At the earnest solicitation of large numbers of the religious bodies and laity, we

herewith beg leave to introduce to the public a most convenient edition of the Sacred

Scriptures, approved by his Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore, whose

recommendation we herewith append.

The Sacred Scriptures form a part of divine revelation; the other part being contained in

the depository of the Church, and designated as the unwritten word of God.

This distinction is most happily found couched in the language of St. Paul (2 Thess. 2.

14), " Wherefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have learned,

whether by word or by our Epistle." The Apostle of the Gentiles thus gives precedence

to the unwritten word of God presented to man by the Church, whilst she, under the

influence of the Holy Spirit, assumes the office of sole interpreter of the written word,

thereby rendering her the sole guardian of the deposit of divine revelation in its twofold

form.

On the written revelation, it is highly appropriate that we should here address a few

remarks to our readers.

As the book about to be once more presented to the public in a new form claims for

itself an origin exclusively divine, we deem it not out of place to furnish, in outline at

least, the grounds of that claim.

The work is divided unequally into two parts, viz., the Old and New Testaments. The

Old Testament is a record of God's relations with man antecedently to the advent of the

incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament contains a

compendium of the lives of our Saviour and his Apostles, as recorded by the

Evangelists and other Apostles.

As to the first part, or Old Testament, the version always recognized by the Church

contains many more books than that used by other than Catholics. The reason of this

discrepancy is that the Church's version, the Septuagint, the Greek translation from the

original Hebrew, and which contained all the writings now found in the Douay version,

as it is called, was the version used by the Saviour and his Apostles and by the Church

from her infancy, and translated into Latin, known under the title of Latin Vulgate, and

ever recognized as the true version of the written word of God.

Hence the Old Testament, containing as it does all embraced in the Septuagint, is not

only genuine and authentic, but having the approbation of our Saviour and Apostles,

who quoted it exclusively whilst on earth, has superadded to it the supreme character of

divine inspiration, which it possesses to the exclusion of all other versions. It stands,

therefore, before the world as the sole claimant for integrity, genuineness, authenticity,

and inspiration; in a word, as the possessor of every attribute necessary to constitute

what no other work can lay claim to, viz., a divinely inspired volume.

Of the genuineness and authenticity of the more recent part of this sacred book, viz., the

New Testament, there exists no doubt; but as to its inspiration, the gravest doubts may

exist unless an infallible witness thereof can be produced. Whatever grounds may exist

vouching for the inspiration of the Apostles as writers, no security whatsoever can be

forthcoming for the inspiration of the quotas furnished by Sts. Mark and Luke; the

former the writer of a Gospel; the latter also the writer of a Gospel and of the Acts of

the Apostles; these quotas, forming a prominent part in the composition of the New

Testament, remain uninspired, their authors not being Apostles. The only solution to

this difficulty is to be found in the testimony of the Church of Christ, which He

commands us to " hear," and against which He pledges Himself that " the gates of hell

cannot prevail." Her decision, by virtue of the guaranty of her Founder, exalts the New

Testament to the dignity of a divinely inspired production, and as she vouches also for

the divine character of the Old Testament, we submit to our readers a work that, alone

of all publications, comprises, with all the evidences of infallible certitude, the only

divine production on earth. The Church of Jesus Christ, by virtue of her divinely

endowed infallibility, vouches for the divine origin of the Sacred Scriptures, and as

such we respectfully, but confidently, submit them to the public.

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

1:2. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and

the spirit of God moved over the waters.

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

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

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

morning one day.

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

the waters from the waters.

A firmament. . .By this name is here understood the whole space between the earth, and

the highest stars. The lower part of which divideth the waters that are upon the earth,

from those that are above in the clouds.

1:7. And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament,

from those that were above the firmament, and it was so.

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

second day.

1:9. God also said; Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into

one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done.

1:10. And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he

called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

1:11. And he said: let the earth bring forth green herb, and such as may seed, and the

fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And

it was so done.

1:12. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to

its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind. And

God saw that it was good.

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

1:14. And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the

day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:

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

so done.

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

to rule the night: and the stars.

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

1:18. And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And

God saw that it was good.

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

1:20. God also said: let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the

fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.

1:21. And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which

the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to

its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:22. And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea:

and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth.

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

1:24. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and

creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.

1:25. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and

every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:26. And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have

dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the

whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.

Let us make man to our image. . .This image of God in man, is not in the body, but in

the soul; which is a spiritual substance, endued with understanding and free will. God

speaketh here in the plural number, to insinuate the plurality of persons in the Deity.

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

male and female he created them.

1:28. And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and

subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living

creatures that move upon the earth.

1:29. And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth,

and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat:

1:30. And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move

upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was

so done.

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

evening and morning were the sixth day.

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

2:2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on

the seventh day from all his work which he had done.

2:3. And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from

all his work which God created and made.

2:4. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they were created, in

the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth:

2:5. And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the earth, and every herb of the

ground before it grew: for the Lord God had not rained upon the earth; and there was

not a man to till the earth.

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

2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face

the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

2:8. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein

he placed man whom he had formed.

2:9. And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold,

and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of

knowledge of good and evil.

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

is divided into four heads.

2:11. The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of

Hevilath, where gold groweth.

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

stone.

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

land of Ethiopia.

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

Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

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

and to keep it.

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

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

soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.

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

help like unto himself.

2:19. And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of the earth, and

all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: for

whatsoever Adam called any living creature the same is its name.

2:20. And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls of the air, and all

the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not found a helper like himself.

2:21. Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep,

he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it.

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

brought her to Adam.

2:23. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall

be called woman, because she was taken out of man.

2:24. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and

they shall be two in one flesh.

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

3:1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord

God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you

should not eat of every tree of paradise?

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

we do eat:

3:3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded

us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.

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

3:5. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be

opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

3:6. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and

delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her

husband, who did eat.

3:7. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to

be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.

3:8. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the

afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst

the trees of paradise.

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

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

and I hid myself.

3:11. And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou

hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?

3:12. And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave

me of the tree, and I did eat.

3:13. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she

answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.

3:14. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art

cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth

shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

3:15. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she

shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

3:16. To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in

sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and

he shall have dominion over thee.

3:17. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and

hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is

the earth in thy work: with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.

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

earth.

3:19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth out of

which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.

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

living.

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

them.

3:22. And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now

therefore lest perhaps he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and

live for ever.

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

which he was taken.

3:24. And he cast out Adam: and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims,

and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

4:1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; who conceived and brought forth Cain, saying: I

have gotten a man through God.

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

a husbandman.

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

gifts to the Lord.

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

respect to Abel, and to his offerings.

Had respect. . .That is, shewed his acceptance of his sacrifice (as coming from a heart

full of devotion): and that, as we may suppose, by some visible token, such as sending

fire from heaven upon his offerings.

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

and his countenance fell.

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

fallen?

4:7. If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall not sin forthwith be present

at the door? but the lust thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over

it.

4:8. And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad. And when they were in

the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him.

4:9. And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered: I know

not: am I my brother's keeper?

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

to me from the earth.

4:11. Now therefore cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth

and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand.

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

shalt thou be upon the earth.

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

4:14. Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face

I shall be hid, and I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth: every one therefore

that findeth me, shall kill me.

4:15. And the Lord said to him: No, it shall not so be: but whosoever shall kill Cain,

shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found

him should not kill him.

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

at the east side of Eden.

4:17. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and brought forth Henoch: and he

built a city, and called the name thereof by the name of his son Henoch.

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

and Mathusael begot Lamech,

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

Sella.

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

herdsmen.

4:21. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of them that play upon the

harp and the organs.

4:22. Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and artificer in every

work of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubalcain was Noema.

4:23. And Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella: Hear my voice, ye wives of

Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man to the wounding of myself, and a

stripling to my own bruising.

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

sevenfold.

4:25. Adam also knew his wife again: and she brought forth a son, and called his name

Seth, saying: God hath given me another seed for Abel, whom Cain slew.

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

upon the name of the Lord.

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

made him to the likeness of God.

5:2. He created them male and female; and blessed them: and called their name Adam,

in the day when they were created.

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

likeness, and called his name Seth.

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

sons and daughters.

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

died.

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

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

and daughters.

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

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

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

daughters.

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

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

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

begot sons and daughters.

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

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

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

sons and daughters.

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

died.

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

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

daughters.

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

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

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

years, and begot sons and daughters.

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

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

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

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

years, and begot sons and daughters.

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

died.

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

5:29. And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall comfort us from the works

and labours of our hands on the earth, which the Lord hath cursed.

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

begot sons and daughters.

5:31. And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and

he died. And Noe, when he was five hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

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

to them,

6:2. The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to

themselves wives of all which they chose.

6:3. And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, because he is flesh, and

his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

6:4. Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to

the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old,

men of renown.

6:5. And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the

thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times,

6:6. It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly

with sorrow of heart,

6:7. He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from

man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth

me that I have made them.

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

6:9. These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a just and perfect man in his

generations, he walked with God.

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

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

6:12. And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted

its way upon the earth),

6:13. He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with

iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth.

6:14. Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little rooms in the ark, and

thou shalt pitch it within and without.

6:15. And thus shalt thou make it. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits:

the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

6:16. Thou shalt make a window in the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish the top of it:

and the door of the ark thou shalt set in the side: with lower, middle chambers, and

third stories shalt thou make it.

6:17. Behold, I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh,

wherein is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be

consumed.

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

and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee.

6:19. And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring two of a sort into the ark,

that they may live with thee: of the male sex, and the female.

6:20. Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their kind, and of every thing

that creepeth on the earth according to its kind: two of every sort shall go in with thee,

that they may live.

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

with thee: and it shall be food for thee and them.

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

7:1. And the Lord said to him: Go in, thou and all thy house, into the ark: for thee I

have seen just before me in this generation.

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

7:3. But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, the male and the female. Of the

fowls also of the air seven and seven, the male and the female: that seed may be saved

upon the face of the whole earth.

7:4. For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon the earth forty days and forty

nights: and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.

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

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

earth.

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

ark, because of the waters of the flood.

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

the earth,

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

commanded Noe.

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

earth.

7:11. In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the

seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and

the floodgates of heaven were opened:

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

7:13. In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth, his sons: his wife,

and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark.

7:14. They and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and

every thing that moveth upon the earth, according to its kind, and every fowl according

to its kind, all birds, and all that fly,

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

life.

7:16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had

commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the outside.

7:17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted

up the ark on high from the earth.

7:18. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the

ark was carried upon the waters.

7:19. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth: and all the high

mountains under the whole heaven were covered.

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

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

and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men.

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

7:23. And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the earth, from man even to

beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the

earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark.

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

8:1. And God remembered Noe, and all the living creatures, and all the cattle which

were with him in the ark, and brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters were

abated:

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

rain from heaven was restrained.

8:3. And the waters returned from off the earth going and coming: and they began to be

abated after a hundred and fifty days.

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

upon the mountains of Armenia.

8:5. And the waters were going and decreasing until the tenth month: for in the tenth

month, the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

8:6. And after that forty days were passed, Noe opening the window of the ark, which

he had made, sent forth a raven:

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

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

face of the earth.

8:9. But she not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him into the ark: for the

waters were upon the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and caught her, and

brought her into the ark.

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

ark.

8:11. And she came to him in the evening carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green

leaves, in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the

earth.

8:12. And he stayed yet other seven days: and he sent forth the dove, which returned

not any more unto him.

8:13. Therefore in the six hundredth and first year, the first month, the first day of the

month, the waters were lessened upon the earth, and Noe opening the covering of the

ark, looked, and saw that the face of the earth was dried.

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

dried.

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

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

8:17. All living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all

creeping things that creep upon the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon the earth:

increase and multiply upon it.

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

8:19. And all living things, and cattle, and creeping things that creep upon the earth,

according to their kinds went out of the ark.

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

clean, offered holocausts upon the altar.

8:21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and said: I will no more curse the earth for

the sake of man: for the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from

his youth: therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done.

8:22. All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,

night and day, shall not cease.

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

and fill the earth.

9:2. And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all

the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are

delivered into your hand.

9:3. And every thing that moveth, and liveth shall be meat for you: even as the green

herbs have I delivered them all to you:

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

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

of man, at the hand of every man, and of his brother, will I require the life of man.

9:6. Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to

the image of God.

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

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

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

9:10. And with every living soul that is with you, as well in all birds, as in cattle and

beasts of the earth, that are come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth.

9:11. I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall be no more destroyed

with the waters of a flood, neither shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the

earth.

9:12. And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you,

and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations.

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

and between the earth.

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

9:15. And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that

beareth flesh: and there shall no more be waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.

9:16. And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and shall remember the

everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh

which is upon the earth.

9:17. And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant, which I have

established, between me and all flesh upon the earth.

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

and Cham is the father of Chanaan.

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

whole earth.

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

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

9:22. Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father's

nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without.

9:23. But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward,

covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw

not their father's nakedness.

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

done to him,

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

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

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

his servant.

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

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

10:1. These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and unto

them sons were born after the flood.

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

Mosoch, and Thiras.

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

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

10:5. By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their lands, every one

according to his tongue and their families in their nations.

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

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

Sabatacha. The sons of Regma: Saba, and Dadan.

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

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

Nemrod the stout hunter before the Lord.

10:10. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Arach, and Achad, and

Chalanne in the land of Sennaar.

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

and Chale.

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

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

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

Capthorim.

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

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

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

10:18. And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite: and afterwards the families

of the Chanaanites were spread abroad.

10:19. And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to Gerara even to

Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha, and Adama, and Seboim even to Lesa.

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

and lands, and nations.

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

sons were born.

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

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

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

10:25. And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phaleg, because in

his days was the earth divided: and his brother's name Jectan.

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

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

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

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

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

the east.

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

countries in their nations.

10:32. These are the families of Noe, according to their people and nations. By these

were the nations divided on the earth after the flood.

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

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

and dwelt in it.

11:3. And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make brick, and bake them with

fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar:

11:4. And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach

to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all

lands.

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

Adam were building.

11:6. And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have

begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish

them in deed.

11:7. Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they

may not understand one another's speech.

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

build the city.

11:9. And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of

the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon

the face of all countries.

11:10. These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot

Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

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

daughters.

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

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

begot sons and daughters.

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

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

sons and daughters.

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

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

sons and daughters.

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

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

and daughters.

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

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

sons and daughters.

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

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

daughters.

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

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

sons and daughters.

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

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

And Aran begot Lot.

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

Chaldees.

11:29. And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai:

and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha and

father of Jescha.

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

11:31. And Thare took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son's son, and Sarai

his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the

Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt

there.

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

12:1. And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred,

and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

12:2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy

name, and thou shalt be blessed.

12:3. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and IN THEE

shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

12:4. So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him:

Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.

12:5. And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which

they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to

go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,

12:6. Abram passed through the country unto the place of Sichem, as far as the noble

vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land.

12:7. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this

land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

12:8. And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he

there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: he built there also

an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.

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

12:10. And there came a famine in the country: and Abram went down into Egypt, to

sojourn there: for the famine was very grievous in the land.

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

thou art a beautiful woman:

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

they will kill me, and keep thee.

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

thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake.

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

was very beautiful.

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

taken into the house of Pharao.

12:16. And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep and oxen and he

asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and she asses, and camels.

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

Abram's wife.

12:18. And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this that thou hast done to

me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

12:19. For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my

wife? Now therefore there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

12:20. And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away and

his wife, and all that he had.

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

with him into the south.

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

13:3. And he returned by the way, that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place

where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai,

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

name of the Lord.

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

tents.

13:6. Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their

substance was great, and they could not dwell together.

13:7. Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abram and of Lot.

And at that time the Chanaanite and the Pherezite dwelled in that country.

13:8. Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me

and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren.

13:9. Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me, I pray thee: if thou wilt go

to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the

left.

13:10. And Lot lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, which was

watered throughout, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise of

the Lord, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor.

13:11. And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the

east: and they were separated one brother from the other.

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

about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom.

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

Lord beyond measure.

13:14. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him: Lift up thy eyes,

and look from the place wherein thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east

and to the west.

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

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

the dust of the earth, he shall be able to number thy seed also.

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

give it to thee.

13:18. So Abram removing his tent, came, and dwelt by the vale of Mambre, which is

in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the Lord.

14:1. And it came to pass at that time, that Amraphel, king of Sennaar, and Arioch, king

of Pontus, and Chodorlahomor, king of the Elamites, and Thadal, king of nations,

14:2. Made war against Bara, king of Sodom, and against Bersa, king of Gomorrha, and

against Sennaab, king of Adama, and against Semeber, king of Seboim, and against the

king of Bala, which is Segor.

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

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

revolted from him.

14:5. And in the fourteenth year came Chodorlahomor, and the kings that were with

him: and they smote the Raphaim in Astarothcarnaim, and the Zuzim with them, and

the Emim in Save of Cariathaim.

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

in the wilderness.

14:7. And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat, the same is Cades: and

they smote all the country of the Amalecites, and the Amorrhean that dwelt in

Asasonthamar.

14:8. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha, and the king of Adama, and

the king of Seboim, and the king of Bala, which is Segor, went out: and they set

themselves against them in battle array, in the woodland vale:

14:9. To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and Thadal king of nations,

and Amraphel king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus: four kings against five.

14:10. Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime. And the king of Sodom, and the

king of Gomorrha turned their backs, and were overthrown there: and they that

remained, fled to the mountain.

Of slime. Bituminis. . .This was a kind of pitch, which served for mortar in the building

of Babel, Gen. 11.3, and was used by Noe in pitching the ark.

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

victuals, and went their way:

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

substance.

14:13. And behold one, that had escaped, told Abram the Hebrew, who dwelt in the

vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these

had made a league with Abram.

14:14. Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he

numbered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, well appointed:

and pursued them to Dan.

14:15. And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night, and defeated them:

and pursued them as far as Hoba, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

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

the women also, and the people.

14:17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the

slaughter of Chodorlahomor, and of the kings that were with him in the vale of Save,

which is the king's vale.

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

the priest of the most high God,

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

heaven and earth.

14:20. And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection, the enemies are in thy

hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.

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

thyself.

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

possessor of heaven and earth,

14:23. That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any

things that are thine, lest thou say: I have enriched Abram.

14:24. Except such things as the young men have eaten, and the shares of the men that

came with me, Aner, Escol, and Mambre: these shall take their shares.

15:1. Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a

vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great.

15:2. And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children:

and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer.

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

my house, shall be my heir.

15:4. And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying : He shall not be thy

heir: but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.

15:5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and

number the stars if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be.

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

15:7. And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees,

to give thee this land, and that thou mightest possess it.

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

15:9. And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three years old, and a shegoat

of three years. and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon.

15:10. And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the two pieces of

each one against the other: but the birds he divided not.

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

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

darksome horror seized upon him.

15:13. And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a

stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict

them four hundred years.

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

out with great substance.

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

15:16. But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of

the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time.

15:17. And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking

furnace, and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.

15:18. That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this

land, from the river to Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.

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

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

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

16:1. Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had brought forth no children: but having a

handmaid, an Egyptian, named Agar,

16:2. She said to her husband: Behold, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in

unto my handmaid, it may be I may have children of her at least. And when he agreed

to her request,

16:3. She took Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after they first dwelt in the

land of Chanaan, and gave her to her husband to wife.

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

mistress.

16:5. And Sarai said to Abram: Thou dost unjustly with me: I gave my handmaid into

thy bosom, and she perceiving herself to be with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge

between me and thee.

16:6. And Abram made answer, and said to her: Behold thy handmaid is in thy own

hand, use her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away.

16:7. And the angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain of water in the

wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the desert,

16:8. He said to her: Agar, handmaid of Sarai, whence comest thou? and whither goest

thou? And she answered: I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.

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

under her hand.

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

numbered for multitude.

16:11. And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and thou shalt bring forth a son:

and thou shalt call his name Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

16:12. He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men, and all men's hands

against him: and he shall pitch his tents over against all his brethren.

16:13. And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her: Thou the God who

hast seen me. For she said: Verily, here have I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth

me.

16:14. Therefore she called that well, the well of him that liveth and seeth me. The

same is between Cades and Barad.

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

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

17:1. And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him: and

said unto him: I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect.

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

exceedingly.

17:3. Abram fell flat on his face.

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

father of many nations.

17:5. Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou shalt be called

Abraham: because I have made thee a father of many nations.

17:6. And I will make thee increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and

kings shall come out of thee.

17:7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed

after thee in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy

seed after thee.

17:8. And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy sojournment, all the land

of Chanaan, for a perpetual possession, and I will be their God.

17:9. Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy

seed after thee in their generations.

17:10. This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed

after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised.

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

the covenant between me and you.

17:12. An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every manchild in

your generations: he that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant, shall be

circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock:

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

17:14. The male whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be

destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant.

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

17:16. And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless, and he

shall become nations, and kings of people shall spring from him.

17:17. Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: Shall a son,

thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety

years old bring forth?

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

17:19. And God said to Abraham: Sara thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt

call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant,

and with his seed after him.

17:20. And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase,

and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great

nation.

17:21. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee

at this time in the next year.

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

17:23. And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all

whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house: and he circumcised the

flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him.

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

foreskin.

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

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

17:27. And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the

bought servants and strangers, were circumcised with him.

18:1. And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door

of his tent, in the very heat of the day.

18:2. And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing

near to him: and as soon as he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent,

and adored down to the ground.

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

servant.

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

18:5. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you

shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as

thou hast spoken.

18:6. Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her: Make haste, temper

together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.

18:7. And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf, very tender and very

good, and gave it to a young man, who made haste and boiled it.

18:8. He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before

them: but he stood by them under the tree.

18:9. And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He

answered: Lo she is in the tent.

18:10. And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life

accompanying, and Sara, thy wife, shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she

laughed behind the door of the tent.

18:11. Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with

Sara after the manner of women.

18:12. And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old, and my lord is an old

man, shall I give myself to pleasure?

18:13. And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I, who am an

old woman, bear a child indeed?

18:14. Is there any thing hard to God? According to appointment I will return to thee at

this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son.

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

Nay; but thou didst laugh.

18:16. And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom:

and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way.

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

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

the earth shall be blessed?

18:19. For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him, to

keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake, the

Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

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

is become exceedingly grievous.

18:21. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come

to me; or whether it be not so, that I may know.

18:22. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but

Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.

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

18:24. If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not

spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?

18:25. Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for

the just to be in like case as the wicked; this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest

all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.

18:26. And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will

spare the whole place for their sake.

18:27. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my

Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.

18:28. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty

destroy the whole city: And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.

18:29. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He

said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.

18:30. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be

found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

18:31. Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord: What if twenty be

found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.

18:32. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if

ten shall be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

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

returned to his place.

19:1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate

of the city. And seeing them, he rose up and went to meet them: and worshipped

prostrate to the ground.

19:2. And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of your servant, and lodge

there: wash your feet, and in the morning you shall go on your way. And they said:

No, but we will abide in the street.

19:3. He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when they were come into

his house, he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate:

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

old, all the people together.

19:5. And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men that came in to thee at

night? bring them out hither, that we may know them:

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

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

19:8. I have two daughters who, as yet, have not known man; I will bring them out to

you, and abuse you them as it shall please you, so that you do no evil to these men,

because they are come in under the shadow of my roof.

19:9. But they said: Get thee back thither. And again: Thou camest in, said they, as a

stranger, was it to be a judge? therefore we will afflict thee more than them. And they

pressed very violently upon Lot: and they were even at the point of breaking open the

doors.

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

door.

19:11. And them, that were without, they struck with blindness from the least to the

greatest, so that they could not find the door.

19:12. And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine? son in law, or sons, or

daughters, all that are thine bring them out of this city:

19:13. For we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord,

who hath sent us to destroy them.

19:14. So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons in law that were to have his daughters,

and said: Arise: get you out of this place, because the Lord will destroy this city. And

he seemed to them to speak as it were in jest.

19:15. And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying: Arise, take thy wife,

and the two daughters that thou hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city.

19:16. And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two

daughters, because the Lord spared him.

19:17. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city: and there they spoke

to him, saying: Save thy life: look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about:

but save thy self in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed.

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

19:19. Because thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou hast magnified thy

mercy, which thou hast shewn to me, in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the

mountain, lest some evil seize me, and I die.

19:20. There is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it is a little one, and I shall be

saved in it: is it not a little one, and my soul shall live?

19:21. And he said to him: Behold also in this, I have heard thy prayers, not to destroy

the city for which thou hast spoken.

19:22. Make haste, and be saved there: because I cannot do any thing till thou go in

thither. Therefore the name of that city was called Segor.

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

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

Lord out of heaven.

19:25. And he destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the

cities, and all things that spring from the earth.

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

And his wife. . .As a standing memorial to the servants of God to proceed in virtue, and

not to look back to vice or its allurements.

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

before with the Lord:

19:28. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and the whole land of that country:

and he saw the ashes rise up from the earth as the smoke of a furnace.

19:29. Now when God destroyed the cities of that country, remembering Abraham, he

delivered Lot out of the destruction of the cities wherein he had dwelt.

19:30. And Lot went up out of Segor, and abode in the mountain, and his two daughters

with him (for he was afraid to stay in Segor) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two

daughters with him.

19:31. And the elder said to the younger: Our father is old, and there is no man left on

the earth, to come in unto us after the manner of the whole earth.

19:32. Come, let us make him drunk with wine, and let us lie with him, that we may

preserve seed of our father.

19:33. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the elder went in, and lay

with her father: but he perceived not, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when

she rose up.

19:34. And the next day the elder said to the younger: Behold I lay last night with my

father, let us make him drink wine also to night, and thou shalt lie with him, that we

may save seed of our father.

19:35. They made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went

in, and lay with him: and neither then did he perceive when she lay down, nor when

she rose up.

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

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

Moabites unto this day.

19:38. The younger also bore a son, and she called his name Ammon; that is, the son of

my people: he is the father of the Ammonites unto this day.

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

and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

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

sent, and took her.

20:3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou

shalt die for the woman that thou hast taken: for she hath a husband.

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

that is ignorant and just?

20:5. Did not he say to me: She is my sister: and she say, He is my brother? in the

simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of my hands have I done this.

20:6. And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and

therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.

20:7. Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for

thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely

die, thou and all that are thine.

20:8. And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke

all these words in their hearing, and all the men were exceedingly afraid.

20:9. And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him: What hast thou done to

us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my

kingdom a great sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.

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

done this?

20:11. Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear

of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wife:

20:12. Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not

the daughter of my mother, and I took her to wife.

20:13. And after God brought me out of my father's house, I said to her: Thou shalt do

me this kindness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy

brother.

20:14. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave to

Abraham: and restored to him Sara his wife,

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

20:16. And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver,

this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and

whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.

20:17. And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his

handmaids, and they bore children:

20:18. For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech, on account

of Sara, Abraham's wife.

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

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

her.

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

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

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

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

laugh with me.

21:7. And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave

suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his old age?

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

of his weaning.

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

son, she said to Abraham:

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

heir with my son Isaac.

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

21:12. And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy

bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall

thy seed be called.

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

seed.

21:14. So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it

upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and

wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee.

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

trees that were there.

21:16. And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off, as far as a bow

can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up

her voice and wept.

21:17. And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called to Agar from

heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of

the boy, from the place wherein he is.

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

nation.

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

bottle, and gave the boy to drink.

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

young man, an archer.

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

of the land of Egypt.

21:22. At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army, said to

Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.

21:23. Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my

stock: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and

to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.

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

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

away by force.

21:26. And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell

me, and I heard not of it till today.

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

them made a league.

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

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

set apart?

21:30. But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewelambs at my hand: that they may be a

testimony for me, that I dug this well.

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

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

21:33. And Abimelech and Phicol, the general of his army, arose and returned to the

land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon

the name of the Lord God eternal.

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

22:1. After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham.

And he answered: Here I am.

obedience of Abraham was made manifest.

22:2. He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into

the land of vision; and there thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the

mountains which I will shew thee.

22:3. So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass, and took with him two young

men, and Isaac his son: and when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way

to the place which God had commanded him.

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

22:5. And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass; I and the boy will go

with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you.

22:6. And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he

himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together,

22:7. Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son?

Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust?

22:8. And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son.

So they went on together.

22:9. And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar,

and laid the wood in order upon it; and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on

the altar upon the pile of wood.

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

22:11. And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham,

Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

22:12. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to

him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for

my sake.

22:13. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram, amongst the briers,

sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.

22:14. And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth. Whereupon, even to this

day, it is said: In the mountain the Lord will see.

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

22:16. By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing,

and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake:

22:17. I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the

sand that is by the sea shore; thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.

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

obeyed my voice.

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

dwelt there.

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

Nachor his brother.

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

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

22:23. And Bathuel, of whom was born Rebecca: these eight did Melcha bear to

Nachor, Abraham's brother.

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

Maacha.

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

23:2. And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and

Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.

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

saying:

23:4. I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying place

with you, that I may bury my dead.

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

23:6. My lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our

principal sepulchres: and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy

dead in his sepulchre.

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

of Heth:

23:8. And said to them: If it please your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and

intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor.

23:9. That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the end of his field: For

as much money as it is worth he shall give it me before you, for a possession of a

burying place.

23:10. Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth. And Ephron made

answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying:

23:11. Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to what I say: The field I

deliver to thee, and the cave that is therein; in the presence of the children of my people,

bury thy dead.

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

23:13. And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I beseech thee to hear

me: I will give money for the field; take it, and so will I bury my dead in it.