on the ground!' and he threw it on the ground. It turned into a snake, and Moshe recoiled from it.


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Then ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Put your hand out and take it by the tail.' He reached out with his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand.


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'This is so that they will believe that ADONAI, the God of their fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has appeared to you!'


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Furthermore ADONAI said to him, 'Now put your hand inside your coat.' He put his hand in his coat; and when he took it out his hand was leprous, as white as snow.


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Then God said, 'Now put your hand back in your coat.' He put his hand back in his coat; and when he took it out, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.


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'If they won't believe you or heed the evidence of the first sign, they will be convinced by the second.


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But if they aren't persuaded even by both these signs and still won't listen to what you say, then take some water from the river, and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the dry land.'


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Moshe said to ADONAI, 'Oh, Adonai, I'm a terrible speaker. I always have been, and I'm no better now, even after you've spoken to your servant! My words come slowly, my tongue moves slowly.'


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ADONAI answered him, 'Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes a person dumb or deaf, keen-sighted or blind? Isn't it I, ADONAI?


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At this, ADONAI's anger blazed up against Moshe; he said, 'Don't you have a brother, Aharon the Levi? I know that he's a good speaker. In fact, here he is now, coming out to meet you; and he'll be happy to see you.


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You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and his, teaching you both what to do.


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Thus he will be your spokesman to the people, in effect; for you, he will be a mouth; and for him, you will be like God.


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Moshe left, returned to Yitro his father-in-law and said to him, 'I beg you to let me go and return to my kinsmen in Egypt, to see if they are still alive.' Yitro said to Moshe, 'Go in peace.'


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ADONAI said to Moshe in Midyan, 'Go on back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.'


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So Moshe took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. Moshe took God's staff in his hand.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'When you get back to Egypt, make sure that you do before Pharaoh every one of the wonders I have enabled you to do. Nevertheless, I am going to make him hardhearted, and he will refuse to let the people go.


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I have told you to let my son go in order to worship me, but you have refused to let him go. Well, then, I will kill your firstborn son!'''


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had not Tzipporah taken a flintstone and cut off the foreskin of her son. She threw it at his feet, saying, 'What a bloody bridegroom you are for me!'


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ADONAI said to Aharon, 'Go into the desert to meet Moshe.' He went, met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.


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Moshe told him everything ADONAI had said in sending him, including all the signs he had ordered him to perform.


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The people believed; when they heard that ADONAI had remembered the people of Isra'el and seen how they were oppressed, they bowed their heads and worshipped.


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After that, Moshe and Aharon came and said to Pharaoh, 'Here is what ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Let my people go, so that they can celebrate a festival in the desert to honor me.''


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But Pharaoh replied, 'Who is ADONAI, that I should obey when he says to let Isra'el go? I don't know ADONAI, and I also won't let Isra'el go.'


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They said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days' journey into the desert, so that we can sacrifice to ADONAI our God. Otherwise, he may strike us with a plague or with the sword.'


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The king of Egypt answered them, 'Moshe and Aharon, what do you mean by taking the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!


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Look!' Pharaoh added, 'the population of the land has grown, yet you are trying to have them stop working!'


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'You are no longer to provide straw for the bricks the people are making, as you did before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.


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But you will require them to produce the same quantity of bricks as before, don't reduce it, because they're lazing around. This is why they're crying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'


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Give these people harder work to do. That will keep them too busy to pay attention to speeches full of lies.'


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The people's slavemasters went out, their foremen too, and said to the people, 'Here is what Pharaoh says: 'I will no longer give you straw.


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The slavemasters kept pressing them. 'Keep working! Make your daily quota, just as when straw was provided.'


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The foremen of the people of Isra'el, whom Pharaoh's slavemasters had appointed to be over them, were flogged and asked, 'Why haven't you fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday and today, as you did formerly?'


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Then the foremen of the people of Isra'el came and complained to Pharaoh: 'Why are you treating your servants this way?


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No straw is given to your servants, yet they keep telling us to make bricks. And now your servants are being flogged, but the fault lies with your own people.'


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Get going now, and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, and you will still deliver the full amount of bricks.'


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When they said, 'You are not to reduce your daily production quota of bricks,' the foremen of the people of Isra'el could see that they were in deep trouble.


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and they said to them, 'May ADONAI look at you and judge accordingly, because you have made us utterly abhorrent in the view of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hands to kill us!'


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Moshe returned to ADONAI and said, 'ADONAI, why have you treated this people so terribly? What has been the value of sending me?


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For ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has dealt terribly with this people! And you haven't rescued your people at all!'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Now you will see what I am going to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will send them off; with force he will drive them from the land!'


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I appeared to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI].


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Also with them I established my covenant to give them the land of Kena'an, the land where they wandered about and lived as foreigners.


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Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Isra'el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.


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'Therefore, say to the people of Isra'el: 'I am ADONAI. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.


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I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am ADONAI your God, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians.


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I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov - I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am ADONAI.''


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Moshe said this to the people of Isra'el. But they wouldn't listen to him, because they were so discouraged, and their slavery was so cruel.


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Moshe said to ADONAI, 'Look, the people of Isra'el haven't listened to me; so how will Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?'


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But ADONAI spoke to Moshe and Aharon and gave them orders concerning both the people of Isra'el and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt.


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These were the heads of their families: the sons of Re'uven the firstborn of Isra'el were Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi. These were the families of Re'uven.


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The sons of Shim'on were Y'mu'el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha'ul the son of a Kena'ani woman. These were the families of Shim'on.


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These are the names of the sons of Levi with their descendants: Gershon, K'hat and M'rari. Levi lived to be 137 years old.


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'Amram married Yokheved his father's sister, and she bore him Aharon and Moshe. 'Amram lived to be 137 years old.


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Aharon married Elisheva daughter of 'Amminadav and sister of Nachshon, and she bore him Nadav, Avihu, El'azar and Itamar.


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El'azar the son of Aharon married one of the daughters of Puti'el, and she bore him Pinchas. These were the heads of the families of Levi, family by family.


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These are the Aharon and Moshe to whom ADONAI said, 'Bring the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt, division by division,'


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and who told Pharaoh king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra'el leave Egypt. These are the same Moshe and Aharon.


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But ADONAI said to Moshe, 'I have put you in the place of God to Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother will be your prophet.


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You are to say everything I order you, and Aharon your brother is to speak to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people of Isra'el leave his land.


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But I will make him hardhearted. Even though I will increase my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,


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Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies, my people the sons of Isra'el, out of the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.


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Then, when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the people of Isra'el out from among them, the Egyptians will know that I am ADONAI.'


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'When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' tell Aharon to take his staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, so that it can become a snake.'


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Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and did this, as ADONAI had ordered -Aharon threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake.


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But Pharaoh in turn called for the sages and sorcerers; and they too, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing, making use of their secret arts.


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Nevertheless, Pharaoh was made hardhearted; and he didn't listen to them, as ADONAI had said would happen.


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Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Stand on the riverbank to confront him, take in your hand the staff which was turned into a snake,


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and say to him, 'ADONAI, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say: 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me in the desert.' But until now you haven't listened;


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so ADONAI says, 'This will let you know that I am ADONAI': I will take the staff in my hand and strike the water in the river, and it will be turned into blood.


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The fish in the river will die, the river will stink and the Egyptians won't want to drink water from the river.''


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Say to Aharon, 'Take your staff, reach out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, canals, ponds and all their reservoirs, so that they can turn into blood. There will be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.''


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Moshe and Aharon did exactly what ADONAI had ordered. He raised the staff and, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, struck the water in the river; and all the water in the river was turned into blood.


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The fish in the river died, and the river stank so badly that the Egyptians couldn't drink its water. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.


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But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts, so that Pharaoh was made hardhearted and didn't listen to them, as ADONAI had said would happen.


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All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, because they couldn't drink the river water.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Here is what ADONAI says: 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me.


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The river will swarm with frogs. They will go up, enter your palace and go into your bedroom, onto your bed. They will enter the houses of your servants and your people and go into your ovens and kneading bowls.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Say to Aharon, 'Reach out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals and ponds; and cause frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.''


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Aharon put 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 summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, 'Intercede with ADONAI to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go and sacrifice to ADONAI.'


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Moshe said to Pharaoh, 'Not only that, but you can have the honor of naming the time when I will pray for you, your servants and your people to be rid of the frogs, both yourselves and your homes, and that they stay only in the river.'


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He answered, 'Tomorrow.' Moshe said, 'It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that ADONAI our God has no equal.


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The frogs will leave you and your homes, also your servants and your people; they will stay in the river only.'


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Moshe and Aharon left Pharaoh's presence, and Moshe cried to ADONAI about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh.


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But when Pharaoh saw that he had been given some relief, he made himself hardhearted and would not listen to them, just as ADONAI had said would happen.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Say to Aharon: 'Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground; it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.''


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They did it -Aharon reached out his hand with his staff and struck the dust on the ground, and there were lice on people and animals; all the dust on the ground became lice throughout the whole land of Egypt.


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The magicians tried with their secret arts to produce lice, but they couldn't. There were lice on people and animals.


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Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh was made hardhearted, so that he didn't listen to them, just as ADONAI had said would happen.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh when he goes out to the water and say to him, 'Here is what ADONAI says: 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me.


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Otherwise, if you won't let my people go, I will send swarms of insects on you, your servants and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, and likewise the ground they stand on.


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But I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live -no swarms of insects will be there - so that you can realize that I am ADONAI, right here in the land.


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Yes, I will distinguish between my people and your people, and this sign will happen by tomorrow.'''


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ADONAI did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh's palace and into all his servants'houses - the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt.


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But Moshe replied, 'It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to ADONAI our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won't the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination?


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No, we will go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to ADONAI our God, as he has ordered us to do.'


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Pharaoh said, 'I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to ADONAI your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf.'


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Moshe said, 'All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with ADONAI; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to ADONAI.'


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and ADONAI did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people -not one remained.


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Then ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'Here is what ADONAI, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me.


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the hand of ADONAI is on your livestock in the field - on the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and flocks -and will make them suffer a devastating illness.


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But ADONAI will distinguish between Egypt's and Isra'el's livestock - nothing belonging to the people of Isra'el will die.'''


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The following day, ADONAI did it - all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the animals belonging to the people of Isra'el died.


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Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the people of Isra'el had died. Nevertheless, Pharaoh's heart remained stubborn, and he didn't let the people go.


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ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, 'Take handfuls of ashes from a kiln, and let Moshe throw them in the air before Pharaoh's eyes.


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They will turn into fine dust over all the land of Egypt and become infected sores on men and animals throughout Egypt.'


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So they took ashes from a kiln, stood in front of Pharaoh and threw them in the air; and they became infected sores on men and animals.


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The magicians couldn't even stand in Moshe's presence because of the sores, which were on them as well as on the other Egyptians.


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But ADONAI made Pharaoh hardhearted, so that he didn't listen to them -just as ADONAI had said to Moshe.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Here is what ADONAI says: 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me.


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For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth.


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By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such severe plagues that you would have been wiped off the earth.


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But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive -to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth.


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tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now.


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Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn't been brought home, and they will die.'''


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Whoever among Pharaoh's servants feared what ADONAI had said had his slaves and livestock escape into the houses;


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Reach out your hand toward the sky, so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, falling on people, animals and everything growing in the field, throughout the land of Egypt.'


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Moshe reached out with his staff toward the sky, and ADONAI sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. ADONAI caused it to hail on the land of Egypt -


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it hailed, and fire flashed up with the hail; it was terrible, worse than any hailstorm in all of Egypt since it became a nation.


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Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the field, people and animals; and the hail struck every plant growing in the field and broke every tree there.


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Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, 'This time I have sinned: ADONAI is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong.


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Intercede with ADONAI - we can't take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.'


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Moshe said to him, 'As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to ADONAI; the thunder will end, and there won't be any more hail - so that you can know that the earth belongs to ADONAI.


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Moshe went out of the city, away from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to ADONAI. The thunder and hail ended, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth.


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When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants.


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Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn't let the people of Isra'el go, just as ADONAI had said through Moshe.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them,


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so that you can tell your son and grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am ADONAI.'


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Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and said to him, 'Here is what ADONAI, God of the Hebrews, says: 'How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they can worship me.


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One won't be able to see the ground, so completely will the locusts cover it. They will eat anything you still have that escaped the hail, including every tree you have growing in the field.


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They will fill your houses and those of your servants and of all the Egyptians. It will be like nothing your fathers or their fathers have ever seen since the day they were born until today.''Then he turned his back and left.


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Pharaoh's servants said to him, 'How much longer must this fellow be a snare for us? Let the people go and worship ADONAI their God. Don't you understand yet that Egypt is being destroyed?'


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So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, 'Go, worship ADONAI your God. But who exactly is going?'


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Moshe answered, 'We will go with our young and our old, our sons and our daughters; and we will go with our flocks and herds; for we must celebrate a feast to ADONAI.'


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Pharaoh said to them, 'ADONAI certainly will be with you if I ever let you go with your children! It's clear that you are up to no good.


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Nothing doing! Just the men among you may go and worship ADONAI. That's what you want, isn't it?'And they were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Reach out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts will invade the land and eat every plant that the hail has left.'


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Moshe reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and ADONAI caused an east wind to blow on the land all day and all night; and in the morning the east wind brought the locusts.


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The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt's territory. It was an invasion more severe than there had ever been before or will ever be again.


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They completely covered the ground, so that the ground looked black. They ate every plant growing from the ground and all the fruit of the trees left by the hail. Not one green thing remained, not a tree and not a plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.


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Pharaoh hurried to summon Moshe and Aharon and said, 'I have sinned against ADONAI your God and against you.


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Now, therefore, please forgive my sin just this once; and intercede with ADONAI your God, so that he will at least take away from me this deadly plague!'


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ADONAI reversed the wind and made it blow very strongly from the west. It took up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Suf; not one locust remained on Egyptian soil.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!'


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Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days.


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People couldn't see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra'el had light in their homes.


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Pharaoh summoned Moshe and said, 'Go, worship ADONAI; only leave your flocks and herds behind - your children may go with you.'


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Moshe answered, 'You must also see to it that we have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we can sacrifice to ADONAI our God.


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Our livestock will also go with us - not a hoof will be left behind - because we must choose some of them to worship ADONAI our God, and we don't know which ones we will need to worship ADONAI until we get there.'


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Pharaoh said to them, 'Get away from me! And you had better not see my face again, because the day you see my face, you will die!'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'I'm going to bring still one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and after that he will let you leave here. When he does let you go, he will throw you out completely!


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Now tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman her neighbor for gold and silver jewelry.'


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ADONAI made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people. Moreover, Moshe was regarded by Pharaoh's servants and the people as a very great man in the land of Egypt.


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and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the slave-girl at the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock.


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There will be a horrendous wailing throughout all the land of Egypt - there has never been another like it, and there never will be again.


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But not even a dog's growl will be heard against any of the people of Isra'el, neither against people nor against animals. In this way you will realize that ADONAI distinguishes between Egyptians and Isra'el.


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All your servants will come down to me, prostrate themselves before me and say, 'Get out! - you and all the people who follow you!' and after that, I will go out!''And he went out from Pharaoh in the heat of anger.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that still more of my wonders will be shown in the land of Egypt.'


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Moshe and Aharon did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but ADONAI had made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn't let the people of Isra'el leave his land.


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Speak to all the assembly of Isra'el and say, 'On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household -


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except that if the household is too small for a whole lamb or kid, then he and his next-door neighbor should share one, dividing it in proportion to the number of people eating it.


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Your animal must be without defect, a male in its first year, and you may choose it from either the sheep or the goats.


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''You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra'el will slaughter it at dusk.


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They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it.


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That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror.


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Don't eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs.


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''Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is ADONAI's Pesach [Passover].


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For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am ADONAI.


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The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [Hebrew: pasach] you - when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.


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''This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to ADONAI; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.


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''For seven days you are to eat matzah - on the first day remove the leaven from your houses. For whoever eats hametz [leavened bread] from the first to the seventh day is to be cut off from Isra'el.


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On the first and seventh days, you are to have an assembly set aside for God. On these days no work is to be done, except what each must do to prepare his food; you may do only that.


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You are to observe the festival of matzah, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you are to observe this day from generation to generation by a perpetual regulation.


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From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day, you are to eat matzah.


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During those seven days, no leaven is to be found in your houses. Whoever eats food with hametz in it is to be cut off from the community of Isra'el - it doesn't matter whether he is a foreigner or a citizen of the land.


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Then Moshe called for all the leaders of Isra'el and said, 'Select and take lambs for your families, and slaughter the Pesach lamb.


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Take a bunch of hyssop leaves and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame. Then, none of you is to go out the door of his house until morning.


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For ADONAI will pass through to kill the Egyptians; but when he sees the blood on the top and on the two sides, ADONAI will pass over the door and will not allow the Slaughterer to enter your houses and kill you.


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'When you come to the land which ADONAI will give you, as he has promised, you are to observe this ceremony.


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say, 'It is the sacrifice of ADONAI's Pesach [Passover], because [ADONAI] passed over the houses of the people of Isra'el in Egypt, when he killed the Egyptians but spared our houses.''The people of Isra'el bowed their heads and worshipped.


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Then the people of Isra'el went and did as ADONAI had ordered Moshe and Aharon - that is what they did.


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At midnight ADONAI killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.


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Pharaoh got up in the night, he, all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was horrendous wailing in Egypt; for there wasn't a single house without someone dead in it.


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He summoned Moshe and Aharon by night and said, 'Up and leave my people, both you and the people of Isra'el; and go, serve ADONAI as you said.


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The Egyptians pressed to send the people out of the land quickly, because they said, 'Otherwise we'll all be dead!'


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The people took their dough before it had become leavened and wrapped their kneading bowls in their clothes on their shoulders.


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The people of Isra'el had done what Moshe had said - they had asked the Egyptians to give them silver and gold jewelry and clothing;


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and ADONAI had made the Egyptians so favorably disposed toward the people that they had let them have whatever they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.


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The people of Isra'el traveled from Ra'amses to Sukkot, some six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting children.


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They baked matzah loaves from the dough they had brought out of Egypt, since it was unleavened; because they had been driven out of Egypt without time to prepare supplies for themselves.


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This was a night when ADONAI kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and this same night continues to be a night when ADONAI keeps vigil for all the people of Isra'el through all their generations.


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ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, 'This is the regulation for the Pesach lamb: no foreigner is to eat it.


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It is to be eaten in one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you are not to break any of its bones.


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If a foreigner staying with you wants to observe ADONAI's Pesach, all his males must be circumcised. Then he may take part and observe it; he will be like a citizen of the land. But no uncircumcised person is to eat it.


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'Set aside for me all the firstborn. Whatever is first from the womb among the people of Isra'el, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.'


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Moshe said to the people, 'Remember this day, on which you left Egypt, the abode of slavery; because ADONAI, by the strength of his hand, has brought you out of this place. Do not eat hametz.


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When ADONAI brings you into the land of the Kena'ani, Hitti, Emori, Hivi and Y'vusi, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this ceremony in this month.


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Matzah is to be eaten throughout the seven days; neither hametz nor leavening agents are to be seen with you throughout your territory.


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'Moreover, it will serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that ADONAI's Torah may be on your lips; because with a strong hand ADONAI brought you out of Egypt.


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When ADONAI brings you into the land of the Kena'ani, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you,


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you are to set apart for ADONAI everything that is first from the womb. Every firstborn male animal will belong to ADONAI.


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Every firstborn from a donkey, you are to redeem with a lamb; but if you choose not to redeem it, you must break its neck. But from people, you are to redeem every firstborn son.


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When, at some future time, your son asks you, 'What is this?' then say to him, 'With a strong hand ADONAI brought us out of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.


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When Pharaoh was unwilling to let us go, ADONAI killed all the firstborn males in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of animals. This is why I sacrifice to ADONAI any male that is first from the womb of an animal, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'


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This will serve as a sign on your hand and at the front of a headband around your forehead that with a strong hand ADONAI brought us out of Egypt.'


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After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P'lishtim, because it was close by -God thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt.


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Rather, God led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the Sea of Suf. The people of Isra'el went up from the land of Egypt fully armed.


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Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, for Yosef had made the people of Isra'el swear an oath when he said, 'God will certainly remember you; and you are to carry my bones up with you, away from here.'


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ADONAI went ahead of them in a column of cloud during the daytime to lead them on their way, and at night in a column of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both by day and by night.


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Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire at night went away from in front of the people.


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'Tell the people of Isra'el to turn around and set up camp in front of Pi-Hachirot, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Ba'al-Tz'fon; camp opposite it, by the sea.


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Then Pharaoh will say that the people of Isra'el are wandering aimlessly in the countryside, the desert has closed in on them.


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I will make Pharaoh so hardhearted that he will pursue them; thus I will win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will realize at last that I am ADONAI.'The people did as ordered.


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When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people. They said, 'What have we done, letting Isra'el stop being our slaves?'


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he took 600 first-quality chariots, as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, along with their commanders.


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The Egyptians went after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, with his cavalry and army, and overtook them as they were encamped by the sea, by Pi-Hachirot, in front of Ba'al-Tz'fon.


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As Pharaoh approached, the people of Isra'el looked up and saw the Egyptians right there, coming after them. In great fear the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI


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and said to Moshe, 'Was it because there weren't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? Why have you done this to us, bringing us out of Egypt?


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Didn't we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, we'll just go on being slaves for the Egyptians? It would be better for us to be the Egyptians' slaves than to die in the desert!'


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Moshe answered the people, 'Stop being so fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how ADONAI is going to save you. He will do it today - today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again!


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Lift your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea, and divide it in two. The people of Isra'el will advance into the sea on dry ground.


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As for me, I will make the Egyptians hardhearted; and they will march in after them; thus I will win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, chariots and cavalry.


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Then the Egyptians will realize that I am ADONAI, when I have won myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots and his cavalry.'


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Next, the angel of God, who was going ahead of the camp of Isra'el, moved away and went behind them; and the column of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them.


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It stationed itself between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Isra'el - there was cloud and darkness here, but light by night there; so that the one did not come near the other all night long.


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Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and ADONAI caused the sea to go back before a strong east wind all night. He made the sea become dry land, and its water was divided in two.


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Then the people of Isra'el went into the sea on the dry ground, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.


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The Egyptians continued their pursuit, going after them into the sea - all Pharaoh's horses, chariots and cavalry.


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Just before dawn, ADONAI looked out on the Egyptian army through the column of fire and cloud and threw them into a panic.


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He caused the wheels of their chariots to break off, so that they could move only with difficulty. The Egyptians said, 'ADONAI is fighting for Isra'el against the Egyptians! Let's get away from them!'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Reach your hand out over the sea, and the water will return and cover the Egyptians with their chariots and cavalry.'


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Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and by dawn the sea had returned to its former depth. The Egyptians tried to flee, but ADONAI swept them into the sea.


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The water came back and covered all the chariots and cavalry of Pharaoh's army who had followed them into the sea -not even one of them was left.


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But the people of Isra'el walked on dry ground in the sea, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.


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When Isra'el saw the mighty deed that ADONAI had performed against the Egyptians, the people feared ADONAI, and they believed in ADONAI and in his servant Moshe.


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Then Moshe and the people of Isra'el sang this song to ADONAI: 'I will sing to ADONAI, for he is highly exalted: the horse and its rider he threw in the sea.


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Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God: I will glorify him; my father's God: I will exalt him.


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Pharaoh's chariots and his army he hurled into the sea. His elite commanders were drowned in the Sea of Suf.


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By your great majesty you bring down your enemies; you send out your wrath to consume them like stubble.


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With a blast from your nostrils the waters piled up -the waters stood up like a wall, the depths of the sea became firm ground.


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The enemy said, 'I will pursue and overtake, divide the spoil and gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.'


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Who is like you, ADONAI, among the mighty? Who is like you, sublime in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?


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In your love, you led the people you redeemed; in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode.


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then the chiefs of Edom are dismayed; trepidation seizes the heads of Mo'av; all those living in Kena'an are melted away.


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Terror and dread fall on them; by the might of your arm they are still as stone until your people pass over, ADONAI, till the people you purchased pass over.


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You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain which is your heritage, the place, ADONAI, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, Adonai, which your hands established.


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For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and with his cavalry into the sea, but ADONAI brought the sea waters back upon them, while the people of Isra'el walked on dry land in the midst of the sea!'


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Also Miryam the prophet, sister of Aharon, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing,


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as Miryam sang to them: 'Sing to ADONAI, for he is highly exalted! The horse and its rider he threw in the sea!'


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Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf. They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water.


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They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness].


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Moshe cried to ADONAI; and ADONAI showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There ADONAI made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them.


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He said, 'If you will listen intently to the voice of ADONAI your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am ADONAI your healer.'


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They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water.


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They traveled on from Eilim, and the whole community of the people of Isra'el arrived at the Seen Desert, between Eilim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt.


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The people of Isra'el said to them, 'We wish ADONAI had used his own hand to kill us off in Egypt! There we used to sit around the pots with the meat boiling, and we had as much food as we wanted. But you have taken us out into this desert to let this whole assembly starve to death!'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Here, I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a day's ration every day. By this I will test whether they will observe my Torah or not.


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On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, it will turn out to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.'


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Moshe and Aharon said to all the people of Isra'el, 'This evening, you will realize that it has been ADONAI who brought you out of Egypt;


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and in the morning, you will see ADONAI's glory. For he has listened to your grumblings against ADONAI - what are we that you should grumble against us?'


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Moshe added, 'What I have said will happen when ADONAI gives you meat to eat this evening and your fill of bread tomorrow morning. ADONAI has listened to your complaints and grumblings against him - what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against ADONAI.'


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Moshe said to Aharon, 'Say to the whole community of Isra'el, 'Come close, into the presence of ADONAI, for he has heard your grumblings.''


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As Aharon spoke to the whole community of the people of Isra'el, they looked toward the desert; and there before them the glory of ADONAI appeared in the cloud;


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'I have heard the grumblings of the people of Isra'el. Say to them: 'At dusk you will be eating meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will realize that I am ADONAI your God.''


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That evening, quails came up and covered the camp; while in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp.


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When the dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the desert was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.


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When the people of Isra'el saw it, they asked each other, 'Man hu? [What is it?]'because they didn't know what it was. Moshe answered them, 'It is the bread which ADONAI has given you to eat.


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Here is what ADONAI has ordered: each man is to gather according to his appetite - each is to take an 'omer [two quarts] per person for everyone in his tent.'


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but when they put it in an 'omer-measure, whoever had gathered much had no excess; and whoever had gathered little had no shortage; nevertheless each person had gathered according to his appetite.


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But they didn't pay attention to Moshe, and some kept the leftovers until morning. It bred worms and rotted, which made Moshe angry at them.


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So they gathered it morning after morning, each person according to his appetite; but as the sun grew hot, it melted.


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On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two 'omers per person; and all the community leaders came and reported to Moshe.


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He told them, 'This is what ADONAI has said: 'Tomorrow is a holy Shabbat for ADONAI. Bake what you want to bake; boil what you want to boil; and whatever is left over, set aside and keep for the morning.''


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Moshe said, 'Today, eat that; because today is a Shabbat for ADONAI - today you won't find it in the field.


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Look, ADONAI has given you the Shabbat. This is why he is providing bread for two days on the sixth day. Each of you, stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.'


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Moshe said, 'Here is what ADONAI has ordered: 'Let two quarts of man be kept through all your generations, so that they will be able to see the bread which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.''


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Moshe said to Aharon, 'Take a jar, put in it two quarts of man, and set it aside before ADONAI to be kept through all your generations.'


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The people of Isra'el ate man for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate man until they arrived at the borders of the land of Kena'an.


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The whole community of the people of Isra'el left the Seen Desert, traveling in stages, as ADONAI had ordered, and camped at Refidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.


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The people quarreled with Moshe, demanding, 'Give us water to drink!' But Moshe replied, 'Why pick a fight with me? Why are you testing ADONAI?'


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However, the people were thirsty for water there and grumbled against Moshe, 'For what did you bring us up from Egypt? To kill us, our children and our livestock with thirst?'


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ADONAI answered Moshe, 'Go on ahead of the people, and bring with you the leaders of Isra'el. Take your staff in your hand, the one you used to strike the river; and go.


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I will stand in front of you there on the rock in Horev. You are to strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so the people can drink.' Moshe did this in the sight of the leaders of Isra'el.


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The place was named Massah [testing] and M'rivah [quarreling] because of the quarreling of the people of Isra'el and because they tested ADONAI by asking, 'Is ADONAI with us or not?'


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Moshe said to Y'hoshua, 'Choose men for us, go out, and fight with 'Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with God's staff in my hand.'


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Y'hoshua did as Moshe had told him and fought with 'Amalek. Then Moshe, Aharon and Hur went up to the top of the hill.


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However, Moshe's hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aharon and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other; so that his hands stayed steady until sunset.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Write this in a book to be remembered, and tell it to Y'hoshua: I will completely blot out any memory of 'Amalek from under heaven.'


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and said, 'Because their hand was against the throne of Yah, ADONAI will fight 'Amalek generation after generation.'


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Now Yitro the priest of Midyan, Moshe's father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moshe and for Isra'el his people, how ADONAI had brought Isra'el out of Egypt.


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After Moshe had sent away his wife Tzipporah and her two sons, Yitro Moshe's father-in-law had taken them back.


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The name of the one son was Gershom [a foreigner there], for Moshe had said, 'I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.'


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The name of the other was Eli'ezer [my God helps], 'because the God of my father helped me by rescuing me from Pharaoh's sword.'


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Yitro Moshe's father-in-law brought Moshe's sons and wife to him in the desert where he was encamped, at the mountain of God.


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He sent word to Moshe, 'I, your father-in-law Yitro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.'


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Moshe went out to meet his father-in-law, prostrated himself and kissed him. Then, after inquiring of each other's welfare, they entered the tent.


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Moshe told his father-in-law all that ADONAI had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Isra'el's sake, all the hardships they had suffered while traveling and how ADONAI had rescued them.


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Yitro rejoiced over all the good that ADONAI had done for Isra'el by rescuing them from the Egyptians.


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Yitro said, 'Blessed be ADONAI, who has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh, who has rescued the people from the harsh hand of the Egyptians.


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Now I know that ADONAI is greater than all other gods, because he rescued those who were treated so arrogantly.'


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Yitro Moshe's father-in-law brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aharon came with all the leaders of Isra'el to share the meal before God with Moshe's father-in-law.


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The following day Moshe sat to settle disputes for the people, while the people stood around Moshe from morning till evening.


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When Moshe's father-in-law saw all that he was doing to the people, he said, 'What is this that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit there alone, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?'


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Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me; I judge between one person and another, and I explain to them God's laws and teachings.'


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You will certainly wear yourself out - and not only yourself, but these people here with you as well. It's too much for you - you can't do it alone, by yourself.


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So listen now to what I have to say. I will give you some advice, and God will be with you. You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases to God.


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You should also teach them the laws and the teachings, and show them how to live their lives and what work they should do.


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But you should choose from among all the people competent men who are God-fearing, honest and incorruptible to be their leaders, in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.


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Normally, they will settle the people's disputes. They should bring you the difficult cases; but ordinary matters they should decide themselves. In this way, they will make it easier for you and share the load with you.


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If you do this - and God is directing you to do it - you will be able to endure; and all these people too will arrive at their destination peacefully.'


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Moshe chose competent men from all Isra'el and made them heads over the people, in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.


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As a general rule, they settled the people's disputes - the difficult cases they brought to Moshe, but every simple matter they decided themselves.


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In the third month after the people of Isra'el had left the land of Egypt, the same day they came to the Sinai Desert.


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After setting out from Refidim and arriving at the Sinai Desert, they set up camp in the desert; there in front of the mountain, Isra'el set up camp.


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Moshe went up to God, and ADONAI called to him from the mountain: 'Here is what you are to say to the household of Ya'akov, to tell the people of Isra'el:


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'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.


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Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine;


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and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.'These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra'el.'


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Moshe came, summoned the leaders of the people and presented them with all these words which ADONAI had ordered him to say.


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All the people answered as one, 'Everything ADONAI has said, we will do.' Moshe reported the words of the people to ADONAI.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'See, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will be able to hear when I speak with you and also to trust in you forever.'Moshe had told ADONAI what the people had said;


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so ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go to the people; today and tomorrow separate them for me by having them wash their clothing;


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and prepare for the third day. For on the third day, ADONAI will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.


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You are to set limits for the people all around; and say, 'Be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its base; whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death.


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No hand is to touch him; for he must be stoned or shot by arrows; neither animal nor human will be allowed to live.' When the shofar sounds, they may go up on the mountain.'


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Moshe went down from the mountain to the people and separated the people for God, and they washed their clothing.


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On the morning of the third day, there was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then a shofar blast sounded so loudly that all the people in the camp trembled.


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Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because ADONAI descended onto it in fire -its smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.


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ADONAI came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; then ADONAI called Moshe to the top of the mountain; and Moshe went up.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go down and warn the people not to force their way through to ADONAI to see him; if they do, many of them will perish.


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Even the cohanim, who are allowed to approach ADONAI, must keep themselves holy; otherwise, ADONAI may break out against them.'


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Moshe said to ADONAI, 'The people can't come up to Mount Sinai, because you ordered us to set limits around the mountain and separate it.'


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But ADONAI answered him, 'Go, get down! Then come back up, you and Aharon with you. But don't let the cohanim and the people force their way through to come up to ADONAI, or he will break out against them.'


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You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline.


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You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,


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'You are not to use lightly the name of ADONAI your God, because ADONAI will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly. s


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but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the for eigner staying with you inside the gates to your property.


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For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself. v


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'Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which ADONAI your God is giving you. u


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'Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'


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All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled. Standing at a distance,


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they said to Moshe, 'You, speak with us; and we will listen. But don't let God speak with us, or we will die.'


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Moshe answered the people, 'Don't be afraid, because God has come only to test you and make you fear him, so that you won't commit sins.'


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So the people stood at a distance, but Moshe approached the thick darkness where God was. (A: Maftir)


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Here is what you are to say to the people of Isra'el: 'You yourselves have seen that I spoke with you from heaven.


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You are not to make with me gods of silver, nor are you to make gods of gold for yourselves. (S: Maftir)


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For me you need make only an altar of earth; on it you will sacrifice your burnt offerings, peace offerings, sheep, goats and cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you.


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If you do make me an altar of stone, you are not to build it of cut stones; for if you use a tool on it, you profane it.


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Likewise, you are not to use steps to go up to my altar; so that you won't be indecently uncovered.''


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'If you purchase a Hebrew slave, he is to work six years; but in the seventh, he is to be given his freedom without having to pay anything.


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If he came single, he is to leave single; if he was married when he came, his wife is to go with him when he leaves.


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But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he will leave by himself.


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Nevertheless, if the slave declares, 'I love my master, my wife and my children, so I don't want to go free,'


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then his master is to bring him before God; and there at the door or doorpost, his master is to pierce his ear with an awl; and the man will be his slave for life.


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If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly.


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If he fails to provide her with these three things, she is to be given her freedom without having to pay anything.


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If it was not premeditated but an act of God, then I will designate for you a place to which he can flee.


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But if someone willfully kills another after deliberate planning, you are to take him even from my altar and put him to death.


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'Whoever kidnaps someone must be put to death, regardless of whether he has already sold him or the person is found still in his possession.


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'If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and the injured party doesn't die but is confined to his bed;


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then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his recovery is complete.


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'If a person beats his male or female slave with a stick so severely that he dies, he is to be punished;


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except that if the slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his property.


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'If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman's husband and confirmed by judges.


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'If a person hits his male or female slave's eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye.


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If he knocks out his male or female slave's tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.


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'If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability.


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However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death.


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However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed.


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If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.


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'If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in,


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the owner of the cistern must make good the loss by compensating the animal's owner; but the dead animal will be his.


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'If one person's ox hurts another's, so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale; and they are also to divide the dead animal.


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But if it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his.


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'If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.


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unless it happens after sunrise, in which case it is murder. A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be sold to make good the loss from the theft.


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If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.


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'If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose to graze in someone else's field, he is to make restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard.


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'If a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution.


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'If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee's house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double.


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But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before God that he did not take the person's goods himself.


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In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to come before God; and the one whom God condemns must pay the other one double.


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'If a person trusts a neighbor to look after a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal, and it dies, is injured or is driven away unseen,


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then the neighbor's oath before ADONAI that he has not taken the goods will settle the matter between them -the owner is to accept it without the neighbor's making restitution.


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If it was torn to pieces by an animal, the neighbor must bring it as evidence, and then he doesn't need to make good the loss.


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'If someone borrows something from his neighbor, and it gets injured or dies with the owner not present, he must make restitution.


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If the owner was present, he need not make good the loss. If the owner hired it out, the loss is covered by the hiring fee.


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'If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.


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But if her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay a sum equivalent to the bride-price for virgins.


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'You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.


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My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword - your own wives will be widows and your own children fatherless.


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'If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest.


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because it is his only garment - he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.


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'You are not to delay offering from your harvest of grain, olive oil or wine. 'The firstborn of your sons you are to give to me.


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You are to do the same with your oxen and your sheep - it is to stay with its mother seven days, and on the eighth day you are to give it to me.


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'You are to be my specially separated people. Therefore you are not to eat any flesh torn by wild animals in the countryside; rather, throw it out for the dogs.


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'You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony.


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Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don't allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice.


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If you see the donkey which belongs to someone who hates you lying down helpless under its load, you are not to pass him by but to go and help him free it.


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Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked.


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You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.


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'You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.


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But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.


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'For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl's son and the foreigner be renewed.


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'Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips.


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Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.


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Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts.


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'You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the fat of my festival to remain all night until morning.


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'You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of ADONAI your God. 'You are not to boil a young animal in its mother's milk.


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'I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.


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Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him.


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But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.


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When my angel goes ahead of you and brings you to the Emori, Hitti, P'rizi, Kena'ani, Hivi and Y'vusi, I will make an end of them.


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You are not to worship their gods, serve them or follow their practices; rather, you are to demolish them completely and smash their standing-stones to pieces.


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'You are to serve ADONAI your God; and he will bless your food and water. I will take sickness away from among you.


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In your land your women will not miscarry or be barren, and you will live out the full span of your lives.


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I will send terror of me ahead of you, throwing into confusion all the people to whom you come; and I will make all your enemies turn their backs on you.


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I will not drive them out from before you in one year, which would cause the land to become desolate and the wild animals too many for you.


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I will drive them out from before you gradually, until you have grown in number and can take possession of the land.


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I will set your boundaries from the Sea of Suf to the sea of the P'lishtim and from the desert to the [Euphrates] River, for I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out from before you.


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They are not to live in your land; otherwise they will make you sin against me by ensnaring you to serve their gods.'


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To Moshe [ADONAI] said, 'Come up to ADONAI -you, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders of Isra'el. Prostrate yourselves at a distance,


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while Moshe alone approaches ADONAI -the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.'


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Moshe came and told the people everything ADONAI had said, including all the rulings. The people answered with one voice: 'We will obey every word ADONAI has spoken.'


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Moshe wrote down all the words of ADONAI. He rose early in the morning, built an altar at the base of the mountain and set upright twelve large stones to represent the twelve tribes of Isra'el.


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He sent the young men of the people of Isra'el to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to ADONAI.


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Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins; the other half of the blood he splashed against the altar.


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Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded, 'Everything that ADONAI has spoken, we will do and obey.'


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Moshe took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which ADONAI has made with you in accordance with all these words.'


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and they saw the God of Isra'el. Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as the sky itself.


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He did not reach out his hand against these notables of Isra'el; on the contrary, they saw God, even as they were eating and drinking.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you the stone tablets with the Torah and the mitzvot I have written on them, so that you can teach them.'


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To the leaders he said, 'Stay here for us, until we come back to you. See, Aharon and Hur are with you; whoever has a problem should turn to them.'(S: Maftir)


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The glory of ADONAI stayed on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moshe out of the cloud.


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'Tell the people of Isra'el to take up a collection for me -accept a contribution from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give.


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You are to make it according to everything I show you -the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it.


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'They are to make an ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high.


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You are to overlay it with pure gold -overlay it both inside and outside -and put a molding of gold around the top of it.


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'You are to make a cover for the ark out of pure gold; it is to be three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet high.


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Make one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; make the k'ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends.


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The k'ruvim will have their wings spread out above, so that their wings cover the ark, and their faces are toward each other and toward the ark-cover.


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You are to put the ark-cover on top of the ark. 'Inside the ark you will put the testimony that I am about to give you.


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There I will meet with you. I will speak with you from above the ark-cover, from between the two k'ruvim which are on the ark for the testimony, about all the orders I am giving you for the people of Isra'el.


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'You are to make a table of acacia-wood three feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high.


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'You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it.


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It is to have six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other.


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On one branch are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah.


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On the central shaft of the menorah are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals.


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Where each pair of branches joins the central shaft is to be a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches -thus for all six branches.


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The rings of outer leaves and their branches are to be of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah is to be a single piece of hammered work made of pure gold.


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'You are to make the tabernacle with ten sheets of finely woven linen and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn. You are to make them with k'ruvim worked in, that have been crafted by a skilled artisan.


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Five sheets are to be joined one to another, and the other five sheets are to be joined one to another.


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Make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set, and do the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set.


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Make fifty loops on the one sheet, and make fifty loops on the edge of the sheet in the second set; the loops are to be opposite one another.


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Make fifty fasteners of gold, and couple the sheets to each other with the fasteners, so that the tabernacle forms a single unit.


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'You are to make sheets of goat's hair to be used as a tent covering the tabernacle; make eleven sheets.


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Each sheet is to be forty-five feet long and six feet wide -all eleven sheets are to be the same size.


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Join five sheets together and six sheets together, and fold the sixth sheet double at the front of the tent.


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Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set.


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Make fifty fasteners of bronze, put the fasteners in the loops, and join the tent together, so that it forms a single unit.


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As for the overhanging part that remains of the sheets forming the tent, the half-sheet remaining is to hang over the back of the tabernacle;


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and the eighteen inches on the one side and the eighteen inches on the other side of that remaining in the length of the sheets forming the tent is to hang over the tabernacle to cover it on each side.


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There are to be two projections on each plank, and the planks are to be joined one to another. That is how you are to make all the planks for the tabernacle.


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Make forty silver sockets under the twenty planks, two sockets under one plank for its two projections and two sockets under another plank for its two projections.


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these are to be double from the bottom all the way to the top but joined at a single ring. Do the same with both of them; they are to form the two corners.


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Thus there will be eight planks with their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under one plank and two under another.


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five crossbars for the planks of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the side of the tabernacle at the rear toward the west.


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Overlay the planks with gold, make gold rings for them through which the crossbars will pass, and overlay the crossbars with gold.


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'You are to make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Make it with k'ruvim worked in, that have been crafted by a skilled artisan.


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Hang it with gold hooks on four acacia-wood posts overlaid with gold and standing in four silver sockets.


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Hang the curtain below the fasteners. Then bring the ark for the testimony inside the curtain; the curtain will be the divider for you between the Holy Place and the Especially Holy Place.


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'You are to put the table outside the curtain and the menorah opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; put the table on the north side.


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'For the entrance to the tent, make a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen; it should be in colors, the work of a weaver.


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For the screen, make five posts of acacia-wood; overlay them with gold; and cast for them five sockets of bronze.


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'You are to make the altar of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide - the altar is to be square and four-and-a-half feet high.


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Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece with it; and you are to overlay it with bronze.


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'Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils you are to make of bronze.


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Make for it a grate of bronze netting; and on the four corners of the netting, make four bronze rings.


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Its poles are to be put into the rings; the poles are to be on both sides of the altar for carrying it.


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The altar is to be made of planks and hollow inside. They are to make it just as you were shown on the mountain.


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'Here is how you are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. On the south side, facing southward, are to be tapestries for the courtyard made of finely woven linen, 150 feet for one side,


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supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging are to be of silver.


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Likewise, along the north side are to be tapestries 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with silver hooks and rings for the posts.


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Across the width of the courtyard on the west side are to be tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets.


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The tapestries for one side [of the gateway] will be twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets;


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for the other side there will be tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets.


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'For the gateway of the courtyard there is to be a screen thirty feet long made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. It should be in colors, the work of a weaver. It is to be on four posts in four sockets.


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All the posts all the way around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and to stand in sockets of bronze.


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The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet and the width seventy-five feet everywhere; with the height seven-and-a-half feet. The tapestries and screen are to be of finely woven linen, and the sockets are to be of bronze.


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'All the equipment needed for every kind of service in the tabernacle, as well as the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.


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'You are to order the people of Isra'el to bring you pure oil of pounded olives for the light, and to keep a lamp burning continually.


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Aharon and his sons are to put it in the tent of meeting, outside the curtain in front of the testimony, and keep it burning from evening until morning before ADONAI. This is to be a permanent regulation through all the generations of the people of Isra'el.


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'You are to summon your brother Aharon and his sons to come from among the people of Isra'el to you, so that they can serve me as cohanim -Aharon and his sons Nadav, Avihu, El'azar and Itamar.


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You are to make for your brother Aharon garments set apart for serving God, expressing dignity and splendor.


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Speak to all the craftsmen to whom I have given the spirit of wisdom, and have them make Aharon's garments to set him apart for me, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen.


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'The garments they are to make are these: a breastplate, a ritual vest, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aharon and his sons, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen.


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'They are to make the ritual vest of gold, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely woven linen, crafted by a skilled artisan.


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Its decorated belt is to be of the same workmanship and materials - gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen.


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six of their names on one stone and the six remaining names on the other, in the order of their birth.


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An engraver should engrave the names of the sons of Isra'el on the two stones as he would engrave a seal. Mount the stones in gold settings,


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and put the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the vest as stones calling to mind the sons of Isra'el. Aharon is to carry their names before ADONAI on his two shoulders as a reminder.


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'Make a breastplate for judging. Have it crafted by a skilled artisan; make it like the work of the ritual vest - make it of gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen.


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Put on it settings of stones, four rows of stones: the first row is to be a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald;


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The stones will correspond to the names of the twelve sons of Isra'el; they are to be engraved with their names as a seal would be engraved, to represent the twelve tribes.


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Also for the breastplate, make two gold rings; and put the gold rings on the two ends of the breastplate.


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attach the other two ends of the twisted chains to the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ritual vest.


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Make two gold rings and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, at its edge, on the side facing in toward the vest.


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Also make two gold rings and attach them low on the front part of the vest's shoulder-pieces, near the join, above the vest's decorated belt.


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Then bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it can be on the vest's decorated belt, and so that the breastplate won't swing loose from the vest.


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Aharon will carry the names of the sons of Isra'el on the breastplate for judging, over his heart, when he enters the Holy Place, as a continual reminder before ADONAI.


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You are to put the urim and the tumim in the breastplate for judging; they will be over Aharon's heart when he goes into the presence of ADONAI. Thus Aharon will always have the means for making decisions for the people of Isra'el over his heart when he is in the presence of ADONAI.


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It is to have an opening for the head in the middle. Around the opening is to be a border woven like the neck of a coat of mail, so that it won't tear.


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On its bottom hem make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet; and put them all the way around, with gold bells between them all the way around -


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Aharon is to wear it when he ministers, and its sound will be heard whenever he enters the Holy Place before ADONAI and when he leaves, so that he won't die.


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over Aharon's forehead. Because Aharon bears the guilt for any errors committed by the people of Isra'el in consecrating their holy gifts, this ornament is always to be on his forehead, so that the gifts for ADONAI will be accepted by him.


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'You are to weave the checkered tunic of fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make a belt, the work of a weaver in colors.


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With them clothe your brother Aharon and his sons. Then anoint them, inaugurate them, and consecrate them, so that they will be able to serve me in the office of cohen.


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Aharon and his sons are to wear them when they go into the tent of meeting and when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they won't incur guilt and die. This is to be a perpetual regulation, both for him and for his descendants.


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'Here is what you are to do to consecrate them for ministry to me in the office of cohen. Take one young bull and two rams without defect,


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also matzah, matzah cakes mixed with olive oil, and matzah wafers spread with oil - all made from fine wheat flour;


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put them together in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.


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Take the garments, and put on Aharon the tunic, the robe for the ritual vest, the vest itself, and the breastplate. Fasten the vest on him with its belt.


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wrap sashes around them, Aharon and his sons; and put the headgear on their heads. The office of cohen is to be theirs by a permanent regulation. Thus you will consecrate Aharon and his sons.


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'Bring the young bull to the front of the tent of meeting. Aharon and his sons are to lay their hands on the bull's head,


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Take some of the bull's blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.


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Take all the fat that covers the inner organs, the covering of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and offer them up in smoke on the altar.


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But the bull's flesh, skin and dung you are to destroy by fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.


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Quarter the ram, wash the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs, and put them with the quarters and the head.


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Then offer up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering for ADONAI, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to ADONAI by fire.


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and you are to slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the lobe of Aharon's right ear, on the lobes of his sons' right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Take the rest of the blood and splash it on all sides of the altar.


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Then take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aharon and his clothing and on his sons and the clothing of his sons with him; so that he and his clothing will be consecrated, and with him his sons and his sons' clothing.


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Also take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner organs, the two kidneys, the fat covering them and the right thigh - for it is a ram of consecration -


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along with one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer from the basket of matzah which is before ADONAI -


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and put it all in the hands of Aharon and his sons. They are to wave them as a wave offering in the presence of ADONAI.


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Then take them back; and burn them up in smoke on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, to be a pleasing aroma before ADONAI; it is an offering made to ADONAI by fire.


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'Take the breast of the ram for Aharon's consecration, and wave it as a wave offering before ADONAI; it will be your share.


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Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of any contribution that has been waved and raised up, whether from the ram of consecration, or from anything else meant for Aharon or his sons;


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this will belong to Aharon and his sons as their share perpetually due from the people of Isra'el - it will be a contribution from the people of Isra'el from their peace offerings, their contribution to ADONAI.


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'The holy garments of Aharon will be used by his sons after him; they will be anointed and consecrated in them.


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The son who becomes cohen in his place, who comes into the tent of meeting to serve in the Holy Place, is to wear them for seven days.


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Aharon and his sons will eat the ram's meat and the bread in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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They are to eat the things with which atonement was made for them, to inaugurate and consecrate them; no one else may eat this food, because it is holy.


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If any of the meat for the consecration or any of the bread remains until morning, burn up what remains; it is not to be eaten, because it is holy.


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Carry out all these orders I have given you concerning Aharon and his sons. You are to spend seven days consecrating them.


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'Each day, offer a young bull as a sin offering, besides the other offerings of atonement; offer the sin offering on the altar as your atonement for it; then anoint it to consecrate it.


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Seven days you will make atonement on the altar and consecrate it; thus the altar will be especially holy, and whatever touches the altar will become holy.


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With the one lamb offer two quarts of finely ground flour mixed with one quart of oil from pressed olives; along with one quart of wine as a drink offering.


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The other lamb you are to offer at dusk; do with it as with the morning grain and drink offerings - it will be a pleasing aroma, an offering made to ADONAI by fire.


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Through all your generations this is to be the regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before ADONAI. There is where I will meet with you to speak with you.


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I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, likewise I will consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve me in the office of cohen.


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they will know that I am ADONAI their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to live with them. I am ADONAI their God.


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Overlay it with pure gold - its top, all around its sides, and its horns; and put around it a molding of gold.


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Make two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides; this is where the carrying-poles will go.


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'Place it in front of the curtain by the ark for the testimony, in front of the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.


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Aharon will burn fragrant incense on it as a pleasing aroma every morning; he is to burn it when he prepares the lamps.


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Aharon is also to burn it when he lights the lamps at dusk; this is the regular burning of incense before ADONAI through all your generations.


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You are not to offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering or a grain offering; and you are not to pour a drink offering on it.


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Aharon is to make atonement on its horns once a year - with the blood of the sin offering of atonement he is to make atonement for it once a year through all your generations; it is especially holy to ADONAI.' 10-20


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'When you take a census of the people of Isra'el and register them, each, upon registration, is to pay a ransom for his life to ADONAI, to avoid any breakout of plague among them during the time of the census.


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Everyone subject to the census is to pay as an offering to ADONAI half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce of silver]- by the standard of the sanctuary shekel (a shekel equals twenty gerahs).


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the rich is not to give more or the poor less than the half-shekel when giving ADONAI's offering to atone for your lives.


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You are to take the atonement money from the people of Isra'el and use it for the service in the tent of meeting, so that it will be a reminder of the people of Isra'el before ADONAI to atone for your lives.'


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'You are to make a basin of bronze, with a base of bronze, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.


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when they enter the tent of meeting - they are to wash with water, so that they won't die. Also when they approach the altar to minister by burning an offering for ADONAI,


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they are to wash their hands and feet, so that they won't die. This is to be a perpetual law for them through all their generations.'


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'Take the best spices - 500 shekels of myrrh [121/2 pounds], half this amount (250 shekels) of aromatic cinnamon [61/4 pounds], 250 shekels of aromatic cane,


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and make them into a holy anointing oil; blend it and perfume it as would an expert perfume-maker; it will be a holy anointing oil.


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Then you are to anoint Aharon and his sons - you are to consecrate them to serve me in the office of cohen.


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'This is to be a holy anointing oil for me through all your generations.


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It is not to be used for anointing a person's body; and you are not to make any like it, with the same composition of ingredients - it is holy, and you are to treat it as holy.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Take aromatic plant substances - balsam resin, sweet onycha root and bitter galbanum gum - these spices along with frankincense, all in equal quantities;


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You are to grind up some of it very finely and put it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; you are to regard it as especially holy.


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You are not to make for your own use any incense like it, with the same composition of ingredients - you are to treat it as holy, for ADONAI.


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I have filled him with the Spirit of God - with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry.


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'I have also appointed as his assistant Oholi'av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan. Moreover, I have endowed all the craftsmen with the wisdom to make everything I have ordered you -


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the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent,


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the garments for officiating, the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen,


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the anointing oil and the incense of aromatic spices for the Holy Place: they are to make everything just as I have ordered you.'


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am ADONAI, who sets you apart for me.


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Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people.


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On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for ADONAI. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death.


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The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant.


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It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.''


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When he had finished speaking with Moshe on Mount Sinai, ADONAI gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.


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When the people saw that Moshe was taking a long time to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aharon and said to him, 'Get busy; and make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt - we don't know what has become of him.'


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Aharon said to them, 'Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.'


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He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, 'Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'


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On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, 'Tomorrow is to be a feast for ADONAI.'


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Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Afterwards, the people sat down to eat and drink; then they got up to indulge in revelry.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt!


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So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, 'Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!''


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ADONAI continued speaking to Moshe: 'I have been watching these people; and you can see how stiffnecked they are.


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Now leave me alone, so that my anger can blaze against them, and I can put an end to them! I will make a great nation out of you instead.'


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Moshe pleaded with ADONAI his God. He said, 'ADONAI, why must your anger blaze against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?


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Why let the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intentions that he led them out, to slaughter them in the hills and wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger! Relent! Don't bring such disaster on your people!


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Remember Avraham, Yitz'chak and Isra'el, your servants, to whom you swore by your very self. You promised them, 'I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky; and I will give all this land I have spoken about to your descendants; and they will possess it forever.''


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Moshe turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back.


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When Y'hoshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moshe, 'It sounds like war in the camp!'


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He answered, 'That is neither the clamor of victory nor the wailings of defeat; what I hear is the sound of people singing.'


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But the moment Moshe got near the camp, when he saw the calf and the dancing, his own anger blazed up. He threw down the tablets he had been holding and shattered them at the base of the mountain.


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Seizing the calf they had made, he melted it in the fire and ground it to powder, which he scattered on the water. Then he made the people of Isra'el drink it.


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Moshe said to Aharon, 'What did these people do to you to make you lead them into such a terrible sin?'


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Aharon replied, 'My lord shouldn't be so angry. You know what these people are like, that they are determined to do evil.


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So they said to me, 'Make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt - we don't know what has become of him.'


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I answered them, 'Anyone with gold, strip it off!' So they gave it to me. I threw it in the fire, and out came this calf!'


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When Moshe saw that the people had gotten out of control - because Aharon had allowed them to get out of control, to the derision of their enemies -


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Moshe stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, 'Whoever is for ADONAI, come to me!'All the descendants of Levi rallied around him.


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He told them, 'Here is what ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Each of you, put his sword on his side; and go up and down the camp, from gate to gate; and every man is to kill his own kinsman, his own friend and his own neighbor!'


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Moshe said, 'You have consecrated yourselves today to ADONAI, because every one of you has been against his own son and against his own kinsman, in order to bring a blessing on yourselves today.'


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The next day Moshe said to the people, 'You have committed a terrible sin. Now I will go up to ADONAI ; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin.'


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Moshe went back to ADONAI and said, 'Please! These people have committed a terrible sin: they have made themselves a god out of gold.


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Now, if you will just forgive their sin! But if you won't, then, I beg you, blot me out of your book which you have written!'


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Now go and lead the people to the place I told you about; my angel will go ahead of you. Nevertheless, the time for punishment will come; and then I will punish them for their sin.'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Leave, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt; and move on from here toward the land of which I swore to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov, 'I will give it to your descendants.'


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I will send an angel ahead of you; and I will drive out the Kena'ani, Emori, Hitti, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi.


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You will go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I myself will not go with you, because you are such a stiffnecked people that I might destroy you on the way.'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'You are a stiffnecked people! If I were to go up with you for even one moment, I would exterminate you! Now, keep your ornaments off; then I will decide what to do to you.''


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Moshe would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Everyone who wanted to consult ADONAI would go out to the tent of meeting, outside the camp.


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Whenever Moshe went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand, each man at his tent door, and look at Moshe until he had gone into the tent.


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Whenever Moshe entered the tent, the column of cloud would descend and station itself at the entrance to the tent; and ADONAI would speak with Moshe.


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When all the people saw the column of cloud stationed at the entrance to the tent, they would get up and prostrate themselves, each man at his tent door.


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ADONAI would speak to Moshe face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then he would return to the camp; but the young man who was his assistant, Y'hoshua the son of Nun, never left the inside of the tent.


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Moshe said to ADONAI, 'Look, you say to me, 'Make these people move on!' But you haven't let me know whom you will be sending with me. Nevertheless you have said, 'I know you by name,' and also, 'You have found favor in my sight.'


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Now, please, if it is really the case that I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways; so that I will understand you and continue finding favor in your sight. Moreover, keep on seeing this nation as your people.'


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For how else is it to be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, other than by your going with us? That is what distinguishes us, me and your people, from all the other peoples on earth.'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'I will also do what you have asked me to do, because you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.'


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He replied, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of ADONAI. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will.


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But my face,' he continued, 'you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive.


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When my glory passes by, I will put you inside a crevice in the rock and cover you with my hand, until I have passed by.


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Cut yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones; and I will inscribe on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.


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Be ready by morning; in the morning you are to ascend Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.


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No one is to come up with you, and no one is to be seen anywhere on the mountain; don't even let the flocks or herds feed in front of this mountain.'


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Moshe cut two stone tablets like the first. Then he got up early in the morning and, with the two stone tablets in his hands, ascended Mount Sinai, as ADONAI had ordered him to do.


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ADONAI passed before him and proclaimed: 'YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!! Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI] is God, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth;


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showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents' offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations.'


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and said, 'If I have now found favor in your view, Adonai, then please let Adonai go with us, even though they are a stiffnecked people; and pardon our offenses and our sin; and take us as your possession.'


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He said, 'Here, I am making a covenant; in front of all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created anywhere on earth or in any nation. All the people around you will see the work of ADONAI. What I am going to do through you will be awesome!


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Observe what I am ordering you to do today. Here! I am driving out ahead of you the Emori, Kena'ani, Hitti, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi.


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Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land where you are going, so that they won't become a snare within your own borders.


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Rather, you are to demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles;


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because you are not to bow down to any other god; since ADONAI -whose very name is Jealous -is a jealous God.


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Do not make a covenant with the people living in the land. It will cause you to go astray after their gods and sacrifice to their gods. Then they will invite you to join them in eating their sacrifices,


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and you will take their daughters as wives for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves to their own gods and make your sons do the same!


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'Keep the festival of matzah by eating matzah, as I ordered you, for seven days during the month of Aviv; for it was in the month of Aviv that you came out from Egypt.


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'Everything that is first from the womb is mine. Of all your livestock, you are to set aside for me the males, the firstborn of cattle and flock.


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The firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb; if you won't redeem it, break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you are to redeem, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.


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'Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest - even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.


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'Observe the festival of Shavu'ot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year.


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For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before ADONAI your God three times a year.


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You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, and the sacrifice of the feast of Pesach is not to be left until morning.


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You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of ADONAI your God. 'You are not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk.'


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Write these words down, because they are the terms of the covenant I have made with you and with Isra'el.'


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Moshe was there with ADONAI forty days and forty nights, during which time he neither ate food nor drank water. [ADONAI] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.


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When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he didn't realize that the skin of his face was sending out rays of light as a result of his talking with [ADONAI].


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When Aharon and the people of Isra'el saw Moshe, the skin of his face was shining; and they were afraid to approach him.


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But Moshe called to them; then Aharon and all the community leaders came back to him, and Moshe spoke to them.


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Afterwards, all the people of Isra'el came near; and he passed on to them all the orders that ADONAI had told him on Mount Sinai.


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But when he went in before ADONAI for him to speak, he would take the veil off until he came out; then, when he came out, he would tell the people of Isra'el what he had been ordered.


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But when the people of Isra'el saw Moshe's face, that the skin of Moshe's face shone, he would put the veil back over his face until he went in again to speak with [ADONAI].


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Moshe assembled the whole community of the people of Isra'el and said to them, 'These are the things which ADONAI has ordered you to do.


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On six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest in honor of ADONAI. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.


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'Take up a collection for ADONAI from among yourselves -anyone whose heart makes him willing is to bring the offering for ADONAI: gold, silver and bronze;


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the incense altar with its poles; the anointing oil; the fragrant incense; the screen for the entranceway at the entrance to the tabernacle;


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the tapestries for the courtyard, with their posts and sockets; the screen for the gateway of the courtyard;


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the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; and the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen.''


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and they came, everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit made him willing, and brought ADONAI's offering for the work on the tent of meeting, for the service in it and for the holy garments.


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Both men and women came, as many as had willing hearts; they brought nose-rings, earrings, signet-rings, belts, all kinds of gold jewelry - everyone bringing an offering of gold to ADONAI.


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Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn; fine linen; tanned ram skins or fine leather brought them.


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Everyone contributing silver or bronze brought his offering for ADONAI, and everyone who had acacia-wood suitable for any of the work brought it.


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All the women who were skilled at spinning got to work and brought what they had spun, the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine linen.


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The leaders brought the onyx stones and the stones to be set, for the ritual vest and the breasplate;


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Thus every man and woman of the people of Isra'el whose heart impelled him to contribute to any of the work ADONAI had ordered through Moshe brought it to ADONAI as a voluntary offering.


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Moshe said to the people of Isra'el, 'See, ADONAI has singled out B'tzal'el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y'hudah.


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He has filled him with the Spirit of God -with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry.


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[ADONAI] has also given him and Oholi'av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.


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He has filled them with the skill needed for every kind of work, whether done by an artisan, a designer, an embroiderer using blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen, or a weaver - they have the skill for every kind of work and design.


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'B'tzal'el and Oholi'av, along with all the craftsmen whom ADONAI has endowed with the wisdom and skill necessary to carry out the work needed for the sanctuary, are to do exactly according to everything ADONAI has ordered.'


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Moshe summoned B'tzal'el, Oholi'av and every craftsman to whom ADONAI had given wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come and take part in the work.


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They received from Moshe all the offering which the people of Isra'el had brought for the work of building the sanctuary. But they still kept bringing voluntary offerings every morning,


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to tell Moshe, 'The people are bringing far more than is needed to do the work ADONAI has ordered done.'


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So Moshe gave an order which was proclaimed throughout the camp: 'Neither men nor women are to make any further efforts for the sanctuary offering.' In this way, the people were restrained from making additional contributions.


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All the skilled men among them who did the work made the tabernacle, using ten sheets of finely woven linen and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn. He made them with k'ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan.


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He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and did the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set.


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He made fifty loops on the one sheet, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the sheet in the second set; the loops were opposite one another.


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He made fifty fasteners of gold and coupled the sheets to each other with the fasteners, so that the tabernacle formed a single unit.


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He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and fifty loops on the outermost sheet in the second set.


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There were two projections on each plank, and the planks were joined one to another. This is how he made all the planks for the tabernacle.


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He made the planks for the tabernacle as follows: twenty planks for the south side, facing southward.


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He made forty silver sockets under the twenty planks, two sockets under one plank for its two projections and two sockets under another plank for its two projections.


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double from the bottom all the way to the top but joined at a single ring. He did the same with both of them at the two corners.


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Thus there were eight planks with their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under each plank.


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He made the middle crossbar so that it extended from one end of the planks to the other, halfway up.


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He overlaid the planks with gold, made gold rings for them through which the crossbars could pass and overlaid the crossbars with gold.


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He made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. He made them with k'ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan.


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He made for it four posts of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold, and gold hooks; and cast for them four silver sockets.


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For the entrance to the tent he made a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen, in colors, the work of a weaver;


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with its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their attached rings for hanging with gold, while their five sockets were of bronze.


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B'tzal'el made the ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high.


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He made a cover for the ark of pure gold, three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide.


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one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; he made the k'ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends.


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The k'ruvim had their wings spread out above, so that their wings covered the ark; their faces were toward each other and toward the ark-cover.


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He made the menorah of pure gold. He made it of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, rings of outer leaves and flowers were a single unit.


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There were six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other.


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On one branch were three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah.


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On the central shaft of the menorah were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals.


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Where each pair of branches joined the central shaft was a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches -thus for all six branches.


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Their rings of outer leaves and their branches were of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah was one piece of hammered work made of pure gold.


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He made the altar on which to burn incense of acacia-wood, eighteen inches square and three feet high; its horns were a single unit.


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He overlaid it with pure gold -its top, all around its sides and its horns; and he put around it a molding of gold.


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He made two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides, to hold the carrying-poles.


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He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of aromatic plant substances as would an expert perfume-maker.


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He made the altar for burnt offerings of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide - it was square - and four-and-a-half feet high.


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He made horns for it on its four corners, the horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.


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He made all the utensils for the altar -its pots, shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils he made of bronze.


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He put the carrying-poles into the rings on the sides of the altar; he made it of planks and hollow inside.


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He made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He made the courtyard. On the south side, facing southward, the tapestries for the courtyard were made of finely woven linen, 150 feet long,


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supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging were of silver.


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On the north side they were 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver.


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On the west side were tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver.


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The tapestries for the one side [of the gateway] were twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets;


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likewise for the other side -on either side [of the gate] were tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets.


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the sockets for the posts were of bronze; the hooks on the posts and their rings were of silver; the capitals of the posts were overlaid with silver; and all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.


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The screen for the gateway to the courtyard was the work of a weaver in colors, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Its length was thirty feet and its height seven-and-a-half feet all the way along, like the tapestries of the courtyard.


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It had four posts in four bronze sockets, with silver hooks, capitals overlaid with silver and silver fasteners.


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These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, recorded, as Moshe ordered, by the L'vi'im under the direction of Itamar the son of Aharon, the cohen.


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B'tzal'el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y'hudah, made everything that ADONAI ordered Moshe to make.


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Assisting him was Oholi'av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, who was an engraver, a designer and a weaver in colors -in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and in fine linen.


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All the gold used for the work in everything needed for the sanctuary, the gold of the offering, weighed 29 talents 730 shekels [1,930 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel.


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The silver given by the community weighed 100 talents 1,775 shekels [6,650 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel.


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This was a beka per person, that is, half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce], using the sanctuary shekel, for everyone twenty years old or older counted in the census, 603,550 men.


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The hundred talents of silver were used to cast the sockets for the sanctuary and the sockets for the curtain -one hundred sockets made from the hundred talents, one talent [sixty-six pounds] per socket.


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The 1,775 shekels [fifty pounds] he used to make hooks for the posts, to overlay their capitals and to make fasteners for them.


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He used it to make the sockets for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, its bronze grate, all the utensils for the altar,


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the sockets for the courtyard around it, the sockets for the gateway to the courtyard, all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and all the tent pegs for the courtyard around it.


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From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; and they made the holy garments for Aharon, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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They hammered the gold into thin plates and cut them into threads in order to work it into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine linen crafted by the skilled artisan.


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The decorated belt on the vest, used to fasten it, was of the same workmanship and materials -gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely twined linen -as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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They worked the onyx stones, mounted in gold settings, engraving them with the names of the sons of Isra'el as they would be engraved on a seal.


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Then he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the vest to be stones calling to mind the sons of Isra'el, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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He made the breastplate; it was crafted by a skilled artisan and made like the work of the ritual vest -of gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen.


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The stones corresponded to the names of the twelve sons of Isra'el; they were engraved with their names as a seal would be engraved, each name representing one of the twelve tribes.


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Also for the breastplate they made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and they put the two rings at the two ends of the breastplate.


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and attached the other two ends of the twisted chains to the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ritual vest.


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They also made two gold rings and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, at its edge, on the side facing in toward the vest.


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Also they made two gold rings and attached them low on the front part of the vest's shoulder-pieces, near the join, above the vest's decorated belt.


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Then they bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it could be on the vest's decorated belt, and so that the breastplate would not swing loose from the vest -as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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with its opening in the middle, like that of a coat of mail, and with a border around the opening, so that it wouldn't tear.


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and they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all the way around the hem of the robe - between the pomegranates,


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that is, bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate, all the way around the hem of the robe for service - as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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and the sash of finely woven linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, the work of a weaver in colors - as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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They made the ornament for the holy turban of pure gold; wrote on it the words, 'Set apart for ADONAI,' like the engraving on a seal;


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Thus all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished, with the people of Isra'el doing everything exactly as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Then they brought the tabernacle to Moshe -the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, planks, crossbars, posts and sockets;


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the pure menorah, its lamps and their arrangement for display, its accessories and the oil for the light;


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the tapestries for the courtyard, with their posts and sockets; the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, with its ropes and tent pegs; all the utensils for the service in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting;


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the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; the holy garments for Aharon the cohen; and the garments for his sons to serve in the office of cohen.


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Moshe saw all the work, and-there it was! - they had done it! Exactly as ADONAI had ordered, they had done it. And Moshe blessed them.


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Set the gold altar for incense in front of the ark for the testimony, and set up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle.


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Place the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.


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'Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it -consecrate it with all its furnishings; then it will be holy.


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Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils - consecrate the altar; then the altar will be especially holy.


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Put the holy garments on Aharon, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen.


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and anoint them as you anointed their father, so that they can serve me in the office of cohen. Their anointing will signify that the office of cohen is theirs through all their generations.'


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Moshe erected the tabernacle, put its sockets in place, put up its planks, put in its crossbars and set up its posts.


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He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent above it, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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He took and put the testimony inside the ark, put the poles on the ark, and set the ark-cover above, on the ark.


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Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, set up the curtain as a screen and concealed the ark for the testimony, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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He put the table in the tent of meeting on the side of the tabernacle facing north, outside the curtain.


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He put the menorah in the tent of meeting across from the table, on the side of the tabernacle facing south.


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The altar for burnt offerings he placed at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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so that they could wash when entering the tent of meeting and when approaching the altar, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Finally, he erected the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar and set up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.


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Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of ADONAI filled the tabernacle.


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Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Isra'el continued with all their travels.


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But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not travel onward until the day when it was taken up.


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For the cloud of ADONAI was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra'el could see it throughout all their travels.


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'Speak to the people of Isra'el; say to them, 'When any of you brings an offering to ADONAI, you may bring your animal offering either from the herd or from the flock.


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If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must offer a male without defect. He is to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, so that it can be accepted by ADONAI.


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He is to lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.


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He is to slaughter the young bull before ADONAI ; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to present the blood. They are to splash the blood against all sides of the altar, which is by the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to arrange the pieces, the head and the fat on the wood which is on the fire on the altar.


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He is to wash the entrails and lower parts of the legs with water, and the cohen is to cause all of it to go up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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''If his offering is from the flock, whether from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he must offer a male without defect.


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He is to slaughter it on the north side of the altar before ADONAI; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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He is to cut it into pieces, and the cohen is to arrange them with the head and fat on the wood which is on the fire on the altar.


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He is to wash the entrails and lower parts of the legs with water; and the cohen is to offer it all and make it go up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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The cohen is to bring it to the altar, snap off its head and make it go up in smoke on the altar; its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.


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He is to remove the food pouch and its feathers from its neck and discard it on the pile of ashes just east of the altar.


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He is to pull it open with a wing on each side, but without tearing it in half. The cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire, as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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''Anyone who brings a grain offering to ADONAI is to make his offering of fine flour; he is to pour olive oil on it and put frankincense on it.


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He is to bring it to the sons of Aharon, the cohanim. The cohen is to take a handful of fine flour from it, together with its olive oil and all its frankincense, and make this reminder portion go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aharon and his sons; it is an especially holy part of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire.


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''When you bring a grain offering which has been baked in the oven, it is to consist of either unleavened cakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil or matzah spread with olive oil.


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If your offering is a grain offering cooked on a griddle, it is to consist of unleavened fine flour mixed with olive oil;


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If your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pot, it is to consist of fine flour with olive oil.


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''You are to bring the grain offering prepared in any of these ways to ADONAI ; it is to be presented to the cohen, and he is to bring it to the altar.


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The cohen is to remove the reminder portion of the grain offering and make it go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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''No grain offering that you bring to ADONAI is to be made with leaven, because you are not to cause any leaven or honey to go up in smoke as an offering made by fire to ADONAI.


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As an offering of firstfruits you may bring these to ADONAI, but they are not to be brought up onto the altar to make a fragrant aroma.


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You are to season every grain offering of yours with salt -do not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God, but offer salt with all your offerings.


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''If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to ADONAI, you are to bring as the grain offering from your firstfruits kernels of grain from fresh ears, dry-roasted with fire.


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The cohen is to cause the reminder portion of it, its grits and olive oil, with all its frankincense, to go up in smoke; it is an offering made by fire for ADONAI.


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''If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, then, if he offers before ADONAI an animal from the herd, then, no matter whether it is male or female, it must be without defect.


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He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to splash the blood against all sides of the altar.


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He is to present the sacrifice of the peace offerings as an offering made by fire to ADONAI; it is to consist of the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs,


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the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.


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Aharon's sons will make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering which is on the wood on the fire; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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''If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI is from the flock, then, when he offers it, no matter whether it is male or female, it must be without defect.


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He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aharon are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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From the sacrifices made as peace offerings, he is to present ADONAI with an offering made by fire; it is to consist of its fat, the entire fat tail, which he will remove close to the lower backbone, the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs,


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He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aharon are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar.


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He is to present from it his offering, an offering made by fire to ADONAI ; it is to consist of the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs,


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The cohen will make them go up in smoke on the altar; it is food, an offering made by fire to be a fragrant aroma; all the fat belongs to ADONAI.


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It is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations wherever you live that you will eat neither fat nor blood.''


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'Tell the people of Isra'el: 'If anyone sins inadvertently against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, if he does any one of them,


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then, if it is the anointed cohen who sinned and thus brought guilt on the people, he is to offer ADONAI a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he committed.


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He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before ADONAI, lay his hand on the bull's head and slaughter the bull in the presence of ADONAI.


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The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the presence of ADONAI in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.


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The cohen is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense before ADONAI there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood of the bull he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He is to remove from the bull for the sin offering all of its fat -the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs,


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the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys


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as it is removed from an ox sacrificed as a peace offering; and the cohen is to make these parts go up in smoke on the altar for burnt offerings.


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But the bull's hide and all its flesh, with its head, the lower parts of its legs, its inner organs and dung -


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in other words, the entire bull -he is to bring outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are emptied out. There he is to burn it on wood with fire; there, where the ashes are emptied out, it is to be burned up.


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''If the entire community of Isra'el inadvertently makes a mistake, with the assembly being unaware of the matter, and they do something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, they are guilty.


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When the sin they have committed becomes known, then the assembly is to offer a young bull as a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.


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The leaders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head and slaughter the bull in the presence of ADONAI.


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The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the presence of ADONAI in front of the curtain.


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He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before ADONAI, there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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This is what he is to do with the bull - he must do the same with this bull as he does with the one for the sin offering. Thus the cohen will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.


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He is to bring 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 leader sins and inadvertently does something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty.


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If the sin which he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a male goat without defect,


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lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering in the presence of ADONAI ; it is a sin offering.


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The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. Its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings.


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All its fat he is to make go up in smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice for peace offerings; thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.


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''If an individual among the people commits a sin inadvertently, doing something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty.


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If the sin he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a female goat without defect for the sin he committed,


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lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering in the place of burnt offerings.


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The cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar.


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All its fat he is to remove, as the fat is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.


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lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where they slaughter burnt offerings.


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The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar.


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All its fat he is to remove, as the fat of a lamb is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven.


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''If a person who is a witness, sworn to testify, sins by refusing to tell what he has seen or heard about the matter, he must bear the consequences.


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If a person touches something unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, a domestic animal or a reptile, he is guilty, even though he may not be aware that he is unclean.


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If he touches some human uncleanness, no matter what the source of his uncleanness is, and is unaware of it, then, when he learns of it, he is guilty.


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If someone allows to slip from his mouth an oath to do evil or to do good, and he doesn't remember that he clearly spoke this oath, then, no matter what it was about, when he learns of it, he is guilty.


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and bring his guilt offering to ADONAI for the sin he committed; it is to be a female from the flock, either a lamb or a goat, as a sin offering; and the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to his sin.


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''If he can't afford a lamb, he is to bring as his guilt offering for the sin he committed two doves or two young pigeons for ADONAI - the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.


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He is to bring them to the cohen, who will offer the one for a sin offering first. He is to wring its neck but not remove the head,


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sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar and drain out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.


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He is to prepare the second as a burnt offering in the manner prescribed. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin which he committed, and he will be forgiven.


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''But if his means are insufficient even for two doves or two young pigeons, then he is to bring as his offering for the sin he committed two quarts of fine flour for a sin offering; he is not to put any olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.


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He is to bring it to the cohen, and the cohen is to take a handful of it as its reminder portion and make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire; it is a sin offering.


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Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin he committed concerning any of these things, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the cohanim, as with a grain offering.''


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'If anyone acts improperly and inadvertently sins in regard to the holy things of ADONAI, he is to bring as his guilt offering for ADONAI a ram without defect from the flock or its equivalent in silver shekels (using the sanctuary shekel as the standard), according to your appraisal of its value; it is a guilt offering.


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In addition, he is to make restitution for whatever he did wrong in regard to the holy thing; moreover, he is to add to that one-fifth and give it to the cohen. Then the cohen will make atonement with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.


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'If someone sins by doing something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty, even if he is unaware of it; and he bears the consequences of his wrongdoing.


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He must bring a ram without defect from the flock, or its equivalent according to your appraisal, to the cohen for a guilt offering; the cohen will make atonement concerning the error which he committed, even though he was unaware of it; and he will be forgiven.


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'If someone sins and acts perversely against ADONAI by dealing falsely with his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him, by stealing from him, by extorting him,


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or by dealing falsely in regard to a lost object he has found, or by swearing to a lie -if a person commits any of these sins,


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then, if he sinned and is guilty, he is to restore whatever it was he stole or obtained by extortion, or whatever was deposited with him, or the lost object which he found,


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or anything about which he has sworn falsely. He is to restore it in full plus an additional one-fifth; he must return it to the person who owns it, on the day when he presents his guilt offering.


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He is to bring as his guilt offering to ADONAI a ram without defect from the flock, or its equivalent according to your appraisal, to the cohen; it is a guilt offering.


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Thus the cohen will make atonement for him before ADONAI, and he will be forgiven in regard to whatever it was he did that made him guilty.


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'Give this order to Aharon and his sons: 'This is the law for the burnt offering [Hebrew: 'olah]: it is what goes up [Hebrew: 'olah] on its firewood upon the altar all night long, until morning; in this way the fire of the altar will be kept burning.


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When the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, the cohen, having put on his linen garment and covered himself with his linen shorts, is to remove the ashes and put them beside the altar.


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Then he is to remove those garments and put on others, before carrying the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.


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In this way, the fire on the altar will be kept burning and not be allowed to go out. Each morning, the cohen is to kindle wood on it, arrange the burnt offering and make the fat of the peace offerings go up in smoke.


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''This is the law for the grain offering: the sons of Aharon are to offer it before ADONAI in front of the altar.


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He is to take from the grain offering a handful of its fine flour, some of its olive oil and all of the frankincense which is on the grain offering; and he is to make this reminder portion of it go up in smoke on the altar as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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The rest of it Aharon and his sons are to eat; it is to be eaten without leaven in a holy place -they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.


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It is not to be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire; like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is especially


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Every male descendant of Aharon may eat from it; it is his share of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire forever through all your generations. Whatever touches those offerings will become holy.''


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'This is the offering for ADONAI that Aharon and his sons are to offer on the day he is anointed: two quarts of fine flour, half of it in the morning and half in the evening, as a grain offering from then on.


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It is to be well mixed with olive oil and fried on a griddle; then bring it in, break it in pieces and offer the grain offering as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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The anointed cohen who will take Aharon's place from among his descendants will offer it; it is a perpetual obligation. It must be entirely made to go up in smoke for ADONAI;


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'Tell Aharon and his sons, 'This is the law for the sin offering: the sin offering is to be slaughtered before ADONAI in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is especially holy.


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The cohen who offers it for sin is to eat it -it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.


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Whatever touches its flesh will become holy; if any of its blood splashes on any item of clothing, you are to wash it in a holy place.


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The clay pot in which it is cooked must be broken; if it is cooked in a bronze pot, it must be scoured and rinsed in water.


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But no sin offering which has had any of its blood brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place is to be eaten; it is to be burned up completely.


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They are to slaughter the guilt offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering, and its blood is to be splashed against all sides of the altar.


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The cohen will make them go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire to ADONAI ; it is a guilt offering.


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Every male from a family of cohanim may eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place; it is especially holy.


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The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law governs them - it will belong to the cohen who uses it to make atonement.


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''The cohen who offers someone's burnt offering will possess the hide of the burnt offering which he has offered.


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''Every grain offering baked in the oven, cooked in a pot or fried on a griddle will belong to the cohen who offers it.


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But every grain offering which is mixed with olive oil or is dry will belong to all the sons of Aharon equally.


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If a person offers it for giving thanks, he is to offer it with the thanksgiving sacrifice of unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, matzah spread with olive oil, and cakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil and fried.


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With cakes of leavened bread he is to present his offering together with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks.


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From each kind of offering he is to present one as a gift for ADONAI; it will belong to the cohen who splashes the blood of the peace offerings against the altar.


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The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks is to be eaten on the day of his offering; he is not to leave any of it until morning.


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But if the sacrifice connected with his offering is for a vow or is a voluntary offering, then, while it is to be eaten on the day he offers his sacrifice, what remains of it may be eaten the next day.


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If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will neither be accepted nor credited to the person offering it; rather, it will have become a disgusting thing, and whoever eats it will bear the consequences of his wrongdoing.


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Meat which touches something unclean is not to be eaten but burned up completely. As for the meat, everyone who is clean may eat it;


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but a person in a state of uncleanness who eats any meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings made to ADONAI will be cut off from his people.


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Anyone who touches something unclean - whether the uncleanness be from a person, from an unclean animal or from some other unclean detestable thing - and then eats the meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings for ADONAI, that person will be cut off from his people.''


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The fat of animals that die of themselves or are killed by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but under no circumstances are you to eat it.


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For whoever eats the fat of animals of the kind used in presenting an offering made by fire to ADONAI will be cut off from his people.


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'Say to the people of Isra'el, 'A person who offers his sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI is to bring part of his sacrifice of peace offerings as his offering for ADONAI.


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He is to bring with his own hands the offerings for ADONAI made by fire - he is to bring the breast with its fat. The breast is to be waved as a wave offering before ADONAI.


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The cohen is to make the fat go up in smoke on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aharon and his descendants.


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You are to give the right thigh from your sacrifices of peace offerings to the cohen as a contribution.


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The descendant of Aharon who offers the blood of the peace offerings is to have the right thigh as his share.


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For the breast that has been waved and the thigh that has been contributed I have taken from the people of Isra'el out of their sacrifices of peace offerings and given them to Aharon the cohen and to his descendants as their share forever from the people of Isra'el.''


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On the day when Aharon and his sons were presented to serve ADONAI in the office of cohen, this portion was set aside for him and his descendants from the offerings for ADONAI made by fire.


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On the day they were anointed, ADONAI ordered that this be given to them by the people of Isra'el. It is their share forever through all their generations.


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This is the law for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings


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which ADONAI ordered Moshe on Mount Sinai on the day he ordered the people of Isra'el to present their offerings to ADONAI, in the Sinai Desert.


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'Take Aharon and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzah;


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Moshe did as ADONAI ordered him, and the community was assembled at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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put the tunic on him, wrapped the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, put the ritual vest on him, wrapped around him the decorated belt and fastened the vest to him with it.


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He set the turban on his head, and on the front of the turban he affixed the gold plate, the holy ornament, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Then Moshe took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, thus consecrating them.


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He sprinkled some on the altar seven times, anointing the altar with all its utensils and the basin with its base, to consecrate them.


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Moshe brought Aharon's sons, clothed them with tunics, wrapped sashes on them and put headgear on them, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Then the young bull for the sin offering was brought, and Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering.


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After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all the way around with his finger, thus purifying the altar. The remaining blood he poured out at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.


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Moshe took all the fat on the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and made it go up in smoke on the altar.


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But the bull, its hide, its flesh and its dung were taken outside the camp and burned up completely, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Next, the ram for the burnt offering was presented. Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram;


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When the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs had been washed with water, Moshe made the entire ram go up in smoke on the altar; it was a burnt offering giving a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to ADONAI - as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Then the other ram was presented, the ram of consecration; Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.


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After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aharon's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.


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Next Aharon's sons were brought, and Moshe put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet; then Moshe splashed the blood on all sides of the altar.


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He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat covering the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh.


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From the basket of matzah that was before ADONAI he took one piece of matzah, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh.


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Then he put it all in Aharon's hands and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before ADONAI.


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Moshe took them out of their hands and made them go up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering; they were a consecration offering giving a fragrant aroma; an offering made by fire to ADONAI.


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Moshe took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before ADONAI; it was Moshe's portion of the ram of consecration - as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Moshe took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aharon and his clothing, and on his sons with him and their clothing, and consecrated Aharon and his clothing together with his sons and their clothing.


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Moshe said to Aharon and his sons, 'Boil the meat at the door of the tent of meeting; and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I ordered when I said that Aharon and his sons are to eat it.


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You are not to go out from the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are over; since ADONAI will be consecrating you for seven days.


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You are to remain at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, thereby obeying what ADONAI ordered done, so that you may not die. For this is what I was ordered.'


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Aharon and his sons did all the things which ADONAI ordered through Moshe. Suggested readings for Parashah Tzav from the B'rit Hadashah: Mark


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and said to Aharon, 'Take a male calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before ADONAI.


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Then tell the people of Isra'el, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defect, for a burnt offering,


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and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before ADONAI; also a grain offering mixed with olive oil -because today ADONAI is going to appear to you.''


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They brought what Moshe had ordered before the tent of meeting, and the whole community approached and stood before ADONAI.


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Moshe said, 'This is what ADONAI has ordered you to do, so that the glory of ADONAI will appear to you.'


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Moshe told Aharon, 'Approach the altar, offer your sin offering and burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and the people. Then present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as ADONAI ordered.'


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The sons of Aharon presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar.


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But the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver of the sin offering he made go up in smoke on the altar, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.


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Next he slaughtered the burnt offering; Aharon's sons brought him the blood, and he splashed it against all sides of the altar.


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They brought him the burnt offering, piece by piece, and the head; and he made them go up in smoke on the altar.


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He washed the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs and made them go up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar.


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Then the people's offering was presented. He took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the earlier sin offering.


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The grain offering was presented; he took a handful of it and made it go up in smoke on the altar, in addition to the morning's burnt offering.


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He slaughtered the ox and the ram, the people's sacrifice as peace offerings; Aharon's sons brought him the blood, which he splashed against all sides of the altar,


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and the fat of the ox and of the ram - the fat tail, the fat which covers the inner organs, the kidneys and the covering of the liver.


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Aharon raised his hands toward the people, blessed them and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings.


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Moshe and Aharon entered the tent of meeting, came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people!


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Fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI, consuming the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.


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But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do.


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At this, fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of ADONAI.


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Moshe said to Aharon, 'This is what ADONAI said: 'Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified.'' Aharon kept silent.


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Moshe called Misha'el and Eltzafan, sons of 'Uzi'el Aharon's uncle, and told them, 'Come here, and carry your cousins away from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.'


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Then Moshe told Aharon and his sons El'azar and Itamar, 'Don't unbind your hair or tear your clothes in mourning, so that you won't die and so that ADONAI won't be angry with the entire community. Rather, let your kinsmen - the whole house of Isra'el -mourn, because of the destruction ADONAI brought about with his fire.


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Moreover, don't leave the entrance to the tent of meeting, or you will die, because ADONAI's anointing oil is on you.'


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'Don't drink any wine or other intoxicating liquor, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter the tent of meeting, so that you will not die. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations,


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so that you will distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;


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Moshe said to Aharon and to El'azar and Itamar, his remaining sons, 'Take the grain offering left from the offerings for ADONAI made by fire, and eat it without leaven next to the altar, because it is especially holy.


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Eat it in a holy place, because it is your and your sons' share of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire; for this is what I have been ordered.


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The breast that was waved and the thigh that was raised you are to eat in a clean place - you, your sons and your daughters with you; for these are given as your and your children's share of the sacrifices of the peace offerings presented by the people of Isra'el.


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They are to bring the raised thigh and the waved breast, along with the offerings of fat made by fire, and wave it as a wave offering before ADONAI; then it will belong to you and your descendants with you as your perpetual share, as ADONAI has ordered.'


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Then Moshe carefully investigated what had happened to the goat of the sin offering and discovered that it had been burned up. He became angry with El'azar and Itamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, and asked,


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'Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the area of the sanctuary, since it is especially holy? He gave it to you to take away the guilt of the community, to make atonement for them before ADONAI.


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Look! Its blood wasn't brought into the sanctuary! You should have eaten it there in the sanctuary, as I ordered.'


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Aharon answered Moshe, 'Even though they offered their sin offering and burnt offering today, things like these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have pleased ADONAI?'


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'These are the living creatures which you may eat among all the land animals:


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any that has a separate hoof which is completely divided and chews the cud - these animals you may eat.


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But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a separate hoof. For example, the camel, the coney and the hare are unclean for you, because they chew the cud but don't have a separate hoof;


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while the pig is unclean for you, because, although it has a separate and completely divided hoof, it doesn't chew the cud.


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''Of all the things that live in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in seas or in rivers -these you may eat.


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But everything in the seas and rivers without both fins and scales, of all the small water-creatures and of all the living creatures in the water, is a detestable thing for you.


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Yes, these will be detestable for you -you are not to eat their meat, and you are to detest their carcasses.


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''The following creatures of the air are to be detestable for you - they are not to be eaten, they are a detestable thing: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,


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except that of all winged swarming creatures that go on all fours, you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, enabling them to jump off the ground.


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Specifically, of these you may eat the various kinds of locusts, grasshoppers, katydids and crickets.


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''The following will make you unclean; whoever touches the carcass of them will be unclean until evening,


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every animal that has a separate but incompletely divided hoof or that doesn't chew the cud is unclean for you; anyone who touches them will become unclean.


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Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, is unclean for you; whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening;


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and whoever picks up its carcass is to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening -these are unclean for you.


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''The following are unclean for you among the small creatures that swarm on the ground: the weasel, the mouse, the various kinds of lizards,


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They are unclean crawling creatures; whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.


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Anything on which one of them falls when dead will become unclean -wooden utensil, article of clothing, leather, sacking -any utensil used for work; it must be put in water, and it will be unclean until evening; then it will be clean.


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If one of them falls into a clay pot, whatever is in it will become unclean, and you are to break the pot.


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Any food permitted to be eaten that water from such a vessel gets on will become unclean, and any permitted liquid in such a vessel will become unclean.


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Everything on which any carcass-part of theirs falls will become unclean, whether oven or stove; it is to be broken in pieces -they are unclean and will be unclean for you;


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although a spring or cistern for collecting water remains clean. But anyone who touches one of their carcasses will become unclean.


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''If an animal of a kind that you are permitted to eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.


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A person who eats meat from its carcass or carries its carcass is to wash his clothes; he will be unclean until evening.


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whatever moves on its stomach, goes on all fours, or has many legs -all creatures that swarm on the ground; you are not to eat them, because they are a detestable thing.


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You are not to make yourselves detestable with any of these swarming, crawling creatures; do not make yourselves unclean with them, do not defile yourselves with them.


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For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground.


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For I am ADONAI, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy.


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''Such, then, is the law concerning animals, flying creatures, all living creatures that move about in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground.


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Its purpose is to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.'' Suggested readings for Parashah Sh'mini from the B'rit Hadashah:


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'Tell the people of Isra'el: 'If a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days with the same uncleanness as in niddah, when she is having her menstrual period.


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She is to wait an additional thirty-three days to be purified from her blood; she is not to touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the time of her purification is over.


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But if she gives birth to a girl, she will be unclean for two weeks, as in her niddah; and she is to wait another sixty-six days to be purified from her blood.


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''When the days of her purification are over, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or dove for a sin offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the cohen.


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He will offer it before ADONAI and make atonement for her; thus she will be purified from her discharge of blood. Such is the law for a woman who gives birth, whether to a boy or to a girl.


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If she can't afford a lamb, she is to take two doves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; the cohen will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.''


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'If someone develops on his skin a swelling, scab or bright spot which could develop into the disease tzara'at, he is to be brought to Aharon the cohen or to one of his sons who are cohanim.


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The cohen is to examine the sore on his skin; if the hair in the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to go deep into the skin, it is tzara'at, and after examining him the cohen is to declare him unclean.


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If the bright spot on his skin is white, but it does not appear to go deep into the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the cohen is to isolate him for seven days.


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On the seventh day the cohen is to examine him again, and if the sore appears the same as before and has not spread on the skin, then the cohen is to isolate him for seven more days.


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On the seventh day the cohen is to examine him again, and if the sore has faded and hasn't spread on the skin, then the cohen is to declare him clean - it is only a scab, so he is to wash his clothes and be clean.


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But if the scab spreads further on the skin after he has been examined by the cohen and declared clean, he is to let himself be examined yet again by the cohen.


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The cohen will examine him, and if he sees that the scab has spread on his skin, then the cohen will declare him unclean; it is tzara'at.


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The cohen is to examine him, and if he sees that there is a white swelling in the skin which has turned the hair white and inflamed flesh in the swelling,


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then it is chronic tzara'at on his skin, and the cohen is to declare him unclean; he is not to isolate him, because it is already clear that he is unclean.


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If the tzara'at breaks out all over the skin, so that, as far as the cohen can see, the person with tzara'at has sores everywhere on his body, from his head to his feet;


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then the cohen is to examine him, and if he sees that the tzara'at has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the person with the sores clean -it has all turned white, and he is clean.


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The cohen will examine the inflamed flesh and declare him unclean; the inflamed flesh is unclean; it is tzara'at.


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The cohen will examine him, and if he sees that the sores have turned white, then the cohen is to declare clean the person with the sores; he is clean.


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in such a way that in place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white bright spot, it is to be shown to the cohen.


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The cohen is to examine it; if he sees that it appears to be more than skin-deep, and its hair has turned white, then the cohen is to pronounce him unclean - the disease of tzara'at has broken out in the boil.


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But if the cohen looks at it and doesn't see any white hairs in it, and it isn't more than skin-deep but appears faded, the cohen is to isolate him for seven days.


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But if the bright spot stays where it was and has not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the cohen is to declare him clean.


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'Or if someone has on his skin a burn caused by fire; and the inflamed flesh where it was burned has become a bright spot, reddish-white or white,


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then the cohen is to examine it; and if he sees that the hair in the bright spot has turned white and that it appears to be deeper than the skin around it, it is tzara'at; it has broken out in the burn, and the cohen is to declare him unclean; it is a sore from tzara'at.


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But if the cohen examines it and sees no white hair in the bright spot, and it is no lower than the skin around it but looks faded, then the cohen is to isolate him for seven days.


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On the seventh day the cohen is to examine him; if it has spread on the skin, then the cohen is to declare him unclean; it is a sore from tzara'at.


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But if the bright spot stays where it was and has not spread on the skin but appears faded, it is a swelling due to the burn; and the cohen is to declare him clean; because it is only a scar from the burn.


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then the cohen is to examine the sore; if he sees that it appears to be deeper than the skin around it, with yellow, thin hair in it, then the cohen is to declare him unclean; it is a crusted area, a tzara'at of the head or beard.


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If the cohen examines the diseased crusted area and sees that it appears not to be deeper than the skin around it, and without any black hair in it, then the cohen is to isolate for seven days the person with the diseased crusted area.


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On the seventh day the cohen is to examine the sore, and if he sees that the crusted area hasn't spread, that it has no yellow hair in it, and that the crusted area is not deeper than the skin around it;


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then the person is to be shaved, except for the crusted area itself, and the cohen is to isolate him for seven more days.


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On the seventh day the cohen is to examine the crusted area; and if he sees that the crusted area has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin around it, then the cohen is to declare him clean; he is to wash his clothes and be clean.


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then the cohen is to examine him; and if he sees that the crusted area has spread on the skin, the cohen is not to look for yellow hair; he is unclean.


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But if the crusted area's appearance doesn't change, and black hair grows up in it, then the crusted area is healed; he is clean; and the cohen is to declare him clean.


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then the cohen is to examine them. If he sees that the bright spots on the skin are dull white, it is only a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.


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But if on the bald scalp or forehead there is a reddish-white sore, it is tzara'at breaking out on his bald scalp or forehead.


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Then the cohen is to examine him; if he sees that there is a reddish-white swelling on his bald scalp or forehead, appearing like tzara'at on the rest of the body,


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he is a person with tzara'at; he is unclean; the cohen must declare him unclean; the sore is on his head.


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'Everyone who has tzara'at sores is to wear torn clothes and unbound hair, cover his upper lip and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'


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As long as he has sores, he will be unclean; since he is unclean, he must live in isolation; he must live outside the camp.


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then if the stain on the garment, hide, threads, woven-in parts or leather item is greenish or reddish, it is an infection of tzara'at and is to be shown to the cohen.


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On the seventh day he is to examine the stain; if the stain has spread on the garment, threads, woven-in parts or leather, whatever its use, the infection is a contagious tzara'at; the garment is unclean.


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He is to burn the garment, threads, woven-in parts of either wool or linen, or item of leather having the infection; for it is a contagious tzara'at; it must be burned up completely.


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But if, when the cohen examines it, he sees that the infection has not spread on the garment or in the threads, woven-in parts or leather item,


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then the cohen is to order that the article having the infection be washed and isolated for seven more days.


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The cohen is to examine it after the stain has been washed, and if he sees that the stain has not changed color, then, even though the stain has not spread, it is unclean; you are to burn it up completely - it is rotten, no matter whether the spot is on the outside or on the inside.


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If the cohen examines it and sees that the stain has faded after being washed, then he is to tear the stain out of the garment, leather, threads or woven-in parts.


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If it appears again in the garment, threads, woven-in parts or leather item, it is contagious, and you are to burn up completely the article that had the stain.


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But if the infection is gone from the garment, threads, woven-in parts or leather item that you washed, then it is to be washed a second time, and it will be clean.


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This is the law concerning infections of tzara'at in a garment of wool or linen, or in the threads or the woven-in parts, or in any leather item - when to declare it clean and when to declare it unclean.


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'This is to be the law concerning the person afflicted with tzara'at on the day of his purification. He is to be brought to the cohen,


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and the cohen is to go outside the camp and examine him there. If he sees that the tzara'at sores have been healed in the afflicted person,


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then the cohen will order that two living clean birds be taken for the one to be purified, along with cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves.


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As for the live bird, he is to take it with the cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird slaughtered over running water,


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and sprinkle the person to be purified from the tzara'at seven times. Next he is to set the live bird free in an open field.


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He who is to be purified must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water. Then he will be clean; and after that, he may enter the camp; but he must live outside his tent for seven days.


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On the seventh day he is to shave all the hair off his head, also his beard and eyebrows - he must shave off all his hair; and he is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; and he will be clean.


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'On the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, one female lamb in its first year without defect and six-and-a-half quarts of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, and two-thirds of a pint of olive oil.


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The cohen purifying him is to place the person being purified with these items before ADONAI at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The cohen is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering with the two-thirds-pint of olive oil, then wave them as a wave offering before ADONAI.


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He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary for slaughtering sin offerings and burnt offerings, because the guilt offering belongs to the cohen, just like the sin offering; it is especially holy.


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The cohen is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.


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Next, the cohen is to take some of the two-thirds-pint of olive oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand,


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dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle from the oil with his finger seven times before ADONAI.


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Then the cohen is to put some of the remaining oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, on the big toe of his right foot and on the blood of the guilt offering.


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Finally, the cohen is to put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the person being purified; and the cohen will make atonement for him before ADONAI.


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The cohen is to offer the sin offering and make atonement for the person being purified because of his uncleanness; afterwards, he is to slaughter the burnt offering.


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The cohen is to offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; thus the cohen will make atonement for him; and he will be clean.


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'If he is poor, so that he can't afford to do otherwise, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him; two quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering; two-thirds of a pint of olive oil;


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and two doves or two young pigeons, such as he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.


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On the eighth day, he will bring them to the cohen for his purification, to the entrance of the tent of meeting before ADONAI.


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The cohen is to take the lamb of the guilt offering and the two-thirds of a pint of olive oil and wave them as a wave offering before ADONAI.


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He is to slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the cohen is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.


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and sprinkle with his right hand some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before ADONAI.


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The cohen is to put some of the oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, on the big toe of his right foot - in the same place as the blood of the guilt offering.


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Finally, the cohen is to put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the person being purified, to make atonement for him before ADONAI.


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whatever his means suffice for - the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering - with the grain offering; thus the cohen will make atonement before ADONAI for the person being purified.


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Such is the law for the person who has tzara'at sores if he cannot afford the usual elements used for his purification.'


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'When you have entered the land of Kena'an which I am giving you as a possession, and I put an infection of tzara'at in a house in the land that you possess,


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then the owner of the house is to come and tell the cohen, 'It seems to me that there may be an infection in the house.'


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The cohen is to order the house emptied before he goes in to inspect the infection, so that everything in the house won't be made unclean; afterwards, the cohen is to enter and inspect the house.


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He will examine the infection; and if he sees that the infection is in the walls of the house, with greenish or reddish depressions that seem to go in deeper than the surface of the wall,


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The cohen will come again on the seventh day and examine the house; if he sees that the infection has spread over its walls,


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he is to order them to remove the infected stones and throw them into some unclean place outside the city.


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Next, he is to have the inside of the house thoroughly scraped, and the scraped-off plaster is to be discarded outside the city in an unclean place.


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Finally, other stones must be set in the place of the first stones and other plaster used to replaster the house.


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If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and plastered;


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then the cohen is to enter and examine it. If he sees that the infection has spread in the house, it is a contagious tzara'at in the house; it is unclean.


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He must break down the house and take its stones, timber and plaster out of the city to an unclean place.


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If the cohen enters, examines and sees that the infection has not spread in the house since it was plastered; then he is to declare the house clean; because the infection is cured.


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He is to take the cedar-wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.


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He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the running water, the live bird, the cedar-wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.


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But he is to set the live bird free outside the city in an open field; thus will he make atonement for the house; and it will be clean.


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The discharge is unclean no matter whether it continues flowing or has stopped; it is still his uncleanness.


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Every bed which the person with the discharge lies on is unclean, and everything he sits on is unclean.


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Whoever touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Whoever sits on anything the person with the discharge sat on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Anyone who touches the body of the person with the discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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If the person with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, the latter is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening; he who carries those things is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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If the person with the discharge fails to rinse his hands in water before touching someone, that person is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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If the person with the discharge touches a clay pot, it must be broken; if he touches a wooden utensil, it must be rinsed in water.


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''When a person with a discharge has become free of it, he is to count seven days for his purification. Then he is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water; after that, he will be clean.


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On the eighth day, he is to take for himself two doves or two young pigeons, come before ADONAI to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the cohen.


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The cohen is to offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; thus the cohen will make atonement for him on account of his discharge before ADONAI.


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''If a man has a seminal emission, he is to bathe his entire body in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Any clothing or leather on which there is any semen is to be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening.


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If a man goes to bed with a woman and has sexual relations, both are to bathe themselves in water; they will be unclean until evening.


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''If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she will be in her state of niddah for seven days. Whoever touches her will be unclean until evening.


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Whoever touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Whoever touches anything she sits on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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Whether he is on the bed or on something she sits on, when he touches it, he will be unclean until evening.


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If a man goes to bed with her, and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean seven days; and every bed he lies on will be unclean.


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''If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days not during her period, or if her discharge lasts beyond the normal end of her period, then throughout the time she is having an unclean discharge she will be as when she is in niddah -she is unclean.


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Every bed she lies on at any time while she is having her discharge will be for her like the bed she uses during her time of niddah; and everything she sits on will be unclean with uncleanness like that of her time of niddah.


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Whoever touches those things will be unclean; he is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.


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''If she has become free of her discharge, she is to count seven days; after that, she will be clean.


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On the eighth day, she is to take for herself two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the cohen at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The cohen is to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; thus the cohen will make atonement for her before ADONAI on account of her unclean discharge.


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''In this way you will separate the people of Isra'el from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in a state of uncleanness for defiling my tabernacle which is there with them.


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''Such is the law for the person who has a discharge; for the man who has a seminal emission that makes him unclean;


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for the woman in niddah during her menstrual period; for the person, man or woman, with a discharge; and for the man who has sexual relations with a woman who is unclean.


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ADONAI spoke with Moshe after the death of Aharon's two sons, when they tried to sacrifice before ADONAI and died;


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Tell your brother Aharon not to come at just any time into the Holy Place beyond the curtain, in front of the ark-cover which is on the ark, so that he will not die; because I appear in the cloud over the ark-cover.


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'Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering.


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He is to put on the holy linen tunic, have the linen shorts next to his bare flesh, have the linen sash wrapped around him, and be wearing the linen turban -they are the holy garments. He is to bathe his body in water and put them on.


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'He is to take from the community of the people of Isra'el two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.


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Aharon is to present the bull for the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and his household.


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But the goat whose lot fell to 'Az'azel is to be presented alive to ADONAI to be used for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for 'Az'azel.


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'Aharon is to present the bull of the sin offering for himself; he will make atonement for himself and his household; he is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.


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He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before ADONAI and, with his hands full of ground, fragrant incense, bring it inside the curtain.


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He is to put the incense on the fire before ADONAI, so that the cloud from the incense will cover the ark-cover which is over the testimony, in order that he not die.


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He is to take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the ark-cover toward the east; and in front of the ark-cover he is to sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.


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'Next, he is to slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the bull's blood, sprinkling it on the ark-cover and in front of the ark-cover.


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He will make atonement for the Holy Place because of the uncleannesses of the people of Isra'el and because of their transgressions - all their sins; and he is to do the same for the tent of meeting which is there with them right in the middle of their uncleannesses.


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No one is to be present in the tent of meeting from the time he enters the Holy Place to make atonement until the time he comes out, having made atonement for himself, for his household and for the entire community of Isra'el.


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Then he is to go out to the altar that is before ADONAI and make atonement for it; he is to take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.


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He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, thus purifying it and setting it apart from the uncleannesses of the people of Isra'el.


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'When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he is to present the live goat.


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Aharon is to lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the transgressions, crimes and sins of the people of Isra'el; he is to put them on the head of the goat and then send it away into the desert with a man appointed for the purpose.


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The goat will bear all their transgressions away to some isolated place, and he is to let the goat go in the desert.


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'Aharon is to go back into the tent of meeting, where he is to remove the linen garments he put on when he entered the Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.


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Then he is to bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his other clothes, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, thus making atonement for himself and for the people.


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'The man who let go the goat for 'Az'azel is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterwards, he may return to the camp.


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'The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, is to be carried outside the camp; there they are to burn up completely their hides, meat and dung.


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The person burning them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterwards, he may return to the camp.


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'It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you.


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For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before ADONAI from all your sins.


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It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves. 'This is a permanent regulation.


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The cohen anointed and consecrated to be cohen in his father's place will make the atonement; he will put on the linen garments, the holy garments;


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he will make atonement for the Especially Holy Place; he will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar; and he will make atonement for the cohanim and for all the people of the community.


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This is a permanent regulation for you, to make atonement for the people of Isra'el because of all their sins once a year.' Moshe did as ADONAI had ordered him.


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'Speak to Aharon and his sons and to all the people of Isra'el. Tell them that this is what ADONAI has ordered:


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'When someone from the community of Isra'el slaughters an ox, lamb or goat inside or outside the camp


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without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to ADONAI before the tabernacle of ADONAI, he is to be charged with blood - he has shed blood, and that person is to be cut off from his people.


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The reason for this is so that the people of Isra'el will bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice out in the field -so that they will bring them to ADONAI, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the cohen, and sacrifice them as peace offerings to ADONAI.


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The cohen will splash the blood against the altar of ADONAI at the entrance to the tent of meeting and make the fat go up in smoke as a pleasing aroma for ADONAI.


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No longer will they offer sacrifices to the goat-demons, before whom they prostitute themselves! This is a permanent regulation for them through all their generations.'


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'Also tell them, 'When someone from the community of Isra'el or one of the foreigners living with you offers a burnt offering or sacrifice


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without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to ADONAI, that person is to be cut off from his people.


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When someone from the community of Isra'el or one of the foreigners living with you eats any kind of blood, I will set myself against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people.


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For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.'


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This is why I told the people of Isra'el, 'None of you is to eat blood, nor is any foreigner living with you to eat blood.'


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'When someone from the community of Isra'el or one of the foreigners living with you hunts and catches game, whether animal or bird that may be eaten, he is to pour out its blood and cover it with earth.


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For the life of every creature - its blood is its life. Therefore I said to the people of Isra'el, 'You are not to eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.'


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'Anyone eating an animal that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals, whether he is a citizen or a foreigner, is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.


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You are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Egypt, where you used to live; and you are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Kena'an, where I am bringing you; nor are you to live by their laws.


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You are to observe my laws and rulings; if a person does them, he will have life through them; I am ADONAI.


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''None of you is to approach anyone who is a close relative in order to have sexual relations; I am ADONAI.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your father, and you are not to have sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother -do not have sexual relations with her.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere. Do not have sexual relations with them.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your son's daughter or with your daughter's daughter. Do not have sexual relations with them, because their sexual disgrace will be your own.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your father's wife's daughter, born to your father, because she is your sister; do not have sexual relations with her.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.


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You are not to disgrace your father's brother by having sexual relations with his wife, because she is your aunt.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; because she is your son's wife. Do not have sexual relations with her.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your brother's wife, because this is your brother's prerogative.


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''You are not to have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter, nor are you to have sexual relations with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are close relatives of hers, and it would be shameful.


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You are not to take a woman to be a rival with her sister and have sexual relations with her while her sister is still alive.


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You are not to approach a woman in order to have sexual relations with her when she is unclean from her time of niddah.


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''You are not to let any of your children be sacrificed to Molekh, thereby profaning the name of your God; I am ADONAI.


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''You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal and thus become unclean with it; nor is any woman to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.


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''Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, because all the nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled with them.


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The land has become unclean, and this is why I am punishing it - the land itself will vomit out its inhabitants.


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But you are to keep my laws and rulings and not engage in any of these disgusting practices, neither the citizen nor the foreigner living with you;


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If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out too, just as it is vomiting out the nation that was there before you.


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For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people.


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So keep my charge not to follow any of these abominable customs that others before you have followed and thus defile yourselves by doing them. I am ADONAI your God.''


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'Speak to the entire community of Isra'el; tell them, 'You people are to be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy.


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''Every one of you is to revere his father and mother, and you are to keep my Shabbats; I am ADONAI your God.


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''When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI, offer it in a way that will make you accepted.


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It is to be eaten the same day you offer it and the following day; but if any of it remains until the third day, it is to be burned up completely.


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If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will have become a disgusting thing and will not be accepted;


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moreover, everyone who eats it will bear the consequences of profaning something holy meant for ADONAI -that person will be cut off from his people.


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''When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters.


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Likewise, don't gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am ADONAI your God.


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Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.


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''Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am ADONAI.


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''Do not be unjust in judging - show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.


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''Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don't stand idly by when your neighbor's life is at stake; I am ADONAI.


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''Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won't carry sin because of him.


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Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am ADONAI.


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''Observe my regulations. ''Don't let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don't sow your field with two different kinds of grain, and don't wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread.


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''If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave intended for another man, and she has neither been redeemed nor given her freedom, there is to be an investigation. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free.


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In reparation he is to bring a ram as a guilt offering for himself to the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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The cohen will make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before ADONAI for the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.


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''When you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you are to regard its fruit as forbidden - for three years it will be forbidden to you and not eaten.


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But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce even more for you; I am ADONAI your God.


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''Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land will not fall into prostitution and become full of shame.


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''Do not turn to spirit-mediums or sorcerers; don't seek them out, to be defiled by them; I am ADONAI your God.


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''Stand up in the presence of a person with gray hair, show respect for the old; you are to fear your God; I am ADONAI.


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Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you - you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God.


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Rather, use an honest balance-scale, honest weights, an honest bushel dry-measure and an honest gallon liquid-measure; I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.


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'Say to the people of Isra'el, 'If someone from the people of Isra'el or one of the foreigners living in Isra'el sacrifices one of his children to Molekh, he must be put to death; the people of the land are to stone him to death.


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I too will set myself against him and cut him off from his people, because he has sacrificed his child to Molekh, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.


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If the people of the land look the other way when that man sacrifices his child to Molekh and fail to put him to death,


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then I will set myself against him, his family and everyone who follows him to go fornicating after Molekh, and cut them off from their people.


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''The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them -I will set myself against him and cut him off from his people.


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''A person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother, his blood is on him.


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''If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, that is, with the wife of a fellow countryman, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.


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The man who goes to bed with his father's wife has disgraced his father sexually, and both of them must be put to death; their blood is on them.


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If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them.


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If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they must be put to death; their blood is on them.


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If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity; they are to be put to death by fire, both he and they, so that there will not be depravity among you.


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If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal.


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If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them.


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If a man takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and has sexual relations with her, and she consents, it is a shameful thing; they are to be cut off publicly - he has had sexual relations with his sister, and he will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing.


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If a man goes to bed with a woman in her menstrual period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her blood, and she has exposed the source of her blood; both of them are to be cut off from their people.


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You are not to have sexual relations with your mother's sister or your father's sister; a person who does this has had sexual relations with his close relative; they will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing.


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If a man goes to bed with his uncle's wife, he has disgraced his uncle sexually; they will bear the consequences of their sin and die childless.


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If a man takes his brother's wife, it is uncleanness; he has disgraced his brother sexually; they will be childless.


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''You are to observe all my regulations and rulings and act on them, so that the land to which I am bringing you will not vomit you out.


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Do not live by the regulations of the nation which I am expelling ahead of you; because they did all these things, which is why I detested them.


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But to you I have said, 'You will inherit their land; I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.'I am ADONAI your God, who has set you apart from other peoples.


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Therefore you are to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and between clean and unclean birds; do not make yourselves detestable with an animal, bird or reptile that I have set apart for you to regard as unclean.


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Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I, ADONAI, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.


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''A man or woman who is a spirit-medium or sorcerer must be put to death; they are to stone them to death; their blood will be on them.''


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ADONAI said to Moshe, 'Speak to the cohanim, the sons of Aharon; tell them: 'No cohen is to make himself unclean for any of his people who dies,


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he may also make himself unclean for his virgin sister who has never married and is therefore dependent on him.


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He may not make himself unclean, because he is a leader among his people; doing so would profane him.


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Cohanim are not to make bald spots on their heads, mar the edges of their beards or cut gashes in their flesh.


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Rather, they are to be holy for their God and not profane the name of their God. For they are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they must be holy.


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''A cohen is not to marry a woman who is a prostitute, who has been profaned or who has been divorced; because he is holy for his God.


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Rather, you are to set him apart as holy, because he offers the bread of your God; he is to be holy for you, because I, ADONAI, who makes you holy, am holy.


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The daughter of a cohen who profanes herself by prostitution profanes her father; she is to be put to death by fire.


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''The cohen who is ranked highest among his brothers, the one on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to stop grooming his hair, tear his clothes,


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He may not leave the sanctuary then or profane the sanctuary of his God, because the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am ADONAI.


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he may not marry a widow, divorcee, profaned woman or prostitute; but he must marry a virgin from among his own people


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'Tell Aharon, 'None of your descendants who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.


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a hunched back, stunted growth, a cataract in his eye, festering or running sores, or damaged testicles -


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no one descended from Aharon the cohen who has such a defect may approach to present the offerings for ADONAI made by fire; he has a defect and is not to approach to offer the bread of his God.


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only he is not to go in to the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a defect - so that he will not profane my holy places, because I am ADONAI, who makes them holy.''


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'Tell Aharon and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the people of Isra'el which they set apart as holy for me, so that they will not profane my holy name; I am ADONAI.


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Tell them, 'Any descendant of yours through all your generations who approaches the holy things that the people of Isra'el consecrate to ADONAI and is unclean will be cut off from before me; I am ADONAI.


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''Any descendant of Aharon with tzara'at or a discharge is not to eat the holy things until he is clean. Anyone who has touched a person made unclean by a dead body, or who has had a seminal emission,


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or who has touched a reptile or insect that can make him unclean, or a man who is unclean for any reason and who can transmit to him his uncleanness -


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the person who touches any of these will be unclean until evening and is not to eat the holy things unless he bathes his body in water.


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After sunset he will be clean; and afterwards, he may eat the holy things; because they are his food.


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But he is not to eat anything that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals and thereby make himself unclean; I am ADONAI.


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The cohanim must observe this charge of mine; otherwise, if they profane it, they will bear the consequences of their sin for doing so and die in it; I am ADONAI, who makes them holy.


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''No one who is not a cohen may eat anything holy, nor may a tenant or employee of a cohen eat anything holy.


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But if a cohen acquires a slave, either through purchase or through his being born in his household, he may share his food.


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If the daughter of a cohen is married to a man who is not a cohen, she is not to have a share of the food set aside from the holy things.


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But if the daughter of a cohen is a widow or divorcee and has no child, and she is sent back to her father's house as when she was young, she may share in her father's food; but no one not a cohen is to share in it.


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If a person eats holy food by mistake, he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy food to the cohen.


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They are not to profane the holy things of the people of Isra'el that they have set apart for ADONAI


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and thus cause them to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, by eating their holy things; because I am ADONAI, who makes them holy.''


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'Speak to Aharon and his sons and to the entire people of Isra'el; tell them: 'When anyone, whether a member of the house of Isra'el or a foreigner living in Isra'el, brings his offering, either in connection with a vow or as a voluntary offering, and brings it to ADONAI as a burnt offering,


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in order for you to be accepted, you must bring a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep or the goats.


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Whoever brings a sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI in fulfillment of a vow or as a voluntary offering, whether it come from the herd or from the flock, it must be unblemished and without defect in order to be accepted.


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If it is blind, injured, mutilated, has an abnormal growth or has festering or running sores, you are not to offer it to ADONAI or make such an offering by fire on the altar to ADONAI.


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If a bull or lamb has a limb which is too long or short, you may offer it as a voluntary offering; but for a vow it will not be accepted.


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An animal with bruised, crushed, torn or cut genitals you are not to offer to ADONAI. You are not to do these things in your land,


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and you are not to receive any of these from a foreigner for you to offer as bread for your God, because their deformity is a defect in them - they will not be accepted from you.''


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'When a bull, sheep or goat is born, it is to stay with its mother for seven days; but from the eighth day on, it may be accepted for an offering made by fire to ADONAI.


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However, no animal is to be slaughtered together with its young on the same day, neither cow nor ewe.


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'When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to ADONAI, you must do it in a way such that you will be accepted.


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You are not to profane my holy name; on the contrary, I am to be regarded as holy among the people of Isra'el; I am ADONAI, who makes you holy,


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'Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of ADONAI which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.


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''Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for ADONAI, even in your homes.


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''These are the designated times of ADONAI, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times.


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''In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for ADONAI.


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On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat matzah.


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Bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.''


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen.


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He is to wave the sheaf before ADONAI, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat.


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On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first year, as a burnt offering for ADONAI.


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Its grain offering is to be one gallon of fine flour mixed with olive oil, an offering made by fire to ADONAI as a fragrant aroma; its drink offering is to be of wine, one quart.


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You are not to eat bread, dried grain or fresh grain until the day you bring the offering for your God; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.


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''From the day after the day of rest -that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving -you are to count seven full weeks,


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until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to ADONAI.


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You must bring bread from your homes for waving-two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven -as firstfruits for ADONAI.


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Along with the bread, present seven lambs without defect one year old, one young bull and two rams; these will be a burnt offering for ADONAI, with their grain and drink offerings, an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI.


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Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.


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The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before ADONAI, with the two lambs; these will be holy for ADONAI for the cohen.


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On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.


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''When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am ADONAI your God.''


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar.


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'The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI.


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You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before ADONAI your God.


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You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.


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It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.'


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to ADONAI.


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For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI ; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.


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''These are the designated times of ADONAI that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI -a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day -


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besides the Shabbats of ADONAI, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to ADONAI.


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''But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of ADONAI seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest.


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On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of ADONAI your God for seven days.


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You are to observe it as a feast to ADONAI seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month.


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so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God.''


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'Order the people of Isra'el to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, to keep lamps burning always.


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Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aharon is to arrange for the light to be kept burning always from evening until morning before ADONAI ; this is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations.


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Put frankincense with each row to be an offering made by fire to ADONAI in place of the bread and as a reminder of it.


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Regularly, every Shabbat, he is to arrange them before ADONAI ; they are from the people of Isra'el, as a covenant forever.


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They will belong to Aharon and his sons; and they are to eat them in a holy place; because for him they are, of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire, especially holy. This is a permanent law.'


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There was a man who was the son of a woman of Isra'el and an Egyptian father. He went out among the people of Isra'el, and this son of a woman of Isra'el had a fight in the camp with a man of Isra'el,


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in the course of which the son of the woman of Isra'el uttered the Name [Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh] in a curse. So they brought him to Moshe. (His mother's name was Shlomit the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)


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'Take the man who cursed outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him.


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and whoever blasphemes the name of ADONAI must be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.


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break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth -whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return.


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He who kills an animal is to make restitution, but he who kills another person is to be put to death.


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You are to apply the same standard of judgment to the foreigner as to the citizen, because I am ADONAI your God.'


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So Moshe spoke to the people of Isra'el, and they took the man who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him to death. Thus the people of Isra'el did as ADONAI had ordered Moshe. see readings for Parashah 41]


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to observe a Shabbat rest for ADONAI.


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Six years you will sow your field; six years you will prune your grapevines and gather their produce.


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But in the seventh year is to be a Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for ADONAI; you will neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines.


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You are not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended vine; it is to be a year of complete rest for the land.


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But what the land produces during the year of Shabbat will be food for all of you - you, your servant, your maid, your employee, anyone living near you,


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your livestock and the wild animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food.


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Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land;


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and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a yovel for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family.


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That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines;


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because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you.


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''If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, neither of you is to exploit the other.


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Rather, you are to take into account the number of years after the yovel when you buy land from your neighbor, and he is to sell to you according to the number of years crops will be raised.


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If the number of years remaining is large, you will raise the price; if few years remain, you will lower it; because what he is really selling you is the number of crops to be produced.


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Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I am ADONAI your God.


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''Rather, you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land.


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The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you will live there securely.


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''If you ask, 'If we aren't allowed to sow seed or harvest what our land produces, what are we going to eat the seventh year?'


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then I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land brings forth enough produce for all three years.


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The eighth year you will sow seed but eat the the old, stored produce until the ninth year; that is, until the produce of the eighth year comes in, you will eat the old, stored food.


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''The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to me -you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me.


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That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold.


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he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property.


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If he hasn't sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year of yovel; in the yovel the buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property.


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''If someone sells a dwelling in a walled city, he has one year after the date of sale in which to redeem it. For a full year he will have the right of redemption;


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but if he has not redeemed the dwelling in the walled city within the year, then title in perpetuity passes to the buyer through all his generations; it will not revert in the yovel.


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However, houses in villages not surrounded by walls are to be dealt with like the fields in the countryside - they may be redeemed [before the yovel], and they revert in the yovel.


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''Concerning the cities of the L'vi'im and the houses in the cities they possess, the L'vi'im are to have a permanent right of redemption.


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If someone purchases a house from one of the L'vi'im, then the house he sold in the city where he owns property will still revert to him in the yovel; because the houses in the cities of the L'vi'im are their tribe's possession among the people of Isra'el.


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The fields in the open land around their cities may not be sold, because that is their permanent possession.


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''If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can't support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you.


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Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you.


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I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to give you the land of Kena'an and be your God.


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''If a member of your people has become poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him do the work of a slave.


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Rather, you are to treat him like an employee or a tenant; he will work for you until the year of yovel.


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Then he will leave you, he and his children with him, and return to his own family and regain possession of his ancestral land.


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For they are my slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore they are not to be sold as slaves.


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''Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men- and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you.


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You may also buy the children of foreigners living with you and members of their families born in your land; you may own these.


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You may also bequeath them to your children to own; from these groups you may take your slaves forever. But as far as your brothers the people of Isra'el are concerned, you are not to treat each other harshly.


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''If a foreigner living with you has grown rich, and a member of your people has become poor and sells himself to this foreigner living with you or to a member of the foreigner's family,


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or his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him; or any near relative of his may redeem him; or, if he becomes rich, he may redeem himself.


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He will calculate with the person who bought him the time from the year he sold himself to him to the year of yovel; and the amount to be paid will be according to the number of years and his time at an employee's wage.


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If many years remain, according to them will he refund the amount for his redemption from the amount he was bought for.


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If there remain only a few years until the year of yovel, then he will calculate with him; according to his years will he refund the amount for his redemption.


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''If he has not been redeemed by any of these procedures, nevertheless he will go free in the year of yovel -he and his children with him.


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For to me the people of Isra'el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God.


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''You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue or a standing-stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I am ADONAI your God.


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then I will provide the rain you need in its season, the land will yield its produce, and the trees in the field will yield their fruit.


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Your threshing time will extend until the grape harvest, and your grape harvesting will extend until the time for sowing seed. You will eat as much food as you want and live securely in your land.


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''I will give shalom in the land -you will lie down to sleep unafraid of anyone. I will rid the land of wild animals. The sword will not go through your land.


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Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand -your enemies will fall before your sword.


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''I will turn toward you, make you productive, increase your numbers and uphold my covenant with you.


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You will eat all you want from last year's harvest and throw out what remains of the old to make room for the new.


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I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, so that you can walk upright.


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if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant;


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then I, for my part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you -wasting disease and chronic fever to dim your sight and sap your strength. You will sow your seed for nothing, because your enemies will eat the crops.


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I will set my face against you - your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.


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If these things don't make you listen to me, then I will discipline you seven times over for your sins.


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I will break the pride you have in your own power. I will make your sky like iron, your soil like bronze -


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you will spend your strength in vain, because the land will not yield its produce or the trees in the field their fruit.


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''Yes, if you go against me and don't listen to me, I will increase your calamities sevenfold, according to your sins.


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I will send wild animals among you; they will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock and reduce your numbers, until your roads are deserted.


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I will bring a sword against you which will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be huddled inside your cities, I will send sickness among you, and you will be handed over to the power of the enemy.


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I will cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women will bake your bread in one oven and dole out your bread by weight, and you will eat but not be satisfied.


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then I will go against you furiously, and I also will chastise you yet seven times more for your sins.


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I will destroy your high places, cut down your pillars for sun-worship, and throw your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols; and I will detest you.


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I will lay waste to your cities and make your sanctuaries desolate, so as not to smell your fragrant aromas.


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You I will disperse among the nations, and I will draw out the sword in pursuit after you; your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland.


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Then, at last, the land will be paid its Shabbats. As long as it lies desolate and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid its Shabbats.


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Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbats, when you lived there.


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As for those of you who are left, I will fill their hearts with anxiety in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will frighten them, so that they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall when no one is pursuing.


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Yes, with no one pursuing they will stumble over each other as if fleeing the sword - you will have no power to stand before your enemies.


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Those of you who remain will pine away in the lands of your enemies from guilt over your misdeeds and those of your ancestors.


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Then they will confess their misdeeds and those of their ancestors which they committed against me in their rebellion; they will admit that they went against me.


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At that time I will be going against them, bringing them into the lands of their enemies. But if their uncircumcised hearts will grow humble, and they are paid the punishment for their misdeeds;


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then I will remember my covenant with Ya'akov, also my covenant with Yitz'chak and my covenant with Avraham; and I will remember the land.


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For the land will lie abandoned without them, and it will be paid its Shabbats while it lies desolate without them; and they will be paid the punishment for their misdeeds, because they rejected my rulings and loathed my regulations.


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Yet, in spite of all that, I will not reject them when they are in the lands of their enemies, nor will I loathe them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my covenant with them, because I am ADONAI their God.


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Rather, for their sakes, I will remember the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt -with the nations watching -so that I might be their God; I am ADONAI.''


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These are the laws, rulings and teachings that ADONAI himself gave to the people of Isra'el on Mount Sinai through Moshe.


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'Tell the people of Isra'el, 'If someone makes a clearly defined vow to ADONAI to give him an amount equal to the value of a human being,


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the value you are to assign to a man between the ages of twenty and sixty years is to be fifty shekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds], with the sanctuary shekel being the standard,


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If it is a child five to twenty years old, assign a value of twenty shekels for a boy and ten for a girl;


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If the person is too poor to be evaluated, set him before the cohen, who will assign him a value in keeping with the means of the person who made the vow.


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''If the vow is for the value of an animal of the kind used when people bring an offering to ADONAI, all that a person gives of such animals to ADONAI will be holy.


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He is not to exchange or replace it by substituting a good animal for a bad one or vice versa; if he does make such a substitution, both the original animal and the one replacing it will be holy.


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If the animal is an unclean one, such as may not be used in an offering to ADONAI, he must set it before the cohen;


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and the cohen is to set a value on it in relation to its good and bad points; the value set by you the cohen will stand.


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But if the person making the vow wishes to redeem the animal, he must add one-fifth to your valuation.


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''When a person consecrates his house to be holy for ADONAI, the cohen is to set a value on it in relation to its good and bad points; the value set by the cohen will stand.


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If the consecrator wishes to redeem his house, he must add one-fifth to the value you have set on it; and it will revert to him.


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''If a person consecrates to ADONAI part of a field belonging to his tribe's possession, you are to value it according to its production, with five bushels of barley being valued at fifty shekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds].


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But if he consecrates his field after the yovel, then the cohen is to calculate the price according to the years remaining till the next yovel, with a corresponding reduction from your valuation.


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If the one consecrating the field wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to your valuation, and the field will be set aside to revert to him.


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If the seller does not wish to redeem the field, or if [the treasurer for the cohanim] has already sold the field to someone else, it can no longer be redeemed.


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But when the purchaser has to vacate the field in the yovel, it will become holy to ADONAI, like a field unconditionally consecrated; it will belong to the cohanim.


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''If he consecrates to ADONAI a field which he has bought, a field which is not part of his tribe's possession,


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then the cohen is to calculate its value according to the years remaining until the year of yovel; and the man will on that same day pay this amount; since it is holy to ADONAI.


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In the year of yovel the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, that is, to the person to whose tribal possession it belongs.


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''All your valuations are to be according to the sanctuary shekel [two-fifths of an ounce], twenty gerahs to the shekel.


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''However, the firstborn among animals, since it is already born as a firstborn for ADONAI, no one can consecrate -neither ox nor sheep -since it belongs to ADONAI already.


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But if it is an unclean animal, he may redeem it at the price at which you value it and add one-fifth; or if he does not redeem it, it is to be sold at the price at which you value it.


