“The Book of the Writings”:

1:1 In the beginning Yahweh the Almighty God

created the heavens and the earth.

1:2 Then [by sin] the earth became without form,

and void; and darkness came to the face of the

deep. And as being Spirit, Yahweh hovered over

the face of the waters.

1:3 Then Yahweh said, "Let there be light"; and

there was light.

1:4 And Yahweh saw the light, that it was good;

and Yahweh divided the light from the darkness.

1:5 Yahweh called the light daylight, and the

darkness He called night. So the night and

the daylight were the first day.

1:6 Then Yahweh said, "Let there be a

firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it

divide the waters from the waters."

1:7 Thus Yahweh made the firmament, and

divided the waters which were under the

firmament from the waters which were above the

firmament; and it was so.

1:8 And Yahweh called the firmament Heaven.

So the night and the daylight were the second

day.

1:9 Then Yahweh said, "Let the waters under

the heavens be gathered together into one place,

and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

1:10 And Yahweh called the dry land Earth, and

the gathering together of the waters He called

Seas. And Yahweh saw that it was good.

1:11 Then Yahweh said, "Let the earth bring

forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit

tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose

seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb

that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree

that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according

to its kind. And Yahweh saw that it was good.

1:13 So the night and the daylight were the third

day.

1:14 Then Yahweh said, "Let there be lights in

the firmament of the heavens to divide the day

from the night; and let them be for signs and

seasons, and for days and years;

1:15 "and let them be for lights in the firmament

of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it

was so.

1:16 Then Yahweh made two great lights: the

greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light

to rule the night. He made the stars also.

1:17 Yahweh set them in the firmament of the

heavens to give light on the earth,

1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night,

and to divide the light from the darkness. And

Yahweh saw that it was good.

1:19 So the night and the daylight were the

fourth day.

1:20 Then Yahweh said, "Let the waters abound

with an abundance of living creatures, and let

birds fly above the earth across the face of the

firmament of the heavens."

1:21 So Yahweh created great sea creatures and

every living thing that moves, with which the

waters abounded, according to their kind, and

every winged bird according to its kind. And

Yahweh saw that it was good.

1:22 And Yahweh blessed them, saying, "Be

fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the

seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

1:23 So the night and the daylight were the fifth

day.

1:24 Then Yahweh said, "Let the earth bring

forth the living creature according to its kind:

cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth,

each according to its kind"; and it was so.

1:25 And Yahweh made the beast of the earth

according to its kind, cattle according to its kind,

and everything that creeps on the earth according

to its kind. And Yahweh saw that it was good.

1:26 Then Yahweh said, "Let Us make mankind

in Our image, according to Our likeness; let

them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over

all the earth and over every creeping thing that

creeps on the earth."

1:27 So Yahweh created mankind in His own

image; in the image of Yahweh He created them;

male and female He created them.

1:28 Then Yahweh blessed them, and Yahweh

said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the

earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish

of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over

every living thing that moves on the earth."

1:29 And Yahweh said, "See, I have given you

every herb that yields seed which is on the face

of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields

seed; to you it shall be for food.

1:30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every

bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on

the earth, in which there is life, I have given

every green herb for food"; and it was so.

1:31 Then Yahweh saw everything that He had

made, and indeed it was very good. So the night

and the daylight were the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the

host of them, were finished.

2:2 And on the seventh day Yahweh ended His

work which He had done, and He rested on the

seventh day from all His work which He had

done.

2:3 Then Yahweh blessed the seventh day and

sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His

work which Yahweh had created and made.

2:4 This is the history of the heavens and the

earth when they were created, in the day that

Yahweh the God made the earth and the heavens,

2:5 before any plant of the field was in the earth

and before any herb of the field had grown. For

Yahweh the God had not caused it to rain on the

earth, and there was no mankind to till the

ground;

2:6 but a mist went up from the earth and

watered the whole face of the ground.

2:7 And Yahweh the God formed a man of the

dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils

the breath of life; and the man became a living

being.

2:8 Yahweh planted a garden eastward in Eden,

and there He put the man whom He had formed.

2:9 And out of the ground Yahweh the God

made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight

and good for food. The tree of life was also in

the midst of the garden, and the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil.

2:10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the

garden, and from there it parted and became four

riverheads.

2:11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one

which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where

there is gold.

2:12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium

and the onyx stone are there.

2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is

the one which goes around the whole land of

Cush.

2:14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is

the one which goes toward the east of Assyria.

The fourth river is the Euphrates.

2:15 Then Yahweh selected the man and put him

in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

2:16 And Yahweh the God commanded the man,

saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may

freely eat;

2:17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you

eat of it you shall surely die."

2:18 And Yahweh said, "It is not good that a

man should be alone; I will make him a helper

comparable to him."

2:19 Out of the ground Yahweh the God formed

every beast of the field and every bird of the air,

and brought them to Adam to see what he would

call them. And whatever Adam called each

living creature, that was its name.

2:20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the

birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.

But for Adam there was not found a helper

comparable to him.

2:21 And Yahweh the God caused a deep sleep

to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of

his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

2:22 Then the rib which Yahweh the God had

taken from Adam He made into a woman, and

He brought her to the man.

2:23 And Adam said:

"This is now bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man."

2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and

mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall

become one flesh.

2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his

wife, and were not ashamed.

3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any

beast of the field which Yahweh the God had

made. And he said to the woman, "Has Yahweh

indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of

the garden'?"

3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may

eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

3:3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the

midst of the garden, Yahweh has said, 'You shall

not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You

will not surely die.

3:5 "For Yahweh knows that in the day you eat

of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be

like Yahweh, knowing good and evil."

3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was

good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,

and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took

of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband

with her, and he ate.

3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they knew that they were naked; and they

sewed fig leaves together and made themselves

coverings.

3:8 And they heard the sound of Yahweh the

God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,

and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the

presence of Yahweh the God among the trees of

the garden.

3:9 Then Yahweh the God called to Adam and

said to him, "Where are you?"

3:10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the

garden, and I was afraid because I was naked;

and I hid myself."

3:11 And He said, "Who told you that you were

naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I

commanded you that you should not eat?"

3:12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You

gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and

I ate."

3:13 And Yahweh said to the woman, "What is

this you have done?" The woman said, "The

serpent deceived me, and I ate."

3:14 So Yahweh said to the serpent:

"Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

And you shall eat dust

All the days of your life.

3:15 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel."

3:16 To the woman He said:

"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your

conception;

In pain you shall bring forth children;

Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you."

3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have

heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten

from the tree of which I commanded you, saying,

'You shall not eat of it':

"Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

3:18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth

for you,

And you shall eat the herb of the field.

3:19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return."

3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve,

because she was the mother of all living.

3:21 Also for Adam and his wife Yahweh the

God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

3:22 Then Yahweh said, "Behold, the man has

become like one of Us, to know good and evil.

And now, lest he put out his hand and take also

of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-

3:23 therefore Yahweh the God sent him out of

the garden of Eden to till the ground from which

he was taken.

3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed

cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a

flaming sword which turned every way, to guard

the way to the tree of life.

4:1 Now Adam was intimate with Eve his wife,

and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I

have acquired a man from Yahweh."

4:2 Then she bore again, this time his brother

Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain

was a tiller of the ground.

4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass

that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the

ground to Yahweh.

4:4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock

and of their fat. And Yahweh respected Abel and

his offering,

4:5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering.

And Cain was very angry, and his countenance

fell.

4:6 So Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you

angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

4:7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted?

And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.

And its desire is for you, but you should rule

over it."

4:8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and

it came to pass, when they were in the field, that

Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed

him.

4:9 Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel

your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my

brother's keeper?"

4:10 And He said, "What have you done? The

voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me

from the ground.

4:11 "So now you are cursed from the earth,

which has opened its mouth to receive your

brother's blood from your hand.

4:12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer

yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a

vagabond you shall be on the earth."

4:13 And Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment

is greater than I can bear!

4:14 "Surely You have driven me out this day

from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden

from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a

vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that

anyone who finds me will kill me."

4:15 And Yahweh said to him, "Therefore,

whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on

him sevenfold." And Yahweh set a mark on

Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

4:16 Then Cain went out from the presence of

Yahweh and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east

of Eden.

4:17 And Cain was intimate with his wife, and

she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a

city, and called the name of the city after the

name of his son-Enoch.

4:18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot

Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and

Methushael begot Lamech.

4:19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives:

the name of one was Adah, and the name of the

second was Zillah.

4:20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of

those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

4:21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the

father of all those who play the harp and flute.

4:22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain,

an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and

iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

4:23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!

For I have killed a man for wounding me,

Even a young man for hurting me.

4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold."

4:25 And Adam was intimate with his wife

again, and she bore a son and named him Seth,

"For Yahweh has appointed another seed for me

instead of Abel, whom Cain killed."

4:26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born;

and he named him Enosh. Then men began to

call on the name of Yahweh.

5:1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam.

In the days that Yahweh created mankind, He

made them in the likeness of Yahweh.

5:2 He created them male and female, and

blessed them and called them Mankind in the

day they were created.

5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty

years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after

his image, and named him Seth.

5:4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were

eight hundred years; and he had sons and

daughters.

5:5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine

hundred and thirty years; and he died.

5:6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and

begot Enosh.

5:7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight

hundred and seven years, and had sons and

daughters.

5:8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred

and twelve years; and he died.

5:9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.

5:10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight

hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and

daughters.

5:11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred

and five years; and he died.

5:12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot

Mahalalel.

5:13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived

eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and

daughters.

5:14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred

and ten years; and he died.

5:15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot

Jared.

5:16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight

hundred and thirty years, and had sons and

daughters.

5:17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight

hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

5:18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two

years, and begot Enoch.

5:19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight

hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

5:20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred

and sixty-two years; and he died.

5:21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot

Methuselah.

5:22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked

with Yahweh three hundred years, and had sons

and daughters.

5:23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred

and sixty-five years.

5:24 And Enoch walked with Yahweh; and then

he died, and Yahweh took him from that place.

5:25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eightyseven

years, and begot Lamech.

5:26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived

seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had

sons and daughters.

5:27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine

hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

5:28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two

years, and had a son.

5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This

one will comfort us concerning our work and the

toil of our hands, because of the ground which

Yahweh has cursed."

5:30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five

hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and

daughters.

5:31 So all the days of Lamech were seven

hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and

Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6:1 Now it came to pass, when men began to

multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters

were born to them,

6:2 that the sons of Yahweh saw the daughters of

men, that they were beautiful; and they took

wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

6:3 And Yahweh said, "My Spirit shall not strive

with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his

days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

6:4 There were giants on the earth in those days,

and also afterward, when the sons of Yahweh

came in to the daughters of men and they bore

children to them. Those were the mighty men

who were of old, men of renown.

6:5 Then Yahweh saw that the wickedness of

man was great in the earth, and that every intent

of the thoughts of his heart was only evil

continually.

6:6 And Yahweh was sorry that He had made

man on the earth, and He was grieved in His

heart.

6:7 So Yahweh said, "I will destroy man whom I

have created from the face of the earth, both man

and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for

I am sorry that I have made them."

6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of

Yahweh.

6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a

just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked

with Yahweh.

6:10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham,

and Japheth.

6:11 The earth also was corrupt before Yahweh,

and the earth was filled with violence.

6:12 So Yahweh looked upon the earth, and

indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted

their way on the earth.

6:13 And Yahweh said to Noah, "The end of all

flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled

with violence through them; and behold, I will

destroy them with the earth.

6:14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood;

make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and

outside with pitch.

6:15 "And this is how you shall make it: The

length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its

width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

6:16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and

you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set

the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it

with lower, second, and third decks.

6:17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing

floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under

the sky all flesh in which is the breath of life;

everything that is on the earth shall die.

6:18 "But I will establish My covenant with you;

and you shall go into the ark-you, your sons,

your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh you

shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep

them alive with you; they shall be male and

female.

6:20 "Of the birds after their kind, of animals

after their kind, and of every creeping thing of

the earth after its kind, two of every kind will

come to you to keep them alive.

6:21 "And you shall take for yourself of all food

that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself;

and it shall be food for you and for them."

6:22 Thus Noah did; according to all that

Yahweh commanded him, so he did.

7:1 Then Yahweh said to Noah, "Come into the

ark, you and all your household, because I have

seen that you are righteous before Me in this

generation.

7:2 "You shall take with you seven each of every

clean [disease inhibiting] animal, a male and his

female; two each of animals that are unclean

[disease promoting], a male and his female;

7:3 "also seven each of birds of the air, male and

female, to keep the species alive on the face of

all the earth.

7:4 "For after seven more days I will cause it to

rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and

I will destroy from the face of the earth all living

things that I have made."

7:5 And Noah did according to all that Yahweh

commanded him.

7:6 Noah was six hundred years old when the

floodwaters were on the earth.

7:7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his

sons' wives, went into the ark because of the

waters of the flood.

7:8 Of clean [disease inhibiting] animals, of

animals that are unclean [disease promoting], of

birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,

7:9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah,

male and female, as Yahweh commanded Noah.

7:10 And it came to pass after seven days that

the waters of the flood were on the earth.

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in

the second month, the seventeenth day of the

month, on that day all the fountains of the great

deep were broken up, and the windows of the

sky were opened.

7:12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and

forty nights.

7:13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's

sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife

and the three wives of his sons with them,

entered the ark-

7:14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle

after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps

on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its

kind, every bird of every sort.

7:15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by

two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.

7:16 So those that entered, male and female of

all flesh, went in as Yahweh had commanded

him; and Yahweh shut him in.

7:17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days.

The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it

rose high above the earth.

7:18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased

on the earth, and the ark moved about on the

surface of the waters.

7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on

the earth, and all the high hills under the whole

sky were covered.

7:20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward,

and the mountains were covered.

7:21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth:

birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping

thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the

spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

7:23 So He destroyed all living things which

were on the face of the ground: both man and

cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They

were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and

those who were with him in the ark remained

alive.

7:24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one

hundred and fifty days.

8:1 Then Yahweh remembered Noah, and every

living thing, and all the animals that were with

him in the ark. And Yahweh made a wind to pass

over the earth, and the waters subsided.

8:2 The fountains of the deep and the windows

of the sky were also stopped, and the rain from

the sky was restrained.

8:3 And the waters receded continually from the

earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days

the waters decreased.

8:4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the

seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains

of Ararat.

8:5 And the waters decreased continually until

the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first

day of the month, the tops of the mountains were

seen.

8:6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days,

that Noah opened the window of the ark which

he had made.

8:7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going

to and fro until the waters had dried up from the

earth.

8:8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see

if the waters had receded from the face of the

ground.

8:9 But the dove found no resting place for the

sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to

him, for the waters were on the face of the whole

earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and

drew her into the ark to himself.

8:10 And he waited yet another seven days, and

again he sent the dove out from the ark.

8:11 Then the dove came to him in the evening,

and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in

her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had

receded from the earth.

8:12 So he waited yet another seven days and

sent out the dove, which did not return again to

him anymore.

8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and

first year, in the first month, the first day of the

month, that the waters were dried up from the

earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark

and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground

was dry.

8:14 And in the second month, on the twentyseventh

day of the month, the earth was dried.

8:15 Then Yahweh spoke to Noah, saying,

8:16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and

your sons and your sons' wives with you.

8:17 "Bring out with you every living thing of all

flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every

creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that

they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and

multiply on the earth."

8:18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife

and his sons' wives with him.

8:19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every

bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according

to their families, went out of the ark.

8:20 Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and

took of every clean [disease inhibiting] animal

and of every clean [disease inhibiting] bird, and

offered burnt offerings on the altar.

8:21 And Yahweh smelled a soothing aroma.

Then Yahweh said in His heart, "I will never

again curse the ground for man's sake, although

the imagination of man's heart is evil from his

youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing

as I have done.

8:22 "While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Winter and summer,

And day and night

Shall not cease."

9:1 So Yahweh blessed Noah and his sons, and

said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill

the earth.

9:2 "And the fear of you and the dread of you

shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird

of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on

all the fish of the sea. They are given into your

hand.

9:3 "Every moving thing that lives shall be food

for you. I have given you all things, even as the

green herbs.

9:4 "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that

is, its blood.

9:5 "Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a

reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will

require it, and from the hand of man. From the

hand of every man's brother I will require the life

of man.

9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;

For in the image of Yahweh He made man.

9:7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;

Bring forth abundantly in the earth

And multiply in it."

9:8 Then Yahweh spoke to Noah and to his

sons with him, saying:

9:9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My

covenant with you and with your descendants

after you,

9:10 "and with every living creature that is with

you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the

earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every

beast of the earth.

9:11 "Thus I establish My covenant with you:

Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the

waters of the flood; never again shall there be a

flood to destroy the earth."

9:12 And Yahweh said: "This is the sign of the

covenant which I make between Me and you,

and every living creature that is with you, for

perpetual generations:

9:13 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall

be for the sign of the covenant between Me and

the earth.

9:14 "It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the

earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;

9:15 "and I will remember My covenant which is

between Me and you and every living creature of

all flesh; the waters shall never again become a

flood to destroy all flesh.

9:16 "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I

will look on it to remember the everlasting

covenant between Yahweh and every living

creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

9:17 And Yahweh said to Noah, "This is the sign

of the covenant which I have established

between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

9:18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the

ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham

was the father of Canaan.

9:19 These three were the sons of Noah, and

from these the whole earth was populated.

9:20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he

planted a vineyard.

9:21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk,

and became uncovered in his tent.

9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the

nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers

outside.

9:23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid

it on both their shoulders, and went backward

and covered the nakedness of their father. Their

faces were turned away, and they did not see

their father's nakedness.

9:24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew

what his younger son had done to him.

9:25 Then he said:

"Cursed be Canaan;

A servant of servants

He shall be to his brethren."

9:26 And he said:

"Blessed be Yahweh,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

9:27 May Yahweh enlarge Japheth,

And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant."

9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three

hundred and fifty years.

9:29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred

and fifty years; and he died.

10:1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of

Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were

born to them after the flood.

10:2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog,

Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

10:3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz,

Riphath, and Togarmah.

10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish,

Kittim, and Dodanim.

10:5 From these the coastland peoples of the

Gentiles were separated into their lands,

everyone according to his language, according to

their families, into their nations.

10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put,

and Canaan.

10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah,

Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of

Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a

mighty one on the earth.

10:9 He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh;

therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty

hunter before Yahweh."

10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was

Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of

Shinar.

10:11 From that land he went to Assyria and

built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

10:12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah

(that is the principal city).

10:13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim,

Naphtuhim,

10:14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom

came the Philistines and Caphtorim).

10:15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and

Heth;

10:16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the

Girgashite;

10:17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite;

10:18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the

Hamathite. Afterward the families of the

Canaanites were dispersed.

10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from

Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza;

then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah,

Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

10:20 These were the sons of Ham, according to

their families, according to their languages, in

their lands and in their nations.

10:21 And children were born also to Shem, the

father of all the children of Eber, the brother of

Japheth the elder.

10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur,

Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether,

and Mash.

10:24 Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot

Eber.

10:25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of

one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was

divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

10:26 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph,

Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

10:28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

10:29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were

the sons of Joktan.

10:30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha

as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the

east.

10:31 These were the sons of Shem, according to

their families, according to their languages, in

their lands, according to their nations.

10:32 These were the families of the sons of

Noah, according to their generations, in their

nations; and from these the nations were divided

on the earth after the flood.

11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and

one speech.

11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from

the east, that they found a plain in the land of

Shinar, and they dwelt there.

11:3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let

us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They

had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for

mortar.

11:4 And they said, "Come, let us build

ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the

heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest

we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole

earth."

11:5 But Yahweh came down to see the city and

the tower which the sons of men had built.

11:6 And Yahweh said, "Indeed the people are

one and they all have one language, and this is

what they begin to do; now nothing that they

propose to do will be withheld from them.

11:7 "Come, let Us go down and there confuse

their language, that they may not understand one

another's speech."

11:8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from

there over the face of all the earth, and they

ceased building the city.

11:9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because

there Yahweh confused the language of all the

earth; and from there Yahweh scattered them

abroad over the face of all the earth.

11:10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was

one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two

years after the flood.

11:11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five

hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and

begot Salah.

11:13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four

hundred and three years, and begot sons and

daughters.

11:14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.

11:15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four

hundred and three years, and begot sons and

daughters.

11:16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot

Peleg.

11:17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four

hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and

daughters.

11:18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

11:19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two

hundred and nine years, and begot sons and

daughters.

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

Serug.

11:21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two

hundred and seven years, and begot sons and

daughters.

11:22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.

11:23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two

hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot

Terah.

11:25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one

hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and

daughters.

11:26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot

Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

11:27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah

begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot

Lot.

11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in

his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

11:29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the

name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name

of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran

the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

11:31 And Terah took his son Abram and his

grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his

daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and

they went out with them from Ur of the

Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they

came to Haran and dwelt there.

11:32 So the days of Terah were two hundred

and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

12:1 Now Yahweh had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father's house,

To a land that I will show you.

12:2 I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

12:3 I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be

blessed."

12:4 So Abram departed as Yahweh had spoken

to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was

seventy-five years old when he departed from

Haran.

12:5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his

brother's son, and all their possessions that they

had gathered, and the people whom they had

acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the

land of Canaan. So they came to the land of

Canaan.

12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place

of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh.

And the Canaanites were then in the land.

12:7 Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said,

"To your descendants I will give this land." And

there he built an altar to Yahweh, who had

appeared to him.

12:8 And he moved from there to the mountain

east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with

Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he

built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name

of Yahweh.

12:9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward

the South.

12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and

Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for

the famine was severe in the land.

12:11 And it came to pass, when he was close to

entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife,

"Indeed I know that you are a woman of

beautiful countenance.

12:12 "Therefore it will happen, when the

Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his

wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you

live.

12:13 "Please say you are my sister, that it may

be well with me for your sake, and that I may

live because of you."

12:14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt,

that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was

very beautiful.

12:15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and

commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was

taken to Pharaoh's house.

12:16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He

had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female

servants, female donkeys, and camels.

12:17 But Yahweh plagued Pharaoh and his

house with great plagues because of Sarai,

Abram's wife.

12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said,

"What is this you have done to me? Why did you

not tell me that she was your wife?

12:19 "Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? I

might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore,

here is your wife; take her and go your way."

12:20 So Pharaoh commanded his men

concerning him; and they sent him away, with

his wife and all that he had.

13:1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and

his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to

the South.

13:2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver,

and in gold.

13:3 And he went on his journey from the South

as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had

been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

13:4 to the place of the altar which he had made

there at first. And there Abram called on the

name of Yahweh.

13:5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks

and herds and tents.

13:6 Now the land was not able to support them,

that they might dwell together, for their

possessions were so great that they could not

dwell together.

13:7 And there was strife between the herdsmen

of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's

livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then

dwelt in the land.

13:8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be

no strife between you and me, and between my

herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are

brethren.

13:9 "Is not the whole land before you? Please

separate from me. If you take the left, then I will

go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I

will go to the left."

13:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the

plain of Jordan, that it was well watered

everywhere (before Yahweh destroyed Sodom

and Gomorrah) like the garden of Yahweh, like

the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

13:11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of

Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they

separated from each other.

13:12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and

Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched

his tent even as far as Sodom.

13:13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly

wicked and sinful against Yahweh.

13:14 And Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had

separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and

look from the place where you are-northward,

southward, eastward, and westward;

13:15 "for all the land which you see I give to

you and your descendants forever.

13:16 "And I will make your descendants as the

dust of the earth; so that if a man could number

the dust of the earth, then your descendants also

could be numbered.

13:17 "Arise, walk in the land through its length

and its width, for I give it to you."

13:18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and

dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are

in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.

14:1 And it came to pass in the days of

Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar,

Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of

nations,

14:2 that they made war with Bera king of

Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king

of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the

king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

14:3 All these joined together in the Valley of

Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

14:4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer,

and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

14:5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and

the kings that were with him came and attacked

the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in

Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

14:6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as

far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness.

14:7 Then they turned back and came to En

Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the

country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites

who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.

14:8 And the king of Sodom, the king of

Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of

Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)

went out and joined together in battle in the

Valley of Siddim

14:9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal

king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and

Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five.

14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of

asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and

Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the

remainder fled to the mountains.

14:11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom

and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went

their way.

14:12 They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son

who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and

departed.

14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told

Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth

trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol

and brother of Aner; and they were allies with

Abram.

14:14 Now when Abram heard that his brother

was taken captive, he armed his three hundred

and eighteen trained servants who were born in

his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

14:15 He divided his forces against them by

night, and he and his servants attacked them and

pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of

Damascus.

14:16 So he brought back all the goods, and also

brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as

well as the women and the people.

14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet

him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's

Valley), after his return from the defeat of

Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought

out bread and wine; he was the priest of God

Most High.

14:19 And he blessed him and said:

"Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

14:20 And blessed be Jahweh, God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your

hand."

And he gave him a tithe of all.

14:21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram,

"Give me the persons, and take the goods for

yourself."

14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I

have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most

High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,

14:23 "that I will take nothing, from a thread to a

sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that

is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made

Abram rich'-

14:24 "except only what the young men have

eaten, and the portion of the men who went with

me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take

their portion."

Genesis 15:

15:1 After these things the word of Yahweh

came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be

afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your

exceedingly great reward."

15:2 But Abram said, "Lord Yahweh, what will

You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir

of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

15:3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given

me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is

my heir!"

15:4 And behold, the word of Yahweh came to

him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but

one who will come from your own body shall be

your heir."

15:5 Then He brought him outside and said,

"Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if

you are able to number them." And He said to

him, "So shall your descendants be."

15:6 And he believed in Yahweh, and He

accounted it to him for righteousness.

15:7 Then He said to him, "I am Yahweh, who

brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give

you this land to inherit it."

15:8 And he said, "Lord Yahweh, how shall I

know that I will inherit it?"

15:9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-yearold

heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a threeyear-

old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

15:10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut

them in two, down the middle, and placed each

piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the

birds in two.

15:11 And when the vultures came down on the

carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 Now when the sun was going down, a

deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror

and great darkness fell upon him.

15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly

that your descendants will be strangers in a land

that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they

will afflict them four hundred years.

15:14 "And also the nation whom they serve I

will judge; afterward they shall come out with

great possessions.

15:15 "Now as for you, you shall go to your

fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good

old age.

15:16 "But in the fourth generation they shall

return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is

not yet complete."

15:17 And it came to pass, when the sun went

down and it was dark, that behold, there

appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch

that passed between those pieces.

15:18 On the same day Yahweh made a covenant

with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I

have given this land, from the river of Egypt to

the great river, the River Euphrates-

15:19 "the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the

Kadmonites,

15:20 "the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

15:21 "the Amorites, the Canaanites, the

Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

16:1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no

children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant

whose name was Hagar.

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, Yahweh

has restrained me from bearing children. Please,

go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children

by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

16:3 Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her

maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband

Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten

years in the land of Canaan.

16:4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.

And when she saw that she had conceived, her

mistress became despised in her eyes.

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be

upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace;

and when she saw that she had conceived, I

became despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge

between you and me."

16:6 So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid

is in your hand; do to her as you please." And

when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from

her presence.

16:7 Now the Angel of Yahweh found her by a

spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring

on the way to Shur.

16:8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where

have you come from, and where are you going?"

She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my

mistress Sarai."

16:9 The Angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return

to your mistress, and submit yourself under her

hand."

16:10 Then the Angel of Yahweh said to her, "I

will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so

that they shall not be counted for multitude."

16:11 And the Angel of Yahweh said to her:

"Behold, you are with child,

And you shall bear a son.

You shall call his name Ishmael,

Because Yahweh has heard your affliction.

16:12 He shall be a wild man;

His hand shall be against every man,

And every man's hand against him.

And he shall dwell in the presence of all his

brethren."

16:13 Then she called the name of Yahweh who

spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for

she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees

me?"

16:14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai

Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

16:15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram

named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old when

Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,

Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, "I

am Almighty God; walk before Me and be

blameless.

17:2 "And I will make My covenant between Me

and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."

17:3 Then Abram fell on his face, and Yahweh

talked with him, saying:

17:4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with

you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

17:5 "No longer shall your name be called

Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I

have made you a father of many nations.

17:6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I

will make nations of you, and kings shall come

from you.

17:7 "And I will establish My covenant between

Me and you and your descendants after you in

their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to

be God to you and your descendants after you.

17:8 "Also I give to you and your descendants

after you the land in which you are a stranger, all

the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession;

and I will be their God."

17:9 And Yahweh said to Abraham: "As for

you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your

descendants after you throughout their

generations.

17:10 "This is My covenant which you shall

keep, between Me and you and your descendants

after you: Every male child among you shall be

circumcised;

17:11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh

of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the

covenant between Me and you.

17:12 "He who is eight days old among you shall

be circumcised, every male child in your

generations, he who is born in your house or

bought with money from any foreigner who is

not your descendant.

17:13 "He who is born in your house and he who

is bought with your money must be circumcised,

and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an

everlasting covenant.

17:14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is

not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that

person shall be cut off from his people; he has

broken My covenant."

17:15 Then Yahweh said to Abraham, "As for

Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name

Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

17:16 "And I will bless her and also give you a

son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be

a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be

from her."

17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and

laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be

born to a man who is one hundred years old?

And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a

child?"

17:18 And Abraham said to Yahweh, "Oh, that

Ishmael might live before You!"

17:19 Then Yahweh said: "No, Sarah your wife

shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name

Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for

an everlasting covenant, and with his

descendants after him.

17:20 "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you.

Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him

fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He

shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a

great nation.

17:21 "But My covenant I will establish with

Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set

time next year."

17:22 Then He finished talking with him, and

Yahweh went up from Abraham.

17:23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who

were born in his house and all who were bought

with his money, every male among the men of

Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of

their foreskins that very same day, as Yahweh

had said to him.

17:24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when

he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old

when he was circumcised in the flesh of his

foreskin.

17:26 That very same day Abraham was

circumcised, and his son Ishmael;

17:27 and all the men of his house, born in the

house or bought with money from a foreigner,

were circumcised with him.

18:1 Then Yahweh appeared to him by the

terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the

tent door in the heat of the day.

18:2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and

behold, three men were standing by him; and

when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to

meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,

18:3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found

favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your

servant.

18:4 "Please let a little water be brought, and

wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the

tree.

18:5 "And I will bring a morsel of bread, that

you may refresh your hearts. After that you may

pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your

servant." They said, "Do as you have said."

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah

and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures

of fine meal; knead it and make cakes."

18:7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender

and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he

hastened to prepare it.

18:8 So he took butter and milk and the calf

which he had prepared, and set it before them;

and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

18:9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah

your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."

18:10 And He said, "I will certainly return to you

according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah

your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening

in the tent door which was behind him.)

18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well

advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of

childbearing.

18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself,

saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have

pleasure, my lord being old also?"

18:13 And Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did

Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child,

since I am old?'

18:14 "Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the

appointed time I will return to you, according to

the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

18:15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not

laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but

you did laugh!"

18:16 Then the men rose from there and looked

toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to

send them on the way.

18:17 And Yahweh said, "Shall I hide from

Abraham what I am doing,

18:18 "since Abraham shall surely become a

great and mighty nation, and all the nations of

the earth shall be blessed in him?

18:19 "For I have known him, in order that he

may command his children and his household

after him, that they keep the way of Yahweh, to

do righteousness and justice, that Yahweh may

bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."

18:20 And Yahweh said, "Because the outcry

against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and

because their sin is very grave,

18:21 "I will go down now and see whether they

have done altogether according to the outcry

against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will

know."

18:22 Then the men turned away from there and

went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood

before Yahweh.

18:23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would

You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

18:24 "Suppose there were fifty righteous within

the city; would You also destroy the place and

not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?

18:25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as

this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so

that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be

it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth

do right?"

18:26 So Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty

righteous within the city, then I will spare all the

place for their sakes."

18:27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed

now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it

upon myself to speak toYahweh:

18:28 "Suppose there were five less than the fifty

righteous; would You destroy all of the city for

lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there fortyfive,

I will not destroy it."

18:29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said,

"Suppose there should be forty found there?" So

He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty."

18:30 Then he said, "Let notYahweh be angry,

and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found

there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty

there."

18:31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it

upon myself to speak toYahweh: Suppose twenty

should be found there?" So He said, "I will not

destroy it for the sake of twenty."

18:32 Then he said, "Let notYahweh be angry,

and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten

should be found there?" And He said, "I will not

destroy it for the sake of ten."

18:33 So Yahweh went His way as soon as He

had finished speaking with Abraham; and

Abraham returned to his place.

19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the

evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of

Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet

them, and he bowed himself with his face toward

the ground.

19:2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please

turn in to your servant's house and spend the

night, and wash your feet; then you may rise

early and go on your way." And they said, "No,

but we will spend the night in the open square."

19:3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to

him and entered his house. Then he made them a

feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

19:4 Now before they lay down, the men of the

city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all

the people from every quarter, surrounded the

house.

19:5 And they called to Lot and said to him,

"Where are the men who came to you tonight?

Bring them out to us that we may know them

carnally."

19:6 So Lot went out to them through the

doorway, shut the door behind him,

19:7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so

wickedly!

19:8 "See now, I have two daughters who have

not been intimate with a man; please, let me

bring them out to you, and you may do to them

as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since

this is the reason they have come under the

shadow of my roof."

19:9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they

said, "This one came in to stay here, and he

keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse

with you than with them." So they pressed hard

against the man Lot, and came near to break

down the door.

19:10 But the men reached out their hands and

pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the

door.

19:11 And they struck the men who were at the

doorway of the house with blindness, both small

and great, so that they became weary trying to

find the door.

19:12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you

anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your

daughters, and whomever you have in the citytake

them out of this place!

19:13 "For we will destroy this place, because

the outcry against them has grown great before

the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh has sent us to

destroy it."

19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-inlaw,

who had married his daughters, and said,

"Get up, get out of this place; for Yahweh will

destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he

seemed to be joking.

19:15 When the morning dawned, the angels

urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your

wife and your two daughters who are here, lest

you be consumed in the punishment of the city."

19:16 And while he lingered, the men took hold

of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his

two daughters, Yahweh being merciful to him,

and they brought him out and set him outside the

city.

19:17 So it came to pass, when they had brought

them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life!

Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the

plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be

destroyed."

19:18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my

lords!

19:19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor

in your sight, and you have increased your mercy

which you have shown me by saving my life; but

I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil

overtake me and I die.

19:20 "See now, this city is near enough to flee

to, and it is a little one; please let me escape

there (is it not a little one?) and my body shall

live."

19:21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored

you concerning this thing also, in that I will not

overthrow this city for which you have spoken.

19:22 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do

anything until you arrive there." Therefore the

name of the city was called Zoar.

19:23 The sun had risen upon the earth when

Lot entered Zoar.

19:24 Then Yahweh rained brimstone and fire on

Sodom and Gomorrah, from Yahweh out of the

heavens.

19:25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain,

all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on

the ground.

19:26 But his wife looked back behind him, and

she became a pillar of salt.

19:27 And Abraham went early in the morning

to the place where he had stood before Yahweh.

19:28 Then he looked toward Sodom and

Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain;

and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land

which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

19:29 And it came to pass, when Yahweh

destroyed the cities of the plain, that Yahweh

remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the

midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the

cities in which Lot had dwelt.

19:30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt

in the mountains, and his two daughters were

with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And

he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.

19:31 Now the firstborn said to the younger,

"Our father is old, and there is no man on the

earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the

earth.

19:32 "Come, let us make our father drink wine,

and we will lie with him, that we may preserve

the lineage of our father."

19:33 So they made their father drink wine that

night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her

father, and he did not know when she lay down

or when she arose.

19:34 It happened on the next day that the

firstborn said to the younger, "Indeed I lay with

my father last night; let us make him drink wine

tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that

we may preserve the lineage of our father."

19:35 Then they made their father drink wine

that night also. And the younger arose and lay

with him, and he did not know when she lay

down or when she arose.

19:36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with

child by their father.

19:37 The firstborn bore a son and called his

name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to

this day.

19:38 And the younger, she also bore a son and

called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of

the people of Ammon to this day.

20:1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the

South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and

stayed in Gerar.

20:2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She

is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent

and took Sarah.

20:3 But Yahweh came to Abimelech in a dream

by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead

man because of the woman whom you have

taken, for she is a man's wife."

20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and

he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation

also?

20:5 "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'?

And she, even she herself said, 'He is my

brother.' In the integrity of my heart and

innocence of my hands I have done this."

20:6 And Yahweh said to him in a dream, "Yes, I

know that you did this in the integrity of your

heart. For I also withheld you from sinning

against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.

20:7 "Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for

he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you

shall live. But if you do not restore her, know

that you shall surely die, you and all who are

yours."

20:8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning,

called all his servants, and told all these things in

their hearing; and the men were very much

afraid.

20:9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to

him, "What have you done to us? How have I

offended you, that you have brought on me and

on my kingdom a great sin? You have done

deeds to me that ought not to be done."

20:10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, "What

did you have in view, that you have done this

thing?"

20:11 And Abraham said, "Because I thought,

surely the fear of Yahweh is not in this place;

and they will kill me on account of my wife.

20:12 "But indeed she is truly my sister. She is

the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of

my mother; and she became my wife.

20:13 "And it came to pass, when Yahweh

caused me to wander from my father's house,

that I said to her, 'This is your kindness that you

should do for me: in every place, wherever we

go, say of me, "He is my brother." ' "

20:14 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and

male and female servants, and gave them to

Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.

20:15 And Abimelech said, "See, my land is

before you; dwell where it pleases you."

20:16 Then to Sarah he said, "Behold, I have

given your brother a thousand pieces of silver;

indeed this vindicates you before all who are

with you and before everybody." Thus she was

rebuked.

20:17 So Abraham prayed to Yahweh; and

Yahweh healed Abimelech, his wife, and his

female servants. Then they bore children;

20:18 for Yahweh had closed up all the wombs

of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah,

Abraham's wife.

21:1 And Yahweh visited Sarah as He had said,

and Yahweh did for Sarah as He had spoken.

21:2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a

son in his old age, at the set time of which

Yahweh had spoken to him.

21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son

who was born to him-whom Sarah bore to him-

Isaac.

21:4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac

when he was eight days old, as Yahweh had

commanded him.

21:5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old

when his son Isaac was born to him.

21:6 And Sarah said, "Yahweh has made me

laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me."

21:7 She also said, "Who would have said to

Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I

have borne him a son in his old age."

21:8 So the child grew and was weaned. And

Abraham made a great feast on the same day that

Isaac was weaned.

21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the

Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham,

scoffing.

21:10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out

this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this

bondwoman shall not be heir with my son,

namely with Isaac."

21:11 And the matter was very displeasing in

Abraham's sight because of his son.

21:12 But Yahweh said to Abraham, "Do not let

it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad

or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah

has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac

your seed shall be called.

21:13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of

the bondwoman, because he is your seed."

21:14 So Abraham rose early in the morning,

and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it

on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar,

and sent her away. Then she departed and

wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

21:15 And the water in the skin was used up,

and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.

21:16 Then she went and sat down across from

him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said

to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy."

So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and

wept.

21:17 And Yahweh heard the voice of the lad.

Then the angel of Yahweh called to Hagar out of

heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar?

Fear not, for Yahweh has heard the voice of the

lad where he is.

21:18 "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with

your hand, for I will make him a great nation."

21:19 Then Yahweh opened her eyes, and she

saw a well of water. And she went and filled the

skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.

21:20 So Yahweh was with the lad; and he grew

and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an

archer.

21:21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and

his mother took a wife for him from the land of

Egypt.

21:22 And it came to pass at that time that

Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his

army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "Yahweh is

with you in all that you do.

21:23 "Now therefore, swear to me by Yahweh

that you will not deal falsely with me, with my

offspring, or with my posterity; but that

according to the kindness that I have done to

you, you will do to me and to the land in which

you have dwelt."

21:24 And Abraham said, "I will swear."

21:25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech

because of a well of water which Abimelech's

servants had seized.

21:26 And Abimelech said, "I do not know who

has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I

heard of it until today."

21:27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and

gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them

made a covenant.

21:28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the

flock by themselves.

21:29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is

the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you

have set by themselves?"

21:30 And he said, "You will take these seven

ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my

witness that I have dug this well."

21:31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba,

because the two of them swore an oath there.

21:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba.

So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander

of his army, and they returned to the land of the

Philistines.

21:33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in

Beersheba, and there called on the name of

Yahweh, the Everlasting God.

21:34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the

Philistines many days.

22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that

Yahweh tested Abraham, and said to him,

"Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

22:2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your

only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the

land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt

offering on one of the mountains of which I shall

tell you."

22:3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and

saddled his donkey, and took two of his young

men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the

wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went

to the place of which Yahweh had told him.

22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his

eyes and saw the place afar off.

22:5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay

here with the donkey; the lad and I will go

yonder and worship, and we will come back to

you."

22:6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt

offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took

the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of

them went together.

22:7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and

said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my

son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood,

but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

22:8 And Abraham said, "My son, Yahweh will

provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt

offering." So the two of them went together.

22:9 Then they came to the place of which

Yahweh had told him. And Abraham built an

altar there and placed the wood in order; and he

bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar,

upon the wood.

22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and

took the knife to slay his son.

22:11 But the Angel of Yahweh called to him

from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So

he said, "Here I am."

22:12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the

lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that

you fear Yahweh, since you have not withheld

your son, your only son, from Me."

22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked,

and there behind him was a ram caught in a

thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took

the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering

instead of his son.

22:14 And Abraham called the name of the

place, Yahweh-Will-Provide; as it is said to this

day, "In the Mount of Yahweh it shall be

provided."

22:15 Then the Angel of Yahweh called to

Abraham a second time out of heaven,

22:16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says

Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and

have not withheld your son, your only son-

22:17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying

I will multiply your descendants as the stars of

the sky and as the sand which is on the seashore;

and your descendants shall possess the gate of

their enemies.

22:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth

shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My

voice."

22:19 So Abraham returned to his young men,

and they rose and went together to Beersheba;

and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

22:20 Now it came to pass after these things that

it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah

also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

22:21 "Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother,

Kemuel the father of Aram,

22:22 "Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and

Bethuel."

22:23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight

Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah,

also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

23:1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven

years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

23:2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is,

Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham

came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

23:3 Then Abraham stood up from before his

dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

23:4 "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you.

Give me property for a burial place among you,

that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

23:5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham,

saying to him,

23:6 "Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince

among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our

burial places. None of us will withhold from you

his burial place, that you may bury your dead."

23:7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself

to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

23:8 And he spoke with them, saying, "If it is

your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight,

hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar

for me,

23:9 "that he may give me the cave of

Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of

his field. Let him give it to me at the full price,

as property for a burial place among you."

23:10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of

Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham

in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who

entered at the gate of his city, saying,

23:11 "No, my lord, hear 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. Bury your dead!"

23:12 Then Abraham bowed himself down

before the people of the land;

23:13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of

the people of the land, saying, "If you will give

it, please hear me. I will give you money for the

field; take it from me and I will bury my dead

there."

23:14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to

him,

23:15 "My lord, listen to me; the land is worth

four hundred shekels of silver. What is that

between you and me? So bury your dead."

23:16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and

Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron

which he had named in the hearing of the sons of

Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of

the merchants.

23:17 So the field of Ephron which was in

Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field

and the cave which was in it, and all the trees

that were in the field, which were within all the

surrounding borders, were deeded

23:18 to Abraham as a possession in the

presence of the sons of Heth, before all who

went in at the gate of his city.

23:19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his

wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah,

before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of

Canaan.

23:20 So the field and the cave that is in it were

deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as

property for a burial place.

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in

age; and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all

things.

24:2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his

house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please,

put your hand under my thigh,

24:3 "and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the

God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you

will not take a wife for my son from the

daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I

dwell;

24:4 "but you shall go to my country and to my

family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

24:5 And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the

woman will not be willing to follow me to this

land. Must I take your son back to the land from

which you came?"

24:6 But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you

do not take my son back there.

24:7 "Yahweh the God of heaven, who took me

from my father's house and from the land of my

family, and who spoke to me and swore to me,

saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He

will send His angel before you, and you shall

take a wife for my son from there.

24:8 "And if the woman is not willing to follow

you, then you will be released from this oath;

only do not take my son back there."

24:9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh

of Abraham his master, and swore to him

concerning this matter.

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master's

camels and departed, for all his master's goods

were in his hand. And he arose and went to

Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

24:11 And he made his camels kneel down

outside the city by a well of water at evening

time, the time when women go out to draw

water.

24:12 Then he said, "O Yahweh, God of my

master Abraham, please give me success this

day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

24:13 "Behold, here I stand by the well of water,

and the daughters of the men of the city are

coming out to draw water.

24:14 "Now let it be that the young woman to

whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I

may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also

give your camels a drink'-let her be the one You

have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by

this I will know that You have shown kindness

to my master."

24:15 And it happened, before he had finished

speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to

Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,

Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on

her shoulder.

24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful

to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And

she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and

came up.

24:17 And the servant ran to meet her and said,

"Please let me drink a little water from your

pitcher."

24:18 So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she

quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and

gave him a drink.

24:19 And when she had finished giving him a

drink, she said, "I will draw water for your

camels also, until they have finished drinking."

24:20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into

the trough, ran back to the well to draw water,

and drew for all his camels.

24:21 And the man, wondering at her, remained

silent so as to know whether Yahweh had made

his journey prosperous or not.

24:22 So it was, when the camels had finished

drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring

weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her

wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,

24:23 and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell

me, please, is there room in your father's house

for us to lodge?"

24:24 So she said to him, "I am the daughter of

Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor."

24:25 Moreover she said to him, "We have both

straw and feed enough, and room to lodge."

24:26 Then the man bowed down his head and

worshiped Yahweh.

24:27 And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh the God

of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken

His mercy and His truth toward my master. As

for me, being on the way, Yahweh led me to the

house of my master's brethren."

24:28 So the young woman ran and told her

mother's household these things.

24:29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name

was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the

well.

24:30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose

ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and

when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah,

saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he

went to the man. And there he stood by the

camels at the well.

24:31 And he said, "Come in, O blessed of

Yahweh! Why do you stand outside? For I have

prepared the house, and a place for the camels."

24:32 Then the man came to the house. And he

unloaded the camels, and provided straw and

feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet

and the feet of the men who were with him.

24:33 Food was set before him to eat, but he

said, "I will not eat until I have told about my

errand." And he said, "Speak on."

24:34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.

24:35 "Yahweh has blessed my master greatly,

and he has become great; and He has given him

flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and

female servants, and camels and donkeys.

24:36 "And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to

my master when she was old; and to him he has

given all that he has.

24:37 "Now my master made me swear, saying,

'You shall not take a wife for my son from the

daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I

dwell;

24:38 'but you shall go to my father's house and

to my family, and take a wife for my son.'

24:39 "And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the

woman will not follow me.'

24:40 "But he said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom

I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper

your way; and you shall take a wife for my son

from my family and from my father's house.

24:41 'You will be clear from this oath when you

arrive among my family; for if they will not give

her to you, then you will be released from my

oath.'

24:42 "And this day I came to the well and said,

'O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, if You

will now prosper the way in which I go,

24:43 'behold, I stand by the well of water; and it

shall come to pass that when the virgin comes

out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give

me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"

24:44 'and she says to me, "Drink, and I will

draw for your camels also,"-let her be the woma

whom Yahweh has appointed for my master's

son.'

24:45 "But before I had finished speaking in my

heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her

pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to

the well and drew water. And I said to her,

'Please let me drink.'

24:46 "And she made haste and let her pitcher

down from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I

will give your camels a drink also.' So I drank,

and she gave the camels a drink also.

24:47 "Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose

daughter are you?' And she said, 'The daughter

of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to

him.' So I put the nose ring on her nose and the

bracelets on her wrists.

24:48 "And I bowed my head and worshiped

Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh the God of my

master Abraham, who had led me in the way of

truth to take the daughter of my master's brother

for his son.

24:49 "Now if you will deal kindly and truly

with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that

I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and

said, "The thing comes from Yahweh; we cannot

speak to you either bad or good.

24:51 "Here is Rebekah before you; take her and

go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as

Yahweh has spoken."

24:52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's

servant heard their words, that he worshiped

Yahweh, bowing himself to the earth.

24:53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of

silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave

them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things

to her brother and to her mother.

24:54 And he and the men who were with him

ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they

arose in the morning, and he said, "Send me

away to my master."

24:55 But her brother and her mother said, "Let

the young woman stay with us a few days, at

least ten; after that she may go."

24:56 And he said to them, "Do not hinder me,

since Yahweh has prospered my way; send me

away so that I may go to my master."

24:57 So they said, "We will call the young

woman and ask her personally."

24:58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her,

"Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I

will go."

24:59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and

her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.

24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:

"Our sister, may you become

The mother of thousands of ten thousands;

And may your descendants possess

The gates of those who hate them."

24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and

they rode on the camels and followed the man.

So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

24:62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer

Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.

24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field

in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked,

and there, the camels were coming.

24:64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when

she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel;

24:65 for she had said to the servant, "Who is

this man walking in the field to meet us?" The

servant said, "It is my master." So she took a veil

and covered herself.

24:66 And the servant told Isaac all the things

that he had done.

24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother

Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she

became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was

comforted after his mother's death.

25:1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name

was Keturah.

25:2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,

Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

25:3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the

sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and

Leummim.

25:4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher,

Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the

children of Keturah.

25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

25:6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the

concubines which Abraham had; and while he

was still living he sent them eastward, away

from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

25:7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham's

life which he lived: one hundred and seventyfive

years.

25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in

a good old age, an old man and full of years, and

was gathered to his people.

25:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him

in the cave of Machpelah, which is before

Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar

the Hittite,

25:10 the field which Abraham purchased from

the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried,

and Sarah his wife.

25:11 And it came to pass, after the death of

Abraham, that Yahweh blessed his son Isaac.

And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

25:12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael,

Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian,

Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 And these were the names of the sons of

Ishmael, by their names, according to their

generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth;

then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

25:15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and

Kedemah.

25:16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these

were their names, by their towns and their

settlements, twelve princes according to their

nations.

25:17 These were the years of the life of

Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and

he breathed his last and died, and was gathered

to his people.

25:18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur,

which is east of Egypt as you go toward

Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his

brethren.

25:19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's

son. Abraham begot Isaac.

25:20 Isaac was forty years old when he took

Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the

Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the

Syrian.

25:21 Now Isaac pleaded with Yahweh for his

wife, because she was barren; and Yahweh

granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife

conceived.

25:22 But the children struggled together within

her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like

this?" So she went to inquire of Yahweh.

25:23 And Yahweh said to her:

"Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One people shall be stronger than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger."

25:24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to

give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

25:25 And the first came out red. He was like a

hairy garment all over; so they called his name

Esau.

25:26 Afterward his brother came out, and his

hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was

called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she

bore them.

25:27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful

hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild

man, dwelling in tents.

25:28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his

game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came

in from the field, and he was weary.

25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me

with that same red stew, for I am weary."

Therefore his name was called Edom.

25:31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as

of this day."

25:32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die;

so what is this birthright to me?"

25:33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this

day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright

to Jacob.

25:34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of

lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his

way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

26:1 There was a famine in the land, besides the

first famine that was in the days of Abraham.

And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the

Philistines, in Gerar.

26:2 Then Yahweh appeared to him and said:

"Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of

which I shall tell you.

26:3 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you

and bless you; for to you and your descendants I

give all these lands, and I will perform the oath

which I swore to Abraham your father.

26:4 "And I will make your descendants multiply

as the stars of the sky; I will give to your

descendants all these lands; and in your seed all

the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

26:5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and

kept My charge, My commandments, My

statutes, and My laws."

26:6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

26:7 And the men of the place asked about his

wife. And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was

afraid to say, "She is my wife," because he

thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for

Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold."

26:8 Now it came to pass, when he had been

there a long time, that Abimelech king of the

Philistines looked through a window, and saw,

and there was Isaac, showing endearment to

Rebekah his wife.

26:9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said,

"Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could

you say, 'She is my sister'?" And Isaac said to

him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of

her.' "

26:10 And Abimelech said, "What is this you

have done to us? One of the people might soon

have lain with your wife, and you would have

brought guilt on us."

26:11 So Abimelech charged all his people,

saying, "He who touches this man or his wife

shall surely be put to death."

26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped

in the same year a hundredfold; and Yahweh

blessed him.

26:13 The man began to prosper, and continued

prospering until he became very prosperous;

26:14 for he had possessions of flocks and

possessions of herds and a great number of

servants. So the Philistines envied him.

26:15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the

wells which his father's servants had dug in the

days of Abraham his father, and they had filled

them with earth.

26:16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away

from us, for you are much mightier than we."

26:17 Then Isaac departed from there and

pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt

there.

26:18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water

which they had dug in the days of Abraham his

father, for the Philistines had stopped them up

after the death of Abraham. He called them by

the names which his father had called them.

26:19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and

found a well of running water there.

26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with

Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So

he called the name of the well Esek, because

they quarreled with him.

26:21 Then they dug another well, and they

quarreled over that one also. So he called its

name Sitnah.

26:22 And he moved from there and dug another

well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he

called its name Rehoboth, because he said, "For

now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall

be fruitful in the land."

26:23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba.

26:24 And Yahweh appeared to him the same

night and said, "I am the God of your father

Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will

bless you and multiply your descendants for My

servant Abraham's sake."

26:25 So he built an altar there and called on the

name of Yahweh, and he pitched his tent there;

and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

26:26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar

with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol

the commander of his army.

26:27 And Isaac said to them, "Why have you

come to me, since you hate me and have sent me

away from you?"

26:28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that

Yahweh is with you. So we said, 'Let there now

be an oath between us, between you and us; and

let us make a covenant with you,

26:29 'that you will do us no harm, since we

have not touched you, and since we have done

nothing to you but good and have sent you away

in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.’"

26:30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and

drank.

26:31 Then they arose early in the morning and

swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent

them away, and they departed from him in peace.

26:32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's

servants came and told him about the well which

they had dug, and said to him, "We have found

water."

26:33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name

of the city is Beersheba to this day.

26:34 When Esau was forty years old, he took

as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite,

and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite

26:35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and

Rebekah.

27:1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old

and his eyes were so dim that he could not see,

that he called Esau his older son and said to him,

"My son." And he answered him, "Here I am."

27:2 Then he said, "Behold now, I am old. I do

not know the day of my death.

27:3 "Now therefore, please take your weapons,

your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field

and hunt game for me.

27:4 "And make me savory food, such as I love,

and bring it to me that I may eat, that my spirit

may bless you before I die."

27:5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac

spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the

field to hunt game and to bring it.

27:6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying,

"Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your

brother, saying,

27:7 'Bring me game and make savory food for

me, that I may eat it and bless you in the

presence of Yahweh before my death.'

27:8 "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice

according to what I command you.

27:9 "Go now to the flock and bring me from

there two choice kids of the goats, and I will

make savory food from them for your father,

such as he loves.

27:10 "Then you shall take it to your father, that

he may eat it, and that he may bless you before

his death."

27:11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,

"Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am

a smooth-skinned man.

27:12 "Perhaps my father will feel me, and I

shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall

bring a curse on myself and not a blessing."

27:13 But his mother said to him, "Let your

curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice,

and go, get them for me."

27:14 And he went and got them and brought

them to his mother, and his mother made savory

food, such as his father loved.

27:15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of

her elder son Esau, which were with her in the

house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the

goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his

neck.

27:17 Then she gave the savory food and the

bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of

her son Jacob.

27:18 So he went to his father and said, "My

father.' And he said, "Here I am. Who are you,

my son?"

27:19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your

firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please

arise, sit and eat of my game, that your spirit

may bless me."

27:20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that

you have found it so quickly, my son?" And he

said, "Because Yahweh your God brought it to

me."

27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come

near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you

are really my son Esau or not."

27:22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and

he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice,

but the hands are the hands of Esau."

27:23 And he did not recognize him, because his

hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands;

so he blessed him.

27:24 Then he said, "Are you really my son

Esau?" He said, "I am."

27:25 He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat

of my son's game, so that my spirit may bless

you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate;

and he brought him wine, and he drank.

27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come

near now and kiss me, my son."

27:27 And he came near and kissed him; and he

smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed

him and said:

"Surely, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field

Which Yahweh has blessed.

27:28 Therefore may Yahweh give you

Of the dew of the clouds,

Of the fatness of the earth,

And plenty of grain and wine.

27:29 Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brethren,

And let your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

And blessed be those who bless you!"

27:30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had

finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely

gone out from the presence of Isaac his father,

that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

27:31 He also had made savory food, and

brought it to his father, and said to his father,

"Let my father arise and eat of his son's game,

that your spirit may bless me."

27:32 And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are

you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn,

Esau."

27:33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and

said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game

and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you

came, and I have blessed him-and indeed he shall

be blessed."

27:34 When Esau heard the words of his father,

he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry,

and said to his father, "Bless me-me also, O my

father!"

27:35 But he said, "Your brother came with

deceit and has taken away your blessing."

27:36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named

Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two

times. He took away my birthright, and now

look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he

said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

27:37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau,

"Indeed I have made him your master, and all his

brethren I have given to him as servants; with

grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall

I do now for you, my son?"

27:38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you

only one blessing, my father? Bless me-me also,

O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and

wept.

27:39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to

him:

"Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of

the earth,

And of the dew of the clouds from above.

27:40 By your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

And it shall come to pass, when you become

restless,

That you shall break his yoke from your neck."

27:41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the

blessing with which his father blessed him, and

Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for

my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother

Jacob."

27:42 And the words of Esau her older son were

told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her

younger son, and said to him, "Surely your

brother Esau comforts himself concerning you

by intending to kill you.

27:43 "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice:

arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran.

27:44 "And stay with him a few days, until your

brother's fury turns away,

27:45 "until your brother's anger turns away

from you, and he forgets what you have done to

him; then I will send and bring you from there.

Why should I be bereaved also of you both in

one day?"

27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of

my life because of the daughters of Heth; if

Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like

these who are the daughters of the land, what

good will my life be to me?"

28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him,

and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not

take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

28:2 "Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of

Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a

wife from there of the daughters of Laban your

mother's brother.

28:3 "May God Almighty bless you,

And make you fruitful and multiply you,

That you may be an assembly of peoples;

28:4 And give you the blessing of Abraham,

To you and your descendants with you,

That you may inherit the land

In which you are a stranger,

Which Yahweh gave to Abraham."

28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to

Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the

Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of

Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and

sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a

wife from there, and that as he blessed him he

gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a

wife from the daughters of Canaan,"

28:7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his

mother and had gone to Padan Aram.

28:8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan

did not please his father Isaac.

28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath

the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the

sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to

the wives he had.

28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and

went toward Haran.

28:11 So he came to a certain place and stayed

there all night, because the sun had set. And he

took one of the stones of that place and put it at

his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder

was set up on the earth, and its top reached to the

clouds; and there the angels of Yahweh were

ascending and descending on it.

28:13 And behold, Yahweh stood above it and

said: "I am Yahweh, God of Abraham your

father and the God of Isaac; the land on which

you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

28:14 "Also your descendants shall be as the dust

of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west

and the east, to the north and the south; and in

you and in your seed all the families of the earth

shall be blessed.

28:15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you

wherever you go, and will bring you back to this

land; for I will not leave you until I have done

what I have spoken to you."

28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,

"Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not

know it."

28:17 And he was afraid and said, "How

awesome is this place! This is none other than

the house of Yahweh, and this is the gate of

heaven!"

28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and

took the stone that he had put at his head, set it

up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.

28:19 And he called the name of that place

Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz

previously.

28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If

Yahweh will be with me, and keep me in this

way that I am going, and give me bread to eat

and clothing to put on,