 Chapter 1-7 of Genesis, from the Holy Bible in Modern English. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Penfold. The Holy Bible in Modern English, translated by Farrar Fenton. Chapter 1 By periods God created that which produced the solar systems, then that which produced the earth. But the earth was unorganized and empty, and darkness covered its convulsed surface, while the breath of God rocked the surface of its waters. God then said, Let there be light, and light came, and God gazed upon that beautiful light, and God divided the light from the darkness, and to the light God gave the name of day, and to the darkness he gave the name of night. This was the close and the dawn of the first age. God also said, Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it be a division between the waters and the waters. And God made the expanse, and it divided the waters which were below the expanse, from the waters which were above the expanse. And that was done. And God named the expanse the heavens. This was the close and the dawn of the second age. God then commanded, Let the waters below the heavens be collected in one place, and let dry land appear. And that was done. And God named the dry land, earth, and the accumulated waters he named, seas, and God admired their beauty. God then said, Let the earth produce seed-bearing vegetation, as well as fruit trees according to their several species, capable of reproduction upon the earth. And that was done. The earth produced the seed-bearing herbage according to every species, as well as the different species of reproductive fruit trees. And God saw that they were good. This was the close and the dawn of the third age. God further said, Let reflectors appear in the expanse of the heavens for a division between the day and the night, and let them serve to mark seasons, periods, and years, and let them also illuminate the expanse of the skies so as to reflect their light upon the earth. And that was done. God had made two large luminaries, the larger one to control the day, and the smaller one to control the night, accompanied by the stars. And God had fixed them in the heavenly expanse so as to illuminate the earth, to control the day and to control the night, and to mark the division between the light and the darkness. And God saw they were beautiful. This was the close and the dawn of the fourth age. God then said, Let the waters be swarming with animal life, and let birds fly in the expanse of the skies above the earth. God accordingly produced the monsters of the deep, and the water swarmed with every species of reptile, and also produced every species of flying bird. And God admired their beauty. And God, in giving them his blessing, said, Be fruitful and multiply so as to fill the waters of the deep, and also let the birds multiply upon the earth. This was the close and the dawn of the fifth age. God then said, Let the earth produce animal life according to its species, in quadrupeds, reptiles, and all wild animals answering to their species. And that was done. God accordingly made the various species of the animals of the earth, as well as the several species of quadrupeds, and all the different species of reptiles. And God admired their beauty. God then said, Let us make men under our shadow, as our representatives, and subject to them the fish of the waters, and the birds of the sky, and the quadrupeds, as well as the whole of the earth, and every reptile that creeps upon it. So God created men under his own shadow, creating them in the shadow of God, and constituting them male and female. God then gave them his blessing. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply so as to fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the skies, and over every living animal that moves upon the earth. God also said, See, I have given you for food every fruit and grain bearing plant upon the surface of the whole earth, as well as fruit and seed bearing trees and all vegetation, so that they may be food for you, and for every animal of the earth, and for every bird of the skies, and for every reptile upon the earth which possesses the life of animals. And it was done. And God gazed upon all that he had made, and it was very beautiful. Thus the clothes came, and the dawn came, of the sixth age. CHAPTER II Thus the whole host of the heavens, as well as the earth, were completed, and God rested at the seventh age from all the works which he had made. Therefore God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because he then rested from all the work which God had arranged to do. These were the productions for the heavens and the earth during their creation at the period of their organization by the Lord God of both the earth and heavens, and of every plant of the field before it was upon the earth, and every herb of the field before he caused it to grow, even before the ever-living God had scattered them upon the earth, and man existed not to cultivate the earth. A vapor then rose up from the earth, and saturated the whole surface of the ground. The ever-living God afterwards formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the life of animals, but man became a life-containing soul. The ever-living God then planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man whom he had formed, and out of the ground the ever-living God caused to grow all the trees that were beautiful and good for food, as well as the tree of lives in the center of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A lake also sprang up in Eden to supply the garden with water, and from there it divided and became four sources. The name of the first is Pishon, and flows along the land of Havilah where there is gold, and the gold of that land is pure. There are also Bedelium and the Onyx. And the second river is Jibon. It flows along all the land of Qash. The name of the third river is Hiddickel, which flows through the east of Ashur, and the fourth river is the Freyth. The ever-living God then took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden for the purpose of cultivating and taking care of it, and the Lord God instructed the man, saying, For food you may eat of the whole of the trees of the garden, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, because in the day you eat from it dying you shall die. The ever-living God also said, It is not good for the man to be in solitude. I will make a comforter to live with him. Therefore the ever-living God, who had formed out of the ground every animal of the field, as well as every bird of the skies, took them to the man to see what he would name them. And whatever the man with the living soul named them, that was their name. So the man gave names to all the quadrupeds, and all the birds of the skies, and to all the wild animals, but it was no comfort for the man to be with them. So the ever-living God threw the man into a stupor, and he slept, and taking one of his ribs he closed up the flesh in its place, and from the rib which the ever-living God had taken out of the man he constructed a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said, This form is bone of my own bone, and flesh of my own flesh. This shall be named woman, because she was taken from man. Man shall therefore leave his father and his mother, and shall unite with his wife, and they shall be one body. And they were naked, the man and his wife, but they were not ashamed. CHAPTER III The serpent was more impudent than any of the wild animals of the field which the ever-living God had made. So he asked the woman, Is it true that God has said you may not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman replied to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, Do not eat of it, and do not even touch it, lest you die. But the serpent answered the woman, You will not die. But God knows that at the time you eat of it, your eyes will then be opened, and you will be like God, acquainted with both good and evil. So the woman perceiving that the tree was good for food and beautiful to the eyes and a tree stimulating to the intellect, she took some of its fruit and ate it, and gave some to her husband with her, and he also ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they became aware that they were naked. They accordingly joined fig-leaves together and made aprons for themselves. They then heard the sound of the ever-living God moving in the garden in the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the ever-living God called to the man, saying, Where are you? And he replied, I heard your sound in the garden, and perceiving that I was naked, I hid myself. Then he asked, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded that you should not eat? And the man replied, The woman whom you gave to me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate it. Why did you do that? The Lord God asked the woman, and the woman answered, The serpent deceived me, and I ate it. The ever-living God accordingly said to the serpent, Because you have done this you shall be accursed more than all the cattle and more than all the wild beasts of the field. You shall crawl upon your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will also cause antagonism between you and the woman, and between your progeny and her progeny. He shall wound your head, and you shall wound his heel. But to the woman he said, I will increase your sorrows and your joys. You shall give birth to children with pain, but your love shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. Then to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you saying, Eat not of it. I will set the ground apart for your cultivation. In sorrow you shall eat from it every day of your life. It shall grow thorns and briars for you, but you shall have the plants of the field for food. In the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken. For dust you are, and to the dust you shall return. The man then gave to his wife the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all life. For Adam also and his wife, the ever-living God, made clothing of skins and dressed them. The Lord God also said, Now the man was like one of our selves, acquainted with both good and evil. Therefore it may be that he will stretch out his hand and take also of the tree of lives and eat of it, and live for ever. The ever-living God consequently expelled him from the garden of Eden in order to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So he drove out the man, and he stationed at the east of the garden of Eden the divine watchers with the flaming sword to guard the path to the tree of lives. CHAPTER IV The man afterwards knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and said, I have been given a man from the ever-living. She afterwards gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel became a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was a cultivator of the soil, and during the harvest time Cain brought some of the produce of the ground as an offering to the ever-living, and Abel also brought of the best and the fattest of his sheep, and the Lord looked favorably upon Abel in his offering, but he did not regard Cain and his offering with favor. Cain therefore was very angry, and his countenance fell. Then the ever-living asked Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do right, is there not approval? And if you do not do right, sin crouches at the door and awaits you, but you should conquer it. When Cain was afterwards talking with his brother Abel, and they were together in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and murdered him. The Lord accordingly asked Cain, Where is your brother Abel? But he replied, I do not know, am I my brother's keeper? The ever-living however answered, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground. Therefore you are cursed from the ground, which has opened her mouth to take in your brother's blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it shall not yield up its wealth to you. You shall be a wanderer and a vagabond upon the earth. But Cain answered to the Lord, My punishment is heavier than I can bear. Since you drive me today out from off the face of this land, I shall be deprived of your presence and be a wanderer and a vagabond upon the earth, and whoever meets me will kill me. But the ever-living replied, Not so. Whoever kills Cain shall be punished sevenfold. Therefore the Lord put a mark upon Cain so that he might not be attacked by anyone who met him. Cain, accordingly, went out from the presence of the ever-living, and lived in a land of exile on the eastern side of Eden, where Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch, and he built a village and named it after the name of his son, Hanok. And to Hanok there was born Irad, and Irad produced Mehujael, and Mehujael produced Methusael, and Methusael produced Lemech, and Lemech took two wives for himself. The name of one was Adah, and the name of the other Zilla. And Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the originator of tent-dwellers with cattle, and his brother's name was Jubal. He was the originator of all those who play the harp and wind instruments. Zilla also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the improver of every work in copper and iron, and the sister of Tubal Cain was Nama, and Lemech, addressing his wives, said, Adah and Zilla, listen to my voice, wives of Lemech, listen to my speech, for I killed a man who wounded, and a youth who hurt me. If Cain had sevenfold protection, seventy-seven should be that of Lemech. And Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Shef. For God, she said, has given me another son in the place of Abel, who was murdered by Cain. Then to Shef, a son was born, and he gave him the name of Enoch. Men then began to call upon the name of the ever-living. CHAPTER V This is the birth-book of men. From the time that God created men, making them to represent God, constituting them male and female, giving them his blessing and naming them by the name of mankind upon the day of their creation. Adam, when he was one hundred and thirty years old, produced a representative of himself, like his own shadow, and gave him the name of Shef. And the lifetime of Adam, after the birth of Shef, was eight hundred years, during which time sons and daughters were born to him. So the whole lifetime of Adam was nine hundred and thirty years when he died. And Shef was one hundred and five years old when Enoch was born to him, and Shef, after the birth of Enoch, lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters born to him. And the whole lifetime of Shef was nine hundred and twelve years when he died. And Enoch lived ninety years when Kenan was born to him. And Enoch, after the birth of Kenan, lived eight hundred and fifty years, and had sons and daughters born to him. And all the lifetime of Enoch was nine hundred and five years, and he then died. And Kenan lived seventy years when Mahalalel was born to him. And Kenan, after Mahalalel was born to him, lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters born to him. So the whole lifetime of Kenan was nine hundred and ten years, and he died. And Mahalalel, living until he was sixty-five years of age, had Jared born to him. And Mahalalel, after the birth of Jared, lived eight hundred and thirty years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And the whole lifetime of Mahalalel was eight hundred and ninety-five years when he died. And Jared lived until he was one hundred and sixty-two years of age when Hanok was born to him. And after the birth of Hanok, Jared lived eight hundred years and had sons and daughters born to him. And the whole lifetime of Jared was nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. And Hanok lived until the age of sixty-five years, when Methuselah was born to him. And Hanok walked with God after Methuselah had been born to him three hundred years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And the whole lifetime of Hanok was three hundred and sixty-five years. And Hanok walked with God, and he did not die, God having taken him to himself. And Methuselah, having lived until he was one hundred and eighty-seven years of age, had Lamak born to him. And Methuselah, after Lamak had been born to him, lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, having had sons and daughters born to him. And the whole lifetime of Methuselah was nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he then died. And Lamak lived until he was one hundred and eighty-two years of age, when a son was born to him, to whom he gave the name of Noah, saying, "'He comforts in our labor, and in the trouble of our hands, upon the land which was denounced by the ever-living.' And Lamak, after Noah was born to him, lived until the age of five hundred and ninety-five years, sons and daughters being born to him. And the whole lifetime of Lamak was seven hundred and seventy-seven years when he died. And Noah was five hundred years old, when Shem, Ham, and Japheth were born to him. CHAPTER VI. But when corrupt men increased upon the surface of the earth, and sons and daughters were born to them, then the sons of God admired the daughters of men who were beautiful, and they took to themselves wives from all they desired. Consequently the ever-living said, "'My spirit shall not call to man forever, for he is sinful flesh, but they shall have a hundred and twenty years.' The Nephilim were upon the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came to the daughters of men, and they bore to them mighty men, who were men of renown of old. And the ever-living saw that the sin of man increased upon the earth, and that every effort of the thought of his heart was to promote sin every day. And the ever-living sighed for the doings of man upon earth, and it grieved his heart. The Lord therefore said, "'I will sweep away man whom I created from off the surface of the earth, from man to beast and reptile and birds of the skies, for I regret that I made them.' But Noah found favor in the presence of the ever-living. The following are the genealogies from Noah. Noah was a good man. He was upright in his age. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons given to him, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But the earth corrupted itself in the presence of God, and the earth was full of crime, and God looked upon the earth and saw its corruption, for all men had corrupted their way upon the earth. So God said to Noah, "'I decide to cut off all men from my sight, for the earth is full of crime from their presence. I will accordingly sweep them from the earth. Make therefore for yourself an ark of pitch pine. Make the ark with decks, and pitch it inside and outside with pitch. You shall make it thus. It shall be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits deep. Make a ventilating fan, fixed in a turret of a cubit, high above the upper deck, and connected with that, make an opening in the sides of the ark, on the second and third lower decks. You shall make second and third decks, for I myself will bring a downrush of waters upon the earth, to sweep off all beings possessing the breath of life from under heaven. All that move upon the land. Then I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall go into the ark yourself with your sons and your wife and your sons' wives along with you. And from every animal of all kinds, two of each shall go into the ark to live with you. They shall be male and female, of birds by their species, and of animals by their species, and of reptiles moving in the field by their species. Two of each shall accompany you so as to preserve life, and you shall take with you all kinds of food which is eaten and store it with you, and it shall be provisioned for yourself and for them." Noah accordingly did all that God commanded him. He accomplished it. CHAPTER VII Afterwards the Lord said to Noah, Go yourself and all your household into the ark, for I have seen that you have been righteous in the face of this generation. Take with you of all clean cattle, seven, male and female, and of beasts which are unclean, two of them, a male and a female, also from birds of the sky, seven, seven male and female, so as to preserve a seed of life upon the surface of the land. Because at the end of seven days I will pour onto the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will sweep away every creature that I made from off the surface of the ground. And Noah did all that the ever-living instructed him. Noah was six hundred years old when the downrush of water came upon the earth. Noah with his children and wife, and the wives of his sons with them, went accordingly into the ark from the face of the waters of the deluge, with the clean cattle and with the unclean cattle, and with the birds and all that crawls upon the field, who came two by two to the ark, male and female, as God had directed Noah. When the seven days had passed, then the downrush of water came upon the earth, in the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the depths of the great ocean were heaved up, and the belts in the heavens were broken, and there was a downrush onto the earth for forty days and forty nights. At the close of that day, Noah, along with Shem, Ham, and Jaffeth, sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of Noah's sons along with them, entered the ark. They themselves, and all the animals according to their species, and all the cattle according to their species, and all crawlers upon the earth by their species, and all birds by their species, every bird of every wing. There also came to Noah into the ark, two by two, from all creatures which have animal breath. Thus they came male and female of all creatures, as God had directed them, and the Lord shut him inside. The downrush continued forty days upon the earth, and the water swelled and lifted up the ark, and raised it from off the land, and the waters overwhelmed and rose greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated upon the surface of the waters. The waters overwhelmed the land, and covered all the hills and mountains which are below the skies. The waters covered the hills fifteen cubits, and all animals that moved upon the land expired, with bird and cattle and wild animals, and every insect swarming upon the land, and every man, all which breathed the breath of animals in its nostrils, with all that was in the desert, died. Thus he swept away the hole that he had made upon the surface of the ground, from man to cattle and reptile and birds of the skies. Thus he swept them from off the earth, but Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained, and the waters overwhelmed the earth one hundred and fifty days. The end of chapters one through seven of Genesis. Recording by Mark Penfold. CHAPTER VIII. But God remembered Noah and all the animals and all the cattle which were with him in the ark, therefore God passed a wind over the earth, and the waters dried, and he restrained the outpourings from the deep and the belts of the skies, and stopped the torrents from the skies, and stayed the waters from going on to the earth, and so the waters retired and diminished from the period of one hundred and fifty days. The ark then rested on the seventeenth day of the seventh month upon the peaks of the high hills, and the waters were retreating and subsiding until the tenth month. In the eleventh month the tops of the hills appeared. Then at the end of forty days Noah opened the window which he had made in the ark, and sent out a raven, and it went, wandered, and turned about until the waters dried away from off the earth. Afterwards he sent out a dove from him, to see if the waters had lessened from the surface of the field. But the dove found not a resting place for the soul of her foot, so she returned to him in the ark, for the waters were still on the whole surface of the earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and brought her to him into the ark. He then waited seven days longer, and again sent out the dove from the ark, and the dove, returning at dusk, carried in her mouth an olive leaf which had been broken off, so Noah then knew that the waters were off the earth. Waiting yet another seven days he sent the dove out again, and it did not again return to him. At the end of his six hundred and first year, on the first day of the month, the waters dried from off the earth. Noah then loosened the hatches of the ark, and looking out, perceived that the surface of the ground was dry, and in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. God then spoke to Noah, saying, Go from the ark, yourself, your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives, along with you, all the animals which are with you, of every kind, with bird, and cattle, and with every reptile that creeps upon the earth, bring it along with you, and let them breed plentifully on the land, and cover it, and increase over the earth. So Noah went out, and his wife and his sons' wives with him, every animal, every bird, and every reptile creeping upon the land, according to their species, went out from the ark. Noah then built an altar to the ever-living, and took from every clean beast and from every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. And the ever-living perceived pleasant sweet perfume, and the Lord said in his heart, Never again will I curse the ground to the labor of man, although the thought of the heart of man is wickedness from his youth, and never again will I cut off every animal I have made. During the whole existence of the earth, sowing and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, spring and autumn, and day and night, shall continue. CHAPTER IX God also blessed Noah and his sons, and said, Be prolific and increase and fill the earth, and the fear and terror of you shall be upon every animal of the land, and every bird of the sky, with all that swarm upon the ground, and all the fish of the waters, they shall be given into your hand. Every living animal that moves shall be food for you, I have given the whole to you like the green herbage, but the flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat. And also the blood of your life I will require, from the hand of every animal I will require it, and from the hand of man, even from the hand of his brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his own blood shall be shed, because I made man under the shadow of God. And be prolific yourselves, increase and swarm on the earth, and multiply on it. God also spoke to Noah and to his sons along with him, saying, Now I myself will fix a covenant with you, and your descendants after you, and with every living animal that is with you, with bird and cattle, and with every animal of the earth with you, of all coming out of the ark, and with every wild beast of the earth. I have fixed my covenant with you, that all flesh shall never again be destroyed by a downrush of water, and there shall never again be a downrush to desolate the earth. God also said, This is the attestation of the covenant which I have made between myself and you, and between all animal life which is with you for every generation. I place my rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be for an evidence of the covenant between myself and all the earth. When there is my cloud covering the earth, and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I shall remember my covenant that is between myself and you, and between all animal life, and there shall never again be a downrush of water to sweep away all living. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and appear as an eternal record of the covenant between God and all animal life existing upon the earth. And God repeated to Noah, This is the covenant which I have settled between myself and all existence which is upon earth. Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these three the whole earth was peopled. Noah then became a farmer, and planted a vineyard, and drinking of the wine he became drunk and was naked in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and reported it to his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth, however, took a shawl and spread it on their shoulders, and, going backwards, they covered the nakedness of their father, and their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father's shame. So when Noah woke up from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him, he said, Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants let him be to his brothers! He also exclaimed, The living God bless Shem, and let Canaan be a servant to him. God will extend Japheth, but he will dwell in the tent of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. Noah lived after the deluge for three hundred and fifty years, so all the lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years when he died. CHAPTER X Now these are the registers of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, for they had sons born to them after the deluge. The sons of Japheth, Gomer, Magog, and Mata'ai, and Yon, and Thubal, and Meshek, and Thairas, and the sons of Gomer, Ashkenaz, and Raifath, and Thogarmah, and the sons of Javan, Ion, Ilaisha, and Tarshish, Kitim, and the Dodanim. From these they spread themselves over the sea-coasts of the countries of the nations, each with their language amongst the Gentile tribes, and the sons of Ham, Qash, and Mizra'im, and Fut, and Canaan, and the sons of Qash, Siba, and Havilah, and Saptah, and Ramah, and Saptika, and the sons of Ramah, Shiba, and Dedan. To Qash was born Nimrod. Wild beasts began then to infest the earth, so he became a powerful hunter in the presence of the Lord. Therefore it is said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord! And the capitals of his kingdoms were Babel, and Erek, and Akkad, and Kalina, in the bush-land. In that land Ashur proceeded to Assyria and built Nineveh, and the town of the plains, and Kala and Resen, between Nineveh and Kala, which is a large city. The Mizra'im also produced the Lodim, and Anemim, and Lehabim, and Naftuhim, and Paphrusim, and Kasluhim, from whom sprung the Philistines, and the Kaftorites. And to Canaan were born Zaidan, his eldest, and Heth, and the Abucite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Archite, and the Sinite, and the Arvidite, and the Zemorite, and the Hamathite, and each spread themselves as the tribes of the Canaanites. And the boundaries of the Canaanites are from Zaidan, by the valley of Gerar to Gaza, along the valley of Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Adma, and Zeboyim, to Lashar. These were the sons of Ham, in their tribes and languages, in the regions of the heathen. In Shem the elder brother of Japheth also produced. He was the father of all the sons of Heber. The sons of Shem were Elam, and Ashur, and Arfaxad, and Lot, and Aram. And the sons of Aram, Uzz, and Hul, and Gethar, and Mash. And to Arfaxad was born Sheila, and to Sheila was born Heber. And to Heber were born two sons. The name of the first, Pelag, because in his days the continent was split up. And his brother's name was Jaktan. And to Jaktan were born Almadad, and Cheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Gerar, and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Obal, and Abimayel, and Sheba, and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Jaktan, and they populated from Misha, by the valley of Sefar, a mountain of the east. These are the sons of Shem, by their tribes and by their languages in their countries among the heathen. The above were the families of the sons of Noah, and their descendants by tribes. From them they spread themselves amongst the nations on the earth after the flood. CHAPTER XI. All the country was agreed for settled objects. But some of them marching from the east arrived at a plane in the bushland and halted there. Then each said to his neighbor, Come! Let us set to work making bricks, and see that they are properly burnt, and bricks shall serve us for stone, and petroleum for mortar. So they agreed. We will build here for ourselves a city and a tower, whose top shall reach the sky. Thus we will make a beacon for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered over all the surface of the country. But a chief came down to inspect the city and the tower which the sons of men had built, and the chief said, You see all these people are united in the same purpose, and having begun to do this they will not be restrained from anything they determine upon. I will go down and frustrate their designs, so that one will not listen to another's proposals. So the chief scattered them over the surface of the whole country, and they abandoned the building of the city. They therefore called its name Babel, because it was there that the chief confused the designs of all the country. Thus from there the Lord scattered them over all the surface of the land. These are the genealogies of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when Ar-Focksad was born to him two years after the Deluge. Shem then lived after the birth of Ar-Focksad, five hundred years, and had sons and daughters born to him. And Ar-Focksad lived thirty-five years, then had Shela born to him. And Ar-Focksad lived after the birth of Shela, four-hundred and forty-three years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Shela lived thirty years when Eber was born to him. And after the birth of Eber. Pellah lived four hundred and three years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Eber lived thirty-four years, when Pellah was born to him. Eber lived after the birth of Pellah four hundred and thirty years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Pellah lived thirty years, and Reu was born to him. Pellah lived after the birth of Reu two hundred and nine years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Re'u lived thirty-two years when Sarug was born to him. And after the birth of Sarug, Re'u lived two hundred and seven years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Sarug lived thirty years, and Nakor was born to him. Sarug lived after the birth of Nakor, two hundred years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Nakor lived twenty-nine years, when Terra was born to him. And Nakor lived after the birth of Terra one hundred and nineteen years, and sons and daughters were born to him. And Terra lived seventy years, when Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born to him. Now these are the descendants of Terra. Terra had Abram, Nahor, and Haran born to him, and Haran had Lot born to him. Haran died before Terra his father in his native country in Ur of the Caldees. Abram and Nahor then took wives for themselves. The name of the wife of Abram was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milka, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milka, and father of Iska. Sarai was sterile and had no child for herself. Terra however took Abram his son, and Lot his grandson, the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his own son, and departed from Ur of the Caldees to travel to the land of Canaan, and arriving at Haran they settled there. The lifetime of Terra was two hundred and five years, and Terra died in Haran. CHAPTER XII The ever-living then sent to Abram, Depart from your native land, and from the home of your forefathers, to the land to which I will direct you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will prosper and ennoble your name, and you shall be a benefactor, and I will bless those who benefit you, and punish those who injure you, and all the nations of mankind shall become benefitted from you. So Abram departed as the ever-living had told him, and Lot accompanied him, and Abram was seventy-five years old at his departure from Haran. Abram also took Sarai his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and the whole of his property which he possessed, and the slaves which he had acquired in Haran, and he proceeded to travel to the land of Canaan, and he came to the country of Canaan. Then Abram traveled in that country to the village of Shechem, as far as Alon Mora, and the Canaanites were still in the land. The ever-living also appeared to Abram and repeated, I will give this country to your descendants! So he there built an altar to the ever-living who had appeared to him. Afterwards he removed from there to the hills at the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel at the west, and Hayai to the east. There he also built an altar to the ever-living, and called upon the name of the ever-living. Then Abram marched on his journey, and proceeded to the south. But a famine occurred in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a time, as the famine was severe in the land. And as they were approaching Egypt he said to Sarai his wife, See now, I know you are a fair woman, and it may be that when the Egyptians see you they will say, This is his wife, and they may murder me and keep you alive. Say therefore that you are my sister, so that they may show respect to me because of you, and my life may be saved by means of you." And on Abram entering Egypt the Egyptians noticed that the woman was very fair. The courtiers of the Pharaoh also observed her and sung her praises to Pharaoh. The woman was accordingly taken to Pharaoh's palace. On her account he favored Abram, and presented him with sheep, oxen, asses, slaves, and maids, as well as she-asses and camels. But the ever-living, disturbed Pharaoh in his household greatly on account of Sarai the wife of Abram. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, Why have you done this to me? Why did you not inform me that she was your wife? Why did you say she is my sister? For I might have secured her as a wife for myself. But now take your wife and go!" And Pharaoh ordered his men about him, and they sent him away and his wife and all that he had along with him. CHAPTER XIII So Abram went up from Egypt with his wife and all he possessed, and lot accompanied him to the southern pastures. But Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold. Afterwards he marched from the south towards Beth El to the place where his tent had at first been pitched, between Beth El and Hai'ai, to the place where he had formerly built an altar, and there Abram called upon the name of the ever-living. Lot also, who journeyed with Abram, possessed sheep, cattle, and camp-followers, so that the land could not support them living together, for their flocks were so great that they could not live together. A dispute accordingly took place between Abram's shepherds and Lot's shepherds, and the Canaanite and the Parasite, who inhabited the land. So Abram said to Lot, Let there be no quarrel between me and you, or between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are both of us brothers. Is not all the country before you? I ask you to separate yourself from me. If you take to the left, then I will take to the right. If to the right, I will go to the left. Lot therefore looked up, and observed all the district of the Jordan, that it was everywhere well watered. Before the Lord swept away Sodom and Gomorrah, it was like a garden of the Lord from the land of Egypt to the valley of Zohar. So the whole plain of the Jordan pleased him, and Lot marched to the East, and they separated from each other. Abram accordingly remained in the land of Canaan, and Lot remained in the villages of the plain, but resided at Sodom. The men of Sodom, however, were very wicked and sinful in the presence of the ever-living. The ever-living said to Abram, after Lot separated from him, Look upward, and from the place where you are, take a view northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see, I will give to you and to your race for ever. I will also make your race like the dust of the earth, so that if a man is able to count the dust of the earth, then he can number your race. Arise and march through the land, inspect both its length and its breadth, for I will give it to you." So Abram struck his camp, and came and settled in the oak-woods of Mamrah, which is near Hebron, and there he built an altar to the ever-living. CHAPTER XIV It was now in the reign of Amrafel, King of Shinar, Ariach, King of Elisar, Keter Leomir, King of Elam, and Tidal, King of the Gentiles, and they waged war with Berah, King of Sodom, and with Bersha, King of Gomorrah, Shannab, King of Adma, and Shemeber, King of Zeboyim, and King Bela of Zoar. All these were defeated in the Valley of Sidham, now known as the Salt Sea. They served Keter Leomir for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. Accordingly, in the fourteenth year, Keter Leomir and his allied kings defeated the Refayim at Ashtaroth's Horn, and the Zuzim at Ham along with them, and the Emim at the Devil's Horns, and the Horites in the Mountains of Seer, as far as the Pastures which adjoined the desert. They then returned and came to the Well of Justice, and conquered all the plains of Amalekites, and also the Amorites who inhabited the Palm Groves. The King of Sodom accordingly went out with the King of Gomorrah, and the King of Adma, and the King of Zeboyim, and King Bela of Zoar, and they commenced hostilities in the Valley of Sidham, with Keter Leomir, King of Elam, and Tidal, King of the Gentiles, and Amrafel, King of Shinar, and Ariak, King of Elisar, four kings against five. The Valley of Sidham, however, was full of petroleum pits, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah took flight and fell there, and the hillmen pursued, and seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the whole of their stores, and marched off. They also took Lot, the nephew of Abram, and his Cattels when they marched, for he resided in Sodom. A fugitive then came and reported to Abram, the colonist, who had settled at the Oakwoods of Mamrah, the Amorite, the brother of Ashkel, and brother of Anair, who were confederate chiefs with Abram. When Abram heard that they had taken captive his relative, he then mustered the trained youths of his own family to the number of three hundred and eighteen, and pursued to punish them, and overtook them in the night time, and he and his followers defeated and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the north of Damascus, and he recovered all the property, as well as Lot his relative and his property, together with the men and the people. The king of Sodom then met him to congratulate him after his return from defeating Qidar Leomer and the kings who were with him at the Devil's Valley. Melchizedek, also king of Salem, came out to them with wine, and he was a priest of all mighty God, and he gave him his blessing and said, All mighty God, creator of heaven and earth, bless Abram, and you thank the Most High who gave your enemies into your hand. He then gave to him a tenth of all the spoil. The king of Sodom also said to Abram, You have given me my life, so take all the wealth to yourself. But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the ever-living God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, against taking even a shoestring, or from taking anything that is yours so that you may not say, I have made Abram rich, except what the soldiers have eaten and the share of the men who came with me, Anar, Ashkol, and Mamrah, allow them to take their share. The end of chapters 8 through 14 of the Book of Genesis. CHAPTERS 15 THROUGH 21 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS, FROM THE HOLY BIBLE IN MODERN INGLESH, THE HOLY BIBLE IN MODERN INGLESH, TRANSLATED BY FERRAR FENTON. THE BOOK OF GENESIS CHAPTERS 15 THROUGH 21 CHAPTER 15 It was after these events that the ever-living spoke to Abram in a vision, saying, Be not afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your abundant reward, I will greatly enrich you. But Abram replied, Mighty God, why should you give to me when I go childless, and the possessor of my house will be Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram continued, Look at me, you have not given me offspring, so that the steward of my house will become my heir. But the ever-living answered him, saying, That man shall not be your heir, but one who shall owe his birth to yourself shall become your heir. Then he took him to the open and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars if you are able to count them, telling him also, Thus shall your race be. And Abram believed in the ever-living, and it was repaid to him in righteousness. He also said to him, I am the ever-living who brought you from Ur of the Caldees to give you this land as an inheritance. But he replied, Mighty Lord, how am I to know that I shall inherit it? Who answered him? He asked for me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. Taking all these he split them in the middle and placed each part opposite its neighbor, but he did not split the birds. Then the kites descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. And when the sun was sinking, a stupor fell upon Abram, and also a great and terrible darkness oppressed him. He then said to Abram, Know this, and be assured that your race will be foreigners in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them and oppress them for four hundred years. The nation which enslaves them, however, I will punish, and after that I will bring them out with great wealth. But you shall go to your forefathers in peace, you shall be buried with beautiful gray hairs, and in several generations they shall return here, when the sins of the Amorites will be complete. After the sunset, followed by thick darkness, a bright cloud appeared, a blazing fire which passed between the pieces. At the same time the everliving made a covenant with Abram, saying, I will give this country to your race, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates, the Kenite, the Kenazite, the Cadmonite, the Hittite, and the Parasite, and the Rethaeim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite. CHAPTER XVI Sarai, Abram's wife, had given him no children, but she had an Egyptian maid named Hagar, so Sarai said to Abram, See now, the everliving has kept me childless, therefore go to my maid, perhaps she will have a son for me. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai, therefore Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar the Egyptian maid at the end of the tenth year of Abram's residence in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. So he went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despicable in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, My wrong came from you! I gave my maid to you as wife, and she sees that she has conceived, and I am despicable in her eyes. Let the everliving decide between me and you! Abram answered Sarai, Well, your maid is under your hand, due to her whatever you consider right. So Sarai persecuted her, and she fled from her presence. A messenger of the everliving met her, however, at the well of Waters in the desert, at the well by the road to the wall, and asked, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where are you going, and what are you weeping for? And she answered, I am fleeing from the hand of Sarai, my mistress. But the messenger of the everliving said, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her. The everliving's messenger further said to her, I will greatly increase your race so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. The everliving's messenger also continued, You are now with child, and you will give birth to a son, and you must call his name Ishmael, for God heard your sorrow. And he shall be a free man, his hand shall be with every man, and the hand of every man with him, and he shall stand up in the presence of all his brothers. She accordingly called the name of the everliving who spoke to her. You are the God I saw. I can say this, for I have lived after he appeared to me. So the well was named, the well of the vision of life. It is situated between Kadesh and Bered, and Hagar gave birth to a son to Abram, and Abram called the name of his son by her Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael to Abram. CHAPTER 17 When Abram was ninety-six years old, the everliving revealed again to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty, walk before me and be perfect, and I will make a covenant between myself and you, and I will increase you very, very greatly. Abram then fell on his face, and God spoke to him, saying, I now make a covenant with you, and you shall be a father of many nations, so your name shall be Abraham, for you shall be the father of many nations, and I will make you very fruitful, and I will make nations and kingdoms proceed from you. I will also establish my covenant between myself and you, and with your descendants after you from generation to generation forever, to be a God to you and your race after you. I will also give to you and your race this country where you are a foreigner, the whole land of Canaan for a possession forever, and I will be their God. Now this is the covenant which you shall keep, as well as your race after you in their generations. This is the covenant which you shall keep between myself and you, and your race after you. Circumcise every male of them, and they shall be circumcised in the foreskin of the body for an attestation of the covenant between myself and them, and upon the eighth day every male shall be circumcised in their generations, whether born of the family or purchased for money, although he is not of your race. Whoever is the child of your own family or bought for money shall be circumcised, and it is my covenant in your body as an everlasting bond, but the degraded male who has not been circumcised shall then become separated from my people, because he has broken the covenant. God further said to Abraham, Sarai your wife shall no more be called by the name of Sarai, for Sarai shall be her name, and I will bless her and also give you a son from her, and she shall become the mother of nations and of kings of peoples. Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart, Then I am a hundred years old, and will Sarai also, when ninety years of age, have children? Then Abraham said to God, I wish that Ishmael might live in your favour. And God replied, Feeble Sarai your wife shall give you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will fix my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his race after him, and for Ishmael I have also heard you. My blessing will be with him, and I will cause him to prosper and extend him very greatly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will grant him to become a great nation, but that other is the covenant I will fix with Isaac, whom Sarai your wife will bear about this time next year. Then he ceased to converse with him, and the divine messenger went up from Abraham. Abraham accordingly took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his family, and all bought with his money, every male of the people of the household of Abraham, and circumcised the foreskin of their bodies on that very day which God spoke to him. And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the foreskin of the body. Ishmael also was thirteen years of age when he was circumcised in the foreskin of his body. On the very same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. All the men born in his house, or bought with his money, and foreigners, were circumcised with him. CHAPTER XVIII The Lord again revealed to him at the oak-woods of Mamre when he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. Then he raised his eyes and looked, and saw three men standing opposite to him, and he looked and called to them from the door of his tent, and, bowing to the ground, said, My masters, if now I have found favour in your eyes, will you not come into your servant? Take a little water and wash your feet, and rest under the wood, and take a bit of bread and refresh your heart, and afterwards proceed. Perhaps for this you passed near your servant? And they replied, Do as you have said. Abraham then hastened into his tent to Sarah, and said, Hasten with three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes. Abraham also ran to the fold, and took a fine fat calf, and gave it to a youth who at once dressed it. Then he took cheese and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and placed before them, and he stood opposite them under the trees while they were eating. They afterwards asked him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he replied, She is in the tent. They then said, I will restore you as at the period of youth, and there shall come a son from Sarah your wife. And Sarah heard it at the door of the tent where she was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and feeble. It was not with Sarah as women are. So Sarah laughed in her apartment, saying, Here I am wasted, will there be pleasure for me, even when my master is old? The Lord consequently said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I suckle a child when I am old? Is it a great thing for the ever living to say, At such a time I will return to you the period of youth, and give a son to Sarah? But Sarah denied, replying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He however answered, Yes, you did laugh. The men then departed from there, and faced towards Sodom, and Abraham walked with them to converse. Then the Lord said, Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do, when Abraham is to become a great and mighty nation, and every nation of the earth to be blessed through him? For I have instructed him in order that he may command his sons, and the sons of his house after him, that they must keep to the path of the ever living, and do right and justice, so that the ever living may cause to come upon Abraham what he has promised to him. So the Lord continued, Sodom and Gomorrah shriek, for their sins are many, and are very grievous. I have therefore come down, and I will see what causes the shrieks that have come to me. Have they full cause? If not, I will know. So the men turned from there, and went towards Sodom. But Abraham stood firm in the presence of the Lord, and Abraham approached and said, Will you destroy the just along with the wicked? If there are fifty just persons within the city, will you destroy it, and not raise your hand from the place because of the fifty just persons that are within it? Far be it from you to do as you have said, thus to kill the just with a wicked, and to make the just and the wicked alike. It is far from you. Will not the judge of the whole earth do justice? The Lord accordingly answered, If I find fifty just men in the whole city of Sodom, then I will for their sakes take off my hand from all the place. Then Abraham answered and said, See now, I began to speak to my Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. If there should want five just persons of the fifty, will you sweep away the whole city for want of five? And he answered, I will not sweep it away if I find there forty-five. But he continued still to speak to him, and said, If there are found forty there? He replied, I will not do it for the sake of the forty. Still, he said, Let not my Lord be angry now, and I will speak. If thirty are found there? And he answered, I will not do it if I find thirty. He continued however, See now, I will dare to speak to my Lord, if there are found twenty there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty. He then said, Let not my Lord be angry now, and I will speak once more, if ten are found there? And he replied, I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten. Then the Lord went to do what he had told to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his own place. CHAPTER XIX And two of the messengers came to Sodom at evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom, and Lot saw and rose to invite them, and bowed his face to the ground, and said, See now, my good sirs, turn aside to the house of your servant and rest yourselves, and wash your feet and quench your thirst, and you can then proceed on your journey. But they replied, No, for we must go further. Then he pressed them much, so they turned with him and came to his house, and he made them a repast with unleavened cakes, and they partook of them. It was not yet time for sleep, when the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house from youths to old men, in fact all the people of the neighborhood, and called out to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ravish them! Lot, however, went out to them to the porch, and the doors were closed behind him, and he said, My friends, do not commit such wickedness. Look now, I have two virgin daughters. I will bring them to you, and you can do to them whatever you like. Only to these men do not such a thing, for as a protection from it they came to the shelter of my roof. But they replied, Be off with that! This fellow came here a foreigner, and he dictates decisions. Now it shall be worse for you than for them. Then they rushed to the man lot with a vengeance, and attempted to break the gates, but the men put out their hands and brought Lot to themselves into the house, and closed the gates, and they struck the men in front of the house with blindness from the youngest to the oldest, so that they could not find the doorway. Then the men said to Lot, Now, who is with you here, relative or son or daughter, or anyone that you have in the city? Let them go out from this place, for we shall destroy this place, for its great shriek has come before the ever-living, and the ever-living has sent us to destroy it. Lot, therefore, went out and spoke to his relatives, to the husbands of his daughters, and said, Come, let us go out from this place, for the ever-living will destroy the city. But he was considered a fool in the eyes of his relatives. So when Don arrived, the messenger said to Lot, Get up, take your wife and your two daughters, and go out, for the crimes of this city are completed. But he hesitated, so the men seized hold of his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, from the pity of the Lord towards him, and brought them out, and placed them outside the city. And when they had brought them out, they then said, Fly for your life, look not behind you, and delay not in all the plain. Take flight to the mountains, take yourself there. But Lot answered them, Oh, my lords, let now your servant find favor in your sight, and increase the kindness which you have done to me, to enliven my soul. For I am not able to escape to the hills, before the disaster will overtake me, and I shall die. See now this city, it is easy to escape there. In the little time I can escape to there, is it not a trifle, and my life will be preserved? So one replied to him, Yes, I will accept your presence. Also for this thing, I will not destroy this town on behalf of which you have spoken. Be quick to escape there, for I am not able to do the thing until you arrive there. He accordingly called the name of that place, Zohar. The sun had risen above the land when Lot entered Zohar. The everliving then reigned upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, lightning and fire from the everliving from the skies, and overwhelmed those towns, them and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the towns, and the produce of the land. But his wife looked back, and was transformed into a pillar of salt. And when Abraham went in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord, and looked out towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the plain, he saw and perceived a stench and smoke rise up from the country, like the smoke from a furnace. Thus it was that God destroyed the cities of the plain. But God remembered Abraham and sent Lot beyond the reach of the destruction with which he destroyed those towns where Lot lived. And Lot went up from Zohar, and settled in the hills, along with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zohar. So he lived in a cave along with his two daughters, and the elder said to the younger, Our father grows old, and there is not a man in the country to come to us as others do all the world over. Come on, let us make our father drunk with wine, and cohabit with him, and it may be that we shall have children by our father. So they made their father drunk with wine that night, and the elder went and lay with her father, but he was not aware of the fact when she lay down, or rose up. It was some time afterwards that the elder said to the younger, See, I went with my father the other night. Let us make him drunk with wine also to-night, and you can go and lie with him, and it may be you will have children by your father. So they made their father drunk also that night with wine, and the younger rose and went with him, and he knew not when she lay down, or when she rose up. Thus both of the daughters of Lot conceived from their father. Then the elder gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab, he was the ancestor of Moab of today, and the younger also gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ben-Ami, he was the ancestor of Ammon of today. CHAPTER XX Abraham then removed quietly from their landward and settled between Qadesh and the Wall, and resided in Gerar, and as Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. Abimelech the King of Gerar sent and took Sarah. God however came to Abimelech in a dream at night and said, Beware of death because of this woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife! But Abimelech had not made advances to her, so he replied, My Lord, would you kill a jest person? Has not this man said to me, She is my sister, and did not she herself say to me, He is my brother? In the honesty of my heart, and the innocence of my hand, I have done this? Then God said to him in a dream, I also know that in the honesty of your heart you have done this, so I restrained you. I also warned you from sin against me, therefore I did not permit you to approach her. So now return the woman to her husband, for he is a great teacher, and will intercede for you. But if you do not return her, know that you shall certainly die and all that you have. When Abimelech awoke in the morning, he called his ministers, and related in their hearing the whole of these events, and the men were greatly afraid. Abimelech consequently called Abraham and asked him, What have you done to us? And what have I sinned against you that you have brought on me and my kingdom this great danger for acts they have not done? You have done us a wrong. And Abimelech continued to Abraham. What have you seen that you have done this thing? But Abraham replied, I said that perhaps there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife. And indeed she is my sister, the daughter-in-law of my father, but not of my mother, and she was given to me for a wife. But when God caused me to be a wanderer from my father's house, then I said to her, This is the kindness which you shall show to me in every place where we come. Say I am your brother. Abimelech, however, took sheep, oxen, slaves, and girls, and gave to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, See, my country is before you. Stay wherever it is good for your eyes. While to Sarah, he said, I have given a thousand gifts to this brother of yours, for he must be a covering of the eyes to all who are with you, and to all who meet you. Then Abraham appealed for Abimelech to God, and God made the wives of Abimelech fruitful, and his servants as well, and they gave birth to children, because the ever-living had sterilized those of the household of Abimelech on account of Sarah the wife of Abraham. CHAPTER XXI The ever-living afterwards affected with Sarah what he had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah that which he had said, and Sarah conceiving gave birth to a son to Abraham in his old age, in the way that God had promised him. Abraham accordingly gave the son born to him by Sarah, the name of Isaac, and Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day as God had instructed him. And Abraham was then one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah then said, God has made a delight for me, for he has heard my laugh to him. All who here will laugh with me. And she continued, For Abraham I am a flowing brook, he has made me suckled children, for I have born a son to his age. When the lad grew and was weaned, Abraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac with a great feast. Sarah also saw the son, which Hagar the Egyptian had born to Abraham, playing, and said to Abraham, Drive out my maid and her son, for the son of this slave shall not be an inheritor with my son Isaac. But in Abraham's view this speech was very bad in regard to his son. But God said to Abraham, Let it not be disheartening in your sight. Do all that Sarah has said against the lad and against his mother. Listen to what she says, for from Isaac I will nominate an heir to you, and also from the son of your second wife I will found a great nation, for he is your heir. Abraham accordingly rose up at dawn, and taking bread and a skin of water he placed them on the shoulder of Hagar and the lads, and sent her away. And she went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was exhausted, however, she placed the lad under a bush, and went and seated herself on the other side. For she said, I shall not then see the lads deaf. So she rested on the other side, and she raised her voice and wept. God then heard the voice of the youth, and a messenger of God called from the sky to Hagar and said to her, What Hagar is the matter? Be not afraid, for God has heard the voice of the lad from where he is. Arise, take the lad and support him, for I will make from him a great nation. Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a spring of water, and she gave the lad a drink. Thus God gave life to the lad, and he grew, and dwelled in the desert, and became a mighty archer, and settled in the desert of Paran, and she took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. It was about this time that Abimelech and Pichol, the commander of his army, addressed Abraham, saying, God is with you in all that you do, so now take an oath to me before God that you may not deceive, and to my children and posterity that the kindness which I have shown to you, you will show to me, and to the land where you have been a foreigner. And Abraham replied, I will take the oath. Abraham then reproved Abimelech about the affair of the well of water, which the servants of Abimelech had stolen. Then Abimelech answered, I did not myself know of that matter, and neither did you report it to me, and I never heard it until today. Abraham then took sheep and oxen, and gave to Abimelech, and the two entered into a treaty. Abimelech then asked Abraham, What are these seven lambs for which you have put by themselves? You take these seven lambs from my hand, he answered, that they may be an evidence for me that I dug this well. They accordingly called that place, the well of the oath, and he entered into a treaty at the well of the oath, with both Abimelech and Pichl, the commander of his army. Then they returned to the land of the Philistines. They also planted tamarisk trees by the well of the oath, and called there on the name of the ever-living eternal God. So Abraham remained in the land of the Philistines for many days. The end of chapters fifteen through twenty-one of the Book of Genesis. CHAPTER TWENTY-II After these events God tried Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, I am here. Then he said, Take your son, your peculiar one whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of vision, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the hills which I will point out to you. When Abraham woke in the morning he saddled his ass and took two youths along with him, and Isaac his son, and split up wood for a sacrifice, and they rose up and went to the place which God had told him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the spot some distance off. Then Abraham said to his attendants, Stay here by yourselves with the ass, and the lad and I will go and worship, and will then return to you. Abraham accordingly took the wood for the sacrifice and placed it upon Isaac his son, and took in his own hand the fire and the knife, and the two went together. Isaac then said to Abraham his father, My father, and he replied, I am here, my son. There is fire in wood, he said. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering? God, answered Abraham, will provide a lamb for himself for a burnt offering, my son. So they went on together. When they came to the place that God had commanded him, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and laid him upon the altar, upon the top of the wood. Then Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. But a messenger from the ever-living called to him from the skies and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he replied, I am here. Stretch not your hand against the young man, he said, nor due to him what you intended, for now I know that you reverence God and would not withhold from me your son, your special one. Abraham then looked up and saw a goat caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the goat and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham therefore called the name of that place Jehovah Ira. Then the messenger of the ever-living called again to Abraham from the skies and said to him, I promise, the Lord declares, that because you have done this thing and not held back your special son, that when blessing I will bless you, and when increasing I will increase your race as the stars of the skies and like the sand upon the seashore, and your race shall possess the gates of its enemies, and I will benefit all the nations of the earth through your air, because you have listened to my voice. Abraham afterwards returned to his attendance, and they rose up and went back to the well of the oath. After these events a message was delivered to Abraham. Your sister Milka has given birth to children to Nahor, your brother, Uzz, and his brother Buz, and Kemuel, the father of Aram, and Qased, and Hazoh, and Kildash, and Zidlath, and Bethuel. And Bethuel has produced Rebekah. These eight Milka has born to Nahor, your brother, and his second wife, whose name is Reuma, she also has given birth to Tabak, and Gahan, and Thehash, and Makkah. CHAPTER XXIII Now the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years, the whole of the life of Sarah, and Sarah died in Kiryath Arba in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn and lament for Sarah. Then Abraham rose up from the presence of his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, I am a foreigner, and wanderer with you. Give me the possession of a grave among you, and I can bury my dead from my sight. And the sons of Heth replied to Abraham, We listen to my Lord, who stands like a God among us. Choose from our tombs a grave for your dead. None of us will deny his tomb to you, where you can bury your dead. Then Abraham rose up and bowed to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth, and addressed them, saying, If it is in your minds to let my dead be buried from my sight, listen to me, and apply for me to Ephron, the son of Zohar, and let him sell to me the cave of Makkahla, which is within the boundaries of his land. He shall sell it to me for full value as a tomb possessed among you. Now Ephron resided among the sons of Heth, and Ephron spoke after Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, to all who came to the gates of the town, saying, No, my Lord, listen to me, I give you the field and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you as a grave to bury your dead. Then Abraham bowed to the people of the land, and addressed Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, Nay, if you are disposed to listen to me, I will pay you money for the field, so accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there. Then Ephron in reply to Abraham said, My Lord, listen to me, for four hundred shekels of money between me and you, the land is yours, and you can bury your dead. So Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money which he had agreed upon in the sight of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver currency. Thus he bought the field of Ephron that is in Makphila, which is opposite Mamre, the field and the cave which is in it, and all the trees which were in the field, with all the hedge around it. Thus Abraham bought it in the presence of the sons of Heth, of all who came to the gate of the town, and after that Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Makphila opposite Mamre in the land of Canaan, and the field with the cave in it was acquired by Abraham for a burial-ground from the sons of Heth. CHAPTER XXIV Abraham however grew old and advanced in years, and the Lord had prospered Abraham in everything. Then Abraham said to his servant, the chief of his household and steward over all he had, I wish you to put your hand under my thigh and take an oath to me by the ever-living, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife or my son from the Canaanites, among whom I reside, but that you will go to my old family and take a wife for my son Isaac. But the servant asked him, if a woman does not desire to come along with me to this country, shall I return and take your son to the land from which you came? When Abraham, in reply to him, said, Be careful not to take my son there, the ever-living, the God of heaven who took me from my father's home and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and also took oath to me saying, I will give this country to your race, he will send his messenger before you and you will bring a wife for my son from there. But if a woman does not desire to come along with you, then you shall be free from this oath, except that you must never take my son there. Abraham's servant accordingly put his hand under the thigh of his master and took an oath to him upon this matter. The servant afterwards took ten camels of his master and plenty of his master's wealth in his hand and rose up and went to Aram between the rivers, to the town of Nahor, and he knelt the camels outside the town at the well of water in the evening, at the time when they came out to draw water, and prayed, Ever-living God of my master Abraham, turn now your face today and do a kindness to my master Abraham, I am here in camp at the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the town will come out to draw water. So let it be that when the girl to whom I say, Hand me your jar, and I will drink, if she replies, Drink, and I will also give drink to your camels. Let your servant take her to Isaac, for by that I shall know that you will do a kindness to my master. And so it happened, as he was coming to the end of his prayer, that Rebecca, who was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milka, wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, came out with a bucket upon her shoulder, and the girl was very beautiful to look upon, a maiden who had no sweetheart, and she ran to the well, filled her bucket, and drew it up. The steward was delighted, and spoke to her, and said, Will you give me a drink of the little of the water from your bucket? Drink, sir, was her reply, and she tripped on and lowered her bucket to her hand, and gave him a drink. When she had given him a drink, she added, And now I will draw for your camels, that they may all have a drink. Then she ran and carried her bucket to the spring, and dipped it into the well to draw, and she drew for all the camels. The man watched her silently to know whether or not the ever-living had granted prosperity to his journey. And when she had watered all the camels, then the man took a brooch of gold, of half a shekel, and placed on her arms two bracelets of rich gold of a shekel, and said, My girl, will you now ask the men of your father's house, for a place for us to lodge in? And she answered him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Mocha, whom she had to Nahor, and she continued, We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room enough for you to lodge. Then the man bowed, and thanked the ever-living, and said, Thank the ever-living God of my master Abraham, who has not forgotten his goodness and truth to my master, for the ever-living has led me to the house of the brother of my master. And the girl ran and reported to the house of her mother, as it is here related, and to Rebekah's brother, whose name was Laban. Then Laban rose to go to the man who rested near the well, when he saw the brooches and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, that the man said this to me. He went to the man who remained by the well with his camels, and said, Come in, you blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside when I offer you the house, and a stable for your camels? Then the man entered his house, and he unloaded the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the young men who were with him. He also placed food before them. But he replied, I will not eat until I have delivered my message. Speak! he said. I am the servant of Abraham, he answered, and the ever living has prospered my master very greatly, and has given to him sheep and oxen and silver and gold and men and women servants, camels and asses. Sarah also my master's wife had a son to my master, a son in his old age, and he will give him all he has. Now my master has pledged me to say, Take not a wife or my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I reside in their But go instead to the home of my father, and choose a wife for my son from among my own family. I replied to my master, Perhaps the woman will not come with me. Then he said to me, The ever living who has caused me to walk in his presence will send his messenger along with you, and he will guide you in your path, so as to secure a wife for my son from among the children of my own tribe and from the home of my father. So take an oath to me that you will go to my tribe, and if they will not give to you, you shall be free from your oath to me. And I came today to the well and said, Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if it pleases you, point me to the path that I should follow. See, I have arrived at this well of water, so let it be that when a young girl comes to draw, when I say to her, Give me a little water from your bucket, and she answers to me, Drink yourself, and I will also draw for the camels. She shall be the wife the Lord will grant to the son of my master. This speech had not come to an end on my lips. When Rebecca approached with her bucket upon her shoulder, and she dropped it into the well and drew, then I said to her, Pray, give me a drink, and she quickly lowered the bucket from off her and said, Drink, and I will also water your camels. So I drank, and she watered the camels as well. Then I inquired of her and asked, My girl, who are you? And she replied, The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, whom Milka had to him. So I placed the brooches on her brow and the bracelets upon her hands. Then I bowed to the Lord and worshipped and thanked the ever-living God of my master Abraham, who had been kind to me, leading me in the right way to the house of the brother of my master for his son. And now if it is your will to show kindness and truth to my master, inform me, and if not, tell me so, and I will turn to the right or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, This has proceeded from the Lord. We are not able to say to you either good or ill. See, Rebecca is before you. Take her and go, and she shall be a wife to the son of your master as the ever-living has directed. And when Abraham's steward heard their words, he bowed to the ground to the Lord. The steward also brought out ornaments of silver and ornaments of gold and clothing and put them upon Rebecca, and gave treasures to her brother and mother. Then they ate and drank, he and the men with him, and rested, and rising in the morning he said, I will now return to my master. The brother and mother however said, Let the girl remain with us a day or two. After that she shall go. He, however, replied, If she will not go with me, then the Lord will prosper the way of return, and I will go back to my master. Then they said, Let the girl be called and ask her own self. So they called Rebecca and asked her, Will you go with this man? I will go, was her reply. They, therefore, sent off Rebecca their sister with her nurse and the steward of Abraham and his attendants, and they gave Rebecca their blessing and said to her, You are our sister, increase two thousands, and may your descendants possess the gate of their enemies. Then they lifted Rebecca and her attendants and placed them upon camels, and they rode after the man. Thus the steward took Rebecca and departed. Now Isaac was traveling towards the well of vision, for he resided in the South Country, and he had come out to meditate in the field at the approach of the evening, and there he raised his eyes and looked and saw camels coming. Rebecca also raised her eyes and saw Isaac and dismounted from her camel and asked the steward, What man is that who walks in the field? And the steward replied, He is my master. So she took a veil and put it on. Then the steward reported to Isaac all the things that he had done, and Isaac brought her to the tent of his mother Sarah. So he took Rebecca and she was a wife to him, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother. Abraham prospered, and he took a wife whose name was Ketura, and she bore him Zimram, and Yokshan, and Medan, and Median, and Ishbak, and Shuach. And Yokshan begot Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Ashurim, and Tushim, and Lamim, and the sons of Median, Aifa, and Afer, and Hanok, and Abida, and Eldaha. All were descendants from Ketura. Abraham left all that was with him to Isaac, but to the sons of the secondary wives that Abraham had, Abraham gave fortunes and sent them from his son Isaac during his own life to the east of the eastern country. These were the days of the life of Abraham that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. So Abraham expired and died, a fine gray-headed old man, and satisfied, and they placed him with his people, and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Makphila, on the estate of Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Kivite, which is before Mamrah, the field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife. After the death of Abraham, God prospered Isaac, his son, and he resided at the well of Vision. Now these are the sons of Ishmael, son of Abraham, whom Hagar, the Egyptian, the slave of Sarah, had by Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by the names of their families. The eldest of Ishmael was Nebioth, and Kedar, and Abdal, and Mibsam, Mishma, and Duma, and Masa, Kader, and Thima, Zatur, Nafish, and Kadma. These were sons of Ishmael, and these their names by their villages and towers, twelve men by their nations. The years of the life of Ishmael were a hundred and thirty-seven years, when he expired and died, and was added to his people. And they took him from Havilah to the wall, which is between Egypt and the road to Asur, laying him with all his relatives. And these are the children of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac. And Isaac, son of Abraham, was forty years old when he took for his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramite of Padhanoram, and sister of Laban, the Aramite. And Isaac prayed to the ever-living about his wife, for she was childless, and the Lord answered him, for Rebekah his wife conceived, and the children struggled together in her breast, and she consequently said, Why does this happen to me? So went to inquire of the ever-living. And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your breast, and two peoples shall proceed from your womb, and one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. When her days were full for her delivery, there were twins, and the first-born boy came out covered with hair, and she called his name Esau. Then after him came his brother, with his hand holding the heel of Esau. So they called his name Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old at the birth of them. When the lads grew up Esau was a man skillful in hunting, a man of the field. But Jacob was a quiet man, a stayer in the tent. So Isaac loved Esau because he hunted with him, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was boiling porridge, Esau came from the field, and he was exhausted. So Esau said to Jacob, Feed me now with that red porridge, for I am exhausted! Therefore they called his name Red Soup. But Jacob replied, Sell me your birthright today. Then Esau answered, Now I am going to die! What is that birthright to me? So Jacob said, Swear to me now at once! And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave to Esau bread and lentil porridge, and he ate and drank, and rose up and went. Thus Esau was careless about his birthright. Afterwards there was a famine in the land beside the former famine which was in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines of Gerar. Then the ever-living appeared to him in a vision and said, Descend not to Mitzar, dwell in the land that I promised you, Remain in this land and I will be with you, and will bless you, for to you and your race I will give the whole of this country as a dwelling, and I will complete the oath which I swore to your father Abraham, and I will increase your race like the stars of the sky, and I will give to your race the whole of this country for a home, and I will bless all the nations of the earth through your heir, in accordance with what I promised to Abraham according to my words, if you will carefully keep my commands and statutes and laws. So Isaac remained in Gerar. When the men of the place asked about his wife, he replied, she is my sister. For he feared to say, my wife, lest the men of the place should murder him for Rebekah, for she was beautiful to look on. After he had resided a considerable time, it happened that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, was looking out of his window when he saw Isaac sporting with his wife Rebekah. Abimelech therefore summoned Isaac and said, now she is your wife, then why did you say to me she is my sister? And Isaac answered, because I said to myself, I fear they will kill me because of her. Why did you do so to us? Abimelech said. Perhaps one of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought sin upon us. Abimelech therefore commanded to all his people, saying, whoever touches this man, he shall as surely die. Isaac, however, removed from that country and went to Bashan, he and his possessions, and the ever-living prospered him. Thus the man traveled about and increased until he was very great. He also had flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and many servants, and the Philistines were envious of him. So the Philistines filled with earth all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug in his days. Abimelech also said to Isaac, go from among us, for you are much stronger than we. So Isaac went from there and encamped by the river Gerar, and remained there. Isaac also settled and cleared out the wells of water which were dug in the time of his father Abraham, and he called them by the names they were called in the days of his father. The servants of Isaac also dug in the valley and discovered there a spring of living water. But the shepherds of Gerar contended with the shepherds of Isaac and said, The water is ours! So he called the name of the well Strife, because they disputed with him. He therefore dug another well, and they contended about that also, so he called its name Contention. He then removed from there and dug another well, and they did not fight over it, so he called its name Room Enough, for he said, Now, Lord, you have given us room, and made us fruitful in the land. Afterwards he arose from there and went to the well of the oath. And the ever-living appeared to him that night, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, I am with you, and will bless you and increase your race because of my servant Abraham. Then he built an altar at the place, and called on the name of the ever-living, and he pitched his tent there. The servants of Isaac also dug a well. But Abimelech went to him from Gerar with his chief herdsman, and Peacol, the general of his army. Isaac therefore asked them, Why have you come to me, when you are my enemies, and have driven me from among you? And they replied, We are terribly afraid, because God is with you, so we would say, Let there now be an understanding between us and you, and let a treaty be made with you, so that you will not do wrong to us if we do not touch you, and as we have certainly done good to you and sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the ever-living. He therefore made them a feast, and they ate and drank and rose up in the morning when they swore each to his brother. Then Isaac sent them away, and they went from him in peace. In the same day also the servants of Isaac came and informed him about the well which they had dug, and they said, We have found water! He therefore called it Satisfaction. Consequently the name of the village by that well is called Satisfaction to this day. When Esau was forty years old he took as a wife Judith, the daughter of Barai the Hittite, and Basmaf, the daughter of Elan the Hittite, but they were a bitter wind to Isaac and Rebecca. CHAPTER 27 And when Isaac was old and his eyes dimmed that he could not see, he called his eldest son Esau and said to him, My son, and he replied, I am here. Then he said, See now I am old and I know not the day of my death. So now take up your spear, quiver, and bow, and go to the field and hunt venison for me, and make me tasty food such as I love, and bring it to me, and I will eat it, so that my soul may bless you before I die. But Rebecca heard the speech of Isaac to Esau his son, and that Esau had gone to the field to hunt venison to bring in. Then Rebecca spoke to Jacob her son, and said, I have just heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, Bring to me venison, and make me tasty food, that I may eat it, and I will bless you before I die. So now my son, listen to my voice to do what I shall order you, go to the flock and select for me two good kids of the goats, and I will make tasty food for your father such as he loves, and you shall carry it to your father when he will eat, and because of it he will bless you before his death. But Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. When my father feels me, I shall be in his eyes like a swindler, and shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing. His mother however said to him, Let any curse for you come on me, my son. Only you go and do as I tell you. He consequently went and did it, and brought to his mother, and she made for him tasty food such as his father loved. Then Rebecca took some of the clothes of her son Esau which were in the house with her, and put them on her younger son Jacob, and put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the dainties and the bread which she had made into the hand of her younger son Jacob, and he went to his father and said to him, Father, and he replied, I am here. Who are you? When Jacob answered, I am your eldest son Esau. I have done as you asked me. Rise now. Turn in eat of my venison, so that your soul may bless me. Isaac however asked his son, How is it you have been so quick in meeting with it, my son? So he replied, Because you are ever living God brought it before me. Then Isaac said to Jacob, Come near me, my son, and I will feel if you are really my son Esau or no. So Jacob approached to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Therefore he did not detect him, because his hands were like the hands of his brother Esau, Harry, and he was thankful. Yet he asked, Are you really my son Esau? And he replied, I am. Then he said, Bring it to me, and I will eat of the venison of my son, so that my soul may bless you. He consequently presented it to him, and he ate, and he brought wine to him, and he drank. Then Isaac his father said, Come close, my son, and give me a drink. So he approached and gave him a drink, and he smelt the smell of his clothes, and was satisfied, and said, Yes, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. So may God give to you the dew from the skies, and the fatness of the earth, and increase and possession. Nations shall serve you and bow down to you, yes, a multitude of mighty peoples, with your brothers also shall pay tribute to you, my son. If any curses you, he shall be cursed, and if any blesses you, he shall be blessed. But it happened that as Isaac finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had gone away from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came with his venison, and he also had made dainties, and brought them to his father, and said to his father, Arise, my father, and eat of the venison of your son, so that your soul may bless me. Isaac his father, however, asked of him, Who are you? And he replied, I am your firstborn son, Esau. Then Isaac was terrified with a very great terror, and asked, Who then is he who has hunted venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and I have blessed him, yes, and he must be blessed. When Esau heard the speech of his father, then he cried with a very great and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me, also me, my father. But he replied, Your brother has come with deception and stolen your blessing, and he answered, He was rightly named tripper up, for he has tricked me this twice, to take my birthright, and also now to take my blessing. Then he asked, Have you not a blessing left for me? But Isaac replied and said to Esau, Since I have made him your master, and have given all his brothers to him for servants, and with increase in possession I have endowed him, where now my son is there anything I can do. But Esau said to his father, Is there then only one blessing with you, my father? Bless me also, my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, Yes, in the most fertile land shall be your dwelling, and with the dew from the skies above, and you shall live by your sword, but shall serve your brother. Yet when you extend, you shall break his yoke from off your neck. But Esau hated Jacob for the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, The day approaches for the morning of my father, when I will kill my brother. But the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, so she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, Now Esau, your brother, intends to kill you. Consequently, my son, listen to my voice, and arise and go away to Laban my brother at Karan, and stay with him for some time until the anger of your brother has passed away. When the rage of your brother against you has passed, and he forgets what you have done to him, I will send and fetch you from there. Why should I be deprived of both in one day? Then Rebekah said to Isaac, I hate my life in the presence of these hittite girls. If Jacob should take a wife from among these hittite girls, such girls as they are in this country, why should I live? Chapter 28 Consequently, Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him, and commanded him not to take a wife from the girls of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. And may Almighty God bless you, and make you fruitful, and increase, and may you become an assembly of nations. And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you and your race with you, to inherit the land of your strangerhood, which God gave to Abraham. Thus Isaac sent off Jacob, and he traveled to Padan Aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Aramee, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob, and Esau. But when Esau knew that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there to comfort him, and had ordered him saying, Take not a wife from the girls of Canaan, and that Jacob had listened to the voice of his father and mother, and had gone to Padan Aram, then Esau perceived that the girls of Canaan were displeasing in the eyes of Isaac his father, so Esau went to Ishmael and took Malath, the daughter of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, the sister of Nabaioth, besides his other wives, as a wife to himself. Jacob, however, set out from the well of the oath and traveled to Qaraan, and he arrived at a place and rested there, for it was sunset. So he took one of the stones of the place and put it for his pillow and laid down in the spot. Then he dreamed and saw a ladder with its foot standing on the ground and its head reaching to the heavens, and there were messengers of God ascending and descending it. And he saw the ever-living stationed above it, who said, I am the ever-living God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac, the land which you now lie upon, I will give to you and your race, and your race shall be like the dust of the earth, and shall spread west and east and north and south, and all the nations of the world shall be benefited by you and your heir. Be assured also that I am with you, and will guard you wherever you go, and I will give you a quiet return to this country, for I will not forsake you until I have accomplished what I have promised to you. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and exclaimed, The ever-living is certainly in this place, and I knew it not. So he was afraid and said, How terrible this place is! Is not this truly the house of God, and this the gate of heaven? Jacob, however, slept until morning when he took the stone which he had placed for a pillow and sat it upright, and poured oil on the top of it, and called the name of that place God's house. But Andamlos was its former name. Then Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the ever-living God is with me, and will guard me in the way that I now go, and give to me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and bring me back safely to the house of my father, then the ever-living shall be my God, and this stone which I placed for a pillow shall be a house of God, and of all that you give to me. I will return a tenth part to you. The end of chapters 22 through 28 of the Book of Genesis. Recording by Mark Penfold.