| | º N- LO OD <† OD cro cry O O LO +-- CD ~~~~ BUHR University of Michigan - |-：： ſae.ſae ，|- Bae ，---- ſae -· - |-####### -！-·！！！！！！！!！！!！! ------ ·… ſae：.……|-·ae Loſ º º Atº ! NT/? * APPROBATION OF ARCHBISHOP RYAN == GIVEN BY HIS GRACE TO MESSRS. JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY. ARCHBISHOP's Hous E, LOGAN SQUARE, Jºhiladelphia, May 3rd, 1888. IT GIVES us great gratification to RENEW THE APPROBATION given by our vener- able predecessor to this edition of the HOLY BIBLE. It contains the NOTES of the RIGHT REV. D.R. CHALLONER, and much ADDITIONAL explanatory matter prepared by our º-º worthy Chancellor, REV. IGNATIUS F. HORSTMANN, D.D. It is a reprint of an edition pub- lished with the approbation of nearly all the members of the AMERICAN HIERARCHY sev- eral years ago. To our own exhortation to our people to POSSESS and FREQUENTLY READ the HOLY SCRIPTURES, we beg to add that of the FATHERS OF THE THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE who, in their official Pastoral of the faithful committed to their care, thus express themselves, “It can hardly be necessary for us to remind you, beloved brethren, that the most HIGHLY VALUED TREASURE of every FAMILY LIBRARY, and the most fre- quently and lovingly made use of, should be the HOLY SCRIPTURES.” They quote also in the Pastoral the exhortation of POPE PIUS VI, in his letter to the ARCHBISHOP OF FLORENCE, “That the FAITH FUL should be moved to the reading of the HOLY SCRIPTURES, for these are most abundant sources which ought to be left open to every one to draw from them purity of morals and of doctrine, to eradicate the errors which are so widely disseminated in these corrupt times.” >K PATRICK JOHN RYAN, ARCHIBISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA. -H- te &º - 2.2 ºr º } C d sº-º: : #. } g Nº º . . . | - G D % - 3% % s sº º º | º ſ | º | MW |}|...} ſº ºf | º º | A APPROBATION OF ARCHBISHOP WOOD. GIVEN BY HIS GRACE TO MESSRS. JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY. THIS EDITION of the HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE has our SPECIAL SANCTION and AUTHORITY, and we take great pleasure in commending it to the faithful. We find that it has been carefully and accurately printed by its publishers, the Messrs. JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY, in a manner highly commendable and praiseworthy. The Edition contains ALL the ANNOTATIONS of the RIGHT REV. R. CHALLONER, D.D., together with much other valuable illustrative and explanatory matter, prepared expressly for it under our sanction, by the REV. IGNATIUS F. HORSTMANN, D.D., late Professor of Philosophy and Liturgy in our Theological Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo at Philadelphia, who is eminently fitted for the work, by virtue of his great piety and learning. THE ADDITIONAL MATTER prepared by the REV. DR. HORSTMANN, consisting of THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE, with introduction to the proper reading of the Sacred Scriptures; the account of the several books of both the Old and the New Testament; the CATHO- LIC DICTIONARY, compiled from the original work of the GREAT BENEDICTINE MONK, FATHER AUGUSTINE CALMET, the celebrated biblical commentator; the Table of the Epistles and Gospels for ALL the SUNDAYS and HOLY DAYS throughout the year, and of the most NOTABLE FEASTS in the ROMAN CALENDAR, as also the several CHRONOLOGICAL and MISCELLANEOUS TABLES, thereto added, embraces the results of the most recent and reliable researches in Biblical Knowledge, and has been performed in a highly creditable and acceptable manner. $. THE BOOK MAY BE USED WITHOUT FEAR OR SCR UPLE BY THE FAITH FUL. SK, JAMES F. WOOD, AFCHEISHOP OF PHILADELPHIAEA. - . * : s i. * ºzºs 5-sº . 3 -- ... tº Y. # w - & iſ - - * - W - º - - *** * * º - | º Jººs 3% */ Sºº-º-º: º º * . L Sºrº ºf 3 * , º, ºn sº * * * º * : * * * º, º s 2% ºnºmy ºf ºt º | * ºn º º 2.2.2 º - * I I | | t | º l º E--> * | * || YA|| rº, º, lº/2 | f tº-" ſ w – - - - - - ſº - - ſ ºu. * º Fº C [. L - R s: a 3. 'll hº - S. º y &l tº - º-- a * GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS, TO THE MOST REV. ANTHONY MARTINI, ARCHBISHOP OF FLORENCE. BELOVED SON, - AEA L 7"H A WD A POSTO Z/CAA. BAEAVE DACTIOAV. At a time that a vast number of bad books, which most grossly attack THE CATHOLIC RELIGION, are circulated, even among the unlearned, to the great destruction of souls, you judge exceedingly well, that the faithful should be excited to the reading of the HOLY SCRIPTURES. For these are the most abundant sources which ought to be left open to every one, to draw from them purity of morals and of doctrine, to eradicate the errors which are so widely disseminated in these corrupt times. This you have seasonably effected, as you declare, by publishing the SACRED WIRITINGS in the language of your country, suitable to every one's capacity: especially when you show and set forth, that you have added EXPLANATORY NOTES, which being extracted from the HOLY FATHERS, preclude every possible danger of abuse. Thus you have not swerved either from the laws of the Congregation of the Index, or from the Constitution published on this subject by BENEDICT XIV., that im- mortal Pope, our predecessor in the Pontificate, and formerly when We held a place near his person, our excellent Master in Ecclesiastical learning; circumstances which We mention as honor- able to Us. We therefore applaud your eminent learning, joined with your extraordinary piety, and We return you our due acknowledgment for the books you have transmitted to Us, and which, when convenient, We will read over. In the meantime, as a token of our Pontifical benevolence, receive our Apostolical benediction, which to you, beloved Son, We very affectionately impart. Given at Rome, on the Calends of April, 1778, the fourth year of our Pontificate. PHILIP BUONAMICI, TO OUR BELOVED SON, LATIN SECRETARY. AAVTHOM Y MARTINI, A 7" TURIN. x *. - * * * º: Ecº- S * ===s O O *a* - S㺠ºš APPROBATION OF POPEPIUSTHESIXTH # - S. }= º - º zºº.º. 4 º º- - « 2. º Nº. 5 º fºSº º \º º ż), º * | * * * * * % A 2 C. º º 2% a 2 * †, º 2 * * Z. gº º º -2" º 2. 2. ſ § s S º- §§§º 44, ſº º ſº ſ º * Z. - 2. * - *º ”, %: s: SS º * . . . . * º “sº SS a -* * * w r - sºil, *ºg ..” § ſ iſ . c c º - º ? Sº $ sº º – ſº < * d ...” sº sº º º Şſſ; j ſ f º: º, f This JEDITION of the HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE, having been duly examined, is CORDIALLY APPROVED. “F JOHN McCLOSKEY, Archbishop of New York. SF JAMES F. WOOD, Archbishop of Philadelphia. >{ MARTIN JOHN SPALDING, Archbishop of Baltimore. >{: JOHN B. PURCELL, Archbishop of Cincinnati. >{ JOHN M. ODIN, Archbishop of New Orleans. >{. FRANCIS N. BLANCHET, Archbishop of Oregon. + PETER. R. KENRICK, Archbishop of St. Louis. >{ JOSEPH S. ALEMANY, Archbishop of San Francisco. >{ P. N. LYNCH, Bishop of Charleston. >{ TOBIAS MULLEN, Bishop of Erie. >{ JEREMIAH. F. SHANAHAN, Bishop of Harrisburg. >{- MICHAEL DOMENEC, Bishop of Pittsburg. >{ JOHN McGILL, Bishop of Richmond. + AUGUSTINE VEROT, Bishop of Savannah. >{: WILLIAM O'HARA, Bishop of Scranton. >{ RICHARD WHELAN, Bishop of Wheeling. >{ THOMAS A. BECKER, Bishop of Wilmington. +. AMADEUS RAPPE, Bishop of Cleveland. >{ SYLVESTER H. ROSECRANS, Bishop of Columbus. + PETER A. LEFEVERE, Bishop of Detroit. >{: JOHN H. LUERS, Bishop of Fort Wayne. >{, WM. McCLOSKEY, Bishop of Louisville. >{- JOHN HOGAN, Bishop of St. Joseph. + MAURICE DEST. PALAIS, Bishop of Vincennes. + M. DUBUIS, Bishop of Galveston, >{, EDWARD FITZGERALD, Bishop of Little Rock. >{: JOHN QUINLAN, Bishop of Mobile. >{ AUGUSTUS MARTIN, Bishop of Natchitoches. >{: JOHN J. CONROY, Bishop of Albany. >{: JOHN J. WILLIAMS, Bishop of Boston. >{: JOHN LAUGHLIN, Bishop of Brooklyn. >{ STEPHEN VINCENTRYAN, Bishop of Buffalo. + LOUIS DE GOESBRIAND, Bishop of Burlington. >{* FRANCIS P. McFARLAND, Bishop of Hartford. >{: JAMES R. BAYLEY, Bishop of Newark. >{ DAVID W. BACON, Bishop of Portland. + BERNARD J. McQUAID, Bishop of Rochester. + AUGUSTINE M.A. BLANCHET, Bishop of Nesqualy. >{ MODEST DEMERS, Bishop of Vancouver's Island. + P. J. BALTES, Bishop of Alton, + JAMES DUGGAN, Bishop of Chicago. +: JOHN HENNESSY, Bishop of Dubuque. +: JOSEPH MELCHER, Bishop of Green Bay. +, MICHAEL HEISS, Bishop of La Crosse. >{: JOHN M. HENNI, Bishop of Milwaukee. + P. A. FEEHAN, Bishop of Nashville. >{: JOHN LAMY. Bishop of Santa Fe. >{ THOMAS L. GRACE, Bishop of St. Paul. >{ EUGENE O'CONNELL, Bishop of Grass Valley. + THADDEUS AMAT, Bishop of Monterey. national and foreign, Ann, who prayed fervently, raised her head but for a moment: it was when Mary and her young companions were passing along, white and veiled, with lamps in their hands, like the wise virgins of the gospel. When the feast was over, Ann, after having blessed and embraced Mary, took the road of the mountains again with Joachim; she departed from Jerusalem with slow steps, without daring tô look back, and carried with her happiness and recollec- tions to last her all the time till the next festival. When age and labor had worn out the strength of Joachim, and he was no longer able to cultivate his paternal land by himself, he thought of coming to live near to his daughter; the holy couple finally quitted lower Galilee, and came to live at Jerusalem, in a quarter near the temple. Ann had then arrived at the summit of her wishes: she could serve the Lord in his holy house, and see Mary often. How many times, during the fine summer evenings, while turning her spindle on the terrace roof of her house, must she have let it slip out of her motionless fingers, while her maternal looks were thoughtfully fixed on the gold and cedar roof of the temple? “Where a man's treasure is,” says the Scripture, “there is his heart.” St. Ann could have shortened the term of this painful absence, as the law of Moses would have accepted her compensation. She did not desire it: her gratitude towards God spoke more powerfully than her maternal tenderness; and when the voice of religion was heard, the cry of nature was appeased. The Virgin had lived nearly nine years secluded in the temple, when the first dark cloud came to sadden the sweet and serene sky of her young life: her beloved father, Joachim the just man, fell seriously ill, and soon the symptoms of approaching dissolution were apparent. Alarmed at his situation, his relatives and friends hastened to afford him a thousand testimonies of affection and sympathy: for there reigned a great and laudable union among the families of Juda. The dying man benignantly smiled upon his friends and relations; like Jacob, he had long been a sojourner upon the earth, and it mattered but little to him that the wind came and overturned his tabernacle, for beyond this planet of earth he beheld in spirit the happy regions where he was going to repose in the bosom of Abraham. When the gradual exhaustion of his strength had given the aged man to understand that life was departing from him, he made aloud, in presence of all, the confession of his sins, after the manner of the Hebrews,' and offered up his death to the sovereign Judge in expiation of the faults inherent in our nature, from which the most just are not exempt. This duty fulfilled, Joachim asked for his daughter, to give her his blessing. Mary came;” her ardent prayers for the preservation of the author of her days had not been heard: the jealous God was pleased to dissolve by degrees the terrestrial attachments of the spouse whom he had chosen for himself, that she might no lºnger have any support upon earth but his. - Pious authors have been of opinion that at the moment when Joachim stretched out his hands in the attitude of blessing over his child, a revelation from above allowed him to see all at once the glorious destiny to which Heaven called his daughter: the joy of the elect was diffused over his venerable face; he dropped his arms, bowed down his head, and died. The house then resounded with wailings and shrill cries; the women struck their bosoms and tore their hair,” the men covered their heads with ashes, and rent their garments; while certain Jewish matrons, moved by a principle of devotion and charity, extended a thick veil over the pale but serene countenance of the just man whom it was no longer permitted to see in this world, and bent his thumb in his hand, which they left open, as a sign of being abandoned by all earthly things. After washing the body with water mixed with myrrh and the leaves of dry roses, these pious women wrapped it up in a linen winding-sheet, which they bound round with bandages, after the manner of Egypt. Then, having opened all the doors and windows of the house, they lighted a brazen lamp with several lights near the corpse, the lamp of the dead, which cast its mournful reflection over the funeral couch. - The next day a numerous train, in which were seen some flute- players,” stopped before the house of the dead. The relations made their way to the upper chamber, where Joachim had been laid forth, and deposited the corpse upon a litter,” which they took up upon their shoulders. They passed along the streets of Jeru- salem, chanting funeral canticles, accompanied by the soft and plaintive sound of flutes, and above which were heard the loud lamentations of the mourners. Ann and Mary were present at the funeral, and walked with their heads down, among the matrons of their family, who shed streams of tears." The procession passed the sheep-gate, which afterwards, among the Christians, bore the name of the Gate of the Virgin. When they had arrived at the place of interment, the sound of the flutes, the canticles, and lamentations ceased for a short time, and he who conducted the mourning made this address to the corpse: “Blessed be God who formed thee, fed thee, and has taken away thy life. O ye dead, he knows your number, and he will one day raise you up again. Blessed be he who takes away life, and restores it !” - to repair thither. More than eleven hundred thousand persons perished at the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, because they were assembled for the Feast of the Passover, when it was besieged.—(Joseph., lib. vii. c. 17.) * Confession among the Hebrews is of the highest antiquity; the Jews made it, at the hour of death, not only aloud, but before ten pcrsons and a rabbin. Aaron Ben-Berachia, in his book entitled Maavar Jobbok, where he treats of the art of dying well, and of the manner of assisting the dying, relates the manner of confessing sins, and the prayers of the agony. Abraham Ben-Isaac Laniado has also made a book entitled The Buckler of Abraham, a work esteemed by the Jews, in which he treats of the confession of sins.—(See also Basn., liv. vii. c. 24.) * It was a custom which came from the patriarchs, that children should receive the blessing of their dying father: Mary must have conformed to this custom; her retirement in the temple was not a monastic enclosure, and St. Joachim lived at that time in Jerusalem. * St. Jerom remarks, that in his time, most of the Jews mangled their skin at the death of their near relations, and made themselves bald by tearing off their hair, which they sacrificed to death. * Dead bodies, among the Jews, defile and render unclean those who touch them.--(Misnah, Ordo puritatum.) “When the doors are shut, the house of the dead is regarded as a sepulchre, and consequently it is defiled; when the doors are open, on the contrary, the uncleanness departs.”—(Mai. monides.) . * Jesus Christ found minstrels who made a great rout at the door of a ruler, whose daughter he had raised to life. Maimonides Says that the poorest Jew is obliged to hire two flute-players and a female mourner for the funeral of his wife, and that the rich must increase the number in proportion to their wealth. * These funeral litters were used long before coffins, which are still unknown to the Arabs, who bury their dead in a linen cloth only, which gives the jackals, who prowl about the cemeteries by night, the facility of disinterring corpses to devour them. 'Women and children assisted at the funerals of their husbands and fathers. The widow of Naim followed the corpse of her son; J Oseph con- ducted the obsequies of his father; this custom still continues in Judea. The children of the Hebrews received the blessing of their parents, closed their eyelids, and accompanied them to the field of repose to gather them to the bones of their forefathers.-(Salvador, Hist, des Institutions de Moise et du peuple Hebreu, t. ii. p. 398.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 31 A small bag of earth was laid upon the head of the dead man, then the sepulchre was opened,—a dark cave, which was called the house of the living," where the patriarch was going to sleep his last sleep, waiting for the other members of his family. Then cries arose from all sides, enough to wring the heart. Ann threw her- self upon the mortal remains of her spouse, to pay him the last adieu, and soon she was carried off in a state of insensibility. After consigning to the earth the sacred remains of the just man, they rolled up to the entrance of the sepulchral cave an enormous stone, which no one must remove under pain of eaccom- munication. The funeral cries began again, and the spectators, pulling up three several times a tuft of grass, and throwing it each time behind them, said in a mournful tone: “They shall flourish as the grass of the field !” These rites terminated the obsequies of the descendant of the kings of Juda, the father of Mary, the grand- father of Jesus Christ according to the flesh. The Blessed Virgin's heart was wounded by this first grief, which was the prelude to so many others: it was her apprenticeship to sorrow. Adversity reached her on the threshold of adolescence; the noble child did not shrink back on her way; she wept-for her soul, like that of her divine Son, was never dry or insensible, —but she drained the bitter cup, saying to God: “O Jehovah, thy will be done!” The mother and daughter put on mourning, after the manner of the Hebrews; they were clothed in a coarse camlet, tight, and without folds, which was called a hair shirt; the head and feet bare, the face hidden in a fold of their robes, keep- ing fast and abstinence,” they remained sitting on the ground for seven days, giving way to tears with their relations, and praying for the soul of the deceased. When the seven days were passed, Ann had lamps lighted in the synagogue, where she requested prayers for her husband and added alms in proportion to her fortune. Mary, on her part, fasted every week on the day on which she had become an orphan, and prayed every night and morning for the repose of her father's soul. These fasts and prayers for the dead continued for the space of eleven months. “Welcome, O misfortune, if thou comest alone,” say the Greeks. This first affliction was followed by one still more poignant, and another mourn- THE MADONNA. ing soon came to be mingled with the mourning for Joachim. Scarcely was the mortuary lamp extinguished in the sorrowful abode of St. Ann, when it became necessary to light it afresh ; hardly were the tears dried up which the Virgin had shed for one of the authors of her days, when she had to deplore the loss of the other. One evening, Mary, accompanied by some of her relatives, went down from the temple to the narrow and dark street where her mother dwelt. The red and feeble ray of a lamp gleamed across one of the narrow, trellised windows of the humble dwelling. Before the threshold were grouped together in silence those women, who even to this day, throughout the East, bewail the dead as a means of earning their support; like birds of evil omen which forbode funerals, these unlucky creatures were on the lookout for some family in tears, to come and hire their venal lamentations. | §> -º- ſº º§; #º- *ſº- G ſ º -: fºº ; sº": | J. º -- i i C (ºr -W. #R- -9.ãº; -iſ'Yeº-º--- sº§• * º CRUCIFIX. (In the Church of St. Mauritius, Germany.) St. Ann exerted her failing strength to bless her daughter, recommended her pathetically to her kinsfolk, but above all to * The sepulchre should have been called the house of the dead; but they gave it, on the contrary, the title of house of the living, to indicate that the immortal soul still lives, after the separation from the body: this denomina- tion is attributed to the Pharisees.—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 24.) The rabbins give an exact description of these sepulchres. They make the entrance to them very narrow, for usually a stone rolled up to the entrance sufficed to close them. They left a great space empty, where the bearers went in and deposited the coffin, before they set it in its place. They hollowed out a certain number of niches in the sides and at the end, in which they placed the bodies of each family. Tombs were greatly respected ; it was not allowed to pass over them by making an aqueduct or a high-road through them, nor to go thither to cut wood, nor to lead flocks there to ſeed. They were placed on the high-roads, in order to excite the remembrance of those who passed by, and preserve the memory of the dead. * Fasting was very severe among the Jews; they were obliged to be contented with certain kinds of pulse, beans, for example, or lentils, which 32 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. -------- . ---- *** ----- HIM who is the Father of the orphan, and slept the sleep of the just." Mary bent down in tears over the cold visage of her mother; her light hair mixed with the gray hairs of the departed: it seemed as if she would have brought her to life again with her tears; but the breath of God alone can reanimate the dead! After the first burst of this sorrow, which was so justifiable, she closed with her hands the eyelids of the saint, and gave her one long and sorrowful embrace,—the last adieu of her people.” The grief of the young orphan was silent, profound, and nobly endured. Having no longer any other reliance upon earth but Providence, she took refuge in the bosom of God; thence, as from the recess of a tranquil bay, she heard the distant roaring of the storms of the world, and understood all the vanity of the things of life;—the vanity of rank, of grandeur, of fortune, of beauty— things which glitter and pass away, like the bubble upon the course of the wintry torrent, which itself disappears at the end of 8, SG:lS()]]. It is to this period of mourning, insulation, and solitary medita- tions, that a certain historian has judiciously attached the vow of perpetual virginity made by Mary; it nowhere appears that this vow was known to Ann and Joachim, and without their consent it would not have been valid in the eyes of the law, either civil or religious.” It was after their death, then, that Mary chose the Lord for her portion, and consecrated herself by vow to his service, without any limitation of time, says Bernardin de Busto, and with the intention of never departing from the temple. Like the august head of her race, the Virgin found that “one day passed in the tabernacles of the God of Israel was better than a thousand other days,” and she, too, would have preferred to be the last in the holy place, rather than the first in the tents of Cedar. ARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN.—Whother Joachim on his death-bed had placed the Virgin under the special protection of the priesthood; whether the magistrates who took care of the orphans had themselves chosen guardians for her in the powerful family of Aaron, to which she belonged on her mother's side; whether the guardianship of children devoted to the service of the temple belonged of right to the Levites, it is certain that after the death of the authors of her days, Mary had guardians of the priestly race. It is probable, and the Arab traditions affirm it, that the cares of this guardianship were especially confided to the pious spouse of Elizabeth, to Zachary, who seemed designated by lis high reputation for virtue, and his title of near relative,” for these duties of guardianship." The eagerness which led the Blessed Virgin, two or three years later, to travel all through Judea, to ofter her services and congratulations to the mother of St. John Baptist, and her prolonged stay in the mountains of Hebron, seem, in fact, to indicate a more intimate connection than that of mere relationship; the roof which sheltered Mary during so long a visit could not have been, according to the etiquette so rigorously observed among the Hebrews, any other than a roof as sacred as her paternal dwelling. Whoever the priests may have been who were honored with the guardianship of the blessed daughter of the saintly Ann, they scrupulously acquitted them. selves of the obligations imposed by their charge, and when the Virgin had attained her fifteenth year, they thought of giving her a spouse worthy of her. This proposal of marriage threw Mary into extreme affliction; that soul so elevated, so pure, so contem- plative, had foreseen the gospel, and virginity appeared to her the most perfect, holy, and desirable of all conditions. An ancient. author, quoted by St. Gregory of Nyssa, relates that she excused herself a long time, with great modesty, from consenting to the determination announced to her, and that she humbly entreated her family to consent to her leading a life in the temple, innocent, hidden, and free from all ties, except those of the Lord. Her request caused great surprise in those who disposed of her lot. What she implored as a favor was sterility, that is to say, reproach,--a state solemnly accursed by the law of Moses;" it was the celibacy of an only heiress,'—that is to say, the total extinc- tion of her father's name, a thought considered almost impious among the Jews, who looked upon it as a signal misfortune for their name not to be perpetuated in Israel. As to the vow of vir- ginity, with which she had desired to bind herself for life, she would not have dared to ground any claim upon that, because it might be annulled by a decision advised by her family. It is well known that the woman was, “everywhere, and at all times,” treated as a minor, before the promulgation of that immortal code which gloriously raised her from the nalediction of servitude. The entreaties of the Virgin found therefore but little sympathy among the priests of Jehovah ; they had not attained to such vir- tues: and to these men of penetration and science, the angelical and all-holy Soul of Mary was a book closed with seven seals of brass. Her thought, which was in advance of the age in which she lived, and opposed to the ancient prejudices of her nation, remained not understood, and all that she could allege, to save herself from embracing a state contrary to her dearest vows, availed her nothing. How indeed could she have convinced, since God himself was against her? Her marriage with a just man, who would bear witness to the purity of her life, free her from the importunities of the young Hebrews, who might have asked her hand even in the temple, as St. Augustin remarks, and protect her and her divine Son, in the hour of danger, entered were mourning diet. Eggs were allowed, for the form of an egg, being round, and in the shape of a globe, is the image of a man in affliction. Wine was no less forbidden than meat.—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 28.) © * Grave historians affirm that the Virgin was present at the death of her mother, which is quite conformable to the manners of the Hebrews. * This custom is very ancient; for Philo, recording the lamentations of Jacob for the premature death of his son, makes him say that he shall not have the consolation “to close his eyes, and give him the parting kiss.” * A young girl might make vows among the Jews, and she could even make a vow of virginity; but this vow was annulled by the authority of the father, because, being under the father's power, she could not violate the power which nature gives. All vows made by a young girl or a married woman, unknown to or contrary to the will of a father or a husband, were Some rabbins, however, maintain that it was neces- sary that the father or husband should annul them twenty-four hours after they came to know of them, in default of which they held good.—(Basnage.) * The Jews, together with Celsus, Porphyrius, and Faustus, have taken this relationship as their ground for maintaining that the Blessed Virgin was of the tribe of Levi. The Catholic doctors oppose this opinion: they main- tain that Mary was of the tribe of Juda, and of the family of David. In fact, St. Matthew teaches us that Jesus Christ is called the Son of David, according to the flesh; but he can be the Son of David only through Mary, since he had no father among men. When it is asked, how it can be that Mary, being of the tribe of Juda, should be cousin to St. Elizabeth, who was of the tribe of Levi, St. Augustin answers that there is nothing impossible in a man of the tribe of Juda taking a wife of the tribe of Levi, and that the Blessed Virgin, sprung from this marriage, should be the relation of Elizabeth on her mother's side. It is proved, moreover, that the prohibition to contract an alliance with another tribe regarded none but orphans who were heiresses of the property of their fathers. * The Koran, where many Arab traditions are ſound relating to Mary, says formally that Zachary took her under his protection.—(Koran, c. 3.) * Origen remarks that the law attached a curse to sterility; for it is written, “Let him who shall not leave of his race in Israel be accursed.” * Mary was an heiress, because it appears congruous that the descendance from David, whence the Messias was to spring, should end by a sole heiress, who, becoming the mother of the eternal heir of the throne of David, should thereby crown and terminate his race.—(Oldhause.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 33 into the secret views of Provi- dence. It was the only means of concealing the mystery of the Incarnation from the malevolent investigations of a perverse world, who would have taken advan- tage of the prodigy to indulge in abominable conjectures, and would, perhaps, have carried their false zeal so far as to stone the mother of our Saviour, as they wanted afterwards to stone the sinful woman in the gospel; for the Hebrews never reckoned mercy in the number of the vir- tues of their choice, and God himself reproaches them, by the mouth of his prophets, with hav- ing a heart as hard as adamant. To these reasons, powerful, but hidden in the impenetrable ob- scurity of the counsels of God, was added another reason derived from the source of antediluvian traditions and national pride, which, of itself, would have left but little chance of success to the timid opposition of the Virgin. Perpetual chastity, which Chris- tians have made the queen of virtues, was little better than nonsense among the disciples of Moses, who lived for so many ages in the anxious expectation of the King-Messias (Melech Hama- schiak). A young flower of the stem of Jesse, a daughter of David, was not at liberty to de- cline the yoke of hymen; she owed a son to the ambitious piety of her family, who would not have renounced, for all the treas- ures of the Great King, the hope of one day reckoning in the number of their members the liberator of Israel. This hope—which had supported the Jews when the Chaldeans, mounted on horses swifter than eagles, had violently broken down the ramparts which encircled Sion, and transplanted her people to the borders of the Euphrates—had been newly tem- pered into a fierce desire of vengeance, since the Romans had held dominion in Asia. The Hebrews hoped soon to see the day when the eagles would fly before the emerald-colored standard, and when the motto of the Maccha- bees' would wave victorious above that of the senate of Rome. Never had the accomplishment of the oracles relating to the Messias appeared so near, and the moment was not auspicious for obtaining the favor which the chaste young daughter im- plored. According to the gospel of the Nativity of Mary, and the proto- gospel of St. James, the guardians of the Blessed Virgin, without regard to her repugnance and rep- resentations, assembled together her nearest relatives, all being of the race of David and the tribe of Juda like herself,” in order to proceed to the choice of the spouse whom they forced upon her. Among those who might aspire to her hand were found a number of young Israelites, some hand- some and brave, others owners of fertile fields, vineyards, flocks, and groves of olive-trees. The captains of Juda would have added to the portion of Mary part of the spoils and slaves taken in their battles; the Nabals of her tribe would have covered her with stuffs from India wrought with gold and purple of Tyre twice dyed; while the sons of commerce, who trafficked in the emeralds of Egypt, the turquoises of Iran, and pearls of the Per- sian Gulf, would have laid at her feet chains of precious stones, valuable bracelets, ear-rings of value equal to the ransom of a prince —in fine, all the magnificent and brilliant insignia of the servitude of the weaker sex. But these illustrious parties were weighed in the balance and found light. Disdaining the advantages of youth, beauty, high rank, fortune, and the glory of arms, the priests who were guardians of the Blessed Virgin, and the ancients of her house, fixed their choice upon a man advanced in age,” a decayed patrician, =UTT | THE ANNUNCIATION. * This motto of the Macchabees contained these words—“Who is like to thee, O Eternal 2 Mi camocha bachin, Jehovah 2" * Every heiress to a property, and not daughters in general, as the Vul- gate says, was bound to marry a man of her own family and tribe, and not her nearest relation, as Montes- quieu has said, in order that in- heritances might not be transferred from one tribe to another. * The proto-gospel of St. James, c. 2, and the gospel of the Nativity of Mary, c. 8, books of which the contents have been approved, for the most part, even by the fathers of the Church, merely say that he was already old. St. Epiphanius gives Joseph eighty years at the time of his marriage; F. Pezron, fifty, and the Histoire - - divine de la Vierge, of Mary d’Agrada, thirty- three. The supposition of St. Epiphanius does not bear examination; it is, moreover, solemnly refuted by the law of the Hebrews, which forbids the alliance of a young woman with an old man, and classes it with things the most disgraceful.-(Basn., liv. vii. c. 21, Hist. des Inst. de Moïse.) Neither the high-priests nor Joseph would have been willing to do a thing condemned by the law. The age at- tributed by Mary d’Agrada to St. Joseph = f - --- º! h º º fº }} º 34 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. flagrant, ill-assorted alliance. Without holding any distinguished rank in the state, the profession of an artisan was neither abject nor degrading in Israel.” We see in the genealogy of the tribe of Juda one ſamily of workers in fine linen, and another of potters, whose memory is in honor, and the Scripture has handed down to posterity the names of Beseleel and Hiram; we know that St. Paul, brought up to the study of the law, the famous Pharisee doctor Hillel, and after them a great number of doctors, who, in the emphatic language of the rabbins, “sowed light amidst the holy nation,” applied themselves to mechanic arts of a kind the least brilliant, and were not ashamed. Nay, more: every Israelite was an artisan; for every father of a family, whatever might have been his social position, was bound to make his son learn a trade, unless, said the law, he wished to make a robber of him.” The Jews, whose patrimony was locked up in the hands of foreigners, had no alternative, while waiting for the grand epoch which was to re-establish their fortunes, but to expatriate them- selves, or to live in a poor way, by the labor of their hands, in the bosom of their native mountains. Those who were led by the love of their country to adopt this latter expedient did not act in any way contrary to their dignity, and remained well fitted for any sort of employment. Israel had no castes, like Egypt and India; all its pride arose from its religious belief and its descent from the patriarchs. “To be descended from Abraham according to the flesh,” says the eagle of Meaux, “was a distinction which naturally raised them above all others.” In fact, the lowest of the Hebrews considered himself a prince in comparison with strangers." Still there were among the Jews, as among the Arabs, some tribes more illustrious, and certain houses more noble than others; . the tribe of Juda, which bore the national standard at the head of the thousands of Israel in the day of battle, and from which the sceptre was not to depart till the coming of the Messias, had always had the pre-eminence; and the family of David was the first and most honored annong the families of Juda. Now Joseph, though poor, was of the race of David; the blood of twenty kings flowed in his veins, and it was Zorobabel, one of his ancestors, who brought back the people of God from the land of exile. From that time the glory of his house had gradually become obscured; his family had become confounded with the people, like those of Moses and Samuel, but his illustrious origin was known: in our days, the lowest of the Abassides, who vegetate in the heart of the Hedsjaz, are no less respected as the descendants of Aaron-el- Raschid, and no Arab family would disdain to contract an alliance with them. whose fortune had been absorbed by the political revolutions and religious wars of Judea, as a drop of rain is swallowed up in the sea, leaving him only his tools and his arms for labor; this man of low condition, though of great family, who was a widower,” according to the proto-gospel of St. James, and a bachelor, accord- ing to St. Jerom, whose opinion has prevailed in the Church, was Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth. When we reflect on the rare beauty of Mary, the education which she had received in the temple, the great alliances of her family, her position as an heiress, which made her, among the Jews, who portioned their wives, and received hardly anything from them,”—a desirable and even brilliant match, we might well be astonished at this family decision, if the fathers had not assured us that Joseph was chosen by lot, and by the express manifestation of the divine will. An ancient tradition, recorded in the proto- gospel of St. James, and mentioned by St. Jerom, relates that the candidates, after having prayed to HIM who presides over the lots, deposited over-night in the temple, each one his rod of almond-tree; and that the next day the dry and déad branch of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Mathan, was found green and in blossom, like that which had before confirmed the priesthood to the sons of Aaron. The history of Mount Carmel testifies that at the sight of this prodigy, which destroyed his hopes, a young patrician, belonging to one of the most powerful families of Judea, and the possessor of a great fortune, broke his rod with every sign of despair, and ran to shut himself up in one of the caves of Carmel with the disciples of Elias.” When the choice of the guardians was determined, it was announced to Mary, and this admirable young woman, accustomed to elegant occupations, brought up in the midst of the perfumes, melodious strains, and fairy magnificence of the holy house, did not hesitate to devote herself to a life of obscurity, to low and common employments, and painful cares, with the humble artisan presented to her by her relations. A divine inspiration, it is said, had made known to her that this just man would be to her no more than a protector, a father, a guardian of her chastity; what more did she desire? The Lord had heard her prayer; by leaving her faithful to the vow which she had made, he gave her, over and above, the merit of obedience. - The marriage proposed between Joseph and Mary must have caused some surprise at Nazareth and at Jerusalem; for there was but little correspondence in the age, fortune, and condition of the future pair. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that this union, which appears so strangely incompatible, was considered in Jewish society—a society of simple and primitive habits—as any does not agree with the opinion of the fathers; there remains that of F. Pezron, which appears the most probable. * Several fathers have thought that St. Joseph was a widower when he was espoused to the Blessed Virgin. The proto-gospel of St. James and the gospel of the Nativity of the Virgin assure us that he was a widower; St. Epiphanius says that he had had four sons and two daughters; St. Hippo- lytus of Thebes calls his first wife Salome; Origen, Eusebius, St. Ambrose, Nevertheless, this and many other fathers, have adopted the same opinion. opinion is the least followed, and it is commonly believed that St. Joseph had lived in virginity. This is the opinion of St. Jerom, who expressly says, writing against Helvidius, “We do not anywhere read that he had any other wife than Mary: aliam eum urorem habuisse mom scribitur.” St. Augustin leaves the question undecided; but St. Peter Damian affirms that the whole Church believes that St. Joseph, who passed for the father of our Saviour, was a virgin like Mary. * At the time of contracting marriage, the wife received from her relations only things necessary for her attire. It was the husband who furnished the dowry.—(Salvador, Institutions de Moºse, t. ii. c. 1.) * This young pretender to the Virgin, who is said to have been named Agabus, became afterwards celebrated for his sanctity, and a Christian.—(See Hist, du Carmel, c. 12.) * Artisans are still held in distinguished estimation in Judea. “In Pales. time and in Syria,” says Burckhardt, “the companies of artisans are almost as much respected as they were in the Middle Ages in France and Germany. A master artisan is quite on a level there, in rank and consideration, with a merchant of the second class; he may take a wife of the respectable families of the city, and has generally more influence in his locality than a merchant whose fortune is three times as great as his own.”—(Burckh., Voyage en Arabie, t. ii. p. 139.) * Every man who does not give his children a profession, says the school of the Pharisees, prepares them for an evil life. “Be not a burthen to any Ol)0 never say, I am a man of a quality, this employment is not suitable for me. Rabbi Johanan had learnt the trade of a skinner; Nahum, that of a copyist of books; another Johanan made sandals; and Rabbi Juda knew the trade of a baker.”—(Talmud, Tract. Kidouschim. Pessarh, Aboth; Soto.) -- . * In losing their nationality, the Jews did not lose this opinion, which they still maintain. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD, 35 The holy daughter of Joachim did not then lower herself as much as might be supposed by marrying the CARPENTER. But if we take a higher view of this union, which at first seems so ill assorted, we shall discover that it was in reality a noble alliance. God did not give as a spouse to the Virgin after his own heart, a män whose whole merit consisted in his fields, his vineyards, his sicles of gold,—things which often change masters, and are no more inherent in the rich man than the garments which he puts off at night: he gave her a just man,— the most perfect of his works. The Lord is not taken with the vain baubles which dazzle the vulgar; in his eyes all ranks are equal among poor creatures, who creep about the dust for a moment, to become in a short time the food of worms. “Man judges by those things that appear,” says the Scripture, “but the Lord regardeth the heart.” If God chose the humble Joseph for the spouse of the Queen of angels, for the adoptive father of the Messias, it was because he possessed treasures of grace and sanctity, enough to ex- cite the envy of the celes- tial intelligences; it was because his virtues had made him the first of his nation, and because he was placed much higher than Caesar in the book of life, AN ALTAR CROSS. those heraldic annals of (From the Catacombs of San Ponziano.) - eternity. The Virgin Was not confided to the most powerful, but to the most worthy: thus the ark, which the princes and valiant men of Israel did not dare to approach, for fear of being struck dead, drew down the benedictions of heaven upon the house of a simple Levite, under whose poor roof it was sheltered. The espousals of Mary were celebrated with all the simplicity of ancient times. Joseph, in presence of the guardians and a few witnesses, presented her with a piece of silver, the value of which is not known," saying to her, “If thou consentest to be my bride, accept this pledge.” Mary, by accepting this gift, was solemnly engaged, and a sentence of divorce alone could from that day restore her liberty. The scribes drew up the contract; it was short, and but little interlarded with technical terms.” The hus- band promised to honor his wife, to provide for her support, her CRUCIFix. (From the Cathedral Altar, Brunswick, Germany.) fortune, adds to the portion above-named the sum of . . . .”-(Institut de Mose.) food, her cloth- ing, according to the custom of He- brew husbands, and settled upon her a dowry of OUR LORD. two hundred zu- - ses (fifty crowns), a portion alike for the daughter of a prince as for the daughter of the people, but to which they were free to add anything in proportion to their fortune. After having secured this dowry upon all that he possessed, and even upon his mantle, which the law nevertheless did not allow him to recover till after her death, Joseph signed the contract, to which Mary also added her signature. A short benediction to the praise of God terminated this ceremony, which must precede 1 Hillel and Schammay disputed warmly about the value of this piece of money at espousals, mentioned in the Talmud, without being able to come to an agreement.-(Pasn., liv. vii. c. 21.) * The following is the literal form of Hebrew marriage contracts, which has come down from the most remote times, and which Joseph and Mary must have used: “In the year . . . . the . . . . day of the month . . . . Benjamin, son of . . . . said to Rachel, daughter of . . . . . “Become my wife, under the law of Moses and of Israel. I promise to honor thee, to provide for thy support, thy food, thy clothing, according to the custom of Hebrew husbands, who honor their wives, and support them as it is befitting. I give thee at once . . . . (the sum adjudged by the law), and promise thee, besides nourishment, clothes, and whatever shall be necessary ſor thee, conjugal friendship, a thing common to all the nations of the world." Rachel consented to become the wife of Benjamin, who, of his full-consent, to form a dowry in proportion to his own 36 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. that of marriage by several months. The nuptials of the Blessed Virgin were celebrated at Jerusalem, and the persons of the heads and light minds, which are bad. Beneath garments heavy with embroidery and adorned with precious stones, Queen Bathil- des was more humble than the women clad in coarse cloth with whom she lived in seclusion after her glorious regency; the chroni- clers of the time have informed us of this with candor and sim- plicity. Therefore, avoiding any show of negligence in her dress, which would have been taken very ill, since custom required of the mar- ried couple, as well as of their guests, a dress suitable to the occa- sion—as the gospel of the wedding garment would inform us, even if all the East, both ancient and modern, did not concur in the same—the young descendant of the kings of Juda was obliged to wear, on this occasion, rich and suitable costume, and authentic relics prove in fact that so it was.” Her robe, which was preserved as a precious treasure in Pales- tine, whence it was sent to Constantinople about the year 461, as Nicephorus informs us, was of a texture precious from its design and ornaments. The ground was of the color of nankeen, with flowers blue, white, violet, and gold: it is now the sacred relic of Chartres." - In memory of the ancient times and patriarchal manners of her fathers, she wore, like Rebecca, ear-rings and bracelets of gold, the modest and indispensable present which Joseph was to send a few days before the ceremony,' and to which the wealthy Hebrews added necklaces of pearls and magnificent sets of diamonds. Instead of an indented crown of gold,” which was worn by the brides of the opulent classes, there was placed upon the light hair and tresses” of Mary a simple garland of myrtle; in the spring- time roses would have been added to it;" her nuptial veil covered highest quality of her family made it a duty to appear at them with that splendor which is peculiar to the East, and which travelers from Europe never mention without admiration and astonishment, even the common people displaying on these occasions a degree of luxury absolutely unheard of." Not to invite all their relations, on so solemn an occasion, would have been refusing to follow the ancient customs of their forefathers, a thing impossible to suppose in that traditionary nation which was as immutable, in its customs as in its religious practices, as was said in all truth by the Jew Philo to the Emperor Caius; it would have been wanting, more- over, in all the proprieties of Hebrew society, and the presence of Mary at the marriage of Cana proves, on the contrary, that she conformed to them. One fine day in winter,” at the time when the new moon rose slowly behind the mountains,” a long procession of women richly adorned was seen proceeding towards the habitation of Mary; the torches of resinous fir, borne by a number of slaves, made brilliant their golden girdles, their pearl network, the diadems of precious stones which they wore on their foreheads, and the diamonds of their Persian tiaras. These daughters of Sion had kept up the use of paint, which was known as early as the time of Jezabel; their eyebrows and eyelashes were dyed black, and the tips of their fingers were red, like the berry of the eglantine.” Introduced into the interior apartment, where the young and holy betrothed one was in company with certain pious matrons who were her relations, they blessed God, who gave her a protector in the person of a spouse, and complimented her upon her marriage, in the joy of which they came to participate. Belonging to Jewish society, where all the details of the dress of young brides was a biblical reminiscence with which it was not lawful to dispense, Mary was obliged to submit for a short time to the requirements of Oriental luxury, though this luxury had no charms for her. Gold, pearls, rich tissue, are not in themselves things to be condemned ; it is the thoughts of pride and vanity to which they give rise, in weak her from head to foot, and floated around her like a cloud.” A canopy of precious materials awaited the future spouse out- side; four young Israelites bore it.” Mary had to place herself under it between two matrons, one of whom, who stood on her right, represented her mother; the other was perhaps that Mary of Cleophas whom some others have made the elder daughter of St. Ann, but who was only sister-in-law of the Blessed Virgin.” * “In Europe we have no idea of the luxurious display made on similar occasions in the East,” says F. de Geramb, in his Pélerinage à Jerusalem; “the nuptial dress of almost all wives is of red velvet embroidered with gold; they add to it decorations of diamonds, fine pearls, etc.” M. de Lam- artine was equally astonished at the splendid costumes, and the profusion of precious stones displayed by the women of Syria at the weddings of their fellow-countrywomen. * In the middle of the sixteenth century, the Church permitted this feast to be kept; it is celebrated on the 22d of January, the day on which it is said that the marriage of Mary and Joseph was celebrated. The city of Arras keeps this feast on the 23d of January, and some churches in Flanders on the 24th of the same month. * All days were not chosen alike for celebrating the marriages of the Israelites; the time of the new moon was usually fixed upon, and a Wednesday in preference to the other days of the week.-(Basn., liv. vii. c. 21.) * Throughout the East, the women stain the tips of their fingers with alkanna, lawsonia inermis (Linn). This plant is very plentiful in the Island of Cyprus. * There are in existence two tunics of the Blessed Virgin, the material of which is very precious. Chardin saw one in Mingrelia covered with ſlowers embroidered with the needle on a nankeen ground. This tunic is eight Roman palms long by four wide; the neck is narrow, the sleeves a palm long; it is kept in the Church of Copis. * This tunic was given by Charles the Bald to the Church of Chartres, in 877 : numerous miracles are attributed to it. - ." The Christians of Damascus have kept up this custom. Some days before the nuptial festival, the bridegroom sends to his bride a pair of bracelets of gold, or set with diamonds, according to the fortune of the future spouse, a piece of stuff embroidered with gold, and 160 piastres for the expenses of the bath and the nuptial feast.—(Corresp. d’Orient, lettre 147.) * The crown of the bride was usually of gold, and made in the shape of a tower, like that of Cybele; this custom was abolished during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, but they kept up the crowns of myrtle and roses.— (Basn., liv. vi. c. 21.) * Among the Hebrews, not even the dress of the women was independent of the empire of tradition. “The female hair-dressers were called in to dress the hair of young married women, because, said the rabbins, Jehovah himself curled the hair of Eve, when he united her to Adam in Paradise.”— (Basn., liv. vii. c. 21, p. 393.) "Crowns of myrtle and roses were worn by the young betrothed women of the common people.—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 21; Misnah. Tit. Sotah, c. 9, sect. 14.) * These nuptial veils, embroidered with gold and silver, are still in use in Syria. * The regulation of this nuptial pomp, which comes down from the earliest times, is still found in Egypt. Niebuhr thus describes an Egyptian mar- riage: “The bride, covered from head to foot, walks between two women, who conduct her beneath a canopy born by four men. Several slaves go before, some of whom play on the tambourine, others carry fly-flappers, others sprinkle her with scented water. She is followed by a number of women, and by musicians riding upon asses. The procession takes place in the night; some slaves carry torches.—(Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie, t. i.) * According to M. Pignot, a conscientious historian, who made numerous researches on this subject, this holy woman was the wife of Cleophas, the brother of St. Joseph, and consequently sister-in-law to the Blessed Virgin.—(See Recherches Historiques sur la Personne de Jésus Christ et celle de Marie, p. 249.) . - - LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 37 After them walked, to the sound of timbrels, flutes, and harps, playing in uni- son' airs of grave and simple melody, - which, perhaps, were the same as those of the choirs of music of King David, the entire nuptial procession, waving, in token of joy, branches of myrtle and palm. The bridegroom, with his brow adorned with a singular crown, transpar- ent as crystal, and peculiar to his people,” advanced in the midst of a crowd of friends, who sung an epitha- lamium in imitation of the Canticle of Canticles of Sol- omon, that magnificent and mysterious nuptial song, the sublime metaphors of which have a hidden and divine signification. They cele- brated the beauty of the new bride, whose “looks were like young palm-branches, and stature graceful and upright, like the branches of the erac, teeth while as a flock of sheep which come up from the washing, eyes mild, like the eyes of doves which sit beside the plenti- ful streams; they said that the sweet odor of her good name was like the perfumes which exhaled from her garments; that she was the lily of young virgins, and the object of the Then, passing on to the eulogy of the bride- groom, they extolled his form, “majestic and imposing as Libanus, praise of women.” BEARING FIRST-FRUITs to JERUsALEM. | S$221 ºrrº.ºrz GoTHIC CRoss. (From the Cathedral of Hildesheim.) the sweetness of his voice, the urbanity of his man- ners;” and they added, “that he was distinguished from the crowd of men, even as the cedar is distin- guished among all trees.” Then, coming to more gen- eral and elevated consider- ations, they said that the spouse should be to his wife as “the nosegay of myrrh which she wears over her heart;” that she should pass through life leaning upon him, with no more care for other men than if she was passing through the desert; because “jealousy is as inflexible as death, and the lamps thereof are lamps of fire and flames.” They added that tender affection was a thing so precious be- tween married persons, that “the wealthiest man in the world, if he gave all his riches for it, ought still to consider that he had given nothing.” From time to time, the young men who closed the procession formed dances of the same kind as the sacred dance which was originally associated with religious festivals,” or they uttered, in token of rejoicing, those shrill and prolonged cries which are still in use among the Arabs, and which a modern traveler, who lately went all over Syria, com- pares to those loud cries which the vine-dressers of the south of France utter from hill to hill during the vintage. All in the procession scattered among the poor, who loaded them with blessings, a quantity of small pieces of silver bearing a figure, either of a vine-leaf, or of three ears of wheat, which were the emblem of Judea." The women of Israel, in groups along the way that the wedding couple passed, strewed palm branches under their feet, and from time to time they stopped the bride to sprinkle essence of * The music of the Orientals is of a very different kind from ours; it is grave and simple, without any studied modulation: all the instruments play in unison, unless one or other should take a fancy to perform a continued bass, by repeating incessantly the same note.—(Niebuhr, t. i. p. 136.) * This crown, which contained, says the Jewish doctors, a mysterious lesson, was composed of salt and sulphur; the salt was transparent, like crystal, and they traced various figures upon it with sulphur.—(Codex, MS. apud Wagenseil in Mismam, Tit. Sotah, adult. de uxore suspect., c. 9, sect. 14.) * Dancing, which at first was intended to imitate the move- ments of the stars, was mixed up with all the religious festivals of antiquity: it was, no doubt, of antediluvian origin, and must even have preceded the invention of musical instruments. * Some of these Jewish coins have been found of the time of Macchabees and of Herod; they do not bear the effigy of any prince, but only of ears of wheat and vine leaves. 38 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. Jerusalem took leave of the bride and bridegroom, with tears in their eyes, blessings in their mouths, and their hands laid solemnly upon their hearts. The Nazareans continued their journey; they crossed the mountains of Samaria, where the eagle from the height of his nest beheld them pass, indifferent to their presence. Sichem next presented itself to the travelers, with its evergreen groves, its streams of limpid water, and its majestic edifices rising above the foliage. They left behind them Garizim, with its red- tinted sides, where the ruins of the schismatical temple were observable, the disgraceful rival of the house of holiness, which John Hircanus delivered to the avenging flames, and which was to be replaced later on by a church dedicated to Mary herself; then the high summits of Mount Hebal; then Sebaste, which reared its new palaces under the protection of Augustus, and which Herod delighted servilely to embellish, as the only altar where he could sacrifice to the genius of Rome. Towards the middle of the second day's journey they distin- guished Mount Thabor, whose verdant head was traced upon the pale, silvery sky of Galilee; and beyond it the high tºps of Libanus, which hid their pointed tops of stone, covered with eternal snows, in the clouds. From the woody slopes of Hermon, where the goats browsed upon the tender shoots of the shrubs, they descended into the delightful plain, which was displayed like an immense basket of flowers, between hills covered with green oaks, myrtles, plots of vineyards, and magnificent woods of olive- trees. Fields of barley, wheat, clover, and doura in full verdure, gently waving with the breeze, warmed by the approach of a spring more speedy and genial than that of our western regions. A pure and golden light favored this fertile land, where a vigorous vege- tation was unfolding itself, and blue waters, which the summer would soon dry up, ran in silvery ribands into this new Eden. Here and there opulent villages appeared beneath high colonnades of palm-trees, and then, at different distances, on the rugged crest of a rock, a solitary fortress of soldiers, still national, and entrusted with a mission entirely protective, measured their Damascus sabres only with nocturnal depredators, or the Arabs of the desert. This valley, with its charming freshness, and enclosed within a dark border of high mountains, was the valley of Esdrelon, at the extremity of which appeared a little city, seated, with pictur- esque effect, on the back of a hill, and which shone like a flower amidst the neighboring hamlets: this smiling and beautiful town was Nazareth, the native town of the Virgin, the cradle of Christ 1" Doubtless Mary could not behold again without emotion that roses upon her attire." Mary was to have also her own day of triumph in Jerusalem. When they arrived at the house where the wedding was to be celebrated, the friends of the bridegroom and the companions of the bride cried out in chorus, “Blessed is he that cometh !” Joseph, covered with his taled, and Mary with her veil, were seated under the canopy side by side; Mary took the right, because the psalmist has said, “Thy wife is on thy right hand,” and turned towards the south. The spouse placed a ring on the ſinger of his partner,” “Behold, thou art my wife, according to the rite of Moses and of Israel.” He took off his taled and covered his wife with it, in imitation of what passed at the marriage of Ruth, who said to Booz, “Spread thy coverlet over thy servant.” A near relative poured wine into a cup, tasted it, and then pre- sented it to the bridegroom and bride, blessing God for having created man and woman, and instituted marriage. While the married couple put the sacred nuptial cup to their lips, they sung to the God of Israel a canticle containing six benedictions. After this, Joseph poured out the rest of the wine as a sign of bounty, and handfuls of wheat as a synbol of abundance: then a young child broke the cup in pieces. The whole assembly, surrounding the new-married couple with torches, blessed the Lord, and went forward into the dining-room, where they proceeded,—according to a very ancient bishop of Brescia, who derives this Hebrew tradition from the time of Jesus Christ,--to nominate a king of the feast, taken from the priestly race, who was to preside over the viands and the wine, and to oblige the guests to behave with all that decorum required by religion and propriety. Joseph and Mary rose also; but, before they followed their company, there were exchanged between them some secret words in presence of heaven and the stars, which declare the glory of the most high.” “Thou shalt be as my mother,” said the patriarch to the Blessed Virgin, “and I will respect thee even as the altar of Jehovah,” From that moment they were no longer, in the eyes of the religious law, any more than brother and sister in marriage, although their union might be fully maintained.” The festivities, among which figured the religious ceremony of sacrifice, lasted seven days, as in the time of the patriarchs; the week of the nuptials being expired, Joseph and Mary, under the escort of a number of their relations, who formed around them a brilliant cavalcade, went again on their way to Galilee. The little caravan went forward to the sound of cymbals, and was not interrupted till near the fountain of Anathoth,” where those of * This custom was borrowed from Egypt, like many others. * It is said that this ring is at Perosa, where it is carefully preserved.— (Basm., liv. vii. c. 2.) * St. Thomas is of opinion that it was immediately after the celebration of their marriage that St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin made a vow of vir- ginity, by mutual consent. * This vow of continency in marriage, which has given occasion to so many impious sarcasms to the philosophes of the school of Voltaire, was not a thing unleard of among the IIebrews; only it was a vow dictated by passion and anger, while that of the two holy spouses was suggested by piety. If a hus- band said to his wife, “Thou art as my mother,” it was no longer lawful for him to consider her but as such in marriage, and still more when he had introduced into his vow the altar of Jehovah, the temple, or the sacrifice. The wives sometimes did the same thing ; and although these vows were not much approvel, because they hardly ever came but at the end of fits of anger and curses, they were not less obliged religiously to fulfill them, when they were made.—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 10, p. 352; Leo of Modena, Ceremon. et cont. des Juifs, c. 4.) * All the relations escorted the bride on horseback to the house of her hus- band, when he did not live at too great a distance from the place of their ſcasting; this custom still continues among the Arabs. We have made the nuptial caravan separate at Anathoth, a small town five leagues from Jeru- salem, because it is the first halting-place. * The philosophes of the last century studiously labored to depreciate Pales- tine': the impression which they have given of it still remains, and the state of poverty and depopulation of that country, which hardly breathes, leneath the sabre of the Mussulmans, has often made them appear right in the eyes of superficial readers. Yet it is certain that, with the exception of the environs of Jerusalem, the sterility of which has never been denied, the promised land of Moses is still found in that country, and especially in the part which formerly belonged to the Canaanites. We will give two descrip- tions of Galilee, written with the distance of eighteen centuries between them, in proof of this assertion. “Galilee,” says Flavius Josephus, “is divided into upper and lower, both very fertile; the soil is at once rich and light, abounding in pasturages, fitted for all sorts of produce, and covered with trees of all kinds: there are to be seen particularly large plantations of vines and olive-trees. It is watered by torrents, which fall from the mountains, by a great number of springs and rivulets, which afford a constant supply of water, and make up for that of the torrents, when the heats of summer dry them up. The goodness of the land is such that it invites men to labor who are the least disposed to it. Thus every part is cultivated, and no tract of land is seen unproductive. The inhabitants are robust and warlike, the LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD, 39 city where she had first opened her eyes to the light. She had left it when quite a child for the splendid walls of the temple; she re- turned to it beautiful, young, accomplished, and a virgin on her return even as on her departure. The travelers stopped at the house of St. Ann, an ancient and mysterious dwelling, partly hollowed out of the rock, like the prophetic grottoes of ancient times, and which was shortly to become more holy than the temple of Jerusalem, the very house of Jehovah. The women of Nazareth greeted ſº with blessings the arrival of the young bride, § who advanced modestly, and veiled like the Rebecca of Isaac ; and Mary, in the midst of the congratulations of those who had 3 witnessed her birth, entered this peaceful sº paternal habitation, which seemed still per- º fumed with the sweet odor of the virtues of º Ann and Joachim. s: HE ANNUNCHATION.—It is easy to imagine the tranquil and blessed life which the married couple led during the first months of their chaste union; the peace of God reigned in their humble dwelling, and work divided their time with prayer, which made it less laborious by sanctifying it. After an ancient custom, which still subsists among the Arabs, and in a great part of the East, Joseph exercised his trade in a different place from that where Mary lived." His workshop, where Jesus himself worked, was a low room, of ten or twelve feet square: a stone seat outside offered rest to the passer-by or the traveler, which was protected from the burning rays of the sun by a kind of awning of twisted palm-leaves. There it was that the laborious workman formed his plows, his yokes, and rustic carts. Sometimes he built under his own inspection the huts of the valley; sometimes his arm, yet strong, cut down the tall syca- mores and black turpentine-trees of Mount Carmel.” The pay which he received for so much fatigue was but small, and this little he shared with the poor. His gentle and holy companion \!. HARVEST IN PALESTINE. THE CEDRON. was not idle on her side; gifted with a mind enlightened, judi- cious, and wise, without regret for the past, without illusions for the future, viewing the world such as it is, and her own position in its true light, she piously conformed herself to it, and desired to towns numerous, and so populous, that the smallest can reckon as many as fifteen thousand souls.”—(Joseph., de Bello, lib. ii. c. 2.) “If one desired to give an idea of the aspect of Galilee,” says a modern traveler in his turn, “France would not serve to compare it with, but l'Agro Romano; round about Nazareth, as in the environs of Rome, there is everywhere the same brightness, the same formation of the soil. Nature is there sublime, like the gospel. Galilee is an abridged picture of the Holy Land, and when it has been seen under its day and night aspects, we understand what it was in the time of Jesus Christ. For an artist, Galilee is an Eden; nothing is wanting: neither the accidental advantages of the land of Judea, nor the bright soli- tudes of Palestine, nor the green ſecundity of Samaria. Garizim and the Mount of Olives are not more sublime than Hermon and Thabor, nor are the blue shores of Ascalon more solemn than the odoriferous borders of the Lake of Tiberias, where the air vanishes beneath the light. The soil of Galilee presents to us every- where history and miracles, traces of heroes, and the footsteps of a God; and we feel, as we contemplate Galilee from the heights of Thabor, that it was the country which the God-man inhabited, so much are re- ligious recollections, the wonders of earth and heaven, commingled there interminably.”—(Corresp. d’Orient, t. v.) * This house of St. Joseph is a hundred and thirty or a hundred and forty paces from that of St. Ann. The place is still pointed out under the name of the work- shop of Joseph. This shop had been transformed into a large church; the Turks have destroyed one part of it, but there remains a chapeſ, where the holy sacrifice of the mass is daily offered. * St. Justin, martyr (Dialog. cum Tryphone), records that Jesus Christ helped his adopted father in making yokes and plows. St. Ambrose (in Luc. lib. iii. 2) assures us that St. Joseph worked at ſelling and cutting out trees, at building houses, and other such work. 40 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. when necessity required it. As to the Virgin, she lived on so little, that ancient authors, fond of the marvelous, believed that she was fed by angels. When Joseph, fatigued with the labors of the day, returned at sunset to his little, low apartment, he found his young companion hastening to offer him, by turns, warm water, which she had heated, to wash his feet, and cold water from the fountain, in a vessel pure from all unclean contact,” for the ablutions before the repast. That grave and simple man, with his fine, patriarchal countenance, where every passion was silent; that angelical young female all eager to serve him with the solicitude of a dear daughter, formed a group worthy of the golden age.” Meantime, the hour marked out by the Eternal in his divine counsels for the Incarnation of his CHRIST had arrived. The angel Gabriel, one of the four' who are always before the face of the Lord, received a mysterious mission, which removed him, for a short time, from the kingdom of heaven. Clothed in one of those beautiful coverings of dense air, with which the pure spirits are surrounded when they would be perceptible to the gross senses of the children of men, the angel left behind him the golden palaces and the emerald walls of the heavenly Jerusalem, the gates of which are twelve pearls, and spread his vast, white wings,” with his brow all radiant with benignant joy; for the holy angels are as glad at the happiness of men as the bad angels are at their ruin and sufferings. After traversing the immeasurable deserts of the sky, of which the stars are the oases, the angel who had foretold to Daniel the coming of the Messias, and who came to act for the accomplish- ment of that grand promise of God, directed his course, with the rapidity of thought, towards our little planet, which his piercing eye discovered at an immense distance, in the state of a nebulous star, which next shone with a feeble, milky light; and which finally took the rotundity and tranquil light of the moon, whose phases it has. As he approached this little globe, which man has proudly divided into zones and hemispheres, and in which he bestirs him- self, with insane ardor, to pick up a few bits of gold, which he makes his god, the angel began to distinguish expanses of blue and shining water, surmounted with dark points, like small, sub- marine rocks: these were our oceans and our high mountains. The towns were not yet visible, nor men; they are so small ! But, at last, the earth, which had at first presented itself under a micro- scopic form, was gradually enlarged into vast countries covered with fulfill its sacred obligations with religious exactitude. From the moment that she took possession of the house of her mother, she put on poverty as a garment of honor sent her from God, and became what it behooved her to be in the obscure condition to which Providence had reduced her—a young and simple daughter of the people. All the brilliant and fancy works belonging to the clegancies of life were at once laid aside, and replaced by the fatiguing cares and monotonous occupations of a poor household, where the mistress of the house has neither slaves nor servants. The delicate hands of Mary, accustomed to handle silken tissues, platted with leaves of the date-palm, or rushes pulled from the banks of the Jordan, the matting which covered the rough floor of her dwelling; her spindle was covered with coarse flax; she had to grind the grains of wheat, barley, and doura,' the coarse and yellow flour of which she kneaded into round and thin cakes. Covered with her white veil, with an antique urn upon her head,” she went to draw water at a fountain at a little distance,” like the wives of the patriarchs, or to wash her blue robes in the running water of the brooks, like the princesses of Homer. Jesus Christ, witness of the laborious habits of this valiant woman, sometimes alludes to them in his parables; and these simple occupations of Mary are preserved in the gospel narrative, like a sea-weed in amber. We see, in fact, the industrious woman putting leaven into three measures of meal, carefully sweeping her floor to recover something lost, and economically mending an old garment. When Jesus seeks a comparison to recommend purity of heart, he draws it from the remembrance of her who carefully cleans “both the inside and outside of the cup ;” and we suspect that his thought is of Mary when he praises the offering of the widow “who gives not of her abundance, but of her indigence.” Thus the poet of Chios represents to us Justice under the features of his mother, a poor woman of the people, weighing exactly the wool which slie is going to spin for the support of herself and her son, and remaining upright and just towards the rich, in the midst of deep misery. At the approach of night," when the birds seek a shelter beneath the foliage, Mary placed upon a neat, polished table (the work of Joseph's hands) little loaves of barley and doura, savory dates, butter, and cheese, dry fruits and herbs, which composed the frugal banquet of the descendant of the princes of Israel. These dishes, simply prepared, were the chief food of the ancient Hebrews, a sober race, who knew how to be contented with bread and water, * The first mills that were invented were hand-mills. In Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and even in Greece, they were turned by women. There is still shown at Mecca, in a fine house, which is believed to have been that of IChadidje, a hollow place where it is said that Fatima, surnamed “the Bril- liant,” daughter of Mahomet and wife of Ali, turned her own hand-mill when she was grown up.–(See Burckhardt, Voyage en Arabie.) The wives of the Arab sheiks have still this painful occupation allotted to them. Under the reign of the sons of Clovis, St. Radegundes, Queen of France, ground her- self, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin, all the corn that she consumed during Lent.—(Le Grand d’Aussy Hist. privée des Français.) The invention of water-mills is attributed to Mithridates. It is certain that they were in existence in his time. Among other proofs is cited that fine epigram of Antipater of Thessalonica, of which the following is a translation: “You women who have been hitherto employed in grinding our corn, let your arms rest henceforth, and sleep without care; the birds will no longer pro- claim with their songs the break of day for you. Ceres has commanded the maids to do your work: they obey, and quickly turn a wheel which rapidly moves by itself the heavy millstones.” The Romans did not bring water- mills to perſection till Constantine had abolished slavery. * These urns are enormous earthen vessels, of a height out of all propor- tion. The women of Nazareth carry them on their heads, and beneath so great a weight, sometimes even with an infant in their arms, they walk with an activity quite astonishing.—(F. de Geramb, t. ii. p. 239.) * This fountain is called in the country the fountain of Mary, Tradition relates that the divine Mother of Jesus went habitually to draw the water which she required, and to be convinced that it must have been so, it would suffice to consider that water is extremely rare at Nazareth. The road which leads to this fountain, where the pious mother of Constantine had had fine basins and reservoirs constructed, is bordered with nopals and fruit-trees. —(F. de Geramb, loco citato.) “In Israel, those who kept regular hours eat after their work, and pretty late-(Fleury, Moeurs des Israelites.) The principal meal of J oseph and Mary was about six o'clock in the evening. * There was among the Jews a multitude of precautions to be taken for the purity of the vessels in which they drew water, and in which they prepared their food; not only did they take care that they had not belonged to strangers, but they carried their scruples much farther, for a thousand cir. cumstances rendered them unclean.—(Misnah, Ordo Puritatum.) *An ancient author makes the Virgin say, “Non dedignabur parare et ministrare quae erant necessaria Joseph;” and this is in perfect conformity with the customs still existing. "“There are four angels who are hardly ever seen upon earth,” say the rabbins, “because they are always round about the throne of God: these angels are Michael, who is on the right; Gabriel, who is on the left; Uriel, who is before God, and Raphael, who is behind him.” * The Jews represent the angels with wings, as do the Christians. The Koran gives a hundred and forty pairs of wings to the angel Gabriel, and says that he took but one hour to come from heaven upon earth. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 41 kingdoms, divided by deserts, and planted with forests. Ar- rived directly over Palestine, the angel from on high di- rected his look, as a benedic- tion, down upon the beautiful town of Nazareth, and descend- ing softly from the clouds, like the falling stars, he came down gracefully, like a fine swan, on his flight folding his wings, upon the holy and poor house of Joseph, that carpenter of Galilee, who had kings for his ancestors. The sun was declining to- wards the lofty promontory of Carmel, and would soon set in the horizon of the sea of Syria, when the angel presented him- self in the modest oratory of the Blessed Virgin." As a faithful observer of the relig- ious customs of her people, Mary, with her head turned in the direction of the temple,” was then making her evening prayer to the God of Jacob.” “Hail, full of grace,” said the celestial envoy, bowing his radiant head; “the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.” Mary felt an involuntary trembling at this marvelous ap- parition; perhaps, like Moses, she feared that she should see --~~~ God and die; perhaps, as St. Ambrose thought, her virginal purity was alarmed at the sight of this son of heaven, who entered, like the rays of light, into that solitary cell where no man penetrated; perhaps it was the respectful attitude and the magnificent eulog -e- and the hidden meaning of this mysterious salutation. — ->T--- - r - * ADORATION of THE MAGI. The angel, who perceived - --~~~ _-– her trouble, said to her mildly, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” At these words, which would have transported any other but Mary with immod- erate joy, the chaste and pru. dent young woman thought of nothing but her pure white crown of virginity, which she desired to preserve at any cost, and asked how she could re- concile this magnificent predic- tion with the vow of virginity with which her life was linked." The modesty of a young women is a thing so sacred in the sight of angels, that Gabriel, to remove all appre- hension from Mary on that head, was not afraid to unveil a part of the mystery of the Incarnation. “The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee,” said he, “and the Holy that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Then, according to the custom of the messengers of Jehovah, he would give her a sign which should confirm his words: “And behold,” continued the angel, “thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be impossible with God.” Sarah had laughed, with incredulous laughter, of the angel which disconcerted her humility. Whatever may have been the cause, the Evan- gelist relates that she was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salu- tation this should be, seeking, but in vain, to understand the object of this astonishing visit, * It is commonly thought the visit of the angel to the Blessed Virgin took place towards the evening. * The people of the East turn to a certain point in the heavens when they pray; it is what they call the Kebla. The Jews turn towards the temple of Jerusalem, the Mahometans towards Mecca, the Sabeans towards the south, and the Ghebers towards the rising sun. * The Jews prayed three times in the day: in the morning, at sunrise; in the afternoon, at three o'clock, when they offered sacrifice, and in the evening, at sunset. According to the rabbins, Abraham established morning prayer; Isaac, that of the afternoon; and Jacob, that of the evening.—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 17.) * Calvin, that proud heresiarch, who had Servetus burned, while he himself preached up toleration, has dared to calumniate the Virgin, taking his text from this answer, to accuse her of unbelief. St. Augustin had answered him long before. “The virgin doubts not,” MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL. said he, “non quasi incredula de oraculo; she only desires to be informed as to the manner in which the miracle is to be accomplished.” St. John Chrysostom adds, “that this question is the effect of respectful admiration, and not of vain curiosity.” * This gospel narrative has been received by the Mus- sulmans themselves. This is how the Koran relates the interview of the Blessed Virgin and the angels: “The angel said to Mary, God announces his Word to thee, he shall be called Jesus, the Messias, the Son of Mary, great in this world and in the other, and the Confidant of the Most High ; he shall make his word heard by men from the cradle to old age, and shall be of the number of the just.—My lord, replied Mary, how shall I have a son? I know not man,—It shall be thus, replied the angel: God forms creatures at his pleasure; is it his will that a thing should exist? he says, Be thou made, and it is made.—(Koran, c. iii.) - 42 LIFE OF THE BLESSED WIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. when an angel, in the guise of a traveler, seated in the shade of the great oaks which covered her tent, had announced a son to her, aged and barren as she was. digy, as Isaias declares, a thing without example under the sun, in fine, a virginal maternity, believed at once the divine promise, and, annihilating herself before Him who exalted her above all women, she replied, in a submissive voice, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” At these words the angel disappeared, and the WoRD was made flesh to dwell among us.' Thus did the angel of light treat of our salvation with the new Eve, and the fault of the sinful Eve, who had con- spired for our destruction with the infernal angel, was gloriously repaired; thus was a simple mortal exalted to the unequaled dig- nity of Mother of God, and, being both virgin and mother, she confounded, by a new miracle, the two most opposite and sublime states of her sex. “Proceed no farther,” says St. John Chrysostom, “seek nothing beyond what is said, nor say, How did the Holy Ghost effect this in the Virgin 7 . . . Inquire not, therefore, but receive what is revealed, and search not curiously into what is lidden.” - We have adopted the opinion of those doctors and theologians who maintain that Joseph was legally the husband of Mary at the time of the Incarnation ; yet this opinion is disputed, and among the authorities who assert that Mary was not yet the wife, but Mary, to whom was announced a new pro- We nowhere see that they had their betrothed spouses in their tents; they lived under the protection of the patriarch, being only his principal shepherds: there is nothing in all this at variance with the manners of ancient Asia. An orphan, left alone, and living under the roof of her betrothed, the Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, would have been in a position quite exceptional. A generally-received custom among the Hebrews could alone have authorized such a supposition, and all that we find in their code is a law expressly opposed to it. St. Chrysostom, agreeing in this respect with the ancient theologians, himself informs us that God for a long time covered with a thick veil the miraculous maternity of Mary, to save her from a revolting suspicion, which would have been as dangerous to the divinity of the Son, as to that respect which the whole world owed to the Mother. But marriage alone could cover with its honorable mantle the mystery of the Incar- nation, for mere espousals cofºld not suffice for that purpose; and then, if Joseph and Mary had been only affianced at the time of the Incarnation of the WoRD, they would have been no more four months later, since the Evangelist informs us that Mary, after the Annunciation, went with haste to visit St. Elizabeth, and that it was not till her return from her journey to Hebron, which had lasted three months, that she was found with child,—an expression which indicates a situation visible to all. At this rate, the marriage of Mary would not have been celebrated till her maternity had become evident, proved, undeniable ! What would both families have thought of it? What would have been said by all Nazareth who would have hastened to witness the ceremony ? To what outrageous reproaches would the pure Virgin have been exposed, among a people where female honor was a thing so sacred as to be infallibly avenged by murder! Would not the birth of the Mes- sias—that birth which was to be pure as the morning dew, accord- ing to the poetical expression of David—have been thereby tainited and defiled ? The Jews, particularly the Jews of Naza- reth, who showed such hostility to Jesus Christ, and called him the son of the carpenter, would they not have bitterly reproached him with the irregularity of his birth 2 If they did not do so, it was because they had apparently no hold on that side. These, no doubt, are the reasons which have induced a number of illustrious divines to pronounce in favor of the marriage, not- withstanding the countenance which the opposite party found in the words of St. Matthew ; words which seem to favor the other interpretation, but which, nevertheless, do not convey a meaning precise enough to remove the difficulty.” After all, the dispute never bore upon the principal point; wife or betrothed, no one, among Christians, has ever doubted that the Mother of God was the purest and most holy of virgins; even the Mussulmans admit that She was the Spring and mine of purity.“ only the betrothed of Joseph, we find in the first rank the great St. John Chrysostom himself.” Nevertheless, according to the same father, Mary dwelt in the house of St. Joseph at the time when the angel appeared to her. “For,” says this illustrious sacred orator, “among the ancients it was the custom generally to have the betrothed in the house; and this may be seen even now : and the sons-in-law of Lot lived with him.” Notwithstanding the profound veneration inspired by St. John Chrysostom, the Church has not adopted his opinion. Moreover, the reference to the sons-in-law of Lot, with which he would strengthen his opinion, is badly chosen : the Scripture nowhere says that they lived with Lot, and everything leads us to think the contrary, since the patriarch was obliged to go out of his house in a moment of trouble and affright, while the most hideous commotion was fomenting in the city, to speak to his sons-in-law that were to have his daughters, to arise and get out of the place, because the Lord would destroy the city. Supposing even that the young men betrothed to Lot's daughters had formed a part of the family of this patriarch, whose flocks covered the hills and valleys of a whole province,—according to the manners of the times, these young men would have been nothing more on the banks of the Jordan than what Jacob was later on in Mesopotamia, active and vigilant servants, day and might parched with heat and with frost. * The mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished on the 25th of March, on a Friday, in the evening, according to F. Drexelius. * Descoutures is wrong in placing St. John Chrysostom in the ranks of those who maintain that Joseph was legally the husband of Mary at the moment of the Incarnation; this writer, who is in general judicious, probably quoted him on trust. * The verse which has divided the doctors is this: “Christi autem generatio sic erat: cum esset desponsata mater ejus Maria Joseph, antepuam convenirent, inventa est in utero habens de Spiritu Sancto.” Those who dwell on the force of the words, say that the Virgin was only betrothed, because the Greek verb, which is a translation of the Hebrew expression of St. Matthew, means desponderi, to be promised; and because there is another term to signify to be married, as we find among the Latins desponderi and nubere, so that St. Joseph had not yet taken the Virgin home to his house, which they prove by those words of verse 20: “Noli timere accipere Mariam conjugem tuam : quod enim in ca matum est, de Spiritu Sancto est,” which they explain thus: “Take Mary for thy wife without fear, for what is born in her is born by the operation of the Holy Ghost.” But to be translated thus, it must have been in conjugem tuam. The opposite opinion, which is maintained by fathers, interpreters of considerable weight, and almost all theologians, finds where. with to combat its antagonists in the second chapter of St. Luke; for, not- withstanding that the Virgin was already married to Joseph, the gospel uses the Greek term ittoxvétotal, which signifies to be promised, and says, “Ut profiteretur cum Maria desponstitut Sibi uxore praegnante, to be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was with child;” and in verse 19 of the first chapter of St. Matthew, St. Joseph is called vir ejus, her husband, and not her espoused. If St. Matthew calls the Blessed Virgin sponsa, spouse, although she was wife, it is not to say that she had not yet contracted mar- riage; it is merely to show, as one of the fathers remarks, that she had no more intimacy with her husband than if she had been only his betrothed. “The purity of Mary is so fully recognized by the Mussulmans, that Abou- Ishac, ambassador of the caliph at the court of the emperor of the Greeks, holding a conference with the patriarch and certain Greek bishops, on the subject of religion, the bishops reproached the Mussulmans with many things which had been formerly said by the Mussulmans themselves against Aischah, the widow of their prophet, which had stirred up divisions among LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 43 HE VISITATION.—Meanwhile Mary, informed by the angel of the pregnancy of Elizabeth, resolved to go and offer her affectionate congratula- tions to her venerable relative. It was not, as heretics have dared to say, that the Virgin wanted ocular demonstration of the reality of this event, which was out of the ordinary laws of nature; she knew that nothing is impossible to God, and, more- over, could not suppose that a messenger of heaven would bring her from the Most High words of decep- tion and falsehood. She went, not to be made sure, but because she was sure; she went with haste, be- cause charity, says St. Ambrose, admits neither delays nor hindrances; and besides, good and kind as she was during her whole life, she longed to carry to relations whose protection had surrounded her childhood, and who had long looked upon her as their daughter, some little of that sanctification, and those heavenly graces which flowed in her soul as inexhaustible springs of living water, from the time that she bore in her chaste womb the Creator of the world. With the consent of St. Joseph, whose simple but elevated soul was in unison with her own, and who had but one heart and will with her, Mary left Nazareth in the season of roses, and went towards the mountains of Judea, where Zachary dwelt. The Scripture, which neglects details, and takes up the leading points of events, does not say whether the Virgin had any companions in this journey; some authors have thence inferred that she performed it alone, which is not at all likely. In fact, the distance from Nazareth to the town of Ain' is five days' march; part of Galilee, the hostile Samaria, and almost all sº- ~ : 33% #āº - - - - - -, + zºº, - 3sº º /…//s SMºſt --- 265/. ON THE ROAD. To BETIILEIIEM. - THE Jorda N BELow the SEA of GALILEE. the territory of Juda had to be passed through. Now the country is rugged with mountains, intersected by torrents, and interspersed with deserts.” The roads, which the Romans repaired at a later period, full of holes made by the heavy footsteps of camels, and covered with loose stones, threatened the traveler at every step with a fatal fall. When the evening came on, one must sleep in some caravansary, where nothing was to be found but a small place without provisions, and furnished with a plain rush mat;" for the primitive hospitality had marked by its gradual decrease the different phases of advanced civilization among the Hebrews. In such a state of things is it to be presumed that a man full of days and experi- ence, like Joseph, would willingly have exposed a young wife—beautiful, delicate, brought up retired from the world, and conſiding as innocence itself— to dangers of all sorts, to every kind of inconvenience which a solitary journey presented Such an asser- tion contradicts the history of the people of God, and the manners of Asia;"—a Jewish woman would never them. Abou-Ishac answered them that they need not wonder at these dissensions, since among Christians opinions had been so divided on the subject of the glorious Mary, mother of Jesus, “who may be called,” said he, “the mine and fountain of all purity, genab ismet mealo kon offet.” - * Zachary lived at Ain, or Aen, two leagues to the south of Jerusalem. St. Helen had a church built on the site of his house. * Although Judea was much more populous then than now, there still remained districts so barren as to be incapable of cultivation. The gospel makes mention of deserts but a short distance from towns where Jesus Christ went to pray. * “There is no inn in any part of Syria and Palestine,” says M. de Volney, “but the towns and most of the villages have a large building called Kervan-serai, which serves as a shelter for all travelers. These receptacles, always placed outside the walls cf towns, are composed of four arcades, which enclose a square court which serves as a place for the beasts: there are in these places neither provisions nor ſurniture.” * No one travels alone in Syria; the people only go in troops and caravans; they have to wait till several travelers want to proceed to the same place. These precautions are necessary in countries exposed to the Arabs, like Syria and Palestine. 44 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. have trusted herself, without a respectable escort, such a distance from her house. © If St. Joseph, as F. Croiset thinks, could not accompany Mary, it is probable that the Mother of God joined some of her relations who were led by their piety to the holy city, with their husbands, or their servants, and that thence she pursued her journey under some safe protection. midst of her own relatives, whether she goes to Jerusalem for the great solemnities, or follows the preachings of Jesus with the holy women at a much more advanced period of her life. “Though she could have had no better guardian than herself,” says St. Ambrose, “she never appeared abroad without being faithfully escorted.” When she arrived at the priestly city where the Levite and his happy wife dwelt, Mary was directed to their well-known house without allowing herself any time to rest. Elizabeth, informed by one of her slaves of the unexpected visit of her cousin, came to meet her with great signs of joy. Seeing her approach, the young Virgin bowed, and laying her hand on her heart, said, “Peace be with thee,” hastening to be the first to offer a salutation." Elizabeth stepped back a little: the animated and friendly expression of her countenance had given place to profound respect; her features gradually brightened ; it was evident that something unusual and prodigious was passing within her. The simple formulary of politeness which the Virgin had pronounced in her low and mild voice had overpowered her relation. All at once the spirit of , prophecy descended upon Elizabeth, and she cried out, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me,” she added, “that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.” The answer of Mary was the sublime, unpremeditated effusion of the MAGNIFICAT, the first canticle of the New Testament, and the finest in the sacred Scriptures: . “My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. “Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. “For he that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is his name. “And his mercy is from generation to generations, to them that fear him. - “He hath showed might in his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. “He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. “He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. “As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.” - Thus did the Virgin discern at once, by a supernatural light, We always find her traveling thus in the those ancient prophecies and their perfect accomplishment, herself being a thousand times more enlightened and more privileged than all the prophets put together. “In this celebrated interview, and in this admirable conversation,” says St. Ambrose, “Mary and Elizabeth both prophesied by the Holy Ghost, with whom they were filled, and by the merits of their infants.” The Virgin sojourned three months in the country of the heathens, and spent this long visit at a short distance from the city of Ain, in the hollow of a shady and fertile valley, where Zachary had his country house.” It was then that the daughter of David, herself also a prophetess, and endowed with genius equal to that of the illustrious head of her race, could contemplate at leisure the starry heavens, the sonorous forests, and the vast sea, which, at the horizon, rolled its waves, whether loud or peaceful, on the blue resounding shores of Syria. The Blessed Virgin did not look with indifference upon these magnificent scenes of creation. All the works of nature spoke to her of their great Author, and came gently to warm her soul after charming her eyes. The plain which vanished from her sight beyond the mountains of Arabia, the blue vaulted sky which is spread like a tent above the habitations of men, gave her some idea of the immensity of God the Crcator; the golden harvests, the savory fruits, the cool mountain spring, proclaimed to her his providence; the voice of the tempests, his power; the regular order of the heavens, his wisdom; and the care which He takes of the birds of heaven and the insects of the earth, his goodness. - In these excursions in the country she sometimes rested by the side of a gushing fountain, the foam and noise of which she loved : this spring, called Nephtoa in the time of Josue, bears to this day the name of “Mary.” sº At the back of the elegant villa of the Hebrew priest extended one of those gardens called a paradise by the Persians, the mode of laying out which had been borrowed by the captives of Israel from the nation of Cyrus and Semiramis: there were seen the finest trees of Palestine; and the groups of flowers scattered irregularly about the open spaces, the sweet perfume of the orange-trees, the streams of water which ran beneath the low bend- ing branches of the willows, made its shades very charming. There the sweet converse of Mary made Elizabeth forget her fears for an event, the hope of which overpowered her with joy, but which her advanced age might render fatal. How religious must have been the conversation of these two women I The one young, artless, and ignorant of evil as Eve when she came forth from the hands of the Lord ; the other full of days, and rich in long experience of the things of life; both deeply pious, and objects of the complacency of Jehovah; the one bearing in her womb, so long barren, a son who was to be “a prophet and more than a prophet;” the other, the blessed germ of the Most High, the chief and liberator of Israel. In the fine summer evenings, when the white light of the moon shone on the foliage, there was brought out beneath a large fig- tree, or under the green, leafy branches of a thick vine," the repast of the opulent family: the lamb fed in the deep valleys in the neighborhood of Bethlehem, the kid of the aromatic mountains of Bethar, clean birds netted by the Israelite fowler, shell-fish caught by the fisherman of Sidon, milk, butter, and chesse, honeycombs; * This salutation, which Jesus Christ often used, is still that of all the East. When the Orientals meet, after the ordinary salutation, “Peace be with you,” they lay their hand on the heart. It was in use in the time of Abraham. * This country house was at a short distance from Ain, in a pleasant and fertile valley, which serves now as a garden to the village of Saint John. There had been built in this place, in honor of the Visitation, a church, which, in our days, is no more than a heap of ruins. *This fountain has so great an abundance of water, that it irrigates the whole valley and renders it productive. Tradition relates that Mary some- times came thither; it bore the name of Nephtoa in the time of Josue; it now bears that of the Fountain of the Virgin. * The Hebrews were fond of taking their meals in gardens, under trees, and in arbors; for it is natural, in hot countries, to seek air and coolness.-(Fleury, Moeurs des Israel., 3 xvii.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 45 ST. JoBN. and then, in baskets of palm-leaves, pomegranates, figs, grapes from Galilee, with dates from Jericho,' which even figured on the table of Caesar; there were also seen apricots from Armenia, plums from Damascus, pistachio nuts from Aleppo, watermelons from the banks of the Nile, and that sweet cane from the marshes of Egypt, which Herodotus speaks of as an exquisite eatable; lastly, the golden wine of Libanus, and the perfumed wine of Cyprus, which the steward kept in stone jars,” circulated in rich cups. Mary, * The dates of Syria and Judea are yellow and black, round, like apples, and very sweet. Pliny reckons forty-nine kinds of dates. * The Jews established in the Yemen still make use of these jars.-(See Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie.) * Her abstinence did not appear to be a fast; it was rather a custom, as it were, not to make use of food.—(F. Valverde, Vie de J. Christ, t. i. p. 6.) * Zachary was descenced from Abia, father of the eighth priestly family. These ancient families were rare, several of them having settled in Persia after the captivity. Elizabeth was descended from Aaron and from David. The Jews reckoned John the Baptist far above Jesus, because he had passed his life in the desert, and was the son of a chief-priest. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, born of a poor woman, appeared to them as one of the common people.—(St. John Chrysostom in Matt, Serm. 12.) The Mussulmans have retained a high idea of St. John Baptist, whom they call Jahia ben Zacharia (John, the son of Zachary). Saadi, in his Gulistan, makes mention of the sepulchre of St. John Baptist, venerated in the mosque of Damascus; he said some prayers there, and records those of a king of the Arabs, who came thither on a pilgrimage. “The Caliph Abdalmalek wanted to purchase this church out of the hands of the Christians,” says D'Herbelot, “and it was only after their refusal of four thousand dinars, or gold pistoles, which he had offered them, that he took possession of it by force.” temperate as ever in the midst of this abundance, was content with a little fruit and a cup of pure water. Frugality with her was no forced virtue, or an abstinence merely of circumstance; it was a virtue by choice.” Some writers, to extol the humility of the Blessed Virgin, which needs no extraneous commendation, have insisted that she rendered to Elizabeth the offices of a servant, and almost of a slave. - This is an evident inconsistency: Elizabeth would never have allowed a woman whom she herself had proclaimed the Mother of her Lord, and whom she had highly extolled above all the daughters of Sion, to lower herself in such manner before her. The holy spouse of Zachary' could not have wanted servants or slaves. By the consent of Christians and Jews, this family was distinguished, and the illustrious birth of St. John Baptist even cast something like discredit upon that of Jesus Christ, born of parents much less distinguished, and leading in poverty the common life of the people. The attentions, therefore, which the amiable and gentle Virgin profusely paid to Elizabeth had nothing in them painful or servile; they were those delicate and forecasting attentions with which she would have waited upon her own mother, if heaven had spared her to her; and no doubt she often imagined that she beheld again the authors of her days in that affectionate, devout, and venerable pair, who loved her with parental affection, and who showed towards her from the first interview, when her greatness was so marvelously revealed, a sentiment of admiration mingled with respect, which Mary humbly endeavored to prevent, but which she did not succeed in destroying. It is easy to understand, say the fathers, how many blessings were drawn down by the visit of Mary upon the priestly family who had given her so affectionate a reception. If the Lord blessed Obededom and all that be- longed to him, even so far as to make the holy King David jealous, for having had the ark of the cove- nant in his house for three months, what graces must have been drawn down by Zachary and all belonging to him by the three months' abode of her of whom the ark of the covenant was but the figure, though so holy and awful! “The purity in which St. John always lived,” says St. Ambrose, “was an effect of that unction and that grace infused into his soul by the presence of the Virgin.” We know not precisely whether the Mother of God assisted at the lying-in of Elizabeth. Origen, St. Ambrose, and other grave authors, ancient as well as modern, declare for the affirmative, and this opinion is very probable; for it would have been at least very extraordinary, after having spent so long a time with her relation, if Mary had ab- ruptly left her in the hour of danger, and without any reasonable motive for so unseasonable and precipitate ; a departure. Custom required that ` all the matrons of the family should St. John BAPTIST. 46 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. assemble round the new mother, to rejoice with her in her happi- ness; the gospel informs us that they were not wanting to Elizabeth on this solemn occasion, and that the birth of St. John Baptist drew a large concourse of kinsfolk and friends to the house of his father. It is alleged that virgins were not generally found at this sort of gatherings, and this we can conceive; but Mary was married, which required of her those duties which became her, and which she could not omit without violating usages received from the time of the patriarchs. Some argue with as little reason, from the retired habits of the Virgin, to the conclusion that even the noise of the festivities which celebrated the birth of the precursor of Jesus Christ put her to flight like a young dove suddenly alarmed. Mary was quite able to reconcile her small inclination for the world with that exquisite sense of propriety attributed to her by the fathers, and her tender solicitude for her mother's niece: she must have remained beneath the roof of the priest until Elizabeth was out of danger; and then, escaping from that admiration which she never ſailed to excite, she left the mountains of Judea, after embracing and blessing the new Elias." A religious author observes that the blessed daughter of Joachim had hastened with all diligence to visit her cousin, but that she departed slowly, and as if with regret, from those cool valleys, the oaks of which had afforded shelter to angels;” perchance, like the sea-bird, she had a presentiment of storms. IRGINAL PREGNANCY OF MARY. —On her return to Nazareth, Mary returned with ease to the life of the people, and resumed the humble occupations which she must have sus- pended in the more elevated sphere which she had just quitted. She became again the young housewife, active and diligent, who found time for work, time for prayer, time for reading the sacred books, whose whole conversation was in heaven, and who seemed to have applied to herself those beautiful and sage words of the Psalmist, “All the glory of the king's daughter is within.” But meanwhile she advanced in her virginal pregnancy, and Joseph began to be full of anxious thought. - A poignant uncertainty, a painful perplexity, tortured the great and upright soul of the patriarch. At first he did not believe his eyes, and he found it more reasonable to doubt the testimony of his senses than the purity of a woman who had always appeared to him a prodigy of candor and sanctity. But the condition of Mary became more and more visible; she was found with child, says the gospel, which means that all Nazareth was informed of it, and that Joseph's relations, in the innocence of their hearts, offered him painful congratulations, which he was obliged to receive with- out changing countenance, and which struck him at once like a flash of lightning. According to the proto-gospel of St. James, in the first transports of his grief, he prostrated himself before God, with his face on the ground, and all bathed in tears, crying out, “Who has betrayed me? who has brought evil into my house?” Then, yielding to his tender affection for the young orphan whom he had ever regarded as the pearl and honor of her sex, he bitterly accused himself of not having guarded her with sufficient care. “Alas,” he said to himself, “my history is that of Adam ; when he reposed with the greatest confidence in his glory and happiness, behold on a sudden Satan deceived Eve with lying words, and seduced her.” When Joseph was sufficiently calm in mind to reflect, he found himself in great perplexity. According to the Jewish law, adultery was punished by death. When there were no witnesses, a single one would suffice,—and the woman denied the crime laid to her charge, she was led, by order of the Sanhedrim, to the eastern gate of the temple, and there, in the presence of all, after snatching off her veil, placing about her neck a cord brought from Egypt, to put her in mind of the miracles which God had wrought in that land, and covering her shoulders with her disheveled hair, because it was a disgrace for a Jewish woman to be seen with her hair in that state, a priest, pronouncing a terrible formulary of malediction, to which she had to answer Amen, presented her with the famous cup of the waters of jealousy, which were also called bitter waters, because they had the taste of wormwood. This cup of malediction infallibly caused the guilty wife to die, unless the husband himself had been guilty of infidelity; for then the miracle did not take place, “because,” say the doctors of Israel, “it would not have been just that one of the guilty should be absolved, while God punished the other.” A husband of a violent temper would not have failed to drag Mary before the priests of the Lord, to subject her to the formida- ble trial of the bitter waters; but Joseph, the most moderate, as well as the most just of men, did not so much as think of taking this extreme course. Not being able to retain Mary under his roof, since both the law of honor and the law of Moses conspired to prevent him from so doing, he wished at least to take all possi- ble precautions to prevent this painful separation from casting any shade upon her virtue, for he was a just man, and not willing pub- licly to expose her. “I will put her away,” said Joseph mournfully to himself, “but before God, and not before the judges, who would condemn her to die, and me to cast the first stone at her;” I will save her from the reproaches of her family and the contempt of the world : but how can I get clear of this labyrinth, where dis- honor and death present themselves at every outlet” And the son of David remained plunged in extreme depression of mind. The gloomy sadness of the just man, to whom God himself had entrusted her, could not escape Mary, and no doubt it cost her a great deal to conceal from Joseph the glorious embassy of the angel ; but how could she unveil an event so unheard of, so miraculous, as that of her divine maternity, with no other proof than her own word 2 Persuaded with reason that, to be believed, the mystery of the Incarnation must be revealed by supernatural means, and leaving to Him, who had wrought such great things in her, the care of convincing Joseph of her innocence, “the daughter of David,” says the great Bishop of Meaux, “at the risk of seeing "Those theologians who have embraced the contrary opinion to that of Origen and St. Ambrose, dwell upon that passage of St. Luke, which does not speak of the accouchement of Elizabeth till after having brought the Blessed Virgin back into Galilee. It seemed to us that this deserved con- sideration: we therefore attentively examined the gospel of this evangelist; this minute examination convinced us that this reason is not conclusive; for it is the custom of St. Luke to make transpositions of this kind, and we can quote two others of the same nature. For example, after having followed up the preaching of St. John Baptist, and announced his imprisonment, St. Luke speaks, in the following verse, of the baptism of Jesus Christ, of the priority of which to the prison of the precursor and his tragical death there can be no doubt. When relating the adoration of the shepherds, St. Luke expatiates on the marvelous accounts which they gave of their journey to the cave of Bethlehem, and of the astonishment which these recitals caused; after which, taking us back without any transition to the interrupted scene of the adora- tion, he speaks of their departure from the stable. This is what makes us adopt the doctrine of St. Ambrose, the probability of which strikes us at first sight. F. Valverde, who studied the holy fathers deeply, is equally of opinion that the Blessed Virgin did not leave her relations till she had embraced and blessed the precursor of the Messias. * In the vale of Mambre, which is only six furlongs from Hebron, there was still shown, in the time of St. Jerom, a tree of enormous growth, beneath which it was said that Abraham had received the visit of the three angels who announced to him the birth of Isaac. *The Jewish law required that the accuser should cast the first stone at him whom he had caused to be condemned. . LIFE OF THE BLE, SED VII? GIN, M OTHER OF GOD. 47 § º Ş. WA º' tº º ** *... v- - }ſº THE BIRTH of JESUS ANNoUNCED To THE SHEPHERDs, AND THE ADoRATION of THE MAGI. herself not only suspected and forsaken, but even lost and dis- honored, left all to God, and remained in peace.” The Eternal, from the height of his starry throne, looked down with complacency upon the just man, whom he had subjected to this severe trial,' before he raised him to the supreme honor of being his own representative upon earth, and the angels, with their eyes fixed on the holy house of Nazareth, anxiously awaited the result of this close contest, in which humanity, duty, and the noblest sentiments of the soul were engaged. At last, the patri- arch ended with an idea so generous and heroic, that it places him almost on a level with the Queen of angels: he resolved to sacri- fice his honor, the esteem which he had acquired by a spotless life, the means of existence which gave him his daily bread, and the air of his native land, so good to breathe when one is drawing near to the tomb, in order to save the reputation of a wife, who did not even attempt to justify herself, and who was so cruelly accused by appearances. There was but one way of parting with Mary without ruining her, for her family would have been urgent for explanations which would have terminated fatally: and this was to banish himself, to go and die afar off in a land of exile, and to take upon his own head all the odium of such a deser- tion. There are resignations as glorious as triumphs, and sufferings patiently sup- ported, which heaven rewards as munifi- cently as martyrdom: the unknown sacri- fice of the spouse of the Virgin was of this number. To reconcile together his duty and his humanity, he accepted by anticipation the sad reproaches of being a husband without a heart, a father without feeling, a man without conscience and without faith; he accepted the contempt of his relations, the mortal hatred of the relatives of Mary, and resolved to tear off * “Doubtless,” says Bossuet (Elev. surles Myst.), “God could have spared Joseph all this pain, by revealing to him earlier the mystery of the preg- nancy of Mary; but his virtue would not have been put to the trial which was prepared for him; we should not have witnessed the victory of Joseph over the most untamable of all pas- sions, and the most righteous jealousy that was ever conceived would not have been laid prostrate at the feet of virtue.” THE ROSE OF SHARON. with his own hand the crown of his good name to cast it before the feet of that young woman whose mysterious and inexplicable posi- tion filled his heart with sadness and his life with bitterness. St. John Chrysostom is never tired of admiring the fine and noble conduct of St. Joseph. “It was necessary,” says this great saint, “that when grace was approaching, there should be many signs of this sublime dispensation. Fow as the sun, though not yet showing its rays, still at a distance enlightens the greatest part of the earth; so also Christ, when about to issue from that womb, enlightened the whole world before his birth. Therefore, even before his birth, prophets exulted, women prophesied, and John, not yet born, leaped in the womb. Here, also, Joseph exhibited great wisdom.” We have here adopted the opinion of St. John Chrysostom in preference to that of St. Bernard, who supposes that Joseph him- self discovéred the mystery of the birth of Jesus Christ, and that seeing Mary pregnant, he did not doubt, from the profound ven- eration which he had for her, that she must be the miraculous Virgin of Isaias. “He believed it,” says the apostle of the cru- sades, “ and it was with no other sentiment than one of humility and respect, like that which made St. Peter afterwards say, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord,'—that St. Joseph, who was no less humble than St. Peter, also thought of departing from the Virgin, not doubt- ing that she bore in her eacred womb the Saviour of mankind.” This interpretation, doubtless one of great piety, and worthy of him who has been honored with the title of the devout chaplain of Mary, is more in accordance with the ascetic notions of the middle ages than agreeable to the manners of the ancient Hebrews, and must fall to the ground before a careful examination of the text. In fact, the words of the gospel are so clear, that no small ingenuity would be required to obscure them. It is not that instinctive movement of religious awe which makes us keep at a distance from a sacred object, which suggests to Joseph the idea of forsaking Mary; it is a thought of conscience and duty. “He was a just 48 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. the law to the disciples of Christ. In fact, the prophets had pointed out Bethlehem of Juda by name, Bethlehem, “the house of bread,” as the birthplace of the Messias; and the rabbinical commentators, improving upon the prophets, distinguished even the quarter of the town where he was to be born." Joseph was too humble to suppose that his modest roof could harbor so much greatness, and the silence of Mary left him nothing to conjecture. As to the project of sending back the Virgin to her family “out of pure respect,” as some learned theologians would have it who adhere to the opinion of St. Bernard, it would have been imprac- ticable in a nation so apt to take umbrage at everything that affected the honor of women. Mary was an orphan, and so far dependent upon her kinsfolk, who were not all of a peaceful temper, and some of whom had not approved of the union of their young relative with the obscure Nazarean. It is not likely that they would have accepted the reasons of Joseph, and admitted, without more ample information, that the Virgin bore in her womb the King Messias. It is much more to be presumed that they would have denounced the husband before the tribunal of the ancients, to force him to give the reasons which influenced his conduct; for there was no longer any question of a simple divorce, but of the condition of the child of Mary, a young woman of noble blood and badly married, according to those eleven who had entered themselves on the lists to espouse the young and fair heiress of Joachim. Thence would have resulted two grave facts: either Joseph would have kept silence, and then he would have been condemned to take back his wife, with the prohibition ever to separate from her, or he would have declared upon oath that the child which Mary bore was not his ; and then the child, disowned, became incapacitated for any employment; his birth, defiled in its source, shut him out from the assemblies of the nation, the public schools, entering the temple, and the synagogues; his posterity, paying for his disgrace, would not have been admitted to the privileges of the Hebrews till the tenth generation; he became a Paria—without an asylum, without rights, without country, and the decree which would have condemned his mother to be stoned, would have branded in the forehead both him and his descendants with Cain's mark of reprobation. But things would not have come to this pass: rather than submit to this stain upon their royal genealogy, the proud descendants of David would have killed the Virgin with their own hands. Such examples are not rare, and appear again even in our days in Judea, as well as in Arabia.” Joseph was too wise and too humane to place himself in either alternative; and it happened, as it always does, that the more generous course was also the better. He resolved then to leave his city, and the woman who, since their chaste hymen, had made his life so sweet and happy. As he was preparing for this sad separation, and sleeping with troubled sleep upon his solitary couch, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, say. ing, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy man,” says Bossuet, “and his justice did not allow him to remain in company with a wife whom he could not believe innocent; for merely to suspect what had happened by the operation of the Holy Ghost, that was a miracle of which God had hitherto given no example, and which could not come into any human mind.” The words of the angel would have no sense, and would lead to a false conclusion, in the supposition of St. Bernard. “Fear not,” says the ambassador of the Most High, “to take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Does Joseph object his unworthiness at the moment when he becomes certain that Mary bears in her womb the Author of nature himself? Does he lay before the angel his scruples, which must be now more urgent than ever? Does he ask that this humble cup, which the celestial envoy presents him, may pass from him to some more worthy mortal? He does nothing of all this; the storms of the soul are appeased, and he falls into the profound calm which follows great moral tempests. It is objected that the great oracles relating to the Messias were familiar to Joseph as they were to all the Hebrews, that he must have known that the time of the Messias was near at hand, and that he ought to have understood from the very first, considering the holiness of Mary, that she bore in her womb the Saviour of the world. To understand the prophecies which treated of the mys- tery of redemption was not so easily attained as is here supposed. Whether the allegorical descriptions of the glorious reign of the Emmanuel of Isaias had led the doctors of the synagogue into error, or whether the avaricious thoughts of the Jews could not rise above the earth, and reduced everything to temporal posses- sions, it is certain that the Hebrew people, “that people of a hard head,” had got upon a wrong track, and would not deviate from it. He who was sent from God—the Desired of nations—was to be a lawgiver, a leader of war, a magnificent and formidable mon- arch, like Solomon. The apostles themselves were long under a mistake as to the humble and peaceful mission of “the poor King who passed noiselessly along;” we see them clinging to golden dreams and kingdoms in prospect, even in sight of the deicide city, which their Master was entering to die. It was not without some difficulty that our Lord brought them back to a spiritual sense, that he rectified their ideas, always ready to fall into the narrow compass of material and palpable goods, where they were tossed about by the ambitious reveries of traditionary doctors and pharisees. If, then, the apostles, those divine men who founded Christianity, had so much difficulty in divesting themselves of the prejudices of their childhood, they who lived in the midst of the miracles of the Messias, and in familiar intercourse with him, how could Joseph do this of himself, and without succor from above? The coarse garment of the artisan but little accorded with the purple of the kings of Juda, and the thing of all least expected was to have a Messias born from the ranks of the common people. Gali- lee, moreover, was the last place which would have been thought of “Doth the Christ come out of Galilee ?” said the doctors of * Whence comes he (the Messias)? From the royal city of Bethlehem, of Juda. Where are his parents to be found (those of the Messias) 2. In the quarter Biral Harba of Bethlehem Juda.—(See Talmud of Jerusalem.) * Niebuhr relates, that “in a coffee-house of Yemen, an Arab having asked one of his fellow-countrymen if he was not the father of a young woman lately married in his tribe, the father, who suspected some intention to ridicule in this question, and thought the honor of his family compromised, coolly rose up, ran to his daughter's house, and without uttering a word plunged his cangiar in her heart.” F. de Geramb mentions an anecdote of the same kind: “The widow of a Catholic of Bethlehem,” says he, “was the object of a painful suspicion; not knowing how to escape the vengeance of her relations, she took refuge in the convent of the Fathers of the Holy Land, and placed herself under the sacred protection of the altar. Her asylum was discovered, the gates of the monastery were forced, and the young woman dragged, with her hair all disheveled, into the public market- place, amidst the shouts of the populace and the suppliant voices of the relig- ious, who implored, in the name of a crucified God, forgiveness and mercy for this unhappy creature, who protested with tears that she was innocent. She appealed in despair to her father and her brothers, adjured them in the most moving manner to save her from a cruel death: they came forward sullenly; each held a dagger; the poor creature shuddered; and a moment after, the three daggers were buried in her breast, and the murderers, washing their hands in the blood of their respective daughter and sister, congratulated themselves on having washed away the disgrace of their family.” LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 49 wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.” After this dream, and the word of the angel, Joseph found himself changed. The honor which God had done him, in trans- ferring to him his own rights over his only Son, had not in the least affected his humility; but he had become father, he had become spouse, in heart, and his only thought now was, to take care of Mary and her divine Infant. St. John Chrysostom asked himself why the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, and not manifestly, as he did to the shepherds, to Zachary, and to the Virgin. “He was,” said he, answering himself, “a man of wonderful faith, nor did he need such a vision. For the Virgin, to whom so great a thing was announced, and much greater than to Zachary, required a wonder- ful kind of vision even before the thing itself took place; and the shepherds, as being less refined, had need of a more manifest vision. But this man, after the conception, being beset with an evil suspicion of mind, and yet ready to be brought back easily to good hope, if any one should appear to guide him in this matter, receives the revelation. . . . See then what great things are done; the philosophy of the man is exhibited, and what the angel declares so opportunely serves to confirm his faith, and the word itself remains without suspicion, which shows that he suffered what every man might justly endure.” IRTH OF THE MESSIAS.–Meantime, the wicked empire' had planted its eagles even to the extremities of the globe; the Romans had taken the Oriental world as in a net; the Sarma- tian trembled before them in the depth of his deserts, and the most remote nation of Asia, the peaceful Chinese, sent a solemn embassy to Caesar to seek his powerful friendship. Egypt and Syria were already no more than Roman provinces; Judea itself was tributary, and the King of the Jews, purchasing with gold a capricious protection, was but a crowned slave. The time was come; the oracles relating to the Messias were about to be accom- plished; the power of Rome was on the decline, as Balaam had foretold, and according to the grand prophecy of Jacob, the sceptre had departed from Juda; for the phantom of royalty which still hovered over the holy city was not even national. It º *E=EEziº º -W- OUR LORD. (A specimen of Christian art of the fourth century. The original is a mosaic of small pieces of colored glass on metal.) was then that an edict of Augustus Caesar was published in Judea, for an enrolment to be made of the people subject to his sceptre. This enrolment, much more complete than that which had taken place in the sixth consulship of the nephew of Julius Cæsar,” comprised not only persons, but property and the several kinds of land: it was the basis on which it was intended to ground the tax on servitude.” The Roman governors were ordered to see the imperial edict executed, each in his department." Sextius Saturninus, * The Jews designated the Roman empire by the name of “the wicked empire.” * Augustus had three general enrolments in every province of the empire: the first, during his sixth consulship with Agrippa, in the year 28 before the Christian era; the second, under the consulate of C. Marius Censorinus and C. Asinius Gallus, in the year 8 before the same era; and the third and last, under the consulate of Sextus Pompeius Nepos and Sextus Apuleius Nepos, in the year 14 of the Christian era. It is of the second enrolment that St. Luke speaks; the decree which ordered it was made in the eighth year before the Christian era.-(Sueton., in Octav., 27.) * Augustus at that time had a work prepared which contained the description of the Roman empire, and of those countries dependant upon it. Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion Cassius make mention of this book, and of all the separate descriptions which were drawn up in the provinces. By the way in which they speak of it, it must have been something very complicated. * Tertullian assures us that it was Sextius Saturninus who had to do it for Syria, he being president thereof. 50 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. governor of Syria, began first with Phoenicia and Coelo-Syria, rich and populous cantons, which required long and patient labor; that which, in Europe, William the Conqueror, a thousand years later, caused to be done, in order to draw up that famous register, so well known to the English, under the name of “Domesday Book,” can alone give an idea of it. After having executed the orders of Caesar in the Roman province, as well as in the kingdoms and tetrarchies dependent upon it, at the end of three years from the date of the decree,' they found themselves arrived at length at Bethlehem, precisely at the memorable epoch of the birth of our Saviour. Caesar and his agents had no other thought than of doing an administrative work, by ascertaining the population and resources of the empire; but God had other designs, which they executed unconsciously by their merely human views. His Son was to be born at Bethlehem of Juda, the humble country of King David : he had caused it to be foretold by his prophet, more than seven hundred years before; and now behold the whole world in commo- tion to accomplish this prophecy. It appears that, faithful to ancient usage, the Jews still had themselves inscribed by families and tribes. David was born at Bethlehem; his descendants regarded that little city as their natal town, and the nursery of their house; there it was, then, that they assembled to give in their names, and the state of their fortunes, in compliance with the edict of Caesar. The autumn was coming to an end; the torrents rolled with a loud noise in the depths of the valleys; the north wind blew through the lofty turpentine-trees, and a sky laden with gray clouds announced the approach of snows. One dull and gloomy morning, in the year of Rome 748,” a Nazarene was seen busily occupied with preparations for a journey, which no doubt he was not at liberty to put off; for the time seemed ill-chosen, and the young wife who accompanied him, and whom he seated carefully on the quiet and gentle animal, which is still preferred by the women of the East, was far advanced in pregnancy. At the saddle of the fine animal" ridden by the young woman of Galilee, was fastened a basket, made of palm-leaves, containing provisions for the journey: dates, figs, and raisins, some thin cakes of barley-meal, and an earthen vessel from Ramla to hold water from the spring or the cistern. A goat-skin bottle, of Egyptian make, was hung on the opposite side. The traveler threw over his shoulder a wallet containing a bundle of clothes, girded his loins, wrapped himself up in his cloak of goats' hair, and holding in one hand his hooked stick, held with the other the bridle of the ass which carried the young woman. Thus they quitted their poor dwelling, which was left to itself, and passed down the narrow streets of Nazareth, amidst wishes of a good journey and safe return to their kindred and neighbors, who exclaimed on all sides, “Go in peace!” These travelers, who set out on a journey in a cloudy morning, were the humble descendants of the great kings of Juda—Joseph and Mary—who were going, by order of a pagan and a stranger, to enroll their obscure names aside the most illustrious of the kingdom. This journey, undertaken during the rigorous season, and across a country like Palestine, must have been extremely painful to the Blessed Virgin in the situation in which she found herself; yet she made no complaint; this feeble and delicate young woman had a mind firm and courageous, a great soul, which was not elevated with greatness, knew how to possess itself in joy, and in silence accepted misfortune. Joseph, who moved along pensive at her side, meditated on the ancient oracles which promised, four thousand years ago, a deliverer to his people; as he traveled on to Bethlehem, whither he was led by the supreme will of a Roman, he thought of the words of the prophet Micheas: “And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda; out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel.” Then, looking at his poor equipage and his humble com- panion, whose simple outfit was suitable to her condition, he thought over in his mind the great oracles of Isaias: “And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: despised and the most abject of men.” And the patriarch began to understand the designs of God with regard to his Christ. After a painful journey of five days, the travelers distinguished Bethlehem at a distance, the city of kings, seated on an eminence, amid smiling hills planted with vines, olive groves, and woods of green oaks. Camels carrying women wrapped in purple cloaks, and with their heads covered with white veils, Arab makas, ridden at full gallop by young horsemen splendidly clad, groups of old men upon beautiful white she-asses, discoursing gravely, like the ancient judges of Israel,” were going up to the city of David, which was already occupied by a multitude of Hebrews who had. arrived during the preceding days. Outside, but at a little dis- tance from the city, a building arose of quadrangular form, the white walls of which stood out from the pale green of the olive- trees which covered the hill: one would have said it was a Persian caravansary. Within its open gate, a number of slaves and servants were seen going and coming in its ample court: it was the inn, Joseph, urging on the beast on which the Virgin was mounted, made up to it, in the hope of arriving in time to secure one of those small apartments which belong by right to the first comer, and which were refused to no one;” but the caravansary overflowed with merchants and travelers; there was not a place left; at a price of gold one might perhaps have been found, for the hotel-keeper was a Jew, and a Jew of Bethlehem, but Joseph had no gold. The patriarch returned sorrowful to Mary, who smiled upon him with resignation, and again seizing the bridle of the poor animal, who was ready to drop with fatigue, he began to wander about the places and streets of the little city, hoping, but in vain, that some charitable Bethlehemite would offer them a lodging for the love of God. No one offered them anything. The night wind fell cold and piercing upon the young Virgin, who never uttered a com- plaint, but who became more and more pale: she could hardly * The three years which were taken up with this enrolment, executed by the Roman prefect, cannot raise any difficulty, for certainly it required no less time to draw up the register of Syria, Coelo-Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea. Joab had consumed nearly ten months in making the simple list of men capable of bearing arms in the ten tribes; and the census of Augustus, at the birth of Jesus Christ, embraced many other details, as it extended not only to every individual, but to all the particulars of their landed posses- sions. William the Conqueror, who had a work something similarly com- piled among the English, employed six whole years about it, although Domesday Book contains neither Ireland nor Scotland nor Wales nor the Channel Islands. We adopt that of the authors of L'Art de Verifier les Dates, which appears to us the best founded, and which places the birth of our Saviour on the 25th of December, in the year of Rome 748. According to Baronius, the day of our Saviour's birth was a Friday. * The asses in Palestine are remarkably beautiful. *The horse was used, especially among the Jews, by the warrior; it was also taken as the symbols of combats. The judges, on the contrary, rode upon asses of a species perfectly beautiful. Hence those words of the Bible, “Speak: you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in judgment.” * Nothing is found in the cells of the caravansary, or palace of caravans, but the four walls, dust, and sometimes scorpions. The keeper's business is e merely to give the key and a mat: the traveler ought to have provided * Never was any date more disputed than that of the birth of Jesus Christ. . himself with the rest; thus, he should take his bed, his cooking apparatus, and even his provisions with him.—(Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 51 keep life within her, Joseph continued his fruitless efforts in despair; and alas! more than once he saw the door which had been unfeelingly shut against him opened to some more wealthy stranger. Self-interest, that ruling passion of the Jews, must have petrified the soul of every one, for the situation of Mary to excite no compassion. The night came on : the two, seeing themselves rejected by every one, and despairing of obtaining a shelter in the city of their forefathers, went out from Bethlehem without knowing whither to direct their steps, and moved forward at hazard into the country, lighted by the expiring glimmer of the twilight, and echoing with the cry of the jackals who prowled about in search of their prey. On the south, and at a short distance from the inhospitable city, a dark cave appeared, which was hollowed out of the rock; this cave, the mouth of which looked towards the north, and which became narrower towards the end, served the Bethlehemites as a sº common stable, and sometimes as a refuge # for the shepherds in stormy nights. They à both blessed heaven, who had guided them Jº to this rude shelter; and Mary, leaning on the arm of Joseph, went and sat down upon a bare piece of stone, which formed a kind of narrow and inconvenient seat in a hollow part of the rock. It was there, “in the fortification of the rock,” as the prophet Isaias had foretold,' at the moment when the rising of the mys- terious constellation of the Virgin marked the hour of midnight,” that the alma of the grand prophecy of the Messias, in the midst of a solemn pause of nature, concealed by a luminous cloud, brought into the world Him to whom God himself had given birth “before the hills,” and “whose generation was from eternity.” He appeared all at once, like the sunbeam parting from the cloud, to the eyes of his astonishcd young mother, and came to take possession of the throne of his poverty, while all the angels of God, bending the knee before him, adored him under his human form. This virginal parturition was free from cries and pains; and not a single groan disturbed the sacred silence of that night, full of prodigies and mysteries. Miraculously conceived, Jesus is born still more miraculously. God prepared for the world a grand and | ſºsºlſtill Tº º Wi *H sº...º. º - to be born. The palace which he destined for him was a deserted stable—a fit shelter for him who, as he advanced in years was to say, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Moses, proscribed novel spectacle when he caused a poor king jºyº; ſº. ſº *† lºt FoxT. (In the Church of St. Catharine, Germany.) from his birth, had at least a cradle of rushes, when his sister, the youthful Mary, exposed him in the midst of the bulrushes and sacred lotus plants which dip their leaves in the Nile at the close of day; but Jesus, the divine forsaken one, who came among us to suffer GoTHIc SILVER MoRSTRANCE. the Jews. - 1 Justin appeals to the prophecy of Isaias for the birth of Jesus in the cave: “He shall dwell on high; the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness.”—(Ch. xxxiii. 16.) * “It is a fact independent of all hypotheses,” says Dupuis, “independent of all consequences which I desire to draw from it, that precisely at the hour of midnight, on the 25th of December, in those ages when Christianity made its appearance, the heavenly sign which rose in the horizon, and the ascendant of which presided at the opening of the new solar revolution was, the Virgin of the Constellations.” *According to the opinion of the rabbins, the Messias was in the terrestrial Paradise by the side of our first parents—(Sohar Chadasch, f. 82, 4.) He existed even before the world.-(Nezach Israel, c. 35.) And before he became man, he was in the state of glory with God.-(Phil. ii. 6.) Thus, immediately before the time of Jesus Christ, the idea of a pre-existence of the Messias existed in the superior theology of b2 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. -sm-smºs------ - and die, had not even so much magnificence as this: he was laid in a manger, upon a handful of damp straw providentially for- gotten by some camel-driver of Egypt or Syria, in haste to set out before daybreak. God had provided for the couch of his only Son, even as he provides for the nests of the birds of heaven. It was necessary to cover this new Adam, whose members would º supply, they made their way, by the bright light of the stars, to have been starved by the cold air, and whom modesty and neces- sity alike required to be clothed. Mary made him out of her veil swaddling bands, with which she wrapped him up with her chaste hands: then was the God newly born adored by her and her holy spouse, as Joseph of old, the finest type of Jesus Christ, had been before by his father and mother. St. Basil, entering into the mysteries of fervor and rapture which passed in the soul of the Virgin, exhibits her to us as if divided between the love of the mother and the adoration of the saint. “What should I call thee?” says she, addressing her Infant-God ; “what should I call thee ? . . a mortal 2 but I conceived thee by divine operation. A God? but thou hast a human body. Ought I to come before thee with incense, or to offer thee my breast. Ought I to lavish upon thee all the cares of a tender mother, or to serve thee with my forehead bowed down to the dust? O wonderful contrast ! the heavens are thy abode, and I nurse thee on my knees | Thou art upon earth, and yet thou art not separated from the inhabitants of the celestial regions: the heavens are with thee.” Thus were accomplished the grand oracles of Micheas and Isaias: “And there were in the same country shepherds watching and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you : you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And sud- denly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: GLORY To GoD IN THE HIGHEST; AND ON EARTH PEACE TO MEN OF GOOD will.” - The marvelous vision had disappeared, the heavenly songs had ceased, and the shepherds, leaning forward upon their knotty staves, were still listening. | : ! When the night breezes moaned alone in the valley, and there was only left in the sky a single white and shining spot, which might seem to be an angel, the shepherds consulted together, and “said one to another, Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us.” Then, taking in baskets such humble presents as their huts could the little city of David. At the sight of the stable, they felt, like the disciples at Emmaus, that their hearts were burning, and they said one to another, “Perhaps this is the placeſ” for they knew that the divine Infant who was born unto them had not seen the light beneath a rich roof, and that he was not laid in a sumptuous cradle for a throne; the angel had made no such announcement. They approached then with faith, with hope, with love, towards the place where they well deserved to meet the promised Saviour since they came to seek him there with upright intentions and pure . souls. Looking into the farthest recess of the cave, to ascertain whether they had really come to the end of their nocturnal pil- grimage, these men of good will discovered Him who came to preach the gospel to the poor, and to abolish the malediction of slavery, under the humble form of a little infant quietly asleep in his manger. e The Virgin, bending over her new-born son, contemplated him with affecting humility and profound tenderness; above them, Joseph bent down his aged head before this adopted son, who was God; a mild ray of the moon shone upon this divine group, enclosed in the red recesses of the rock: without, everything reposed under a fine, starlight night.” - “Here must be the place,” said the shepherds to each other; and, prostrating with respect before the manger of the King of kings, they offered to the poor and new-born God the mite and the homage of the poor. Then they proceeded to relate the apparition of the angels, their ravishing concerts, their words of hope, peace, and love. Joseph admired and wondered at this divine manifestation, and Mary, who heard in silence this simple narrative, laid up every word of it in her heart. When this duty was performed, and their mission ended, the shepherds retired, glorifying God, and spread abroad in the mountains the wonders of that sacred night. Those who heard them, struck with a long fit of amazement, said one to * In a very pleasant plain, situated a quarter of a league to the north of the town of Bethlehem, is found the village of the shepherds, and in the depth of the valley the celebrated field where these shepherds were tending their flocks during the night of the nativity. It is related also that during that sacred night the vines of Engaddi blossomed, and that at Como the temple of Peace fell down on a sudden, and the oracles of the demons were silent forever. The very birth of our Lord was a sentence of banishment for those pagan divinities who had been till then permitted to give oracles. Milton, in an admirable poetic vein, thus describes, in one of his earliest pieces of verse, the departure of those pretended divinities on the eve of the nativity: “The oracles are dumb, No voice or hideous hum Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. Apollo from his shrine Can no more divine, With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving. No nightly trance, or breathed spell, Inspires the pale-eyed priest fom the prophetic cell. “The lonely mountains o'er, And the resounding shore, A voice of weeping heard and loud lament: From haunted spring and dale, Edged with poplar pale, The parting Genius is with sighing sent; With ſlower-inwoven tresses torn, The nym nhs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn. “In consecrated earth, - And on the holy hearth, The Lars and Lemures moan with midnight plaint; In urns and altars round, A drear and dying sound Affrights the flamens at their service quaint; And the chill marble seems to sweat, While each peculiar power foregoes his wonted seat. ** Peor and Raalim Forsake their temples dim, With that twice battered god of Palestine; And mooned Ashtaroth, Heaven’s queen and mother both, Now sits not girt with taper's holy shine; The Lybic Hammon shrinks his horn, In vain the Tyrian maids their wounded Thammuz mourn. “And sullen Moloch fled, Hath left in shadows dread His burning idol all of blackest hue ; In vain with cymbals' ring, They call the grisly king, In dismal dance about the furnace blue; The brutish gods of Nile as fast, Isis and Orus, and the dog Anubis haste.” * “The Persians call Christmas night scheb jaldai, night bright and lumi- nous, by reason of the descent of the angels.”—(D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orientale, t. ii. p. 294.) -> LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 53 angels, had come to adore the Infant-God in his poor manger, and share with him their black bread and the milk of their goats. A miracle of a higher character, and of much greater renown, con- ducted shortly after to the same cradle the first fruits of converted Gentiles: the shepherds of Juda had led the way; it was now the turn of sages and kings. DORATION OF THE MAGI—In the course of the autumn IM which preceded the birth of Jesus Christ, certain Chaldean Magi, learned in the study of the courses of the stars, discovered a star of the first magnitude, which they recognized by its extraordi- nary motion and other no less cer- tain signs, as that star of Jacob, long before predicted by Balaam, which was to arise in their horizon. at the time of the parturition of the Virgin. According to the ancient traditions of Iran, col- lected by Abulfarage, Zoroaster, the restorer of the science of the Magi, a learned man, a great astronomer, and well versed, more- over, in the theology of the He- brews,” announced, under the first successor of Cyrus, and a short. time after the rebuilding of the temple, that a divine infant, called to change the face of the world, would be born of a virgin, pure and immaculate, in the most western region of Asia. He added that a star unknown to their heavens would signalize this re- markable event, and that on its appearance the Magi would them- selves bring presents to this young king. Faithful and religious ex- ecutors of the wishes of Zoroaster, three of the most illustrious wise men of Babylon" had no sooner remarked the star, than they sounded the cymbals of departure. Leaving behind them the city of Seleucidae, with its elegant edifices of palm-tree wood, and Baby- lon, where the the wind of the - desert, moaning over immense ruins, seemed to tell to these silent wrecks the sinister oracles. of the son of Amos, they left the country of date palms, and took the sandy road of Palestine. Before them, like the pillar of light which guided the fugitive cohorts of Israel to the desert another, “Is it really possible? Are we then in the time of Abra- ham, that angels should visit shepherds?” Perhaps it was these recitals, made in the evenings on the borders of the woods, or in the depths of the ravines, while the camels drank together at the solitary spring, which led a tribe of Arabs to consider Mary and the Infant as divinities. The sweet image of the Virgin holding her Son on her knees, was painted on one of the pillars of the Caaba, and solemnly placed in the number of the three hundred and sixty divinities of the three Arabias. In the time of Mahomet it was still to be seen, as the Arab historians attest." After the massacre of the Holy Innocents, this brave tribe rose up to a man, uttered a long cry of vengeance, and, without being overawed by numbers, attacked Herod's son, though he was a vassal and protégé of the Romans.” This authentic anecdote, so curi- ous and generally unknown, comes to the support of the supernatural fact recorded by St. Luke, a fact which the deriding philosophers of the school of Voltaire and the adepts of pantheism,_if possible, still more pagan,—have not failed to banish to the rank of fables. The capricious devotion of these Arabs, who blended idolatry with the worship of the true God before the preaching of the gospel, can be accounted for only in connection with the knowledge of the mira- cles of the sacred night of the Nativity. On the eighth day after his birth, the Son of God was circum- cised, and named Jesus, in con- formity with the order of his heavenly Father. He must have had a godfather, like all the Israel- ites, but we are completely igno- rant upon whom that honor fell. As to the ceremony of the circum- cision, which always took place under the auspices of Elias, who never failed, said the Hebrews, to assist at it invisibly, it took place, according to St. Epiphanius, in the very cave in which Jesus was born, and St. Bernard presumes, with sufficienſ prob- ability, that St. Joseph was the minister on the occasion. Men of the common people, docile to the summons of the CATHEDRAL AT CologNE. * “El Azraki adduces the ocular testimony of several respectable persons,” says Burckhardt, “to prove a remarkable fact, of which, I believe, no men- tion has hitherto been made: it is that the figure of the Virgin Mary, with the young Asia (Jesus) on her knees, was sculptured as a divinity upon one of the pillars nearest to the gate of Caaba.”—(Burckhardt, Voyage en Arabie, t, i. p. 221.) * This particular circumstance, which confirms the account of the Arab historian, is found recorded in the Toldos, a Jewish book, very ancient, and written in a tone of furious animosity against Christianity. We see there that Herod the Great and his son had to sustain a war against a tribe of the desert, who adored the image of Jesus and Mary his mother. This tribe attempted to form alliances with several cities of Palestine, and particularly with that of Hai. Now, as the Jews themselves place this event in the lifetime of Herod, it must have been prompted by the massacre of the Innocents, as the aged king survived only one year the birth of our Saviour. * Some have made Zoroaster a disciple of Jeremias; but their times do not correspond; it is more probable that he was a disciple of Daniel. * Men are not agreed as to the country of the Magi; some make them come from the interior of Arabia Felix, others from India, which is not at all probable. The best authorities give them Persia for their country, and this opinion has seemed to us founded in truth. The names Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, which are attributed to the Magi, are Babylonian. In fact, Baby- lon, and after its destruction Seleucia, situated at a short distance, was the 54 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. shores of the Red Sea, moved forward the star of the Messias. This new star, free from those unchangeable laws which rule the starry spheres, had no regular motion proper to itself; some- times it advanced at the head of the caravan, always following a straight line in the direction of the west; sometimes it remained stationary above the tents pitched for the night, and seemed gently poised on the bosom of the clouds, like an albatross asleep in fields of air: at daybreak it gave the signal for departure, as it had given the one to halt.* At length, the lofty towers of Jerusalem appeared in the dis- tance, in the midst of the bare and wild summits of her moun- tains; the camels and the mares were quenching their thirst at a cistern by the way-side, when the Magi uttered a cry of surprise and affright; the star had just hidden itself in the heights of the sky, like an intelligent creature aware of some impending danger.” As much disconcerted as the navigators of ancient times when a barrier of black clouds concealed from them the polar star, the Magi consulted together for a moment. What was the meaning of the sudden disappearance of their brilliant guide? Were they then at the end of their long journey, and should they set up the tent of abode 2 That the infant king whom they came to adore from the banks of the Tigris should be found at Jerusalem was a thing both possible and probable. “The God of heaven,” they thought, “does not prolong his miracles in vain; they cease when human agency suffices: this is all in right order. What if the star has left us? we can very well, without its aid, find him whom we seek in the capital of his dominions. To discover the cradle of the young King Messias, we have only to enter the first street strewed with green boughs, perfumed with essence of roses, and carpeted with drapery of rich colors embroidered with gold; the sound of the harps of the Hebrews, their dances, and their songs of joy will sufficiently indicate to us in what direction to proceed.” Then, urging on their animals, they passed the gate of the enclo- sure, and entered the ancient Sion between two files of barbarian soldiers. The aspect of Jerusalem was sad: its population, weakened and silent, had no appearance of joy or festivity; groups only formed here and there to see the travelers pass by, whom they recognized by their long white robes, fastened by magnificent Oriental girdles, and their bazubends’ enriched with precious stones, and, above all, by the manly beauty of their features, as satraps of the great king. As they went along, the Oriental cavaliers, leaning down upon the necks of their dromedaries, asked some of the numerous spectators who crowded the way where was the new-born King of the Jews, whose star they had seen in Babylon. Jerusalem, looking at one another in amazement, knew not what to answer to this inquiry. . A Ring of the Jews! . . . . The people of What king? They knew none but Herod, whom they abhorred from the bottom of their souls, and who had no infant son. The Magi, astonished on their part that all whom they interrogated should protest their ignorance, and seeing, moreover, around them no signs of festivity, moved in consternation up the crowded street which led to the ancient palace of David, and pitched their tents in its ruinous and shaded courts. Nevertheless, the appearance of these grandees of Persia, who traveled very rarely at that time in the mountains of Judea, their startling questions, which astonished and intimidated at the same time a people whom the vast system of espionage organized by Herod held in fear, soon put into commotion the most seditious and rest- less city of the East. The name of King Messias, pronounced by the Pharisees, ever on the alert to make the aged monarch uneasy about the future fortunes of his house and the duration of his own power, fell among the curious groups like a spark upon thatch. The King Messias’ It was emancipation . It was con- quest It was glory ! It was the banner of Juda waving like a ruler over the vanquished world ! The Persian satraps passed for the first astrologers in the world;" they had, no doubt, read in the stars the birth of the Hebrew Goel.” The heir of the kings of Juda was about to reascend the great throne of his ancestors, and drive from it the race of the Herods, those half-Jews, who were the slaves of Rome! A low murmur, like that which precedes the tempests of the ocean, soon circulated in the houses, in the streets, on the public places; never had the Jews of Jerusalem felt less disposed to conform to the royal edict, which forbade them to . meddle with any affairs but their own." In vain did the fierce sol- diers of Herod line the ramparts and platforms of the towers; the people were strong; they had no more fear, and they conspired in the street. “All Jerusalem was troubled,” says the gospel, and it was soon the tyrant's turn to be troubled also. Herod at that time was living in his palace at Jerusalem, the gardens of which, full of flowers, stocked with rare birds, and intersected with clear streams, which lost themselves beneath the branches of an actual little forest, could not avert his mind from the gloomy recollections and sinister anticipations which rendered life an annoyance to him. Informed by the chief of his spies of the arrival of the Magi, and of their strange discourses, his broad forehead, wrinkled with anxious thoughts, darkened like a stormy sky, and his uneasiness was visible to every one. The trouble of the King of the Jews is casily understood, and explained by his position. Herod was neither the anointed of the Lord nor the choice of the people; a branch of laurel, gathered in the idolatrous precincts of the Capitol, formed his tributary crown, a crown of vassalage, entwined with thorns, every leaf of which had been paid for with heaps of gold abstracted from the savings of the rich and the indigence of the poor. Hated by the abode of the most celebrated astronomers of antiquity. Finally, these cities are to the east of Jerusalem, and in twenty days' march one may travel from the borders of the Euphrates to Bethlehem. Origen, who was learned and well informed, assures us that the Magi studied astrology. Drexelius ridi- cules Origen for this very unreasonably; which proves that he was little versed in the history of the East in olden times, where every astronomer was also an astrologer. * St. Joan. Chrysost., Serm. 6, in S. Matt.—Chalcidius, a pagan philosopher who lived at the end of the third century, makes mention of this star, and of the sages of the East whom it conducted to the cradle of Jesus Christ. St. Augustin, the doctor of doctors, speaks thus on this subject: “At his birth, he declared a new star, who, when put to death, darkened the old sun. What was that star, which never appeared before among the stars, nor remained to be pointed out afterwards? What was it, but a magnificent tongue of the heavens: to declare the glory of God, to proclaim with unusual brightness the unheard-of parturition of the Virgin.” } * This cistern, or well, situated on the road to Jerusalem, still bears the name of the Cistern of the three Kings, or of the Star, in memory of this event. * Bazubends, antique bracelets of diamonds, torquoises, and pearls, which the Satraps wore above the elbow : the King of Persia and his sons still wear the bazubends.-(See Morier, Voyage en Perse et en Armenie.) * The whole of the East at that time believed in astrology; and Philo informs us that the satraps of Persia passed for the first astrologers in the world. * Goel (Saviour), one of the names by which the Hebrews designated the Messias. * Herod had strictly forbidden the Jews to talk of affairs of state; they could not even meet together in family parties to make great feasts, according to custom. His spies, scattered about Jerusalem, and even over the high roads, immediately arrested those who disobeyed the king's edict; they were placed secretly, and sometimes in open day, in strongholds, where they were severely punished.—(Josephus, Antiq. Jud., lib. xv. c. 13.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 55 rich, whose heads he cut off at the first suspicion, feared by his relatives, whose tombs he tragically filled up, the horror of the priests, whose privileges he had trampled under foot, detested by the people for his doubtful religion and his foreign extraction, he could only oppose his courtiers, his assassins, his artists, and the opulent but small sect of Herodians, who were fascinated with his magnificence, to the active, ardent, and openly declared hatred of the rest of the nation. Often was the friend of Caesar insulted to his face by his obstinate subjects: the Pharisees, an artful and powerful sect, had refused with insult and derision to take the oath of fidelity to him; the Essenians, whose courage in battle rendered them formidable, had followed the example of the Phari- sees; and the young and ebullient disciples of the doctors of the law had recently thrown down, in open day, with their vengeful axes, the golden eagle which he had placed above the gate of the temple to please the Romans. On every side plots, secretly favored by his nearest and dearest relatives, were contrived in the dark against his life, and he was very near falling, in the crowded theatre, beneath the poniards of certain young high- minded men, who thought to do a deed of virtue and patriot- ism by ridding the earth of a prince who reigned like a madman.' Attributing this unusual daring to the contempt inspired by his old age, he exhausted all the secrets of art to appear young again.” He would fain have persuaded himself and others that he was still that young and brilliant Herod who surpassed the greater part of the Hebrews in gymnastic exercises: Herod the bold rider, the expert hunter, the handsome and disdainful mon- arch, who had despised the love of that celebrated Queen of Egypt for whom Anthony had lost the empire of the world. But, alas! the silvery net-work which began to mix with the black hair of his sons, their impatience to reign, the spirit of revolt and mutiny which crept in among the people, and the inso- THE Jordan LEAVING THE SEA OF GALILEE. lence of the banditti, who recommenced their depredations in Galilee, made him understand but too well that his reign drew near its end. Tormented with suspicions, and distrustful even of his spies, he wandered about, sometimes at night, alone and in disguise, in the streets and public places of his capital:" there he heard with his own ears the muttered imprecations, the cruel reproaches, the bitter railleries which fell upon “the man without ancestors,” the “Ascalonite,” the “wild beast,” who had killed his innocent wife, a pearl of beauty, a model of honor, and who had afterwards had his two sons by her strangled, those two princes so sad, so handsome, so brave, whom the people loved for the sake of the Asmonean heroes, their ancestors, and their unfor- tunate mother. The day after these nocturnal wanderings was a day of mourning and punishments; none were spared. The executioner, after cutting off the heads of the highest, ſell upon the lowest of the rabble. Thus on every side vows were made against the life of the prince; and each time that the report of his death was circulated, whether by chance or design, in the distant provinces, the people, greedily seizing the treacherous bait which flattered their hatred, hastened to light up bonfires in every direction, which Herod extinguished with blood. Amidst these elements of civil discord, when a fever of insurrection was sullenly working its way in the army, and revolt, like a ripe fruit, seemed to invite the hand of the * The people were so far from applauding the dis- covery of this conspiracy, and rejoicing at the safety of the king, that they seized the informer who had disclosed it, tore him in pieces, and had him eaten up by dogs.-(Josephus, Ant. Jud., lib. xv. c. 11.) * Herod painted in order to look younger than he was, and had his hair and beard dyed black.-(Ibid., lib. xvi. c. 11.) * He often mixed, at night, in disguise, with the populace, says Josephus, to know what opinion the people had of him, and he punished without mercy those who did not approve of what he did.-(Ibid., lib. xv. c. 13.) 56 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. bled in council under the presidency of Herod, heard this question, which appeared to them strange in the mouth of such a prince : “Do you know in what place the Messias should be born ?” The answer, which was not expected, was unanimous: “In Beth- lehem of Juda.” And the ancients of Israel, delighted to make the friend of the Romans uneasy, did not fail to add that, as the last of the weeks of Daniel was near its end, the time for the Messias was drawing near. These indications, little calculated to give security, were not sufficient for Herod, who wanted to know where to strike the blow; he resolved to interrogate the Magi, and to know, if possible, the precise time of the birth of the child, calculated by that of the appearance of the star. Too clever a politician to grant a public audience to the sages of Iran, which would have given consistency to a rumor which it was his interest to stifle, the king sent for them privately, and pressed them with questions as to the time of the star's appearing to them. “He inquires,” says St. John Chrysostom, “not the time of the child, but of the star, lying in wait for his prey with great diligence.” Informed of what he wished to know, the man of blood dismissed the strangers in an affable and gracious manner. “Go,” said he, “ to Bethlehem, and search diligently after the child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore him.” . Now the Magi, like all superior men, like all the sons of medi- tation and science, were good, sincere, and little inclined to suspect evil. They understood arbitrary conduct and cruelty in a prince, but they did not understand falsehood; for the first thing that the kings of Persia taught their children was to tell the truth. Accordingly, they believed the false words of the Idumean, which vied in magnificence with those of the great king, but which seditious, strangers of high bearing arrive at Jerusalem, who inquire without any mystery or circumlocution for a new-born King of the Jews, whose star they have seen. Herod is astonished; he anxiously calls up his recollections; the predictions fatal to his dynasty which the Pharisees cause to be circulated—the oracles of the ancient seers—to which he has hitherto lent but a distracted and secondary attention, come to his remembrance. This warrior Messias, this prophet sprung from David, who is to carry his victo- rious ensigns from west to east, begins to give him vague disquie- tude; it is not the God who makes the aged king so full of thought, it is the prince. The more he thinks upon it, the more this myste- rious event seems to him connected with one vast conspiracy tending to raise up a secret and rival power upon the ruins of his own. What then did he pour out like water the illustrious blood of the Mac- chabees, without any concern for the beating hearts of his wife and children? Did he crush beneath the iron wheels of his despotism all that offered any resistance? lose his soul, his honor, the rest of his nights, in which his bleeding victims troubled his dreams, © and all this to what purpose?—to smooth the way to the throne for the family of David This sceptre so dearly pur- chased,—this sceptre, still wet with the blood of his own relatives, will be then no more than a reed, sterile and accursed, which the blast of death shall break over his tomb He will have passed, like the meteor of a stormy night, over this land, whose ancient glory will brilliantly revive after him And this people, who hated him with a hatred so strong, so deadly, so furi- ous, that even his favors could do nothing towards assuaging it, how will they surround with their love and sympathy the offspring of their ancient kings And this last thought fell as bitter as wormwood upon the dark and desolate heart of the aged mon- and passing again beneath the elegant porticoes of this palace, arch ; for in the midst of his acts of violence, he felt the want of being loved,—a strange want, certainly, but perfectly real in this had not in the midst of its bronzes and arcades the golden bell of the suppliants,” they left the Betzetha,” struck their tents, and exceptional being, who seemed made up of contrasts, and who had employed very noble qualities in the service of the most absorbing and most cruel passion which could lay waste the human soul— ambition. - “Be this child prince of the land or prophet of God,” said Herod, after a pause, “he must die; and die he shall, even though I were sure to extinguish with this feeble spark all the glories which our seers dream of for future times. Athalia, that clever woman who knew how to reign, forgot only one infant in his cradle in the massacre of the royal family of Juda. That child deprived her of her throne and her life. I will take care to forget nothing. But where is this new-born king of the Jews con- cealed, who is proclaimed by the stars, and whom these insolent satraps come to seek at the very gates of my palace? Can he be in reality the Shiloh foretold by Jacob? These are, perhaps, mere reveries of the astrologers? No matter, we must make sure.” A few hours after, the doctors of the law and the chief priests assem- traversed a second time the holy city, to go to the presumed birth- place of the Messias. As they passed by the walls of the new amphitheatre, enriched with trophies, the extraordinary decora- tion of which was an inexhaustible subject of sarcasms to the Pharisees, they met King Herod, surrounded by a forest of Thracian and German lances, who was going in the direction of Jericho.” The Persians left Jerusalem by the gate of Damascus; then, taking the left, they entered upon valleys, intersected with hills, which they were obliged to climb. They were about an hour's journey from the capital of Judea, and were watering their camels at a cistern, when a brilliant light appeared directly over them, and descended rapidly to them, like a falling star. “The star! our star!” cried out the slaves, transported with joy. “The star!” repeated their masters, with the same rapture; and being * We wonder at the alarm caused to Herod by an offshoot of the family of David; yet it was not only Herod that persecuted that noble family, out of hatred for its ancient rights and glorious expectations. Eusebius, after Hegesippus, relates that, after the conquest of Jerusalem, Vespasian com- manded the posterity of David to be sought out and destroyed. Under Trajan, the persecution still continued. Finally, Domitian had two descend- ants of that illustrious race brought to Rome, whose grandfather was the apostle St. Jude. The emperor, after interrogating them, learning that they possessed no more than thirty-nine acres of land, which they cultivated with their own hands, sent them back to their own country, being made easy as to their ambition by their poverty. * The kings of Persia administered justice in a manner quite patriarchal. They had above their heads a golden bell, and to this bell was attached a chain, the end of which hung outside of the palace. Every time that the bell rung, the officers of the prince left his apartments, and introduced before the great king the petitioners, who demanded justice of the prince himself, and the king rendered it to them on the spot with equity.—(Antar, translated from the Arabic by Terrick Hamilton.) * The quarter called Betzetha, or the new town, which Herod had joined to Jerusalem, was situated to the north of the temple; it included tho lower pool, the probatical pool, and the palace of Herod. “We have followed the authors who maintain that Herod departed for Jericho, where he was for some time sick, at the time when the Magi jour- neyed to Bethlehem: this agrees every way with the account of the gospel; for if Herod had been at Jerusalem at the time when the Persians returned, they would probably have seen him before the admonition of the angel, who did not inform them of the designs of the king till the first night. The sick- ness of Herod, taking off his attention from the Magi and the infant, left the former at liberty to return peaceably into their country, and the Holy Family time to return by the road to Nazareth. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 57 certain this time that they had entered on the right way, they resumed their journey with fresh ardor. They were about to enter the city of David, when the star, lowering itself towards the south, stopped all at once over a cave, which had the appearance of being a rustic stable, and descending as low as possible in the air, rested, as it were, over the head of the infant God. The sight of this motionless star, the softest rays of which fell in a luminous sheaf upon this cave hollowed out of the rock,-filled the Magi with great faith, and their faith indeed needed to be great to acknowledge the King Messias in an infant destitute of everything, lodged in a poor place, laid in a manger, contained the presents intended for the Messias, they took out of them most pure gold, found in the environs of Ninive the Great, and perfumes which were exchanged for fruits and pearls with the Arabs of the Yemen. These mysterious gifts had nothing carnal about them, like the offerings of the Jews. The cradle of HIM who came to abolish the sacrifices of the synagogue was not to be sprinkled with blood; therefore the Magi did not sacrifice to him lambs without spot, nor white heifers; they presented him gold, as to a prince of the earth, myrrh, and frankincense, as to a God;" then, touching the earth with their foreheads before Mary, whom they found fair “as the moon, and humble as the flower of menuphar,” CHOIR OF THE CHURCH of SANTA MARIA Novel Lo, FLORENCE. and whose mother, though beautiful and full of every grace, was evidently of a very obscure condition. - God, who would make the Jews ashamed of the hardness of their hearts, by setting before them the religious eagerness and the docile faith of infidels, permitted that the extraordinary hu- miliation of the Holy Family should not shake the firm belief of the Magi. The worshipers of the sun, the Gentiles, whom the cross came to save, as well as the children of promise, made their way into the sorry abode of Christ with as much veneration as in their temples built over subterranean fires, where starry spheres revolved." According to the custom of their people, they put some of the dust of that poor threshold on their foreheads, and after taking off their rich sandals, they adored the new-born infant, as every son of the East at that time adored his gods and his masters. Then, opening caskets of odoriferous wood, which they invoked upon her the benedictions of God, and wished that “the hand of woe might never reach her.” This was the last scene of splendor in which the Blessed Virgin bore a part. The first period of her life, like a sweet dream of Ginnistan, had passed beneath roofs of cedar and gold, in the midst of sacred perfumes, melodious chants, the sound of lyres and harps; the second, full of wonders and mysteries, had placed her in correspondence with the inhabitants of heaven and the princes of Asia; the third was about to open under other auspices: * These spheres, composed of circles of gold, cut out like those of our armillary spheres, revolve brilliantly at the rising of the sun. They are still seen at Oulam, where the Ghebers have a temple.—(Rabbi Benjamin.) * Those verses of Juvencus, the most ancient of Christian poets whose works have come down to us, on the presents of the kingly Magi, have been justly praised: “Aurum, thus, myrrham, regidue, Deoque, hominique Dona ferunt. . . .” 58 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. it was the turn of persecutions, troubles, and indescribable afflic- tions and sorrows. And now the Magi, whom nothing retained in Judea, prepared to leave Bethlehem. They proposed, according to their promise, to go and find the king in his palace of Jericho, to tell him where the Messias was; but the angel of the Lord admonished them, in a dream, of the dark designs of that perfidious prince, and inti- mated to them the order to change their route. The children of Ormuzd returned their thanks to the “Master of the sun and of the morning star,” gave the honor of this nocturnal revelation to their good genius,' and meriting by their perfect docility the gift of faith which they received later on,” instead of going along the sterile and dangerous borders of the accursed lake which reflects in its heavy and stagnant waters the shadows of the reprobate cities, they turned the heads of their camels towards the Great Sea, and imagined themselves in the plains planted with date-trees” and covered with roses, bathed by the Euphrates and the Bend-Emyr, while they were traversing the fine regions of Syria. HE PURIFICATION.—Forty days after the birth of our Saviour, the Virgin considered it her duty to repair to Jeru- salem, to obey the precept of Leviticus, which prescribed the purification of mothers, and the ransom of the first-born. Doubt- less this law did not oblige Mary; for if she had been a mother for our Redeemer, she had remained a virgin for herself, and her conception without stain had been followed by a parturition with- out defilement; “but she submitted voluntarily, for an example to the world, to a penal law to which she was only so far subject,” says Bossuet, “as her virginal maternity was unknown.” Poorly equipped, and lost in the crowd on their first appear- ance upon the dusty road of Ephrata, Joseph and Mary, who had not attracted any notice, had not either left behind them those long recollections which pass into tradition among nations. It was different on their return to Jerusalem; thanks, no doubt, to the miraculous recitals of the shepherds, and the brilliant visit of the Magi. At some distance from Bethlehem, Mary rested beneath a turpentine tree to give the breast to her divine Infant, and this tree, according to the common belief, had from that time a hidden virtue which effected, during sixteen centuries, a multitude of wonderful cures. This, at least, is related by the Christians of Asia and the Turks, to whom this tree was still, two centuries ago, an object of veneration and a term of pilgrimage." After this halt, the memory of which is preserved, the holy spouses arrived at the tomb of Rachel,” where every Hebrew was bound to pray as he passed. This tumulus of primitive times, which was composed of twelve great stones eaten by moss, upon each of which was read the name of a tribe of Israel, had no epitaph but a white rose of Syria; sweet and frail emblem of the beauty of that young woman, who faded at the moment when she had just blossomed, like the flower spoken of by Job. As they stopped to say the prayer for the dead over the revered dust of one of the saints of their nation, the Virgin and Joseph little thought that the plaintive cries of the dove, which the Scripture attributes to this fair Assyrian, would so soon be applicable, and that the mother of Joseph and Benjamin was the desolate type of mothers who would bewail, some days afterwards, upon the mountains of Judea, their children massacred instead of Jesus Christ. On leaving the valley of Rephaim, whose old oaks overshadowed the grassy tombs of the giants of the race of Enac, the Virgin perceived a tree of a forbidding aspect, the sight of which afflicted her heart. It was a barren olive-tree, which spread its pale foliage to the breezes of the night, and the mournful noise of which resembled the moaning of some human being. As she passed under its melancholy branches, which no bird of heaven enlivened with its song, Mary felt that sensation of poisonous cold diffused by the fatal shade of the manchineel-tree. This tree, if the local tradition was not mistaken, was the “infamous” wood on which Christ was nailed." At the very moment when Joseph and Mary made their way into the second enclosure, with the sicles of silver for the ransom and the doves for sacrifice, a holy old man, named Simeon,’ to whom it had been divinely revealed that he should not die till he had seen Christ the Lord, came into the portico by inspiration of the Spirit of God. At the sight of the Holy Family, the eye of the just man became inspired; discovering the King-Messias beneath the poor swaddling-clothes of the people, he took him from the arms of his mother, lifted him up to his face, and began * Of Ormuzd, in Zend, ahuró-mazdao (the very learned king), and of Ahriman, in Zend, ahyro-maingus (the intelligent merchant), according to the Persian mythology, were born the good and evil genii to whom are attributed different functions in the universe, whether for the diffusion of good or the propagation of evil. One of these good genii, named Serosch, went round the earth every night to watch for the security of the servants of Ormuzd.—(See the Amschaspand-Named, and The Book of Kings of Firdousi.) - * Very ancient authors affirm that the Magi received baptism from St. Thomas; it is thought that they suffered martyrdom in India, where they preached the gospel. - * “The palm-trees of Babylonia,” says Diodorus Siculus, “bear exquisite dates; they are half a foot long, some yellow, others red, and others of a purple color, so that they are no less agreeable to the sight than to the taste. The trunk of the tree is of an astonishing height, and everywhere alike straight and smooth; but the head, or tuft, is not of the same form in all. Some palm-trees spread out their branches in a circle, and the fruit of some projects in bunches from the bark, which is open about midway; others bear their branches on one side only, and their weight bending them down towards the ground, gives them the figure of a lamp suspended; others, in fine, divide their branches into two portions, and let them fall to the right and to the left in perfect symmetry.”—(Diodorus, b. ii.) The following is a descrip- tion of the banks of the Euphrates, by a poet anterior to Mahomet: “They saw populous towns, plains abounding in flowing streams, date-trees, and warbling birds, and sweet-smelling flowers; and the country appeared like a blessing to enliven the sorrowing heart; and the camels were grazing and straying about the land; and they were of various colors, like the flowers of a garden.”—(Antar, translated from the Arabic by Terrick Hamilton.) For the fields and gardens of roses so common in ancient Persia, see Firdousi, The Book of Kings. “This tree, under which Mary rested to give Jesus the breast, was destroyed during a few centuries ago, but the memory of the place where it was is still preserved. . * According to the Jewish doctors, Jacob buried his beloved wife on the road to Bethlehem, only because his prophetic knowledge led him to discover that a portion of his descendants would follow this road as captives of the Assyrians, and because he wished that Rachel might intercede for them to Jehovah, as they passed before her tomb. The Protestants have declaimed strongly against the Talmudists on account of this passage, which favors the intercession of the Virgin and of the saints. This tomb of Rachel was in such veneration, that all the Jews who passed by it made it a religious duty to engrave their names on one of the stones; these enormous stones were twelve in number.—(Talm. de Jer.) We know that the tears of Rachel, spoken of by Jeremias, were only a figure of the tears shed by the Jewish women after the massacre of the Innocents.-(St. Matt. xi. 17, 18.) "At the distance of half a league from Jerusalem is found the monastery of the Holy Cross. In the church of this monastery is shown the place where stood the barren olive-tree, which the men of Jerusalem used to make the cross of our Lord. The place where the trunk of the olive-tree was is now occupied by a marble stone, which is at the bottom of a small niche beneath the high altar, where a lamp burns perpetually. ." The Arabs give Simeon the title of Siddik (he who verifies), because he bore witness to the coming of the true Messias, in the person of Jesus, the son of Mary, whom all Mussulmans are obliged to receive as such. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 59 to contemplate him with emotion, while tears of joy rolled down his venerable cheeks. “Now,” cried out the pious old man, raising up his streaming eyes to heaven, “now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, . which thou hast prepared before the face of all people: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, º and the glory of thy people Israel.” As he finished these words, Simeon solemnly blessed the holy pair; and then addressing himself to Mary, after a mournful and grave silence, he added that this child, born for the ruin and resurrection of many in Israel, would be a sign of contradic- tion to men, and that sorrow should pierce the soul of his mother like the sharp point of a sword. By this unexpected light, which shed a sombre gleam over the great destiny of Christ, the igno- minies, the sufferings, and agonies of the cross, were disclosed at once to the Blessed Virgin. The inauspicious words of Simeon, like a stormy wind, made her bend down her head, and her heart was painfully oppressed.' But Mary knew how to accept, without complaint and without murmur, all that came to her from God; her pale lips were placed upon this chalice of wormwood and gall; she drained it even to the dregs, and then said sweetly, as she dried up her tears, “O Lord, thy will be done!” At that moment the daughter of Abraham was exalted above the head and father of her people; she, too, sacrificed her son upon the altar of the Lord ; but she had the sad assurance that the sacrifice would be accepted,—and she was a mother / She was still pondering in her mind these deep thoughts, when a prophetess came in, named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of + Aser, who was far advanced in years. This holy 24- widow departed not from the temple, by fastings # and prayers serving God night and day. At the # sight of the divine Infant, she began to praise the Lord aloud, and to speak of him to those who looked for the redemption of Israel. “Not only,” says St. Ambrose on this subject, “does the generation of the Lord receive testimony from angels and prophets and shepherds, but also from the aged and the just. Every age, and both sexes, and the miracles of events attest it. A Virgin brings forth, one that was barren becomes a mother, the dumb speaks, Elizabeth prophecies, the Magian adores, he who is shut up in the womb leaps for joy, the widow proclaims, the just expects.” As the farthest court of the temple was forbidden to Mary, and as the infant, on account of his sex, was to be offered there to the Lord, Joseph himself carried him into the court of the first-born, asking himself at the same time whether the scenes which had taken place at the entrance of Jesus into the holy house would be renewed in the compartment of the Hebrew priests. But nothing discovered the infant God in this privileged part of the temple; everything there remained sad and frozen beneath the rising ray of the young Sun of justice. A priest unknown to Joseph received in a desultory manner from the rough hands of the man of the people, whom he regarded as the “offscouring of the world,” the timid birds ordained by the law, and did not even deign to honor Christ with a single look. The love of gold—that shameful idolatry, which hides its unacknowl- A SILVER CHRISMATORY. FE #E º ºğſº --- ***** º -º-º-º-º- º Nº. z; *Nº. ºf . ** #li edged worship in the shade, as long as it retains enough shame to blush—had changed º - into hard stone the narrow, egotistical, and malignant heart” of the princes of the syna- º i : gogue. Leaving the monopoly of labor and privations to the simple Levites, whom they º reduced to live upon herbs and dried figs,” they passed by the poor man stretched upon = their marble threshold, and the traveler wounded in the mountain pathway, turning **** their heads away with indifference: in reality, they loved neither God nor men. And * “Mary, my sovereign,” says St. Anselm on this subject, “I cannot believe that you could have lived a moment with such sorrow, had not God strengthened you, who gives life.” * The Jewish doctors had then, and still have, a maxim which fills us with horror: they hold that he who does not nourish his hatred, and avenge himself, is unworthy of the name of rabbin.-(Basn., liv. vi. c. 17.) *The luxury and avarice of the chief priests of Jerusalem were incredible. The pontiffs sent people into the country to take the tithes in the granaries, and appropriate them to themselves, which left the inferior priests to die of hunger. At the least remonstrance, the miserable Levites were accused of revolt and insubordination, and delivered up to the Romans; the governor Felix alone -- - cast forty of them into prison, out of complaisance to the doctors and princes of the synagogue.— SILVER AND CRYSTAL-GLAss MoRSTRANCE. (Josephus, Vita.) 60 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. with this does our Lord, who HIMSELF instituted a priesthood exclusively of charity, reproach them, with holy and piercing irony, in the parable of the Samaritan. Therefore, as Malachy had announced, “God cursed their benedictions,” and turned away his face from their temple, which he was soon to deliver up to the sword and fire of the Romans. The presence of the Messias, who inflamed the heart of the disciples at Emmaus, even before they had recognized their Master in the breaking of bread, beamed upon the soul of the Aaronites, as the ray of spring glistens on the eternal snows of Ararat. That solemn moment, which suspended the sacred concerts round the throne of God, and fixed the eyes of the heavenly host on a single point of the universe, that moment announced by Aggeus, when the glory of the second temple effaced that of the first, passed unperceived before the darkened eyes of the priests and doctors. None of them recognized “the pure and never sullied oblation” which Malachy had predicted. The desired of nations, HE whose way had been prepared by angels, the great Redeemer so long promised and expected, was there bodily present, in his holy house, and no one thought to welcome him with palms, crying out upon the battlements of the temple and the roofs of Jerusalem, “Hosanna to the Son of David " they knew well, says the gospel, how to prognosticate the approach of rain by the clouds which gathered in the west; they knew well how to foresee heat, when the south wind blew ; but these men, so skillful in drawing presages from the different aspects of the sky, did not see “that the fig-tree of Solomon was about to put forth its figs,” and the child of the people did not lead them to presage the God. divine nature | The true CHRIST was in the midst of his own ; but he was poor, and his own received him not : therefore have they remained without a Saviour; for no Melech-Hamaschiak has come to justify their incredulous contempt for the divine Son of the Virgin, and they are on this account reduced to say, with cold and despairing rage, “Perish those who calculate the time of the Messias l’’ Meanwhile the infant God, who had recognized, as he passed through the streets of Jerusalem, the sites of our redemption, counted his executioners in silence in this grave and glittering assemblage; among the choirs who sung to the harp hymns of praise to the Eternal, CHRIST distinguished the arrogant and malevolent voices which could cry out later on, “Crucify him crucify him " Race of Aaron, where art thou now 2 The avenging breath of the Crucified has scattered thee like chaff in every part of the globe; absorbed in those masses which thou despisedst, the com- panions of thy exile no longer know thee! But at that time, little troubled about that future which was lowering over their heads, the Hebrew priests offered to the God who rejected them the chosen victims of the great and of the common people. One of them took the doves from Joseph, mounted the gentle ascent of the altar of holocausts, and offered to the Lord this poor and simple sacrifice. “And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,” says St. Luke, “they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.” HE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.—Scarcely had they returned into Lower Galilee, when Joseph and Mary had to depart again for a long and perilous journey, the end of which was the land of exile. One night, “an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying, arise, and take the Child and his Mother, and fly into Egypt; and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.” At these words, Joseph, affrighted, rises up, adores the Lord, and runs to awaken Mary, who was sleeping the sweet and gentle sleep of angels by the cradle of her infant. The young mother has quickly understood the necessity of this prompt and stealthy departure. She looks upon her son full of anguish ; hastily gets together some provisions, some swaddling-clothes, some garments which they need in their flight; and then, preceded by Joseph, and carrying Jesus in her arms, she departs from her native city, where all reposes in the brightness of the stars of night. The prophecies of Simeon had soon been verified. Scarcely was he born, when the persecution of a tyrant came to seek Jesus in the cradle, and his mother, so pure, so young, so holy, was forced to fly during the night, like a criminal, in company with a man with gray hairs, who could oppose only patience and prayer to the spear of the Arab lying in ambush in the defiles of the moun- tains, or to the murderous pursuit of the soldiers of Herod: and one would have said that God himself abandoned this Holy Family to its fate; for, on intimating to Joseph the order to depart, his messenger had not promised, as the angel Raphael formerly did to the young traveler to Rages, to guard them from all evil during the journey. The spouse of the Virgin understood that, the . O poverty, how excellent a disguise art thou, even for the solemn time for the manifestation of CHRIST not being come, it was the will of God to preserve him from the suares of Herod by means resulting from mere human prudence. On Joseph, then, devolved all the care and honor of this difficult undertaking, L on him, a man of the common people, pure and obscure, devolved ; the care of overturning the plans, escaping the plots, and sur- * We have followed the opinion of St. Luke, St. John Chrysostom, and some other authorities, in making the Holy Family leave for Nazareth after the Purification. This is the only way to reconcile St. Matthew—who says nothing of the marvelous events of the Presentation in the temple—with St. Luke, who is silent on the massacre of the Innocents and the flight into Egypt. “What then shall we say?” says St. John Chrysostom, “that St. Luke calls this the time, describing that which preceded the descent into prising the suspicious vigilance of a distrustful tyrant, artful, and served by his emissaries as a despot in the East. What would become of them, and what should they do if they had any fatal encounter on the road to Jerusalem 7. The abrupt departure of the Magi had alarmed the suspicions of Herod, and these suspi- cions were strengthened by the words of Anna and Simeon; secret inquiries, silent investigations, already began, and no one could tell where the sanguinary prince would stop, who dropped gold in pro- fusion into the red hands of the murderer. The more deeply Joseph pondered, the more his thoughts brought up some horrid measure, the vague terror of which stagnated the blood in his veins. Mary, for her part, pale and silent as death, cast about her timid looks into the hollows of the valleys, the depths of the forests, or the long extent of the solitary windings of the rocky and difficult path, which Joseph had chosen as the surest and most secluded from the habitations of men. The moon lighted with its soft and velvet beams this silent march, enveloped by a fine Oriental night in its azure veil. “It was still the cold season,” says St. Bonaventure, “and in traversing Palestine the Holy Family had to choose the most rugged and desert tracks. Where shall they lodge during the nights? What place shall they be able to choose during the day, to rest a little Egypt. For he did not lead them thither before the Purification, lest the law ..] should be in any way infringed; but he waited till the Purification should be accomplished, and they should have returned to Nazareth, and then they were to go down into Egypt.”—(Hom. ix. in St. Matt.) * Towards the middle of February, a season still cold in the mountains of the interior, where the temperature is nearly the same as our own. The plains of Syria, on the contrary, were already as hot as in summer. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 61 from the fatigue of the journey? Where shall they take the frugal repast, to recruit their strength 7" Tradition is silent as to a great part of this affecting and per- ilous journey. No doubt, the holy trav- elers made long and painful marches across the mountains, taking advantage of the ear- liest hours of daylight, and often waiting, too, for the rising of the moon to proceed on their way. As long as they were passing through Galilee, the deep caverns which are sunk in it, caverns of unknown windings, where it is easy to hide from all observation, afforded them a place to stop and repose: but these dens with hollow sides had their dangers, too; for nu- - merous and predatory bands, who had long defied all the forces of the kingdom, and who were emboldened to reappear by the sickness of Herod, chose them by preference for their places of security. The fear of penetrating unconsciously into one of these resorts of assassins must have made Joseph hesitate more than once at the sheltering openings of these isolated caverns. At length, after a thousand inconveniences of every kind, the Holy Family had reached the environs of Jerusalem. Here pre- cautions and uneasiness were multiplied by reason of the immi- mence of danger; the fugitives no longer dared to come near towns, nor even populous villages, where num- bers of spies and informers had their eyes upon strangers; they followed the bed of torrents, dived into deserted roads, or the damp shade of woods, not daring to go far out of the way to renew their exhausted provisions, and suffering at once from fear, cold, and hunger. They had passed by Anathoth, and were moving in the direction of Ramla, to descend into the plains of Syria. Anxious to get out of a dangerous neigh- borhood, they had borrowed some hours of the night, when they saw some armed men issue forth from a dark ravine, who stopped their pas- sage. He who appeared to be the chief of this troop of banditti, came forward from the hostile * These large armies, often two or three thousand strong, were commanded by experienced chiefs, who gave Herod and the Romans full occupation. Some had a political aim, and made party war; others were only a mere collection of assassins, who carried long daggers under their cloaks, and killed those whom they wished to get rid of, even in the streets of Jerusalem. OUR LORD. (From a bronze medal made in the third cent- ury, now in the Bibliotheca of the Vatican.) INTERIOR of St. PETER's, RomE. t group to inspect the travelers. Joseph and Mary had stopped, and looked at each other with alarm: Jesus was asleep. The robber, who had come to take blood and gold, looked with astonishment at this old man, unarmed, just like a patriarch of olden times; at this young woman, covered with a veil, who seemed anxious to hide her child from him in her heart, so closely did she press him painfully to her breast. “They are poor,” said the robber to him- self, “and travel by night, like fugitives!" He, too, perhaps, had a son in the cradle; perhaps the atmosphere of meekness and mercy which surrounded Jesus and Mary acted upon this ferocious soul; he lowered the point of his lance, and hold- ing out a friendly hand to Joseph, he offered him a lodging for the night in his fortress, sus- pended upon the corner of a rock, like the nests of birds of prey. This offer, honestly made, was accepted with holy confidence, and the roof of the robber afforded him hospitality, on this occasion, as well as the tent of the Arab.” The next day, towards noon, the Holy Family stopped at the extremity of a vast forest of palm-trees, nopals, and wild fig-trees, which extends at a short distance from Ramla; a carpet of everlasting flowers, narcissuses, and anemones received the Sovereign of heaven and earth; the heats of summer ruled in the plain, and the warbling of * Herod, who brought espionage to perfection in the East, covered the great road with spies in every part of Judea.—(Josephus, Ant. Jud., lib. xv. c. 13.) * The sight where the local tradition has placed this scene, and where the ruins of the fortress of the banditti are still visible, continues to be very ill-famed. During the crusades, the Franks, to whom this tradition was 62 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. birds, the perfume of plants, the tufted shade of fig-trees, and the distant bubbling of a spring, acted as a charm on the sleep of !hrist. After a short rest, the moments of which were counted, the travelers proceeded on their journey. Their motive for moving towards Bethlehem is unknown; tradition has preserved the memory of their passing by it, and the Christians have erected an altar in the cave where Mary concealed her infant," while Joseph went up to the town, either to inquire for the departure of a cara- van, or to exchange the slow traveling beast, which had carried the Blessed Virgin, for a camel. Whatever was the motive which led Joseph and Mary to the crater of the volcano, there is no doubt that they stayed there but a few hours, and that they made haste to reach a maritime town of the Philisthines, to join the first cara- van going to Egypt. . - If we rely on the learned calculations of chronologists, who allow of no interval in this long journey, the holy pair must have found a caravan on the point of starting, on the coasts of Syria. This is the more probable, as the vernal equinox was at hand, and every one would be anxious to anticipate the season when the Simoom exercises its empire over the desert, and makes its sea of sand as treacherous as the waves themselves.” Excepting the mortal apprehension of the enraged pursuit of Herod, the second part of the journey of the Holy Family did not yield to the first in fatigue or suffering, or even in danger. On quitting Gaza, the ruined towers of which resounded with the dying sound of the waves, the travelers beheld nothing before them but immense solitudes of sand, of a dreary aspect and frightful barrenness, ploughed up by the hot wind of the desert, and oppressed by a fiery sky. No vegetation, except a few thin patches of heath, growing here and there on the lonely plain; no water, except the brackish spring where the Virgin and Joseph, who were weary, who were poor, and whom no one cared for, could not quench their thirst till after the rich merchants, their slaves, and camels had exhausted it, and there remained of this poor muddy water barely enough to fill the hollow of one's hand. The farther they went from the frontiers of Syria, the more did they feel thirst, and the springs were more scarce. At times, they discerned at a distance, in the middle of a boundless plain, a large blue clear lake, like the lake of Genesareth ; the sky was reflected in its limpid waters, in which a solitary date-palm beheld its own image. A cry of joy hailed this discovery ; they urged on the speed of the camels, and Mary raised her drooping head, like a rose of Jericho which fore- tells rain.” They were close upon this blessed lake, and already slaking their thirst in imagination; but, oh wretched fate 1 a mocking demon transported the lake some leagues farther on, and left nothing in its place but parched-up sand “ Another optical illusion, which is often repeated in this dry and burning region, made travelers at a distance assume gigantic pro- portions. Arab horsemen, covered with their flowing cloaks, striped brown and white, and armed with the djombié, a dagger with a curved blade, which all the dwellers of the desert wear in their girdles, appeared afar off as tall as towers, and seemed to be moving in the air. The Virgin started, and pressed Jesus more closely to her heart; but the placid countenance of Joseph calmed her fears, although she could not understand the phenomenon which gave rise to them.” At the approach of evening, the song of the camel-drivers ceased,” the leader of the caravan unfurled the flag which gives notice of the halt, and all the travelers assembled round this signal of order. An animated scene soon followed this halting-time. They unloaded the camels, who were kneeling at the feet of their masters, their burdens were piled up pyramidaliy; they set up a row of round stakes, to which the beasts of burden were to be tethered; the rich travelers pitched their tents, and the leader of the caravan placed sentinels to give notice of the approach of the Bedouins, those pirates of the desert, who were, and are still, robbers like Ismael, and hospitable like Abraham. Every mer- chant, after taking his repast of dates and milk, composed himself to sleep in his tent of molair till the rising of the moon. The slaves and the poor travelers, in which number were the Son of God, his divine Mother, and Joseph, sat upon a rush mat, spread upon the ground, without any roof but the sky, and felt the icy breeze of the night" upon their limbs, languid with heat and worn out with fatigue. At times was heard a cry of alarm : it was the Arabs of the desert, prowling about the slumbering caravan; dis- concerted by the vigilance of the guards of the camp, they an- nounced their departure by a volley of arrows, accompanied by the groans of the wounded. Then the Virgin, who had nade a rampart with her body for her adored Son, raised up to heaven her eyes moist with tears, and her forehead pale with fear; she knew but too well that her Jesus was mortal as well as the least of the children of men • When the moon diffused her white light over that shadowless and noiseless desert, where the breezes of the solitude found not a blade of grass to raise a sigh, they struck their tents, and the pain- ful march began again, with all the inconveniences, sufferings, and familiar, had exalted the banditti chief to a feudal lord. “It is rare, how- ever,” says F. Nau, with amusing gravity, “that a lord of note becomes a highway robber.” The crusaders were better versed in history than F. Nau. To this history, which seems authentic, has been added an embel- lishment, for which we cannot answer, asserting that the hospitable robber was the good thief in person. * This cave is called the Grotto of the Virgin's milk, because it is supposed that some drops of milk of the Mother of God fell upon the rock, while she suckled the infant Jesus. * “The Arabs call the hot wind of the desert simoom, or poison: the im- pression it makes may be compared to that received from the mouth of a large oven when the bread is drawn. These winds prevail most frequently during the fifty days which comprise the equinoxes.”—(Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) * This rose, the cup of which opens and shuts according to the variations of the atmosphere, is consulted as a barometer by the Arabs,-(The Viscount Marcellus, in his Voyage en Orient, t. ii.) * This is the phenomenon known by the name of Mirage. During the expedition which the French made in Egypt in 1798, the soldiers, traversing the arid deserts of that burning country, parched with thirst, were often de- ceived by this cruel illusion. Every prominent object which offered itself to their eyes in the midst of these seas of sand, appeared to them surrounded with water: thus a hillock, which they perceived at a distance, seemed to them to rise out of the midst of a lake. Dying with want, they ran towards it; but, when they arrived at the place itself, they discovered their mistake: the lake had fled, and appeared yet farther off to their eager eyes.—(See de Fellens, du Mirage, Art. 6.) * “I had occasion,” says Niebuhr, “to remark a plenomenon which struck me as very singular; but which, in time, became familiar to me. An Arab mounted on a camel, whom I saw coming from a distance, appeared to me as tall as a tower, and seemed to move in the air; yet he was marching on the sand like ourselves. This optical illusion proceeds from a stronger refraction of the atmosphere, in these arid regions loaded with vapors of a different nature from those which fill the air of temperate countries.”— (Voyage en Arabie, t. i. p. 208.) * It is an almost universal custom in the East to enliven one another on the march, or at work, by singing. A Mussulman pilgrim has given a very picturesque description of the nocturnal march of a caravan of Mecca, by the light of lanterns fixed upon the camels, and to the measured singing of the camel-drivers.-(Voyage d’Abdoul Kerim.) The camel-drivers still sing songs peculiar to themselves in Syria and Egypt.—(Correspondance d'Orient, t. vi.) - * Although the days are scorching in the desert at this season, the nights are very cold.—(Voln. ; Sav.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 63 - º Ž º terrors experienced the day before. At length, they arrived at the extremity of this region of illusions and silence. Egypt, that ancient nursery of every light and every species of idolatry, presented itself º % S3 2 º Ø % º 2 º/ sº - - - - - - - - - % º to the travelers, with its obelisks of rose granite, its temples with tops % sº of polished steel, its colossal pyramids, its villages resembling islands, - and its providential river, bordered with reeds, and covered with vessels. This country appeared richer, more populous, and more com- mercial than Judea ; but it was the land of exile ! on the other side of the desert was their own country ! The hearts of the exiles of Israel had remained there. After a journey of a hundred and forty leagues,” the fugitives reached Heliopolis, where their nation had founded a colony. In that city arose the temple of Jehovah, which Onias had built upon the plan of || the holy house. The ornaments of this Egyptian temple were almost | | equal to those of the other; only, as a sign of inferiority, a massive lamp of gold, suspended from the ceiling, supplied the place of the famous candlestick with seven branches at Jerusalem. At the gate of this city, the population of which was in great measure composed of Egyptians and idolatrous Arabs, was a majestic tree, of the mimosa species, to which the Arabs of the Yemen, established on the banks of the Nile, paid a kind of worship." At the approach of the Holy Family, the feliche tree slowly bent down its shady branches, as if to offer the salam to the young Master of nature, whom Mary carried in her arms; " and, if we may believe the historian Palladius, at the moment when the divine travelers passed under the granite arches of the gate of Heliopolis, all the idols of a neigh- boring temple fell on their faces to the ground. Joseph and Mary only passed through the City of the Sun, and repaired to Ma- tarieh, a beautiful vil- lage shaded by syca- | | | m |*|| | Will ||||||||||I-y-III - ). - | illiºl|| | |||||}|| ſºlſ|º - lºlºſ | | - |º - º | sº º | D | ||||III: IIIL- |||| | ||| s |ºl ſºlº mores, where the only INTERIOR of THE CHAPEL of THE ANGEL, CHURCH of THE fountain of sweet water Holy SEPULCHRE. in Egypt is found. There in a dwelling like a bee-hive, where the doves build their nests, the fugitive family reposed in peace, far away from Herod. This cruel prince, after waiting in vain for the Magi in his place at Jericho, his favorite residence, learned at length that they had repassed the frontiers of his kingdom, and that, without giving him an account of their mission, they were gone back to the country of the Persians. Pale already from the slow fever which consumed him, the King of the Jews became still paler with wrath. He was deceived at the very moment when he was delighted at the thought of his unequaled cleverness in deceiving * On the dome of the sanctuary of the principal temple of Heliopolis was observed an immense mirror, of polished steel, which reflected the rays of the luminary of heaven. There was a similar one on the top of the light-house of Alexandria, and the images of ships were reflected in it long before they appeared in the horizon.—(Correspondance d'Oriel,t, t. v.; Lettres de Savary.) * See Barad., t. i. c. 8.-The author of the Voyages de Jesus Christ reckons only a hundred leagues, but perhaps he takes no account of the windings of the roads. - * The Arabs, who had gradually forgotten the God of Abraham, adored at that time a number of -- –2. idols, each more monstrous than the other. “The date-tree,” says Azraki, “was adored by the tribe |\ – of Khozua, and the Beni-Thekif worshiped a rock; a large tree named Zat arouat was adored by the Koreisch, etc.” The Persians scornfully designated the Arabs by the title of “adorers of stones.” - fºº: : *We are indebted to Sozomen for this event, which it requires some courage to reproduce in this -- " - " --> age of mockery, and which, after all, is hardly a miracle. It is certain that there exists in Arabia a > tree of the species of the sensitives and mimosas, which bends down its branches at the approach of º t man. Niebuhr, who is not suspected of credulity, found this tree in the Yemen, and the Arabs, who | l give it the name of tree of hospitality, hold it in such veneration that it is not lawful to pluck a leaf - from it. If this mimosa, by a natural phenomenon, bends down its branches at the approach of man, ALTAR OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH AT NUREMBERG. much more must it have had cause to lower them at the approach of the Son of God. 64 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. -- --- - -ºº- * - - - - -ºº-- " - * others—deceived by these uncircumcised men, who, contrary to all expectation, had found out his tortuous and wily policy If the Magi had not discovered the child to whom the star had con- ducted them, they would have told him so on their return. They had then discovered his secret retirement, and this was somewhere in Bethlehem or its environs, since they had not carried their search any farther. How was this dangerous child now to be dis- tinguished from common children 2 There was but one last expe- dient left, one extreme measure to destroy him: this was to include him in one general massacre. the aged king mused for a moment; then a wild and scornful smile passed over his lips. The people dare nothing, said Herod to himself, against kings who dare everything ! “And sending, he killed all the men-children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.” According to a number of grave authors, who have tradition and probability on their side, the Holy Family remained seven years in Egypt. There are still found traces of their dwelling there: the spring where Mary used to wash the infant's linen; the hill covered with bushes, where she dried it in the sun; the syca- more, in the shade of which she loved to sit with her Son upon her knees,” are still there after the lapse of eighteen centuries. The pilgrims of Europe and Asia knew the way to them, and the de- scendants of the nation of Pharao treat them with honor. To every spot some original legend of the olden time is attached, like the moss on the damp wall of a religious ruin." At Nazareth, Mary had led an humble and laborious life, but at Heliopolis she beheld misery in all its aspects. It was neces- sary to find means of support, a difficult thing out of one's own country, and among a people parceled out in national and heredi- tary corporations, who were by no means fond of strangers. As they were poor, observes St. Basil, it is evident that they must have submitted to painful labor to procure the necessaries of life. Alas! had they always even these? “Oftentimes,” says Ludolph of Saxony, “did the child Jesus ask his mother for bread, when she could give him nothing but her tears l’’ Meanwhile Herod had died of a horrible and nameless disease, after seeing himself devoured alive by the worms of the tomb. Dwelling to his last breath upon the joy that the people would feel at the news of his decease, he had with tears requested his sister Salome, a wicked woman, to have the flower of the Jewish nobility But the people! At this thought shot to death with arrows, whom he had imprisoned with this intention, that people might weep at his funeral, whether they would or not.” He was carried to his castle at Herodian in a golden litter, covered with scarlet and precious stones. His sons and his army followed his bier with downcast looks, while the people, having the happiness of deliverance before their eyes, cast upon him as many maledictions as a cloud showers down drops of rain. Admonished in a dream, by the angel of the Lord, of the death of the tyrant, Joseph returned with Mary and the child into the land of Israel; “but hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod, his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep, he turned aside into the quarters of Galilee.” ETURN FROM EGYPT.—How sorrowful is exile ! and how sweet to breathe the air of our native land The bread of the stranger, like that of the wicked, leaves grit in the mouth and bitterness in the heart; his streams tell not of the sports of our childhood; the song of his birds has no melodious notes; his scenes are destitute of that sweet and charming attraction possessed by the scenes of our own country ! . . . - What must have been the joy of the two holy spouses when they beheld again that land of Chanaan, whose grand boundaries, soft outlines, universal harmony, and variety of aspects contrasted so happily and so strikingly with the monotonous splendors of Egypt Here a population rustic and hardy, with a warlike turn, an open address, a worship grave and pure; there, slaves herded by castes, given to plunder, mingling with their worship infamous practices, and exhausting their resources to erect temples to the ox Apis, the crocodile, and the sea-onion | One must be profoundly religious, as Joseph and Mary were—one must love one's country as the Hebrews loved theirs, to understand the pious and sweet impres- sions which the two Galilean spouses felt at the sight of the land of Jehovah and their beautiful city of Nazareth. After so long an absence, the Holy Family returned to their humble hearth, amidst the congratulations, the astonishment, the eager inquiries of their relations, who all vied with each other in entertaining them; but desolation and bitter reverses soon suc- ceeded to all this joy. The deserted dwelling of the poor family was scarcely habitable: the roof, decayed and fallen-in in places, was ornamented here and there with long grass, and had afforded free entrance into the interior to the wintry blast and the beating rains of the equinoxes;" the lower apartment was cold, damp, * This gospel fact, which the school of Voltaire has called in question, is proved, not only by our sacred books, but also by the testimony of Jews and Pagans.—(Macrobius, lib. xi. c. 4, De Saturnal.; Orig., Contra Celsum, lib. xi. c. 58; Toldos Huldr., pp. 12, 14, 20.) * This fountain is still called the Fountain of Mary; an ancient tradition records that the Blessed Virgin bathed the Infant Jesus in it. In the earliest times of Christianity, the faithful built a church in this place; later on, the Mussulmans constructed a mosque there, and the disciples of both creeds came to pray at the Fountain of Mary for the cure of their maladies; the fountain is still there; the pilgrimages continue, but no vestiges remain either of church or mosque.—(Savary, t. i. p. 122; Corresp. d’Or., t. vi. p. 3.) * “Not far from the fountain, I was taken into an enclosure planted with trees; a Mussulman who was our guide stopped us before a sycamore, and said to us, This is the tree of Jesus and Mary. Vansleb, rector of Fontaine- bleau, informs us that the old sycamore fell down from old age in 1058. The ('ordeliers of Cairo piously preserved in their sacristy the last remains of this tree; there remained in the garden only a stump, whence, no doubt, came the tree which we saw. General Kleber, after the victory of Heliopo- lis, would visit as a pilgrim the tree of the Holy Family; he had written his name on the bark of one of the branches: this name has since disappeared, effaced either by time or by some envious hand.”—(Corresp. d’Or, t. vi., lettre 141.) * *The following is one of those legends brought from the lands beyond the sea by one of our good old French barons, the Seigneur d’Englure; we give it with all the original grace of the good old time: “When our Lady, the Mother of God, had passed over the deserts, and when she came to this said place, she laid our Lord down upon the ground, and went about in search of water, but could find none; so she returned full of sorrow to her dear infant, who lay stretched upon the sand, who had dug into the ground with his heels, so that there sprung up a fountain of very good and sweet water. So our Lady was very glad of this, and thanked our Lord for it, and our Lady laid her dear infant down again, and washed the little clothes of our Lord in the water of this fountain, and then spread them out on the ground to dry. And from the water which ran off these little clothes, as it dried up, there grew from each drop a shrub, which shrubs yield balsam,” etc. * The memory of Herod remained in such execration among the princes of the people and the priests, that they instituted a feast, which was celebrated on the 25th of September, out of joy that he was dead. “There is a feast on the 7th of Chisleu,” says the Jewish calendar, “on account of the death of Herod; for he had hated the wise, and we rejoice before the Lord when the wicked depart out of this world.”—(Basn., t. i. liv. ii. c. 8.) * The time of rains in Judea is that of the equinoxes, and especially of the autumnal equinox: it is also the season for storms, which are accompanied with violent showers, or hail.—(Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 65 and green; wild pigeons made their nests in the mysterious and hallowed cell where the WoRD was made flesh; brambles shot up their brown, thorny garlands in the small court; everything, in fine, in that old dwelling, already gilded by ages, had assumed that ruinous and desolate appearance which fastens upon deserted edifices as the seal of the master's absence. It was necessary to set about these urgent repairs; it was necessary to replace tools and furniture either unfit for use or altogether vanished; perhaps who could command legions of angels never asked of God, for himself or those belonging to him, anything but daily bread. The interior life of this happy family, who have been surnamed the terrestrial Trinity, has not come to the knowledge of men: it is the course of water lost among the grass; it is the holy of holies, with its cloud of perfumes and its double veil. Nevertheless, by studying minutely, and examining one by one, and in all their aspects, the facts of the gospel, what we know leads us to surmise OUR LORD WITH MARY AND MARTHA. they had to repay a sum borrowed in Egypt to enable them to return. Then it was, no doubt, that they sold the paternal fields till the year of Jubilee. Of all that Joseph and Mary possessed before their long journey, they had nothing left but the ruined house of Nazareth, the workshop of Joseph, and their own arms; but Jesus was there. Young as he was, Jesus took up the axe, and followed his aged father into the villages, where work was found for them; his work, proportioned to his age and strength, was never wanting to aid his mother. Easy circumstances had long disappeared; but by dint of privations, working late and early, and good courage, they provided for absolute necessity. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph gave themselves up to hard labor, and He to a certain extent, what we do not know; and the public life of Jesus Christ casts certain brilliant lights upon his hidden life, and that of the Blessed Virgin. We will endeavor to fill up this void with all that reserve, and all that conscientious application, which so grave a subject demands. Jesus, in whom were hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, had no need of being taught by men; therefore every 1 St. Justin, martyr (Dialog. cum Tryphone), relates that Jesus Christ helped his father to make yokes and ploughs. And Godescard, t. xiv. p. 436, Vie de la Sainte Vierge, says, “A very ancient author assures us, that in his time yokes were shown which our Saviour had made with his own hands.” 66 IIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. gospel. The model of men, the WoRD incarnate, would, no doubt, teach his followers to separate the pure gold of prayer from the monstrous alloy of ostentation and hypocrisy which the Pharisees of his time were accustomed to mix up with it. The Blessed Virgin, who was never importunate or exacting, made no sort of opposition to this retirement; she knew that Jesus then sounded the depths of the immeasurable abyss which opened beneath the feet of the human race, and that the redemp- tion of the world would be the fruit of these silent meditations. Respecting the labors of that mighty mind which redoubled upon itself, and looking to the future glory which every moment brought nearer and nearer, Mary already saw the heavens opened, death vanquished, and the Messias rallying all nations beneath his standard. But on a sudden the prophecy of the aged man in the temple presented itself, dark as a funeral bier, at the end of this enchanted perspective; a cold chill ran through the veins of the poor mother, and her heart, in which the love of Jesus had so large a share, melted in infinite agony. A secret voice cried out to her, “There must be an expiation of blood Christ must die!” Then, humbly laying down the work to which she was condemned by her indigence,” the daughter of David came to look after her Son; she wanted to see him, to make sure, in a maternal embrace, that he was still there, that he was still alive! When he saw her, Jesus cast down his pensive eye, which had been fixed upon the stars; his youthful forehead, contracted by a thought as vast as the world, became again the smooth and shining forehead of the child. Then Mary, shutting up in her heart her sinister fears, advised repose after the long watch. It was necessary to recruit his strength for the following day; the walk would be fatiguing and the labor painful. The Son of God followed his mortal mother in silence, for he loved her, and was subject to her. An extraordinary incident, which overpowered the soul of the Blessed Virgin, marked the entrance of Jesus into the state of adolescence. Joseph and Mary, religious observers of the law of their fathers, went up regularly every year to Jerusalem, at the time of the Passover. This journey, which they had performed stealthily, and lost in the crowd, as long as the son of the enemy of God had occupied the throne of the Macchabees, had become easier since the exile of Archelaus, and the occupation of the country by the Romans. When Christ had reached his twelfth year, his parents, freed from apprehension on account of Herod, took him with them to Jerusalem. They departed in a body from Nazareth ; and then, as they traveled along, the Hebrew pilgrims divided into small companies, according to age, sex, and family relationship or intimacy. tº Around the Virgin were Mary of Cleophas, sister-in-law of Joseph ; another Mary, designated in the gospel by the name of altera Maria; Salome, the wife of Zebedee, who came from Beth- Saida with her sons and her husband ; Joanna, the wife of Chus, and a number of Nazarenes of her family connections and neigh- borhood. Joseph followed them at some distance, conversing gravely with Zebedee the fisherman, and the ancients of his tribe. Jesus walked amidst some young Galileans, whom the gospel, according to the genius of the Hebrew tongue, has called his brethren, and who were his near relatives.” supposition to the contrary is positively rejected by the Church. St. John also, in his gospel, informs us that the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ considered him as a young man without learning, and the astonishment of the Nazareans to see him so profoundly versed in sacred literature, sufficiently testifies that they had no knowledge of his having been, like St. Paul, educated “at the feet of a master.” The Talmudists and the Jewish authors of the Toldos maintain, on the contrary, that a celebrated rabbin initiated Jesus in the mysteries of science and magic; but setting aside the second part of the assertion, which is absurd, and taking the matter only from a mere human point of view, as the rationalists do, this is evidently false, for two reasons: First, Jesus was neither a zealot, nor a man wedded to traditions; and we see, all through the gospel, that he strongly disapproved of the narrow-minded views, captious distinctions, and low subtleties of the doctors of the synagogue. Secondly, the rabbi Josue Perachia, whom they assign as preceptor, had still to be born, since he flourished a century later. To place Jesus in the midst of the rabbins as a scholar, would be as illogical as to attempt to support an oak by surrounding it with reeds. He did not teach like them, says the evangelist, and this it is easy to conceive, for he derived his wisdom from himself; and his teaching, still taking it from a natural point of view, seems to flow from a soul most elevated, most pure, and upright, and from a mind so vast and so uniformly sound, that assuredly it had not been warped in the disputes of the schools. Strauss admits that all the wisdom and science of the time would not have been able to form a man like Jesus Christ. “If,” says he, “Jesus Christ had exhausted all the tuition of his time, it is no less true that none of those elements sufficed, even by a great deal, to cause a revolution in the world; and the leaven indispen- sable for so great a work, could have been derived only from the depths of his own soul.” His eloquence, like his morality, was his own. It was not the empliatic exaggerations of the rabbins, nor the majestic, striking, and violently-contrasted diction of the ancient prophets; it was, as he himself said, a fountain of living water, reflecting in its course the birds of heaven, the harvests, and the flowers of the fields. This eloquence, perfectly simple, penetrated to the bottom of things, and was allied, without effort, to great thoughts. Each word was a precious seed of virtue; every in- struction cast into the mysterious spaces of the future a long train of light, which was to grow insensibly, and extend to the perfect day of the regeneration of the world. Even those who have audaciously denied his miracles, have not been able to help acknowledging that his words were those of a God.” Jesus was endowed with a soul profound and meditative, which needed an ample space in which to extend itself. Confined during the day to manual labor, which absorbed all his time, he made up at night for his obscure fatigue, and became again lawgiver and prophet in presence of the starry heaven. Standing upon an elevated platform, whence could be seen the mountains and exten- sive woods of the land of Chanaan, he poured forth his soul before the Author of nature, of whom he was the envoy, the Son, and the equal. These communings, all alone with God, in the silence of the night and the desert, and in silent thought, were one of the habits of Jesus Christ; we find many examples of them in the * “I own to you that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me,” says Rousseau; “the sanctity of the gospel speaks to my heart. Look at the books of the philosophers, with all their pomp, how small they are by the side of this Can it be that a book at once so sublime and simple could be the work of men 2 Can it be that he whose history it relates could be him- self but a man 2 Is that the tone of an enthusiast, or of an ambitious secta- 11am 7 What meekness! what purity in his manners! what affecting graceful- ness in his instructions! what sublimity in his maxims what profound wisdom in his discourses. .”—(Emile, t. iii. p. 365.) º * Tertullian says, in the third century, that Mary earned her livelihood by working; and Celsus, in the second century, said that Mary was a woman who had lived by work of her hands. * St. Epiphanius and St. Bernard inform us that in these journeys, the men went in companies separate from the women, and that St. Joseph and LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 67 Among this group of young men, who went before the rest, were distinguished the sons of Zebedee: James, impetuous as the lake of Tiberias on a stormy day; John, younger even than Jesus, whose sweet countenance, by the side of that of his brother, seemed to personify the lamb of Isaias, living in peace with the lion of Jordan. Next to the fishermen of Bethsaida, whom Jesus named later on Boanerges (sons of thunder), were the four sons of Alpheus; James, who was Bishop of Jerusalem, an austere and grave youth, with long flow- ing hair, a pale face, and a cold and mortified appear- ance. Proud of being de- voted as a Nazarene, he gave himself airs of offen- sive superiority over him whom he then considered the son of the carpenter. The virtues and imperfec- tions inherent in the soil were seen in his character; an unshaken firmness, incli- nations upright and relig- ious; but at the same time a strong contempt for all that had not sprung from Abraham, and an excellent opinion of himself. Jude, Simon, and José, the other sons of Alpheus, were youths of rough, simple, and war- like appearance, already arrived at adolescence, and who looked upon the son of the humble Mary as their inferior in every way —a thing which they had a difficulty in shaking off afterwards, as we see in the gospel. And what of Jesus? Jesus pretended to nothing, neither to devotion, nor austerity, nor wisdom, nor knowledge, because he pos- sessed the plentitude of all these things, and people usually affect what they have not. To have seen him, sim- ply attired as an Essenian, his long hair, of the color - of antique bronze, parted over his dark forehead, and gracefully flowing over his shoulders, one would have taken him for David, at the moment when the prophet Samuel saw him come, little, timid, and in the dress of a simple shepherd, to receive the holy CATHEDRAL of ALBY, FRANCE, the Blessed Virgin were in different companies, which was the reason why they did not feel uneasy at first at the disappearance of Jesus, and did not perceive it till the evening, when all the travelers assembled together. * The rabbins have taken occasion from the color of the hair of Jesus, to give way to malicious declamations against him; but what is extraordinary is, that they utter against him precisely the same reproaches as they do against David. “He was red like Esau; he had his blood upon his head; the soul of Esau had passed into him.” They have forgotten nothing but the evil eye with which they favored the prophet king. unction. There was, however, in the brown, soft eye of Christ.” something more than in the eye of his great ancestor, full as it was of poetry and inspiration; something penetrating and divine was discovered in it, which laid bare the thought and sounded the depths of the heart; but Jesus veiled at that time the brilliancy of his look, as Moses did his radiant brow when he came forth from the tabernacle. He walked along, conversing sensibly, but suiting his conversation to his age, with his young relatives according to the flesh, whom he intended to make his apostles; he discerned be- neath their rude exterior, the weight and value of these rough diamonds, who were one day to shine with so great brilliancy, and he loved them in their future career. His expectations were not disappointed; these men, who, like the rest of their nation, had had their dreams of gold and power in connection with the Messias, as his voice cast off all their preju- dices, both national and re- ligious, to adopt a doctrine calumniated, the principles and promises of which, like the maledictions of the old law, spoke of nothing but sufferings to be endured, and persecutions to be un- dergone. They bound them- selves to him by chains so strong, that neither the princes of the earth, nor cold, nor nakedness, nor famine, nor the sword, could separate them from his love; they walked in his footsteps, tramping coura- geously on the thorns which the world strewed in their path, and suffering them- selves to be treated like the refuse of the human race. They were not ashamed, either of the Son of Man, or of his gospel, or of the foolishness of the cross / Why should they? It is for impostors to blush, and the apostles never preached but from their own inti- mate conviction. These upright and guileless hearts gave to their testimony all that could render it credible and sacred among men; * Niceph., Hist. Eccl., t. i. p. 125. His portrait of our Lord, traced after tradition, is the most authentic which has come down to us. The Rev. Mr. Walsh, the author of quite a recent book, devoted to rare or unpublished monuments of the first age of Christianity, has just called our attention to a very curious medal, known as early as the fifth century. The obverse repre- sents the head of our Lord, seen in profile; the hair is parted after the manner of the Nazarites, smooth as far as the ears, and flowing over the shoulders; the beard thick, not long, but forked; the countenance handsome as well as the bust, over which the tunic falls in graceful ſolds. 68 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. they abandoned everything, suffered everything, forgave everything, and sealed with their blood the gospel of their divine master." But at the time of which we are speaking, these heroic virtues were not even yet expanded, and these youthful Galileans little thought that they should one day give their lives in support of the divinity of their traveling companion. At the end of four days' journey, the pilgrims reached the Holy City, whither an immense concourse of foreign Jews flocked together.” The family of Joseph and Mary assembled to eat the paschal lamb, which the priests had the charge of immolating between the two vesper hours,” in the court of the temple; to this they added unleavened bread, wild lettuces, and whatever appertained to this ancient ceremony. The days of the feast being over, the relations of Christ assembled to return to their province. As they returned in the same order in which they had come, the holy couple did not at first perceive that Jesus was missing. Mary thought he was with Joseph, or with the two named James; Joseph, for his part, thought he was with his young relations, or with Mary. In the evening, the several companies assembled together, and the Blessed Virgin sought, but in vain, for Jesus in the crowd of travelers who arrived in succession at the caravansary; no one knew what had become of our Saviour. The grief of the two holy spouses was inexpress- ible. “The deposit of heaven, the Son of God "muttered Joseph, sorrowfully. “My son "said the poor young mother, with a voice drowned with tears. They sought him all night, they sought him all day, calling after him along the road, calling out his name in the woods, looking anxiously down the precipices, sometimes fear- ing for his life, sometimes for his liberty, and not knowing what they should do if he was lost. They re-entered Jerusalem, ran to all their friends, and weary with going about the quarters of that great city, they at last made their way into the temple. Under- neath the portico, where the doctors of the law were, was a child, who delighted the ancients of Israel by the depth of his under- standing, and the clearness of his answers to the most difficult questions; they gathered round him, and every one was in admira- tion at his precocious and miraculous wisdom. “It is either Daniel or an angel,” they said, at a little distance from the afflicted Virgin. “It is Jesus!” said the young mother, pressing forward towards the place where the doctors were. Then, coming up to the Messias with the expression of extreme tenderness, which in a manner ex- tinguished the last reflex of sorrow : “My son,” she said, sweetly, “why hast thou done so to us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing !” The child was eſtaced before the God; the answer was dry and mysterious. “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?” The holy couple kept silence; they did not at first understand the meaning of the answer of the Messias. Jesus rose up and followed them to Nazareth ; his perfect sub- mission to their will speedily effaced this slight cloud. “And his mother kept all their words in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and age, and grace with God and man.” ARY AT THE PREACHING OF JESUS.—“There are two worlds in our history,” as one of the finest geniuses of our age has said, “the one beyond the cross, the other before it.” The primitive world, fallen into decrepitude at the time of the regenerating mission of Jesus Christ, presented a strange spectacle, for the burlesque lent a hand there to the horrible. The Arab and the Gaul, after having retained for ages the primitive idea of the unity of God, adored the acacia and the oak;" the Hindoo made a divinity of the Ganges, and sacrificed human victims to Sactis, the goddess of death ; the Egyptian, that wisest of all people, paid devout worship to garlic, to the lotus, and almost every bulbous- rooted plant;" the unknown populations of young America adored the tiger, the vulture, storms, and roaring cataracts; in fine, the Greeks and Romans, by their own acknowledgment, filled their temples with demons,” and these nations so refined, so polished, who abounded in men of superior genius, had defied vice in its most hideous shades, and peopled their Olympus with robbers, adult- erers, and murderers. Morals corresponded with creeds; corrup- tion, rushing down like a vast torrent from the heights of the seven imperial hills, inundated all the provinces. Judea, which had not escaped the contagion of vice any more than other countries, grew depraved with frightful rapidity; her religion no longer rested on fundamental dogmas, but on an innumerable multitude of para- sitical superfetations, and the reveries of her rabbins were enthroned on the chair of Moses." - In the midst of these deplorable aberrations, what became of proud reason, that queen of intelligences, who takes her own narrow horizon for the boundaries of the universe, and places the gods upon the bed of Procrustes? Where did she hold her empire? Where had she planted her standard, while on every side breaches were made in her bulwarks? If she could without foreign aid reconquer the territory which she had lost, why did she not do so? But she felt that the torrent would over- flow her weak embankments, and, unable to restrain it, she was content to observe its ravages. Supported by philosophy, she groaned over the inanimate remains of the social body whose fall she had been unable to prevent: Christianity supervened, who said to the corpse, “Arise and walk l’’ . And it was done according to her word. - From that day a new race, healed of all its evils, washed from all its defilements in the sacred piscina, assembled round the cross which the Son of Mary had planted on the regenerated earth, as the trophy of God over hell. . . . - * Pascal has said, “I willingly believe these histories, whose witnesses expose themselves to death.” * The feast of the Passover collected together at Jerusalem as many as two million five hundred thousand persons.—(De Bello, lib. vii. c. 17.) Cestus, wanting to persuade Nero that the Jewish nation was not so contemptible as he believed it to be, had the people numbered by priests. At the feast of the JPasch, there were slain two hundred and fifty-six thousand six hundred lambs; there was a lamb for each family. * That is, from noon, or one o'clock, till sunset.—(Basn., t. v. liv. vii. c. 2.) * The l’agan Gauls of the sixth and seventh centuries made gods of oak- trees; they burned torches before these trees, and invoked them as if they could hear; the enormous stones which were near these trees participated in the honor which was paid to them.—(Hist, ecclésiastique de Bretagne, t. iv., seventh century; Capitul. Caroli Magni, lib. i. tit. 64.) * The sarcasm of Juvenal is well known: “O sanctas gentes, quibus hæc mascuntur in hortis Numina.”—(Sat. xv. v. 10.) - * Prophyrius, who so well knew the foundations of polytheism, acknowl- edges that the demons were the objects of worship among the Gentiles. “There are,” says he, “spirits impure, deceitful, malevolent, who would pass for gods, and get themselves adored by men: they must be appeased, lest they should do us mischief. Some, who are lively and joyous, allow them. selves to be propitiated by shows and games; the gloomy temper of others requires the odor of fat, and feeds on bloody sacrifices.” * * * * * * * * : * > --> . " It is a maxim among the Jews that the covenant was made with them on Mount Sinai, not on the footing of the written law, but on that of the oral law. They annul the former to enthrone the latter, and reduce all religion finally to tradition. This corruption had risen to such a height among the Jews, even in the time of our Lord, that he reproaches them, in St. Mark, with having destroyed the word of God by their traditions. But it is much worse in these days; they compare the sacred text to water, and the Misnah, or Talmud, to the best wine; moreover, the written law is salt, but the Tal- mud is pepper, cinnamon, etc. LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GO.D. - This glorious revo- || lution, which set char- || ity on the throne, and placed all the virtues in her train,_this ever-memorable event, which changed the face of the world, and the echo of which will make itself heard even to the consummation of ages, had Naza- reth for its starting- point; from the hol- low of that nameless rock flowed humble Christianity, “an ob- scure spring, a drop of water unnoticed, where two sparrows could not have slaked their thirst, which one ray of the sun might have dried up, and which at this day, as the great ocean of minds, has filled up every abyss of human wisdom, and bathed with its never-failing waters the past, present, and the future, even through the ages of ages. We know nothing of the means which prepared this great fact, which holds so high dominion over the history of modern times. From the time of his manifestation in the temple, the Son of God led a life hidden and contemplative, between his adoptive father and his mother. This period, lost to the world, was doubtless that in which the Virgin passed her most tranquil days. It is not when human life moves on in commotion, like a wintry torrent, that it is the most happy; it is when it resembles the course of that water which meanders in a silvery thread among the grass of the mead- ows. Mary, deprived indeed of all the enjoyments of luxury, and all the sweets of ease, but living with her Son, working for him, studying his inclinations, seeing him at all times, offering herself to him as the first fruits of his sacred harvest; making herself the first, the most humble, the most docile of his disciples, and bowing down her matured reason before the superior reason and divinity of her Son, Mary must then have been a happy mother | If, at those times when Jesus revealed to her the most profound sense of the prophecies, he met with some passage which spoke of sufferings to be undergone, a dark cloud spread over the chaste brow of the Virgin; but soon her sweet and gracious coun- tenance recovered a little serenity. The storm mur- mured as yet at a distance, and their bark was moored in a tranquil bay. Her son was there! she hung upon his looks, his words, and his smallest actions. How eager was she to serve him—her Son! how hap- pily did she sit up whole nights to spin and to weave his tunics for labor, his holiday garments, that seam- less coat, a masterpiece of ingenuity and patience, which later on . . . . but at this time the “Lord had anointed his Christ with an oil of gladness only.” A companion of the spouse, the wise Virgin of the K º º º \ º º iº == H BASILICA CHURCH of ST. John LATERAN, Royſe. gospel, “left the morrow to provide for itself,” “and the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, kept her heart and her mind.” Jesus was perfection itself, the omniscient, thrice holy, surpassing all in power and wisdom; as God, he could be indebted for nothing to creatures, but as man he owed something to Mary. She it was who initiated him, from his earliest infancy, in the humble virtues inherent in humanity, and in her own simple and poetic tastes. That patient and unalterable meekness which he knew how to unite with the firmness of a legislator and a prophet; that merciful compassion which tempered the indignation of an irritated God, and rendered him, HIMSELF, the model man, the accomplished just one, the support of sinful man; that tenderness which was all good, all unaffected towards children, whom he loved to caress and bless during his divine mission; a thousand imperceptible shades, a thousand reflexes, half-absorbed in the large masses of light, which composed the mortal life of Jesus Christ, bear the impress of Mary.' Thus does heaven readily accept the aroma of flowers, though flowers are the daughters of earth. It cannot be doubted that Jesus returned the Vir- gin tenderness for tenderness, and solicitude for solici- tude; a woman so noble in blood and heart had certain claims upon all, and above all upon a Son, for the love of whom she had imposed upon herself, in: the spring-time of her age, so many privations, labors, and sacrifices. HE, who will take account in heaven 1 Nel vestire il Verbo d’umana carne non gli diede ella (la Vergine) punto, o di potenza, o di Santità, o di giustizia che egli (Gesù) gia da se solo non possedesse; ma gli die molto bensi di misericordia.-(P. Paolo Segneri, Magnificat spiegato.) 70 I, IITE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. of a cup of cold water given in his name, must have affectionately preserved the memory of the obligations he was under to Mary; and if we perceive in the gospel, that he sometimes spoke to his divine Mother less like her son than her Lord, it was because at those times he divested himself of his earthly appendages, the more to glorify his Father, whose interests always held the fore- most place in his view. The Virgin knew too well the sacred mis- sion of her Son, to be uneasy at his words, which were sometimes severe; she waited for the legislator to give place to the young Galilean whom she had fed with her milk, and the transformation was never slow in coming; the human nature soon granted what the divine nature had refused. At the time when Jesus had attained his twenty-ninth year, the angel of death came to decimate the Holy Family. Joseph, that patriarch of ancient manners, whose submissive faith and simplicity of heart, recalled the remenbrance of Abraham and the era of his tent, Joseph, whom the Holy Ghost himself has adorned with the beautiful name of “just,” sweetly fell asleep in the bosom of the Lord, between his adopted Son and his chaste spouse. Jesus and Mary wept over him, and made a mournful vigil of the dead over his cold remains; the midnight breeze mingled with the lamenta- tions of the poor family: the Nabals of Galilee died more sumptu- ously, though, as they lowered their heads to pass under the sunken gate of the tomb, they had not the magnificent hopes of the car- penter of Nazareth. The funeral of the son of David was humble, like his fortune; but Mary shed abundant tears over his funeral couch, and the Son of God conducted this simple mourning. What emperor ever obtained the like obsequies? At length, the time for preaching the gospel approached, and HE, whom God destincd from all eternity to be its high priest and apostle, left Nazareth, to repair to the banks of Jordan, where John baptized. There must have been an affecting and solemn scene of adieu between the Virgin and her Son. of Jesus was about to commence. Alone, poor, sprung from .the people, without any resource but his courage, his patience, and that gift of miracles which he never used for his own personal benefit, he went forth to confront an order of things, “not strong enough to resist him, but strong enough to cause his death.” The Virgin could not help a feeling of alarm at seeing Jesus embark upon this stormy sea of the Jewish world, where so many prophets, and so illustrious, had been wrecked. She knew the insurmount- able pride of the Pharisees, the narrow and malignant fanaticism of the princes of the synagogue, the sanguinary caprice of Herod Antipas ; she knew also the oracles relating to the Messias, which spoke of suffering and ignominyl . . . The daughter of the kings of Juda, who was not of the race of the feeble, and who knew that her Son was God, had not her soul the less wounded by this first separation, which seemed to her the prelude and image of a separation cruel in a very different way. She let Jesus depart with her heart bursting with agony.; and when the sound of his foot- The public life steps grew fainter in the distance, when she found herself alone— entirely alone—in that house where she had spent so many sweet hours, between her Son and her spouse, she hid her head in her hands, and remained silent and thoughtful, like the statue of grief upon the stone of a mausoleum. The absence of CHRIST was prolonged; the Virgin learned with profound admiration, but without surprise, the wonders of his baptism, during which the Trinity had, in a manner, become palpable and revealed to men. They told her of the white dove, extending his divine wings over the Saviour, and that, at the same time, a voice from heaven proclaimed the Son of the Most High. This joy, however, gave place to an extreme anxiety, when she knew that Jesus, when scarcely come forth from the waters of the Jordan, had penetrated into the deep and perilous defiles of the high mountain of the Quarantaine," to prepare himself for the work of the salvation of the world, by fasting, meditation, and prayer. How much she must have suffered, when she thought how Jesus was wandering in a labyrinth of bare rocks, where the bird finds not a blade of moss for its nest, or a wild berry to sup- port its little life, where all is stones and heat! What anguish did she feel when the tempest howled out of doors | Where was Jesus? What was he doing, alone and unsheltered, on those high mountains of Jericho, where the steep paths, full of rolling stones, wind among frightful precipices?” No means of saving himself if his foot slipped on the edge of an abyss l No help if during this fast, so complete, so long, so little proportioned to the strength of nature, he fell through weakness on the way. These forty days were to Mary forty ages, maternal anxiety making of every minute thus passed an eternity; but Jesus returned to Nazareth with his disciples, and his beloved presence was to Mary like the breath of spring after the cold of winter. Then it was that the marriage took place at Cana, in Galilee. The married couple, who were related to the Blessed Virgin,” invited Mary, Jesus, and his disciples. All of them accepted this cordial invitation, and the Virgin, ever good and obliging, took the lead in forwarding the preparations for this feast, where the national customs required a certain degree of splendor. The assembled company was numerous, and the family were poor; the bridegroom had not calculated well, and the bottles of wine were almost exhausted, when our Lord, who was pleased to elevate marriage to the rank of holy things, by purifying it by his holy presence, entered the banqueting-room, followed by Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael, four young fishermen, whom he had impressed with confidence in his character. The wine failed entirely in the middle of the repast, and Mary, having been the first to perceive it upon a sign of distress given by the newly mar- ried couple, turned her head towards Jesus, who was seated near her, and said to him significantly, “They have no wine.” Jesus answered in a low and emphatic voice, “Woman, what is it to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come.” * The desert where Jesus Christ fasted during forty days, which procured it the name of the Quarantaine, is situated in the mountains of Jericho, at about a mile from this town, and towards the east bank of the Jordan. The mountain of the Quarantaine is one of the highest on the north side, pre- senting a deep abyss, hollowed out of the base as if to prevent access to it; from the west to the north it exhibits a succession of steep rocks, which open in several places, and contain caves. The only way to reach the fourth part of the height of the mountain from the foot, is by a slope extremely steep, covered with pebbles, which roll about under one's feet. When you have reached this fourth part, you find a small path, very narrow, which ends in a small flight of steps, surrounded by horrible precipices, to the top of which you must climb, with the greatest danger, by means of a few stones, which project a little in certain places, to which you are obliged to cling with feet and hands; and if these supports should fail, you would fall from the height of the rock down a frightful precipice.—(Voyages de Jesus Christ, 11me voyage.) * The Sacred retreat where the God-man spent forty days in a natural cave, which is reached only after climbing up a path cut in the rock. A recess has been made in one side of it, as if to set up an altar. Some fres- coes are to be seen there, almost effaced, which represent angels. A thick wall encloses this sort of chapel, which is lighted by a window, from which you cannot look down without terror.—(Ibid.) * The Oriental tradition, which the Mahometans have received from the Christians, is that St. John the Evangelist was the bridegroom of the mar- riage feast of Cana, and that, after witnessing the miracle which Jesus Christ performed there, he immediately left his spouse to follow him. “The answer of our Saviour to his Holy Mother must have been, as we should say, aside; the gospel narrative gives us so to understand. It was LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 71 The Virgin, wishing to spare her relatives a humiliation which would have filled them with confusion, did not consider this a refusal; she judged that, if the hour of manifestation was not come, CHRIST, notwithstanding his austere words, would anticipate it for her sake; and with that faith which would remove mountains, she said softly to the waiters, “Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.” Now there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the manner of purifying of the Jews; and by the command of Jesus, they were filled to the brim from a neighboring spring; and this water was changed into delicious wine. Thus it was that the Blessed Virgin had the first fruits of the miracles of her divine Son, and that her intercession caused even the will of God to bend in her favor. The miracle of Cana was soon followed by many others, which marked the high and providential mission of our Saviour with the seal of the Divinity. At his voice the storms were hushed, human infirmities disappeared, the devils sunk back to their gloomy kingdom, dead bodies came forth from the tomb, and, upon that corner of the earth where his blessed feet trod, there was made a great heal- ing of all sufferings of soul and body." They came to him from Sidon, Tyre, Idu- mea, and Arabia; and crowds of people, gathering together on his way, kissed the hem of his garments, and humbly begged of him health and life, things which God alone can give. Mary, whom our Lord had not yet thought fit to associate with him in his painful and wandering life, heard these extraordinary accounts with a joy mingled with trouble and an uneasy admiration. Her alarm was well founded; for, if the people followed the Messias, loading him with benedictions, the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the princes of the synagogue began to be greatly scandalized,—worthy souls 1–at the conduct of the Son of God. He forgave sins; blasphemy He consoled and converted sinners; degradation He healed the sick on the Sab- bath-day; crying and notorious impiety His doctrine fell from impossible in the outset that Jesus Christ should have made this enigmatical answer aloud to his mother; the guests, who were not in the secret, would have considered it as something very harsh to Mary. It is evident that the waiters, by their listening to what the Blessed Virgin said to them, were igno- rant of the apparent refusal of our Saviour. * A Mussulman poet has depicted in graceful verses, this command which Jesus Christ exercised over the maladies of the soul; the following is a translation from the French version of D'Herbelot: “The heart of the afflicted draws all its consolation from thy words. “The soul recovers its life and vigor from only hearing thy name pronounced. “If the mind of man can ever rise to the contemplation of the mysteries of the Divinity, “It is from thee that he derives his light to know them, and it is thou who givest him the attraction with which he is penetrated.” ECCE HOMO. his lips like a beneficent dew, and not like stormy rain; then he was not at all like the ancient prophets | He preached humility, the forgiveness of injuries, voluntary poverty, alms given for God's sake, universal charity! What novel doctrine was all this! A multitude of enemies rose up against him every time that he preached, whether in the desert or in the cities. He could not attack hypocrisy without coming into collision with the Pharisees, or declaim against avarice without alienating from himself the doctors of the law; the discontented, ever ready to contrive dark plots which broke out into mad and sanguinary revolts, were scandalized at him for not preaching sedition against Caesar; the Herodians accused him of aspiring to the throne; and the Saddu- cees could not endure that he should proclaim eternal life. These men, divided in views, creeds, and political interests, made a truce with their absurd an- tipathies out of hatred for the Galilean; they girded them- selves with the intention of injuring him, and pressed for- ward against him to destroy him. Every word was a snare, every smile was a treason. Some treated him unsparingly as an imposter and a Samar- itan; others gently hinted that he was a madman; the dense mass of the envious, tired of the praises which the people gave to this new prophet, and unable to deny his miracles, disputed his claim to them, to give the honor of them to Satan. “If he casts out devils,” said they, “it is by Beelzebub, the prince of devils: in Beel- zebub, principe daemoniorum, ejicit doemonia.” These vague rumors alarmed Mary, and the bad spirit of her own neigh- borhood was little calculated to encourage her. Of all the cities of Galilee, Nazareth was the most unbelieving and hard- ened against the sacred Word; of all the families of Nazareth, the family of Jesus Christ was apparently the least disposed to accept him for the kingly Messias. As the divine parturition of the Virgin had never been revealed to her relations, and as the miracles which had been displayed during the infancy of the Lord had taken place in distant countries, they saw nothing in the supposed son of Joseph but a young Israelite N \\\\\\ \\ \, \\ A Christian could not have explained himself more energetically, observes the learned Orientalist. * The Methnevi-Manevi, speaking of the impotent and envious hatred of the Jews against Jesus Christ, expresses its opinion in these terms against those attacks which are so common against all that meet with success, attacks which are, in the end, hurtful to those only who make them. “The moon sheds her light and the dog barks,” says the Persian author, “but the barking of the dog does not hinder the moon from shining. Sweepings are cast into the current of a river, and these ordures swim on the surface of the water without stopping or disturbing it. The Messias, on the one hand, raises the dead to life, and you see, on the other, the Jews, gnawed with envy, biting their nails and plucking their beards.”—(Hussein-Vaez. D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient.) - 72 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. without learning, brought up among themselves, fed like them- selves, more poorly lodged, more simply clad, and living from day to day by very hard labor, which connected him only with the lower classes. his own portion, suffered the consequences of the position which he had chosen. “His brethren,” says St. John, “did not believe in him.” The fame of the miracles which accompanied the preaching of the gospel astonished these obstinate Nazareans, without the power to convince them. Knowing that Jesus was saluted through- out Galilee by the dangerous title of son of David, and that crowds of two or three thousand persons ran to hear him, they were afraid that these numerous assemblies would give umbrage to Herod Antipas, and that they themselves might be molested on account of the young prophet. With this idea they said publicly that Jesus was insane, and swore that they would take him back to Nazareth well guarded. Mary, they induced her to come with them to Capharnaum, that they might approach him under the authority of her name. The Messias was teaching in the synagogue, in the midst of a crowd of attentive and silent hearers, when the Nazareans arrived. Displaying ostentatiously an authority which they were not sorry to magnify in the sight of the multitude, as St. John Chrysostom remarks, they deliberately caused our Saviour to be informed that his brethren and his mother were outside inquiring for him; but Jesus, reading the secret thoughts of his relations according to the flesh, and laying hold of this circumstance to extend the limits of the old law by adopting solemnly and without respect of persons the whole family of mankind, made this admirable answer to the indiscrect message of his relatives, “Who is my mother, and who are ny brethren?” Then casting his eyes over his numerous disciples, “My mother and my brethren,” he exclaimed, “are they who hear the word of God, and do it.” After this severe repri- mand, which the sons of Alpheus may have understood, the Son of God went out immediately, says St. John Chrysostom, “to pay his mother all the honor which propriety required of him.” When he had greeted Mary, and remained some time with her on the seashore, our Saviour went up into a ship, whence he began to teach the people. The Virgin, hidden among the crowd, but profoundly attentive, heard in religious silence the parable of the sower. The Nazareans, petrified by the irresistible eloquence and superhuman dignity of Jesus Christ, asked themselves, in surprise, if he really was the son of Mary: they experienced that sort of fascination which charms the serpent of the American Savannahs, when he hears in the depths of the woods soft music which attracts him. They had come with the celerity of fear, with the eloquence of egotism, with the arrogance of superiority, to turn Christ from his compromising and perilous mission, and they were 'so far dis- abled by his very look as to be afraid to open their mouths in his presence. This is clearly indicated by the text of St. Mark, who, after initiating us into their hostile intentions, does not give us anywhere to understand that they even dared to speak to our Lord. Some time after this, Jesus returned to Nazareth. Great was the joy of the Blessed Virgin. To see her Son seated on the same mat on which he sat in his childhood, eating the bread which he had broken as he blessed it; to take him stealthily to the bedside of some poor sick person, whom he restored to health, enjoining him secrecy; to see him powerful in words and works, he who had so long been the man of silence and labor; this was too much happiness in the cup of her existence Accordingly God, who afflicts those whom he loves, soon mixed with it a drop of gall, On the Sabbath-day, the Son and the Mother went together to the synagogue. A great concourse of people had assembled there to See and hear Jesus; but the eagerness of the Nazareans had not Christ, who would ennoble poverty, by taking it for Concealing this family conspiracy from that character of confidence and respectful attention which CHRIST had so often met with elsewhere. There they were, scandalized already at what the Son of Mary was to say and do, and admira- bly disposed to stone him if opportunity offered. There are countries decidedly hostile to all that does them honor, even till the grass grows upon the tomb of what they envy. One of the ancients, however, handed to the Saviour of men the book of the prophet Isaias; and Jesus, unrolling the parchment, read this passage, with simple gracefulness and marvelous dignity, —“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me: wherefore he hath annointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the contrite heart; to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of reward.” Having closed the book, he sat down, and speaking with that animated and natural eloquence which made so strong an impression upon his hearers, he applied the oracle relating to the Messias to himself, and taught, not like a disciple of the synagogue, but as the actual master of the synagogue. A low murmur ran through the assem- bly. Some were in admiration at the power and gracefulness of his words; others, faithful to their system of contemptuous defamation, said aloud, “Is not this the carpenter's son 7” And Jesus, penetra- ting into their thoughts, and reading as in an open book those false and envious hearts, hurled at them those words, so true, which have become proverbial, “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.” As he knew that they had a mind to ask him for prodigies, like those of which Capharnaum had been the theatre, he told them plainly that their unbelief had made them unworthy of them, and that to obtain miracles, these must be solicited with faith. Thence, in allusion to the propaga- tion of his gospel, and to that wild olive engrafted on the old trunk of the synagogue, which symbolized the vocation of the Gentiles: “In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months: when there was a great famine throughout all the land : and to none of them was Elias sent, but to a widow at Sarepta of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elias the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian.” These last words were the drop of water which makes the vessel run over. Wounded in their national pride, in their hereditary antipathies, in their traditional expectations, all those of the syna- gogue were filled with anger which called for blood. “And they rose up and thrust him out of their city; and they brought him to the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” Seated among the women of the people in a latticed tribune, the Virgin had observed, with anxiety mingled with fear, the increased progress of the storm. Reading the sinister projects of the Naza- reans in their haggard eyes and furious gestures, she did not hesi- tate to brave danger to force a passage to her Son; but her strength deceived her courage.- Those Jews ran,—they who had always light feet to shed blood; and Mary, trembling like a leaf, scarcely able to support herself, walked at a distance after them, as if in a dream. She sees Jesus on the top of the steep rock which overhangs a frightful precipice; she hears afar off cries for death; her knees give way under her; a mist spreads over her sight; her voice expires in a sorrowful moaning; she falls, broken down like a blossomed bough which the tempest has torn off in its course, and remains stretched out with her face on the ground upon the hill. Meanwhile the wolves, furious in pursuit of the lamb, had been deceived in their expectation; the hour of sacrifice had not yet struck for the Son of Man, and no one could take his life unless he LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 73 ains, gray and streaked with fire; and in the sandy plain where flying along, on their coursers fleet as the wind, some wild sons of the desert, armed with those long lances of cane from the banks of the Euphrates, which they used from the times near to the deluge, OUR LORD BEARING HIS CRoss. if we believe the legends of Persia. Clouds of violet of the richest tint, or of delicate rose-color paler at the edges, floated like flowers in the deep blue of the sky, and the nightingale was singing in the tall sycamores which overshadow the sacred river of Palestine : gave it. Striking this murderous crew with blindness,” Jesus passed through the midst of his enemies without being known by them, and took again the road to Capharnaum, where his mother, Mary of Cleophas, and the sons of Alpheus came to rejoin him. After having preached the gospel in the environs of the beautiful lake of Tiberias, the waves of which shine like light, and wrought the great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves in the desert of Bethsaida, Jesus reascended the Jordan with his disciples to go to Caesarea Philippi, the an- cient Dan of Nephtali, the name of which Philip, the son of Herod, had lately changed; and he visited as he passed the towns and villages situated on his way. It was probably at this time—for Euthymius,” who relates this traditionary fact, leaves the date undecided– that the waters of the Jor- dan, already sanctified, be- held an affecting ceremony. Jesus, the Virgin, and the apostles, directed their steps, one day at sunrise, towards this deeply-enclosed river, which runs through two lakes, says Tacitus, and rushes into the third.” Mag- nificent vegetation adorned its banks; islets rising here and there from its humid bosom, displayed themselves in the midst of its gilded waves, like graceful bas- kets of verdure, fruits, and flowers; blue herons hovered over these flowery isles, where ring-doves and white turtle-doves still hung their nests of moss upon the branches of the wild pome- granate-trees. The dew sparkled upon the green branches of the willows, like a shower of pale dia- monds; and the rushes of - the Jordan, which sometimes conceal tigers, bent softly beneath the light breeze, which moved the tops of the palm-trees, from which hung fine bunches of dates, of the color of coral. In the distance, on the opposite bank, troops of gazelles were seen bounding on the declivities of high mount- * The oldest heretics, opening the door to modern rationalism, which decks itself out in their old rags, without acknowledgment, insisted that our Lord had passed through, by means of an illusion produced by a fog, “illudere per caliginem.” Tertullian strongly opposes this supposition. *According to St. Euthymius, our Lord baptized only the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter, who afterwards baptized the other apostles. “Some,” says this abbot, who flourished in Palestine in the fourth century, “have written that Jesus Christ himself baptized the Virgin and Peter.” * “Nec Jordanes pelago accipitur; sedunum atque alterum lacum integer perfluit; tertio retinetur.”—(Taciti, Historiarum, lib. v.) 74 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. sionate bosom of Mary. The immaculate Virgin had received in her arms and pressed to her heart the grievous sinner, and culti- vated in this soil, fertile but long left waste, those flowers which expand for heaven. After many sufferings, many terrors too long to relate, the Vir- gin entered Jerusalem, the fatal city, in company with Jesus Christ, to celebrate the last Passover which the Lord kept with his disciples. She saw the inhabitants of the city of kings come in crowds to meet the son of David, who came to them full of meek- ness, riding as the young princes of his race formerly did, and re- ceiving with benignity the simple honors which this multitude, eager to behold their prophet, spontaneously offered him; for Jesus Christ never rejected the humble testimonies of gratitude and love which were offered to him by his creatures. How ever small were these pledges of affection and gratitude, they were received with a divine goodness the moment that they proceeded from the heart. Magdalen, examining by turns her Lord and that multitude of people who made the air resound with their hosannas, wept silently beneath her veil. Mary, too, had her eyes moist with tears; but her look was turned to the north-west, in the direction of Calvary. ARY ON CALVARY.-The palms which the children of the Hebrews had cast beneath the feet of CHRIST still strewed with their green tufts the rugged road of Bethania; the echo of the valley of cedars' still muttered the dying sounds of those cries of triumph and joy, with which the daughters of Sion had saluted the King who came to them poor, when Jerusalem was deeply moved by a new event of great and sad importance. The princes of the priests, the senators, and Pharisees sought to get possession, even at the price of gold, and without shrinking from domestic treason, of a great criminal, who, as they said, placed both religion and the state in danger. This man must indeed have been very dangerous since these honorable personages had bound themselves to an extraordinary fast to lay hold of him,” and had indeed distributed on this occasion some alms throughout the city with sound of trumpet. The Pharisees, those conscientious Jews, who plundered none but the uncircumcised, and who would have left their neighbor at the bottom of a pit on the Sabbath-day, though they would have speedily drawn out their ox or their ass, had undertaken to spread among the people—whom it is so easy to make impression upon and to deceive—frightful reports and vague rumors, which had thrown them into a kind of feverish anxiety, from which they could not free themselves but by a fit of ferocity. Things being thus prepared, a well-armed troop were seen, one evening, coming down from Mount Moria, in which were some senators, and which was commanded by the captain of the guards of the temple;” the troop of servants of the princes of the priests came after, and at the head of this battalion, which marched on with a measured step by the light of those large lanterns which the Asiatics fix upon long poles, to raise them up high, and of some resinous torches, was a man with a low forehead, an irresolute look, and an abject countenance, whose girdle was swelled out with gold robbed from the poor," to which he already added in imagina- tion the thirty pieces of silver which he was, to earn, by delivering up to the princes of the synagogue—too Jewish to pay for his nature held a festival for the baptism of Mary. The Virgin was dressed in white, according to the custom of the Hebrews when they individually took part in any religious ceremony, and she stood grave and profoundly recollected by the side of her Son and Saviour; they both went down into the river. Then, lifting up with his divine hand the Oriental veil of his fair and holy Mother, Christ looked upon her with his sweet and penetrating look of infi- nite tenderness; then he poured upon the Virgin's forehead the sacred water of regeneration, and baptized her in the name of the Trinity, HE who was himself one of the Three Divine Persons. It was then that the Blessed Virgin broke through her solitary habits to follow her Son in his journeys. She had served him for thirty years, on a foreign soil and in the land of her fathers; she had worked for him, wept over him, suffered for him, and adored him without ever failing, night and morning in his cradle while he still slept there, as Albert the Great informs us. It was natural that following his persecuted fortunes, she should leave the peaceful roof which had witnessed her birth to walk in his blessed footsteps, while he preached the gospel to the Hebrews. Amid the agitations of this life of trouble and alarm, the Virgin was admirable as ever. Loving Jesus more than any mother ever loved her child, and alone able to carry this extreme love without sin to the farthest limits of adoration, she never intruded her presence upon him to divert the short and precious moments of his mission of regenera- tion in favor of her own maternal tenderness; never did she speak to him of her fatigues, fears, sinister forebodings, or personal wants. Mary was not only a holy dove hiding in the clefts of a rock—a pure virgin called to feed with her milk and cradle in her arms a heavenly guest; she was a valiant woman, whom the Lord delighted to place in turn in every situation of life, in order to leave to the daughters of Eve an example to follow, and a model to imitate. ...t would not have been proper for the Mother of God to follow Jesus and his apostles alone throughout Judea; therefore Mary of Cleophas, the mother of James, Simon, Joseph, and Jude, commonly called the brothers of the Lord ; Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee, whom the Lord especially loved ; Joanna, wife of the tetrarch, and several rich women of Galilee, who had made them- selves poor for Jesus Christ, formed the companions of Mary. One among them, a Jewess, young, rich, of noble birth and remarkable beauty, was most affectionately attentive to the divine Mother of her Lord. This woman, whose heart, strong but assaulted by storms, like the waves of the Egean Sea, had burned with a thousand impure flames in the sight of the world, and defied public opinion with mockery and disdain, had come, submissive and peni- tent, to lay down her proud head at the feet of Christ, and to beg of him whom she confessed to be her God, the cure of the maladies of her soul. And the chaste love of the Lord had absorbed all her insane amours, all the worldly attachments of the young lady of Magdalum. She had trampled under her feet her collars of pearls, her chains of gold and precious stones; sold her country house, situated among the rose-laurels which fringe the beautiful Sea of Galilee, and now, with no other ornament than a dress of coarse cloth, and her fine black hair, with which she had wiped the Lord's feet, the young patrician, rich in her alms-deeds, adorned with new virtues, shed her penitent tears on the pure and compas- * Valley of Cedars, the ancient name of the valley of Josaphat. * This anecdote is found in the Toldos, published by IIuldric, p. 56 and 60. *This office is known by the gospel, which often speaks of these captains of the temple, who must be distinguished from the Roman commandant, who kept guard with his cohort round this great edifice to prevent crowds, and those disorderly acts to which the multitude might give occasion. These captains of the temple necessarily were Jews, and were taken from the priestly families; to them were confided the care and the keys of the temple, to provide for the safety of the treasury and the sacred vessels: by right of birth this officer had the liberty to enter into all the counsels of the priests. —(Basn., liv. i. c. 4.) * “Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor 2 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried what was put therein.” —(St. John xii. v. 4, 5, 6.) LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 75 splendidly lighted up in places, sent forth afar the aromatic perfume of the rare plants of her gardens, and waved in the breath of the breeze her clusters of palm-trees, out of which arose white towers of marble. The silence was profound on the side of the mountains, but a slight murmur arose from the bottom of the valley:—Jesus suddenly started. There they are, he thought, and he slowly moved towards the place where he had left three of his apostles, whom he had chosen from all the rest to share his solitary night- watch. Alas! fatigue, or the lulling breath of the wind which made the gray foliage of the olive-trees rustle, had gradually made these negligent sentinels fall asleep. Jesus beheld them asleep for a moment with a holy feeling of grief; he had announced to them that his death was near, that the hour of peril was come, and they were asleep, they, his kins- men, his friends, his chosen disciples, to all appearance indifferent about his danger or his death ! . . . O the vanity of benefits of ties of blood and friend- ship ! . . They were awake enough on Thabor at the hour of the glorious transfiguration, but they slept in the hour of trial and distress | A confused noise was heard in the hollow path which led up to the little village of Gethsemane; and soon the glare of torches shone upon the trees. Then Jesus, leaning over his apostles, who were still asleep, said to them in a low but deep voice, “Arise, let us go! Behold, he that betrayeth me is at hand ſ” He had hardly pronounced these words, when Judas and his band arrived. Coming up to Jesus, with boldness in his eyes, and the smile of hypocrisy on his lips, he pointed him out to the hostile troop who were in search of him, by giving him that sacri- legious kiss which has taken his name. It was the signal agreed upon. Jesus Christ received the traitor with kindness, and said to him with meekness which pierced to the quick, “Friend, whereto art thou come?” Whereto was he come 2 He was come to earn the thirty sicles of silver of the synagogue. Avarice, which is a cold and calculating passion, commits ten times more crimes than vio- lence, and much blacker crimes. Judas had not time to answer this embarrassing question, for all treason beforehand—his master, his friend, his God! For it was the son of David, the triumpher but a few days before, Jesus of Nazareth, the great prophet of Galilee, at whose voice greedy death gave up his prey, and whose commands the winds and the waves respected, whom the ruffians of the chief priests and the Pharisees were going in search of upon the Mount of Olives, whither he retired at night after teaching in the temple, as St. Luke relates. They had not dared to arrest him in open daylight, because they feared some resistance on the part of that multitude of disciples who came to hear him early in the morning beneath the porch of Solomon. The armed troop, headed by the Iscariot, crossed the ravine where flows the Cedron, that torrent of dark waters," which wit- nessed the passage of King David, when he fled with a handful of faithful ser- wants from the rebels in the pay of his son Absa- lom. While the soldiers of the temple followed, silent and savage, along the banks of the torrent in which their torches were reflected, in order to reach the heights of Gethsemane, and while the night wind shook the disheveled tops of the willows, which were soon to see Judas hanging upon one of their branches, a punishment too light for such a traitor, but which is continually increased by the undying contempt of successive generations upon the globe, a sad and solemn scene was passing in that garden of olives where the worthless apostle went in search of his mas- ter on purpose to destroy him. - After praying a long time, on his face on the ground, and undergoing that frightful agony which covered his divine forehead with a sweat of blood, CHRIST had risen up with submissive resignation to the awful will of his Father, and quite prepared to drink the chalice of bitterness to the dregs. He raised up his large, soft, and piercing eyes to the starry heavens, the stars of which told that it was midnight, and high in which shone the moon, that fair lamp of the firmanent, whose use- ful light is blessed by the children of Abraham in their prayers: she was then at the full, and cast a sheet of resplendent light upon that austere passage, where the dark mountains stood out from the limpid blue of heaven. Jerusalem, half-drowned in shade, and 1 The Cedron is a torrent which runs down the valley of Josaphat, between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. It was called Cedron, because it has its course in deep and dark places; its Hebrew name signifies tenebrosus fuit. * The day of the new moon is a festival day for the Hebrews; the women abstain from work, and the devout fast the preceding day. After reciting a number of prayers in the synagogue, they take a repast, at which they are very merry. Three days after, the Jews assemble on a platform, where they STABAT MATER DOLOROSA. look steadfastly at the moon, and bless God by a long prayer for having crea- ted it, and for renewing it, to teach the Israelites that they ought to become new creatures: “O moon! blessed be thy Creator, blessed be He who made thee!” and then they jump three times, as high as they can, and say to the moon, “As we leap towards thee, without being able to touch thee, may our enemies rise up against us without reaching us! .”—(Basn., liv. vii. c. 16.) 76 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. the rest advancing, fell upon Jesus and laid hold on him. Then anger arose in the heart of Ben-Cephas,' the prince of the apostles; he drew his sword, and struck with it one of the servants of the | high priest; but Jesus, restraining that arm which was the only one raised in his defense, commanded that the sword should be returned to its scabbard. “How, then, shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done be immolated for the sins of the world. Then was heard in this enclosed spot mingled sounds of hurried footsteps, broken boughs, and cries of alarm ; and a number of men were seen leaping over the low wall, scarcely three feet high," which surrounded the garden: they were the disciples flying away ! . . . The hostile troop, after binding Jesus like a criminal, returned by the road to the Holy City, and went in the direction of the stone bridge which the Asmonean princes had thrown over the Cedron; but the people of Jerusalem, who had come out in crowds, already occupied it, and tradition relates that Jesus was dragged through this channel of water; which accomplished to the letter the prophecy, “He shall drink of the torrent in the way.” The sacred footsteps of our Saviour and the impression of one of his knees are marked in the bed and on the stone margin of Cedron; at least this is asserted by the Christians of Jerusalem, who still show them. After ascending the hill of Sion, they entered Jeru- salem by the Sterquilinian Gate, and repaired to Caiphas, the high priest, where the scribes and ancients were assembled. The chief priests and scribes then asked Jesus if he was the Christ. “If I shall tell you,” our Saviour meekly answered, “you will not believe me.” “Art thou the Son of God?” asked Caiphas. “I am,” replied Jesus. “He hath blasphemed !” cried the high priest, rending his garments. “He is guilty of death !” said the scribes and Pharisees. “Then did they spit in his face,” and they struck him with their fists, and gave him blows, while they cried out to him, in derision, “Prophecy, CHRIST, who is it that struck thee?” During this time Peter, who had sworn to die rather than abandon him, denied him thrice in the court of the high priest ! The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees dragged Jesus before Pontius Pilate, who was supremely odious to them since the O 9” The Lamb of God desired to affair of the imperial standards, which he had introduced by night into Jerusalem; but as they hated the Son of God much more, and as the Romans alone could condemn him to death,” they were resigned to appear at the pretorium of this idolater, after taking the most minute precautions to avoid exposing themselves to any unclean contact with his garments, his standards, and even his tribunal, which would have rendered them impure for the whole day. After doing everything, therefore, to avoid so serious an inconvenience, these scrupulous men accused Jesus of having per- verted the people by his doctrine, of having opposed their paying tribute to Caesar, and, finally, of having taken the seditious title of the King of the Jews. As many falsehoods as words. Jesus met these false accusations only with silence. Pilate, convinced of the profound wickedness of the accusers, and the perfect innocence of the accused, would have saved Jesus; he did not succeed. The Pharisees, skillful in raising popular tumults, worked up the people, who seditiously demanded the death of the descendant of their ancient kings, and the governor, who knew well how to appease the clamors of the Jews, in a way perfectly Oriental, when he chose to do so, was content tamely to defend against the madmen who wanted to force from him an unjust judgment, the innocent man, whom he ought to have protected with firmness. Wearied with their clamors, overcome by their persistence, the Roman washed his hands of the sentence which he pronounced." After which,-no doubt with a view to excuse him- self for his show of clemency towards Jesus Christ, and to win back the hearts of the populace of Jerusalem, whom he had recently had beaten by his lictors in a commotion,” on occasion of the sacred treasure, which he wanted to grasp largely, under pre- tence of building an aqueduct which they did not want, he had the Son of David and Solomon scourged with rods, while the deicidal people applauded, who had dared to take upon their own heads, and those of their children, the terrible responsibility of his death. This done, he delivered him up, at the same time admiring and lamenting over him,” to the insults of a soldiery whom the princes of the synagogue, who had a positive horror of them, had condescended to corrupt, that their own hatred might be better served;' for they knew how to hate strongly, these zealots for the law of Moses, who would kill and divide CHRIST “for the love of God l’” * Peter Ben-Cephas (Peter, son of Peter); it is by this name that the prince of the apostles is known in the East. * The garden of Gethsemane or of Olives, at the foot of the mountain of that name, is surrounded by a wall three feet high ; its length is two hundred paces, by a hundred and forty broad. There is a rock in it, forming a reddish-colored cave, where it is said the three apostles fell asleep.–(Voyages de Jesus Christ, 44 voyage.) Its name of Gethsemane is derived from the goodness of the soil; in Hebrew, Gethsemane signifies “fertile valley.” * Before Judea had become subject to the Romans, the Sanhedrim possessed the right of life and death; but those conquerers deprived them of that priv- ilege. It was the customs of the Romans to leave the conquered nations their temples and their gods; but in civil matters, they were obliged to follow the laws and orders of the republic. At the time when Jesus Christ was con- demned, the Romans were absolutely masters of temporal jurisdiction, and the authority of the Jewish senate was limited to affairs purely ecclesiastical. The Talmudists recognized it, for they acknowledged that the power of judg- ing was taken away from the senate forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, that is, three years before the death of Jesus Christ. * The decree pronounced by Pilate against our Lord is preserved at Jeru- salem. We give it here, not as an authentic document, but as a local tradi- tion: Jesum Nazarenum, subversorem gentis, contemptorem Caesaris, et falsum Messiam, ut majorum suae gentis testimonio probatum est, dueite ad communis supplicii locum, et cum ludibrio regiae magistatis in medio duorum latronum aſligite. I, lictor, expedi cruces. “Jesus of Nazareth, the sub- verter of the people, the despiser of Caesar, and the false Messias, as it has been proved by the testimony of the ancients of his nation, take ye to the common place of punishment, and crucify him, in derision of his royal majesty, between two thieves. In descript. Jesu.) * Pilate undertook to build an aqueduct with the money of the sacred treasure, to bring water to Jerusalem from a distance of two hundred furlongs. The people, violently irritated against the Roman governor, whose intentions they discovered, assembled in large bodies of several thousand men in the streets and the public squares of Jerusalem, which they made ring with vociferations against Pilate, and there were some even, says Josephus, who . exasperated the governor by gross insults, as it always happens with people in commotion. Pilate, who was not alarmed at a little, made his own people : take great bludgeons under their garments, and surround the populace; when the seditious, after taking breath, recommenced their clamors and insults, Pilate gave the signal to his men to lay on them, and they began to strike more than they were ordered to do, and without any distinction gave great blows with their cudgels as well to those who were silent as to those who made a noise. These poor people, who were unarmed, were thus inhumanly. treated, adds Josephus, with compassionate sympathy for the Jewish outbreak; some were killed, others wounded, and by this means was the tumult appeased. * Tiberias, in consequence of the accounts which came to him from Pontius Pilate, proposed to the senate to grant divine honors to Jesus Christ; Tertul- lian relates it as a well-known fact in his Apology, which he presented to the senate in the name of the Church, and he would not have been willing to weaken a cause so good as his by things where it would have been so easy to confound him.—(Tertull. Apolog. 5; Euseb., Hist. Eccl. ii. 2.) * M. Salvador would ſain exculpate his co-religionists, by imputing to the Roman soldiers the unheard-of outrages which Jesus received in the preto- rium; but it is clear that the Romans acted only by the instigation of the Go, lictor, prepare the crosses.”—(Adricom., LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 77 When Jesus had arrived at the court of the preto- rium, they made him sit down on a broken column,” and the whole cohort did their utmost to disport them- selves with him in the most atrocious and insolent man- ner. It was the season when the dangerous rham- nus"—which long before had entangled in its thorny thickets the symbolical lamb for the sacrifice of Abra- . ham"—was in full flower; one of the soldiers ran to gather a branch of it, and made a mock crown, the flowers of which were soon tinged with his blood, and every thorn gave him a deep and insupportable wound. After stripping him like a slave, they threw over his shoulders a purple rag, they put a reed in his hand for a sceptre, and they saluted, with bitter sarcasms and derisive genuflections, that mockery of royalty. His whole body was but one wound, for the scourges with sharp points had made red pieces of his flesh fly off a long way in the hall of exe- cutions; spittle disfigured # his face, where clots of dark blood settled down here and there from his wounded fore- head, which his fettered hands could not reach . The chief priests, the doctors, and the Pharisees, looked upon this scene with secret satisfaction; these honorable men regarded compassion as baseness of soul!' When the Pharisees thought that the idola- trous soldiers had degraded Jesus in the eyes of the people enough THE CATHEDRAL of CouTANCEs, FRANCE. to destroy the idea of his divinity, the approach of the Sabbath obliging them to hurry, they took their victim, whom the Roman governor gave up to them with reluctance, and, after loading his bleeding and mangled shoulders with the enormous weight of the cross, they urged on, with the staves of their lances, his painful and slow march toward Calvary, where they were going to crucify him. Crowds of spectators lined the streets and stopped up the ways: some openly showed a savage joy, and cried anathema upon the son of David; others pitied the fate of that youthful prophet, who had done moth- ing but good to men, and whom men had forsaken and betrayed. But these signs of barren sympathy made = hardly any impression; the good wept in silence; all those whom he had fed with five loaves in the desert, those whom he had healed, those whom he had loved. were there, lost in the crowd, and no voice protested against his punishment;" that one among the apostles who loved him most had cowardly denied him the rest, with only one exception, had fled away and left him As he painfully passed down the long street which leads to the Judiciary Gate, a woman made her way ... through the crowd: this woman, remarkably beautiful, and bearing in her mild and sweet countenance the image of virtue, seemed wholly absorbed in enemies of Jesus Christ. The following is the opinion of St. John Chrysos- tom on this subject: “It is the Jews themselves who condemn Jesus to death, although they shelter themselves under the name of Pilate. “They desire that his blood should fall upon themselves and upon their children.’ It is they alone who direct all these insults against him, who bind him, who lead him away to Pilate, and who cause him to be dragged along so cruelly by the soldiers. Pilate had not ordered any of these things.”—(Serm. 77, in Matt.) * This pillar, of gray marble, being only two feet high, is at Rome, in the church of St. Praxedes. * Some separate thorns of this crown, in the possession of individuals, are now recognized as the rhamnus spina Christi of Linnaeus. * St. Jerom (in Philem.) says that the ram which Abraham saw in the ºthorn-bush was the figure of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns. “Basn., liv. vi. c. 17. The punishment of the whip was of very ancient usage among the Jews, and was not considered disgraceful. According to the Talmud, kings themselves were subjected to it on certain occasions. “Tra- dition informs us,” says Maimonides, “that the king may not have more than eighteen wives; if he marries one above that number, let him be whipped. If he has more horses than he has need of for the service of his chariot, let him be whipped. If he amasses more gold and silver than he wants for the payment of his ministers, let him be whipped.”—(Maimonid, Halach, Ma- lach., c. 3.) * We read in the Misnah that, in the time when the Jews were governed by their own laws, when a condemned person was conducted to the place of punishment, a herald of arms went before him, on horseback, making this proclamation: “Such an one is condemned for such a crime; if any one can bring forward anything in his defense, let him speak.” If any one came forward, the criminal was taken back, and two judges, who walked one on each side of him, examined the validity of the reasons which it was attempted to substantiate; the prisoner might be led back in this manner as far as five times.—(Misnah, Tract. de Syned., c. vi. p. 223.) Jesus Christ being condemned by the Romans, could not avail himself of this national custom. 78 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. unutterable grief; she suffered so much ; she was so pale; her eyes, which had shed all their tears, cast a look so dead—a look of sorrow so holy upon the frightful wounds of our Saviour—that, when they beheld her, the daughters of Jerusalem muttered with compassion, “Poor Mother ſ” She glided through the people, who made room for her by an instinctive feeling of pity and sympathy. Some of the Pharisees with hardened hearts called Jesus, bathed as he was in perspiration, and ready to die with fatigue beneath the cross, by insulting names; she did not hear them : the foreign soldiers who surrounded her Son made threatening signs to her; she did not see them: but when a number of lances, with their points directed to her breast, were thrust between her and Jesus, there came from her fixed and piercing eyes a lightning flash, which revealed the blood of David, and her fine and inspired head assumed such an expression of sorrowful grandeur, and cool contempt of death, that the soldiers, overcome, slowly lowered their arms before the heroic and saintly woman. Savage as the life of the camp had made them, they remembered their own mothers. Mary turned her trembling steps towards our Saviour; she fixed eyes full of anguish on that humiliated form, dragging himself along, bleeding and half-clothed, beneath a heavy burthen ; on that imposing, merciful, and mild countenance, which she would have feared to ruffle by the slight contact of her chaste lips, and which, now swollen, blue, covered with filth and blood, scarcely retained any longer the image of the Creator. She passed her hand in sorrow across his forehead, as if to make sure that she was not the sport of some horrible hallucination. Not a groan relieved her oppressed heart, no gesture of despair initiated the spectators in the mysteries of her agony ; they only thought she was going to die; and, indeed, she would have died a thousand times during that solemn and heart-rending pause, if He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb had not divinely supported her. Jesus soon perceived that motionless and mute figure, a few paces from him ; bending down before her, his forehead bowed beneath the burden of the cross, he pronounced the name of “Mother ſ” At that word, which sounded like a funeral knell in the ears of the holy Virgin, a sharp pain pierced through her heart; she was seen to stagger and turn pale; then, sinking down, she fell at full length on those rough and reddened stones where Jesus had left traces of blood as he passed l' * A young Galilean with a dark and dejected countenance, and a young woman drowned in tears, made themselves a passage to Mary; thanks to their attentions, the Virgin of sorrows recovered of God was about to satisfy the justice of incensed Heaven, by substituting himself for all other victims, and loading himself with all our miseries. There it was that the great sacrifice was about to be offered, the efficacy of which goes back, on the one hand, to the original transgression, and reaches on the other in the night of future things, even to the consummation of ages. This small, rocky declivity was the new altar, whence the blood of CHRIST was to flow in streams to wash away the sins of the world, and annul forever the compact of perdition, which delivered us over at our birth to the angels of the abyss. But what had become of the sacred victim 2 Where did his executioners conceal him from the desolate eyes of his mother? Mary cast her anxious looks all over the bare mountain; the people she saw in expectation; the crosses laid down upon the ground, and workmen digging with perfect indifference the deep holes which were to receive the three instruments of punishment. . . And Jesus, where was he then 2 He appeared, but in what a condition —stripped of the last of his garments, without a shred to cover his discolored flesh and bleeding wounds,--he who was so chaste and purel His execu- tioners, dragging him ignominiously along, exposed him thus some time to the derision of the people; then the Just One laid himself down upon the cross, that bed of honor offered to him by the gratitude of men as the price of his immense love | It was a spectacle too frightful to behold for those who loved him: they dragged Mary some paces off, into a sort of natural grotto, where she remained standing, white and cold as marble.” There came from without a confused noise, like that of the bees of Engaddi, when the Israelite shepherd drives them out of the hollow of their oak-trees. From time to time, in the midst of this gloomy recita- tive there arose all at once a tempest of shouts, cries of derision and frightful bursts of laughter: the populace of all nations has ever had ferocious instincts, but that of the Hebrews surpassed itself on this occasion. In an interval of profound silence, employed, no doubt, in some new barbarity which captivated the attention of the multitude, a stroke of the hammer was heard, a dull stroke, falling upon the wood and the bruised flesh. Magdalen, shuddering, pressed close to Mary, and the beloved disciple leaned instinctively against the side of the grotto. A second blow, duller, more stifled, and more ill-omened, was again heard; it was followed by two or three others, falling at regular intervals, and then all was told. “See, they are nailing him to the cross,” coolly observed a Roman soldier. John and Magdalen exchanged looks of desolation; they were under a sentiment like that which is felt in the midst of a nocturnal tempest, when the cries of the shipwrecked, whom it is impossible to succor, are born on the waves, and are extinguished, one after another, at the bottom of the waters. But Mary 1 . . a cold perspiration spread over her frame, a convulsive trembling shook her limbs; she, too, poor feeble woman, bad just been cruci- fied; for never did confessor, stretched upon the rack,-never did martyr in the midst of flames, undergo in soul and body tortures so dreadful. the use of her senses and the consciousness of that physical and moral martyrdom which no martyr, according to the Fathers, ever equaled. Doubtless John and Magdalen did everything to remove her from the scene of blood and death which was preparing on Gol- gotha ; but their entreaties were useless; and rising with difficulty, Mary began to climb, beneath a burning sun, the steepest side of Calvary; it was the shortest way, and that which they had made Jesus follow.” They had reached the fatal and hallowed place where the Lamb * Tradition, fortified by the authority of St. Boniface and St. Anselm, relates that Jesus Christ saluted his mother with these words, “Salve Mater P’ As we find the Blessed Virgin again at the foot of the cross, this tradition of the Fathers is very probable. “Faith is not opposed to these traditions,” says M. de Chateaubriand; “they show how deeply the marvelous and sub- lime history of the passion is graven in the memory of men. Eighteen centuries have rolled away; persecutions without end, revolutions without number, have been unable to efface or conceal the trace of a mother coming to weep over her son.” There was built, in memory of the Blessed Virgin's swooning away, a church which was consecrated under the name of Our Lady of Spasm. “It was there,” says F. de Geramb, “that Mary, repulsed by the Soldiers, met her Son painfully dragging along the ignominious wood on which he was about to die.” * This way, which formerly led to Calvary, and by which our Saviour passed, no longer exists; it is covered with houses, in the midst of which is found a large pillar, which marks the ninth station. The fanaticism of the Turks has delighted in making the approach to it disagreeable by heaps of filth, in order to keep the Christians away.—(F. de Geramb, t. i. p. 363.) * Near the place where our Saviour was fastened to the cross by the hands of the executioners, is seen a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Dolours. It was into this place that the Blessed Virgin retired during the cruel prepara- tions for the death of her Son.-(F. de Gerambt, t. i. p. 151.) sº LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 79 They soon distinguished the sharp friction of the cords on the pulleys; the cross was slowly raised up in the air, and the Son of Man, with his face turned towards those western lands, which had so long waited for the light, was planted like a standard in the sight of unbelieving nations: so it was written. Then the reprobate peo- ple gave a hoarse and pro- longed roar of joy: “Hail, King of the Jews! If God loves him, let him deliver him | If thou art the Son of God, O Nazarean, come down l’” And the thief crucified on his left hand cursed him also, amid the chokings of his agony; the wretch did his utmost to be a Jew to the end. Jesus, maintaining with calm and sublime dignity his great character as prophet and God Saviour, sealed in silence with his blood the exalted dog- trines of the new law. No complaint, no reproach es- caped him amid the infa- mous punishment which he underwent in the sight of a whole city: he looked down with mercy upon this people so far gone astray; and, wishing to appease the divine justice in favor of those who crucified him, “Father,” he said with his dying voice, “Father, for- give them, for they know not what they do.” “And yet for eighteen centuries the Father has not forgiven them, and they drag their punish- ment with them all over the earth, and all over the earth the slave is obliged to stoop down to look them in the face.” The Virgin had left the temporary asylum where she had taken refuge, and walked with her head cast down towards the place of THE CRUCIFIXION. sacred garments which had wrought so many mira- cles. A slight shudder passed over the features of Mary; she thought of the time when, rich in nothing but the love of Jesus, but free from imme- diate cares, she used to work in the evenings at the texture of this holi- day tunic, and this thought gave her a desolating sor- row, for the lightning flash which showed her in the past the sight of her days of happiness did but deepen the darkness of her misery. She lifted up her eyes to heaven, to seek thence, as she ever did, strength to suffer, and her look met that of the cruci- fied God. At that dread- ful spectacle her languid feet were fast fixed to the ground, and she remained petrified with so great hor- ror, with so frightful a shock, that what she had felt up to that time ap- peared to her no more than a sorrowful dream— a frightful, but almost effaced vision; all was absorbed in the cross. Jesus, casting on the Blessed Virgin a sweet and mysterious look, seemed to say to her, as on the pre- vious evening to his apos- tles, “Mother, the hour is come !” But what hour? The hour most memor- able and fruitful in extra- ordinary events, of which the sun's shadow had marked the passage since man had parceled out the duration of time to keep account of its passage; the hour when the Son of God was about to triumph over the world, over death and hell, and even the divine justice itself; the hour of the accomplish- ment of the oracles, the abolition of the sacrifices, execution. At a little distance from the tree of infamy, rough the reinstatement of woman, the freedom of the slave, and our soldiers were casting lots for the seamless robe which she had eternal redemption. And the Virgin thought she saw passing wrought with her hands, and were making noisy partition of those before her eyes the patriarchs, the righteous kings, the prophets 80 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. inspired of God, who bowed down before CHRIST, like the sheaves of the sons of Jacob before the mysterious sheaf of Joseph. And she thought she saw Moses and Aaron laying at the foot of the new tree of life the ark of the covenant, the ephod, the rational, the plate of gold, and the almond rod, the symbol of the Hebrew priesthood, the mission of which was about to terminate; then David, placing there his prophetic harp by the side of the sword of Phinees, and the sacred knife of Abraham, and the brazen serpent. The priests and the victims, the rites and ordi- nances, the types and symbols, gathered about the cross, there awaited their consummation; and the book with the seven seals of brass was laid open at the feet of the Great High Priest according to the Order of Melchisedech, who took place of the Aaronites. The old world, receding like the waves, which slowly recoil upon themselves, gave place to other images. Mary then thought she saw all the nations of the earth waiting at the foot of the cross, there to receive the gospel. Ethiopia and the islands stretched out their hands towards the Messias; the desert, which began to rejoice, flourished like the rose; the knowledge of God filled the earth, as the great waters cover the sandy bed of the ocean; and a thousand voices seemed to repeat in a thousand barbarious idioms, “Christ has overcome, blessed be his name !” The noble and generous woman forgot for a short time the poignant sufferings which tortured her, and united herself in sympathy with the triumph of the law of Grace, and the great social regeneration; but the vision of glory was not long before it vanished, and sorrow re-entered at every pore; like Rachel, Mary wept over her first-born, and would not be comforted Meanwhile, all nature seemed to participate in the suffering of her God; the daylight gradually became obscured, and the decreasing light gave a mournful tint to that vast and sterile region, so well suited for the crime of which it was the theatre. Every moment the darkness thickened ; the dew fell by the sudden interruption of the heat; the eagles shrieked as they resumed their nocturnal shelter; the jackals howled on the banks of the Cedron, and Calvary, in itself so melancholy, took the appearance of a huge catafalque of black marble. The people, strongly impressed by this unusual event, began to keep the silence of fear; and some few voices, insulated and disdainful, the voices of the Pharisees and chiefs of the synagogue, alone continued to utter maledictions against CIIRIST. The stars soon appeared through the dark crape which veiled the face of the firmament, like funeral torches burning round a coffin, and cast a fearful greenish light upon the theatre of the deicide, which gave the masses of spectators standing in groups on the sides of Gihon the air of an assembly of demons and spectres. They looked at each other and turned pale. In vain did the scribes and Pharisees—too far plunged in the waters of crime to attempt to regain the bank—strive to attribute this prodigy to natural causes; the more the absence of light was prolonged, the less did their reasons appear conclusive. The old men shaking their gray heads, declared that they had never seen such an eclipse; and the learned men versed in the science of the Chaldeans maintained, on the other hand, that no eclipse was either foreseen or possible in the actual position of the moon." This eclipse, of three hours' duration, was one of the prodigies connected with the Messias, which were intended to mark the anger of Heaven when CIII-IST should be put to death. The | Phlegon relates that in the 202nd Olympiad, corresponding with the year 33 of our era, there was the greatest eclipse of the sun ever seen, and that at the hour of noon the stars appeared in the heavens; but astronomy demonstrating that there was no eclipse in that year, obliges us to acknowl- edge that the cause of that darkness was wholly supernatural. “We ob- | Areopagite, who was studying philosophy at Hermopolis. prophet Amo had said, “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that the sun shall go down at mid-day, and I will make the earth dark in the day of light.” This darkness extended to Egypt, where at that time was St. Dionysius the Struck with terror, the young Greek cried out, addressing himself to his perceptor Apollophanes, “Either the world is coming to an end, or the God of mature suffers.” Amidst the general consternation, Jesus was occupied with his faithful friends, who had rallied round his cross in the hour of his ignominy. Touched with the courage of John, and the profound sorrow which this young and ardent disciple did not attempt to conceal, he would leave him a pledge of his divine affection. He could not bequeath to him a part of his earthly goods, he who had not a stone whereon to lay his head, and who was about to owe to the charity of a disciple even the loan of a tomb; he had nothing left in the world but his mother l—his mother, who had never left him, and who was dying at his death. He solemnly bequeathed her to his favorite disciple, as a pledge of those heavenly goods which he reserved for him in the kingdom of his Father. Know- ing how much he was loved by these two holy souls, he foresaw, with his adorable goodness, the dreadful isolation in which his death was about to leave them, and would strengthen these two plants, devoid of support, by intertwining their separated branches. By this arrangement, which added a new and cherished interest to her life, the Virgin must have understood that it was not granted her to follow her Son to the tomb, and that she had not arrived at the termination of her pilgrimage on earth. She resigned herself to the divine decrees out of love for us, whom she adopted in the person of the holy apostle. The sacrifice of Mary almost equaled, then, humanly speaking, that of Jesus Christ. He willingly consented to die; and she to live . They were two mighty hearts, inflamed with love for men, and which alone fully understood each other; for their thoughts were not our thoughts, and the gold of their virtues was without alloy. The manner in which Jesus bequeathed Mary to the young fish- erman of Bethsaida was dignified and simple, like every act of his mortal life: “Woman behold thy son,” and to the beloved disciple, “Behold thy mother.” If he did not use a more tender name when speaking to his mother, it was because he knew the power of the name which he thought proper to omit, and because he would not re-open wounds already so painful and profound. “Afterwards, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accom- plished, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. “Now, there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they put a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” Infamous wretches to the very end Jesus having taken the vinegar, said, “It is consummated.” Then, willing to prove to the world that he died, not by the power of death, but by a formal act of his will, he uttered a loud cry, bowed down his head, and expired . © At that moment the idols of paganism shook upon their pedes- tals; the star of Moses, which had shone from only one point of the globe, and was to shine only for a time, descended to the hori- zon of the valleys, and the sun of the gospel, destined to give light served,” says St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was at that time at Heliopo- lis, “that the moon came unexpectedly to interpose between the sun and the earth, although it was not the time for such a conjunction in the natural order of those laws to which the heavenly bodies are subject,” etc.—(Seventh Epistle to Polycarp.) - - - - . LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 81 to the world from one pole to the other, and to endure as long as thieves were still in agonies, and after rudely unfastening their feet the world, arose brilliantly from the side of the aurora. But God owed prodigies to the despised dignity of his Son, and they were not delayed. To the supernatural darkness, which began to clear away, succeeded the horrible convulsions of an earthquake, which overthrew twenty cities of Asia." At the same time, the veil of the temple was rent, the rocks were split, and many bodies of the saints, which were in the sleep of death, arose and came into Jerusalem, where they caused fresh alarm among the people, already filled with consternation. Then it was that a wonder- ful reaction was effected in favor of Jesus: the centu- rion and his soldiers, who had presided at the execu- tion, cried out with one voice that the prophet of Naza- reth was certainly more than man; and that immense multitude of people, who had overwhelmed Christ in his agonies with insults, shouts, and mockery, returned down the mountain striking their breasts, and repeating with terror, “INDEED THIS WAS THE SON OF GOD !” In the midst of the cries of distress of the people, who fled without knowing which way to direct their steps, and while Golgotha was rending her rocky sides, there was seen, by the pale light which gleamed on this scene of horror, a woman standing and completely unmoved in the midst of the convulsions and ruins of nature. This woman seemed inaccessible to the general alarm; with her hands joined in the atti- tude of prayer, she was ab- sorbed in the sorrowful con- templation of the crucified prophet. And the daughters of Jerusalem began again to shed tears, saying with compassion, “Poor motherſ’ Towards evening, the Pharisees, unwilling that the bodies should remain on the cross, lest the sanctity of the Sabbath, which would begin at nightfall, should be violated, went to request of Pilate permission to take them away. This permission being obtained, they set up ladders against the gibbets, where the two crucified MARY MAGDALEN. and hands, they finished them by breaking their arms and legs. As to Jesus, as he was quite dead,” a soldier contented himself with piercing his side with a lance, and the divine blood which was to wash away the crimes of the world ran down in great drops upon the earth. At some distance, two women covered with veils, one of whom leaned upon the other in an attitude which betrayed the most heart-rending grief, timidly beheld the proceed- ings of the Roman soldiers: they were Mary and Magda- len, for Magdalen, too, was there; and in the distance were perceived the other women from Galilee, who had left all to devote them- selves to Jesus, and who had not forsaken him in the hour of punishment and ignominy. “Honor to them ſ” says Aba- ilard, “for when the disci- ples and apostles fled like cowards to the mountains, these weak but courageous creatures accompanied Christ even to the foot of the cross, and did not leave him till he was laid in the sepulchre P’ Then Joseph of Arimathea came up, a rich senator, who had obtained of Pontius Pilate the body of Jesus, of whom he was a disciple in Secret, to pay him the honors of sepulture. He took him down from the cross, and prepared to wrap him up in a winding-sheet of fine linen from Egypt, which he had purchased at Jerusalem, when he beheld at his feet a woman pale as death, who stretched out her arms with the most affecting and sub- lime sorrow, to receive the crucified God. This woman, whose whole body trembled and was con- vulsed with shudderings of agony, had no voice left to articu- late the request which seemed to move upon her lips, but there was not, upon her face bathed in tears, a muscle which did not petition. The senator, who recognized Mary, made a sign of sympathetic compassion, and laid upon her trembling knees the divine burden with which he had respectfully laden his shoulders. Then the Blessed Virgin could give herself up to the * Pliny and Strabo speak of this earthquake. “It was so violent,” say both these authors, “that it was felt even as far as Italy.” * According to the Mussulmans, Jesus Christ is not dead. “The Jews did not put Jesus Christ to death,” says Mahomet; “a phantom body deceived their barbarity; they did not crucify him; God assumed him to himself.” (Koran, c. 4.) The Mussulman tradition says, that when the judgment trumpet shall sound, Aisa (Jesus Christ) will descend from heaven to the earth, and will announce to all its inhabitants the great day of the last judg- ment; then he will die, and be buried at the side of Mahomet; when the dead shall come forth from their graves, both shall arise together, and ascend into heaven. Burckhardt, who visited the great mosque of Medina, where are the tombs of Mahomet, Aboubekir, and Omar, three tombs of black stone, says that a vacant place has been left by the side of Mahomet's tomb for the reception of Jesus after his death. Above this place and the tomb of Mahomet, was hung a magnificent brocade cloth enriched with diamonds, which was stolen by Sioud when he took Medina. - 82 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. bitter joy of pressing to her suffering and bleeding heart the dis- figured body of her Son, and of applying her colorless lips to the wounds which had been made by the nails of the cross. Magdalen, on her knces, bathed with her warm tears the bleeding feet of her Lord, and moaned like a wounded dove. In the background of this picture of desolation were the women of Galilee, weeping.' During this time, some of Joseph's servants prepared the perfumes on the stone of unction, and others opened the sepulchre hewn out of the rock, which was to receive the mortal remains of the Son of God. EATH OF MARY.-Tranquility began to return, and the signs of the wrath of heaven had ceased to alarm the Jews, who had just shed the blood of our Saviour. Like all wild animals, the executioners of Christ had for a moment lost their savage instincts in the hour of peril. Terrified at first at what they had done, they had feared that the tottering rocks of Calvary would crush them in their fall, and that the earth would make them go down alive into the dark depths of Scheol; but this remorse disappeared with their terrors, and they gradually returned to their spiteful and malicious nature, as they saw the heavens become again serene. Unable to deny the prodigies which an immense number of people had seen with their eyes, and which were attested by the rent sides of the mountains, the tombs scarcely covered over again, and the veil of the temple in tatters, they attributed them to magic, and maintained that this Jesus, so powerful in word and work, was only a son of Belial, who had fascinated the people, and com- manded the elements by means of the ineffable name of the God of Israel, which he had stolen by surprise from the Holy of Holies. And the people suffered themselves to be led away by this ridiculous falselhood which their leaders cast before them ; for there is no calumnious absurdity which does not find credulous ears to welcome it, and nimble tongues to spread it abroad. Mean- time, a vigilant guard, chosen from the satellites of the high priest, watched in arms around the tomb; for Jesus had announced that he would rise again on the third day, and the princes of the syna- gogue pretended to fear that his disciples would take him away during the night. The third day began to appear, and the east was scarcely tinged with color, when several women from Galilee, bringing perfumes and aromatic plants, to embalm Jesus after the manner of the kings of Juda,” appeared upon the mountain of punishment, pen- sively making their way towards the garden where the tomb of Christ was. According to tradition, Mary was with these holy women.” Her dejected countenance resembled a marble laid pros- trate by the stormy wind of adversity; but her look did not express merely sorrow—it depicted expectation. The deicidal city was slumbering, enveloped in the transparent vapors of the morning; the flowers had half-opened their cups laden with dew, the birds were singing in the humid branches of the wild fig-trees, and one would have said that the sun scattered rubies over the blue vault of the firmament; nature seemed to have put on again, with unusual joy, her brilliant robe of light, and that scenery so grand, and yet so dark and sad, which surrounded Jerusalem, assumed a sweet and cheerful expression which it had never had till then, and which seemed to announce a glorious mystery which it would keep Secret. On a sudden, in the midst of this smiling scene, a shock is felt, the stone which closes the sepulchre rolls over as if moved by some mighty arm, the guards fall down half dead on their faces on the ground, and the women, who did not desert Jesus upon the cross, turn pale themselves, and fall back, fearful of seeing those frightful prodigies renewed, which accompanied the death of the Son of Man. But an angel, whose garments equaled in whiteness the moun- tain snow, and whose gracious countenance shone like lightning, seats himself upon the stone of the sepulchre, and encourages the servants of Jesus Christ. “Fear not you,” says a sweet voice, “for I know that you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; he is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid.” While the pious Galilean women entered with fear into the tomb, and were astonished at the sight of the winding-sheet and bands perfumed with myrrh, which were left at the entrance, the Virgin, whose face shone with accumu- lated joy, was leaning against an aged olive-tree at some distance. A young man, dressed in the ordinary costume of the people, was conversing with her in a low voice. This young man was the “first-born from among the dead,” the glorious conqueror of hell, Jesus Christ.* No one ever knew what passed at this solemn interview; but we may believe that Mary, whose valiant soul had undergone the greatest possible paroxysm of grief, experi- enced at that time a degree of joy which we could not feel without dying. - - - Our Lord, during the forty days which followed his resurrection, frequently appeared to the apostles, and conversed with them of the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the regeneration which would be wrought in men by baptism. Pious authors have supposed that the Virgin was the most favored in these consoling apparitions, and that in them she experienced a foretaste of the happiness of the elect. The bitter waters of her affliction were changed into fountains of grace, and our Saviour “fed her with the hidden manna which he reserves for those who keep patience according to his word.” At length the hour arrived when the divine decrees recalled Christ to heaven; his mission of redemption was fulfilled, and the apostles, whom his resurrection had fully convinced of his divinity, had received from him the necessary instructions for converting the nations to his admirable gospel. In the middle of the fortieth day, he went out of Jerusalem with them, and proceeded towards the heights of Bethania. This direction was not taken accidentally: there was that mountain crowned with olive-trees, where our Saviour, withdrawing from the crowd, had often prayed to his Father at the hour when the silent moon shone with its opal light upon the leaden waters of the Dead Sea, the green valley of the Jordan, and the giant palm-trees of the plain of Jericho, distant sites, which seemed to display them- selves at her feet. There also was that celebrated garden where have accompanied, and so far encouraged, those who came to embalm him, without hope. -- , - c. ... • * ~ * * * * * * * *- : * . . ‘St. Ambrose, who lived in the fourth century, says that the Virgin was the first who had the happiness to see Jesus risen; and the poet Sedulius,” who flourished shortly after St. Ambrose, records this tradition in his verses. They both speak of it as of generally received belief among Christians. The Arab historians have preserved this tradition: Ismaël, the son of Ali, * There are some authors who hold that these holy women picked up some of the earth quite Saturated with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and that it was by this means that some of it has been in the possession of certain churches in France, as St. Denis, and the Sainte-Chapelle, of Paris. * It is clear that they were going to embalm Jesus in a new way; for Nico- demus had already wrapped it up in bandages of myrrh. * This is the only passage of the author on which the TRANSLATOR feels called upon to insert a note. It is contrary to all probability, as well as to the general opinion of spiritual writers, to suppose that the Blessed Mother, Who So well knew the approaching resurrection of her divine Son, would relates that Jesus descended from heaven to console Mary, his mother, who wept for him. An altar has been erected on the spot where this affecting interview took place. - LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 83 Jesus had painfully experienced the first attacks of agony. It was ---------- As the disciples were steadfastly looking at Jesus ascending into just that his glory should commence in the same places where heaven, two men, clothed in white, suddenly appeared, and said to his generous sufferings had begun, and that those fields, those woods, those shady solitudes, which had so often been wit- them, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as nesses of his meditations and his prayers, should receive the you have seen him going into heaven.” impress of the last steps he took before he reascended to heaven. Arrived at the summit of that high mountain, whence he could discern a great part of Judea, and salute with a farewell sign the spots which he had made celebrated by his miracles and his death, our Saviour stopped in an open space, at a short distance from a wood of olive-trees, which spread out their pale foliage to the burning noon-day sun. There, after lifting up his hands, still pierced by the nails of the cross, to his heavenly Father, as if to recommend to him his infant Church, he lowered them upon his mother and his disci- ples, as Jacob had done to the sons of Joseph ; then he arose by his own power, and ascended slowly to heaven. This last act of our Saviour put a worthy seal upon his divine mission. During his life, “he went about doing good;” upon Cal- vary he prayed for his executioners, and he as- cended into heaven bless- ing the humble friends whom he was leaving behind him upon earth. While he had his hands still stretched out over his prostrate disciples, they saw him enter a white cloud, which took him out of their sight. The Ascension of our Lord had not that dark and terrifying character - which chilled the people - - -- - -- with fear in the days of old. The law of Moses had been proclaimed with the sound of trumpets, the noise of thunder, and ominous flashes of lightning; Elias had been carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot; but the Saviour of the world was gently borne upon a light cloud, with that serene and calm majesty which becomes the genius of the gospel and the touching character of its author. The angels, those benevolent spirits who rejoice in the happiness of men, figured also in that scene which unraveled the grand drama of the Redemption. Their divine canticles had announced to the shepherds the birth of the kingly Messias; their voice had pro- claimed his resurrection from the dead; it was fitting that their words should come to confirm his glorious ascension. ſº / - –º INTERIOR CHURCH of ST. MADELEINE, PARIs. The apostles and disciples cast down their eyes, dazzled at the voice of the angels; but did the Virgin cast down hers? Was it denied to her to see her divine Son majestically take his place at the right hand of Jehovah in the inaccessible light of the saints? Was she really less favored than St. Ste- phen and the beloved dis- ciple? This is hardly to be presumed. She who had been morally crucified with Jesus upon Calvary deserved to be glorified with him; it was her right; she had dearly paid for it! Yes, Mary was en- titled to look with her mortal eyes into that peaceful and blessed re- gion, the entrance of which Jesus had just opened for us by his blood, and where he himself wipes away the tears of the just; then the pearl gates of the heavenly Jerusalem slowly closed upon the victorious God, and the Virgin, separated for a short time from Him whom she loved, found herself alone upon the carth, like a climbing plant uprooted. Ten days afterwards, we find her again in prayer in the upper room, where she received the IIoly Ghost with the apostles. Mary was the pillar of light which guided the first steps of the infant Church. To her the apos- tles attributed the numer- ous ears of corn which they plucked from the rebellious field of the synagogue, to lay them up in the granaries of the Householder. She accepted this tribute in the name of her Son with graceful humility, and she was scen constantly surrounded by the poor, the afflicted, and sinners; for she always loved with a love of predilection those to whom she could do good. The evangelists came to her to seek light; the apostles, unction, courage, constancy; and the afflicted, spiritual consolations; all left her with benedictions: the Sun of Justice had set on the blood- stained horizon of Golgotha ; but the Star of the Sea still reflected its softest rays on the renovated world, and poured benign influ- ence upon the cradle of Christianity. The Virgin remained at Jerusalem till the terrible persecution, -—s. --------------- * ------ > 84 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. which broke out against the Christians in the year 44 of our Lord, obliged her to depart from it with the apostles. Her adopted son then took her to Ephesus, whither Magdalen would follow her. Nothing has come down to us of the abode of Mary at Ephesus; but this void is easily explained by the incessant occupations of that period. After the resurrection of our Saviour, the apostles, occupied exclusively with the propagation of the faith, considered as secondary matter all that was not directly and prominently connected with that absorbing subject. Full of their high mission, entirely devoted to the salvation of souls, they so completely forgot themselves as to have hardly left us a small number of incomplete documents on the evangelical labors which changed the face of the globe; so that their history is more like some epitaph, sublime, but almost effaced, which has neither beginning nor end. That the Mother of Jesus shared the lot of the apostles is readily conceived; the latter years of her life was spent far away from Jerusalem, in a foreign country, where her abode was not marked by any striking fact, offering only a blank surface, which has left no lasting impres- sion on the fugitive memory of men. Nevertheless, the flourishing state of the Church of Ephesus, its tender devotion to Mary, and the praises which St. Paul gives to its piety, sufficiently indicate the fruitful care of the Virgin, and the divine benedictions which followed her wherever she was. The rose of Jesse left some little of its perfume in the air, and this vestige, slight as it was, is a precious revelation of its passage. - The coasts of Asia Minor, studded with opulent cities, rich in wonderful vegetation, and bathed by a sea ploughed in every sense by a multitude of vessels, would have appeared to ordinary exiles a splendid compensation for the lofty and barren mountains of Palestine. It is doubtful if the Virgin of Nazareth judged thus: the footsteps of the Man-God had not sanctified this enchanted ground, and the tombs of her forefathers were not there tº How often, seated beneath a plane-tree, on the shore of that beauti- ful Icarian Sca, the waves of which cxpire at the feet of myrtles upon a narrow belt of sand, did Mary and Magdalen call up recollec- tions of their native country, as they followed with their eyes some Greek galley whose prow was turned towards Syria | The spotless snows of Libanus, the blue tops of Carmel, the waters of the Lake of Tiberias, then revived in their conversations; the sites of the absent country, embellished by distance, passed by turns before them, and seemed to them a thousand times preferable to that soft and smiling Ionia, which was in fact to the land of Jehovah what the lyre of Anacreon is to the harp of David. It was during her abode at Ephesus, that the Virgin lost the faithful companion who, in imitation of Ruth, had left her country and her people to follow her beyond the seas: Magdalen died, and Mary wept for her, as Jesus had wept for Lazarus." Of all her ties of affection and relationship, there remained to the Virgin none but St. John, the good and amiable disciple to whom her dying Son had bequeathed her; she followed him, as it is believed, in his journeys; and it was, no doubt, in his conversa- tions with the Queen of prophets that St. John completed the * We read, in some Greek authors of the seventh and following centuries, that after the ascension of Jesus Christ, St. Mary Magdalen accompanied the Virgin and St. John to Ephesus; that she died in that city, and was buried there. This also is the opinion of Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who flourished in 920; of St. Gregory of Tours, and St. Guillebaud. This last, in the account of his journey to Jerusalem, says that he saw at Ephesus the tomb of St. Magdalen. The Emperor Leo, the philosopher, had the saint's relics translated from lºphesus to Constantinople, and deposited them in the Church of St. Lazarus, about the year 890. Another tradition, supported by esteemed men of learning, would have it that St. Mary Magdalen ended her days in Provence; we have adopted the contrary opinion, because it appeared to us the more probable, without, however, deciding the question. wonderful knowledge which he displays in his gospel. Assisted by the lights of Her whom the Fathers have compared to the golden candlestick with seven branches, the young fisherman of Bethsaida penetrated farther than any one into the incomprehensible mystery of the increated essence of the Word, and his thought soared up with a flight so bold into the mystic heights of heaven, that in comparison with him the other evangelists seem only to graze the earth.” - Meanwhile the Sowers of CHRIST had scattered the good seed of the sacred word over all points of the Roman world; the gospel harvest was green, and the workmen of the Householder labored earnestly in the holy field. Mary judged that her mission upon earth was accomplished, and that the Church could henceforth support itself by its own strength. Then, like a wearied laborer in the harvest, who seeks shade and repose in the middle of the day, she began to sigh for the fair shade of the tree of life, which grows near the throne of the Lord, and for the living and sancti- fying streams which water it. He who sounds the depths of the soul met this desire in the heart of his Mother, and the angel who stands at his right hand came to announce to the future Queen of heaven that her Son had graciously heard her.” At this divine revelation, which was accompanied, according to Nicephorus, with that of the day and hour of her decease, the daughter of Abraham felt the love of her absent country power- fully revive in her heart; she wished to behold again the lofty mountains of Judea, where the recollections of redemption were still lively,–and to die in sight of Calvary, where Jesus had died. St. John, to whom her slightest desires had ever been commands, immediately prepared to depart and return to Pales- tine. The Hebrew travelers probably embarked at Miletus, the famous port of which was the resort of the galleys of Europe and Asia, which navigated those seas. During their voyage on the Grecian seas, the Virgin and the Evangelist recognized, as they passed, the Island of Chios, the people of which, who long possessed the empire of the sea, were the first to introduce the odious custom of purchasing slaves, a custom which the gospel was gradually to abolish ; flien Lesbos, the country of the lyric poets, where the hymn to the Virgin most pure was to succeed the burning odes of Sappho, and the more manly songs of Alceus. On seeing the top of the temple of Esculapius rounding in the clouds, which attracted an immense concourse of strangers to the Island of Cos, the Mother of the Saviour of men was reminded of her divine Son, who, during his sojourning upon earth, had employed his divine power in curing the sick on the spot, and raising the dead to life." Delos, the cradle of Apollo, Rhodes, the birthplace of Jupiter, arose in turn from the midst of the waters, with their verdant mountains and their antique temples, quite peopled with gods, soon to be banished to the infernal regions by the God crucified on Golgotha. At some distance from Cyprus, a black peak was distinguishable in the clouds, traced upon the velvet blue of heaven; it was the mountain where the prophet Elias had erected, in ancient days, an *The Abbot Rupert (in Cant.) assures us that the Blessed Virgin supplied, by the light she possessed, what the Holy Spirit, who was given by measure to the disciples, had not been pleased to reveal to them; and the holy Fathers all agree that it was from the Blessed Virgin that St. Luke received divers marvelous and particular circumstances of the infancy of Jesus Christ. * Tradition relates that the Blessed Virgin received the announcement of her approaching death by the ministry of an angel, who informed her of the day and hour.—(Descout., p. 235; F. Croiset, t. xviii. p. 158.) * The followers of Mahomet have preserved the memory of the miracles of Jesus Christ. They maintain that the breath of our Lord, which they call “bad Messih” (the breath of the Messias), not only raised the dead, but could even give life to inanimate things. - LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. 85 - completed it. St. James, who had received from the Jews them- selves the surname of “Just,” and who knew how to control his emotions, suppressed his tears; the prince of the apostles, a man of openness and first impulse, was deeply affected, and showed it; St. John had hid his head in one of the folds of his Grecian mantle, but his sobs betrayed him. There was not in the whole assembly a heart which was not broken, or an eye which was not moist. Mary, sharing in the general emotion, and forgetting the splendors which awaited her on high, in order to wipe away the tears which were shed on earth, began to speak, with a view to strengthen the faith of her children, to revive their sacred hopes, and inflame their char- ity; she spoke to them, with unrivaled eloquence, those strong and sublime things which we listen to breathless, which exalt man above him- self, and enable him to under- take everything. Her speech, so sweet that the Scripture has poetically compared it to a honey-comb, became gradu- ally powerful; the daughter of David and Solomon, the inspired prophetess who had pronounced, without premedi- tation, the triumphant hymn of the “Magnificat,” rose to considerations so sublime, that every one forgot, in his de- light, that death was at the end of this song of the swan. But the fatal hour drew near. Mary stretched out her pro- tecting hands over the poor orphans whom she was about to leave, and raising up her fine countenance to the stars which shone outside with serene majesty, she beheld the heavens opened, and the Son of Man stretching out his arms to her from the bosom of a bright cloud. At this prospect, a rosy tint diffused itself over her countenance, her eyes expressed all that PortIco DE LA GLORIA, CATHEDRAL OF SANTIAGo. maternal love mingled with - - - - divine joy carried to its com- pletion, and adoration arrived at the state of ecstasy can express, and her soul, leaving without the least effort her fair and virginal mortal envelope, softly sunk into the bosom of God.” Mary was no more, but her face, which had taken the expression of a tranquil sleep, was so sweet to behold, that one would have said that death hesitated to plant his banner on that trophy, which he was to hold but for one day. The lamp of the dead was lighted; all the windows were altar to the future Mother of our Saviour, and where his disciples were on the point of placing themselves under her helping pro- tection. The next day the galley entered with oars a port of Syria, perhaps Sidon, which had frequent commercial intercourse with Palestine, as the sacred books inform us. They returned into Israel, after an absence of several years. Mary retired to Mount Sion, at a short distance from the ruined and deserted palace of the ancient princes of her race, and into the house which had been sanctified by the descent of the Holy Ghost. St. John on his part went in search of St. James, who was related to the Blessed Virgin, and Bishop of Jeru- salem, to inform him, as well as the faithful who composed his already numerous Church, that the Mother of Jesus was come among them to die. The day and the hour were come: the saints of Jerusalem beheld again the daughter of David, still poor, still hum- ble, still beautiful; for one would have said that this admirable and holy creature escaped the destructive agency of time, and that, predestined from her birth to a complete and glorious immortality, nothing in her was to decay." Serious, but not ill, she re- ceived the apostles and disci- ples, seated on a small bed of poor appearance, suitable to her costume as a woman of the common sort of people, which she had never discon- tinued. There was something so solemn and affecting in her air, full of dignity and grand- eur, that the whole assembly melted into tears. Mary alone remained calm in that ample and lofty chamber, where a crowd of old disciples and new Christians flocked in, alike eager to hear her, and con- template her. The night had come on, and lamps with many branches seemed to cast, with their - - - - --- - - white light, something mysterious and solemn upon this sad and silent assembly. The apostles, deeply moved, stood round about the funeral couch. St. Peter, who had so loved the Son of God during his life, contemplated the Virgin with a feeling of sorrow, and his speaking look seemed to say to the Bishop of Jeru- salem, “How much she is like Jesus Christ!” Indeed, the like- ness was striking; and the stooping posture of Mary, which brought to mind that of our Saviour during the Last Supper, * St. Denis, an eye-witness of the death of the Blessed Virgin, affirms that at that advanced period of her life she was still wonderfully beautiful. * Jesus Christ stooped a little, and this made him appear something shorter; his countenance was very much like that of his mother, particularly in the lower part of it.—(Nic. Hist. Eccl., t. i. p. 125.) * Some of the ancient fathers, and, among others, St. Epiphanius, seem to doubt whether the Mother of God really died, or whether she has remained immortal, having been taken up, body and soul, into heaven; but the sentiment of the Church is that she really died according to the con- dition of the body, and the Church plainly declares this in the prayer of 86 LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD. opened, and the summer breezes made their way into the apart- ment with the pale rays of the stars. It is said that a miraculous light filled the mortuary chamber at the moment when Mary had just drawn her last breath; it was, perhaps, the glory of God surrounding the spotless soul of the predestined Virgin. When the death of Mary was no longer doubtful, nothing was heard at first but weeping and deep groaning; then, funereal canticles arose amid the silence of night; the-angels accompanied them on their golden harps, and the echoes of the mouldering palace of David sorrowfully repeated them to the tombs of the kings of Juda. The next day the faithful brought, with holy profusion, the most precious perfumes and the finest stuffs for the burial of the Queen of Virgins. She was embalmed, according to the custom of her people, but her blessed remains exhaled an odor sweeter than the perfumed bandages in which they enveloped her. The funeral preparations being finished, they placed the Mother of God upon a portable litter full of aromatic ingredients; they covered her with a sumptuous veil, and the apostles bore her upon their shoulders into the valley of Josaphat.” The Christians of Jerusalem, carrying lighted torches, and singing hymns and psalms, followed the funeral of Mary with sad and downcast looks. Arrived at the place of sepulture, the mournful procession stopped. By the care of the holy women of Jerusalem, the tomb -º-º-me was deprived of its unpleasant aspect, and the sepulchral cave appeared only like a cradle of flowers. There the apostles gently laid Mary, and as they laid her down, they wept. Of all the panegyrics pronounced on this circumstance, that of Hierothus was the most remarkable. St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who de- scribes this scene as an eye-witness, relates that in praising the Virgin the orator was almost out of himself.” For three days the apostles and the faithful watched and prayed near the tomb, where sacred concerts of angels seemed to enchant the last sleep of Mary.” An apostle, returned from a far-distant country, and who had not been present at the death of the Virgin, arrived in the mean- time: it was Thomas, he who had put his hand to the wounds of his Master risen from the dead. He hastened to take a last look, and to water with his tears the cold remains of the privileged woman who had born in her chaste womb the sovereign Master of nature. Overcome by his entreaties and his tears, the apostles removed that piece of stone which closed the entrance of the sep- ulchre; but they found nothing but the flowers, scarcely faded, tipon which the corpse of Mary had rested, and her white winding- sheet of fine linen from Egypt, which diffused a celestial odor. The most pure body of the immaculate Virgin was not the destined prey of the worms of the coffin: during her life, earth and heaven equally had part in that admirable creature; after her death heaven had taken all, and glorified all." the mass on the day of the Assumption. The Blessed Virgin died in the night before the 15th of August. The year of her death is very uncer- tain. ICusebius fixes it in the year 48 of our era; thus, according to him, Mary would have lived sixty-eight years; but Nicephorus (lib. xi. c. 21) formally says that she ended her days in the year 5 of the reign of Clau- dius, that is, in the year 798 of Rome, or 45 of the common era. Then, supposing that the IBlessed Virgin was sixteen years old when our Saviour came into the world, she would have lived sixty-one years. Hippolytus of Thebes assures us in his chronicle that the Blessed Virgin gave birth to our Saviour at the age of sixteen, and died eleven years after Jesus Christ. According to the authors of the Art de verifier les Dates, the Virgin died at the age of sixty-six. * “All the heavenly host,” says St. Jerom, “came to meet the Mother of God with praises and canticles, and surrounded her with a light of intense brilliancy, and conducted her to the throne. ‘Militiam coelorum, cum suis agminibus, festive obviam venisse Genitrici Dei cum laudibus et canticis, eamque ingenti lumine circumfulsisse et usque ad tromum perduxisse.’” * The coffins among the Jews, in the time of Mary, were a sort of litter, made so that the body could be easily carried; this litter was filled with aro- matical herbs. Josephus, describing the interment of Herod the Great, says that his litter was ornamented with precious stones, that his body reposed upon purple, that he had the diadem on his head, and that all his household followed his litter. * Metaphrastes affirms that the apostles bore the Virgin to the tomb on their shoulders. * Books of the Divine Names, c. iii. These books of St. Dionysius the Areopagite have been rejected by Protestants; but they are no less author- ized by an infinity of testimonies of the most ancient Fathers and Doctors of the Church, by third ecumenical council of Constantinople, and also by others. * Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who lived in the fifth century, writing to the Emperor Marcian and the Empress Pulcheria, says that the apostles, relieving one another, spent the day and night with the faithful at the tomb, mingling their canticles with those of the angels, who, for three days, ceased not to make the most heavenly harmony heard by them. * A very judicious remark of Godescard comes in support of the Assump- tion; it is that “neither the Latins, nor even the Greeks, so greedy after novelties, and so easily persuaded in the matter of relics, histories, and legends —no people, in a word, no city, no church has ever boasted of possessing the mortal remains of the Blessed Virgin, nor any portion of her body. Thus, without prescribing the belief of the corporal assumption of Mary into heaven, the church sufficiently gives us to understand the opinion to which she in- clines.”—(Godescard, t. xiv. p. 449.) HISTORY ºr HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY REv. JoSEPH V. O'Connor, Assistant Pastor Church of the Visitation, Phila.; Late Professor of English Literature and Homiletics in the Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo. PREPARED ExPRESSLY FoR POTTER's EDITION of THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE. HE ORIGIN AND CONSTITUTION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.-Amid the various theories which have agitated the human dº mind concerning the religious destiny of man, there ºntº º is a singular assent to the truth of the existence of a Supreme Being, and a correspondent belief that He is to be worshiped and served. The Abbé Bantain, with a school of theosophic writers, held that the religious sentiment in all its manifestations has been directly imparted to man by the Divinity, who is unknowable, except so far as He has been pleased to reveal Himself. This school taught what is technically known as Traditionalism. All false religions, according to this opinion, are only distorted views of a primitive revelation com- municated to the fathers of the human family. Divine faith is the chief, if not the only medium of discovering anything about God. This extreme view is rejected by the majority of Catholic divines following St. Thomas of Aquin, who maintains that sº § º W \\ |Hil §ſitiºnſ wn wº § t ECCE HOMO. the existence of God is provable a posteriori, or from the effects it finds in the latter its supplement, and leans upon it largely for its to the cause. The visible creation, the logical exigency for the credibility; as the vital hope of Israel was the coming of the Messias, existence of a necessary Being, the universal consent of mankind, all of whose characteristics, as depicted in prophecy and in the the ideas of an absolute Goodness and Perfec- tion in the human consciousness, and other like arguments, furnish unanswerable proofs for the being of God. The Deity, conceived as an infinitely good, wise, mighty, and provident Being, can reveal Himself to a rational, intelligent creature, such as man. Hence, the possibility of revelation, which then becomes a matter to be decided upon as any other historical fact, if the claim to a divine revelation is set up. Certain criteria are applied. The revelation must be worthy of God, must con- tain no approval of sin, and must be sanctioned, confirmed and established by supernatural signs, chief among which are miracles and prophecy. The inquirer after religious truth at the present day, confronted with the claims of different relig- ions, has little difficulty in assigning a prior and exclusive claim to Christianity. Islam or Moham- medanism fails to satisfy the demands of either heart or intellect. Idolatry is intrinsically absurd. Buddhism, Confucianism, and other Oriental forms of belief cannot stand the criticism of even mere historical and scientific investiga- tion. Judaism so directly merges into the Christian revelation that CHRISTUS IN CRUCE. aspirations of the ancient Hebrew people, were realized in the life and work of Jesus Christ. Suffice it to say, that the Christian Religion is the one that has commanded the attention, elicited the worship, and satisfied the deepest convictions and emotions of the human soul during the nine- teen centuries of its sway over the most enlight- ened portion of mankind. It is clear, from the Gospel, that Jesus Christ founded a church. He uses the precise word (ekk2%ata) in the benediction pronounced upon Simon Peter, when that Apostle confessed his divinity (Matt. xvi., et seq.). The selection of twelve Apostles, whom he personally instructed, and whom he commissioned “to preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark xvi. 15), and “to make disciples of all nations” (Matt. xxviii., 19.), points to a supreme and authoritative organ of teaching the Divine Law, for the promulgation and exposition of which the Church was established. - Her essence is to teach mankind the truths and duties upon which the gaining of eternal life depends. Christ divided humanity into two classes—the teachers and the taught. We are bound to hear the Church teaching under penalty of being regarded ºr (1) 2 BIISTORY OF THE HOL Y CA THOLIC CHURCH. ... -- as heathens and publicans (Matt. xviii., 17). This organized body of teachers was to be perpetual, the abiding presence of Christ and His Spirit being repeatedly assured to it in the Gospels and Epistles (John xvi., 13; 1 Tim., iii., 15). Inerrancy or infallibility is thus an essential note of Christ's Church. Our common reason rejects as contradictory the idea of an erring or deceiving Church, vested with such powers as Christ plainly declares this organization to possess (Matt. v., 14–15). The definition of the Church accepted by the majority of Catholic Divines, is that of Cardinal Bellarmine: “A society of men professing one and the same Christian Faith, united in the participation of the same sacraments, under the government of their lawful pastors, and chiefly of the Roman Pontiff or the Pope.” A word of explanation upon the several members of this defini- tion will bring out more clearly the Catholic idea of Christ's Church. It is a visible society made up of just and unjust. The theqry of an invisible Church was too manifestly introduced to connect certain modern sects with primitive Christianity, to prevail against the obvious conviction of Christendom at large, that Christ meant His society to be visible, open, and before the world, whose reform and salvation it was intended to accomplish. The more subtle and dangerous theory of Predestination, which limited the Church to the elect, was advocated by Calvin, and later by Jansen. Christ desired the visible unity of the Church to be one of the most striking testimonies to His own mission from the Father (John xvii., 21). This society professes one and the same Faith. The unity of the Church in faith and government is the grand note of her divine origin, the confusion of heresy and the overthrow of infidelity. The human mind, conscious of its endless vagaries, is amazed at the unity of doctrine and the simplicity of government in the Church of all ages and nations. Two churches are as incompatible as two Supreme Beings. The centre of unity in the Catholic Church is the primacy of jurisdiction and of honor held by the Bishop of Rome, who is the head of the Church on earth and the Vicar of Jesus Christ. He receives this plenitude of power, in the words of the Council of Florence, in which both Greeks and Latins joined, in Beato Petro—by virtue of the promises and their fulfillment made by Christ to St. Peter, who was con- stituted the Rock on which He built His Church, and the Supreme Shepherd over the entire fold, sheep and lambs (Matt. xvi., 18; John xxi., 17). Christ's prayer for the indefectibility of the faith of St. Peter, who was made the strengthener of his brethren, was offered up for his successors in this great office, whence the doctrinal infallibility of the Roman Pontiff is deduced (Luke xxii., 32). The prečminence of the Roman Bishop explains the word “Roman” in the official title of the Church. Indeed, the Church is Catholic because she is Roman, i.e., communion with the See of Rome is the mark of the immeasurably greater portion of the adherents of the Christian faith. The Sovereign Pontiff is also the local Bishop of Rome, the See of St. Peter, and the city in which, with St. Paul, he suffered martyrdom. The Creed of the First Council of Nicaea cites four marks as distinctive of the Church of Christ—unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. The slightest acquaintance with the earliest Christian writings serves to establish the fact of the organization of this Society or Church, as complete in itself and anterior to the completion of the written word. The Canon of the Scriptures was not definitely settled until the fourth century, and then the formal ratification, and, indeed, acceptance of the Scriptures, were made by a Church Council. The attempt to substitute the Scriptures for the Church *~ —ºss- as the sole rule of faith is to do violence to the whole course of primitive Christian thinking and practice. Luminous and coherent in the mind of the first followers of the Lord was the belief that He established a body of teachers, to whom, in teaching, he guaranteed his unfailing presence and direction (Matt. xxviii, 20). The Apostles, though endowed with personal infallibility, and such special gifts as the exigencies of their position required, were essentially the form and type of a Teaching Body that Christ designed to be perpetual, indefectible. and visible. This is the Ecclesia Docens. That the Scriptures were not intended to take their place is shown from the compara- tively limited scope and purpose of many of the Canonical Epistles, which are of the nature of special communications to different churches, agitated by some passing question or crisis, in which an apostle's intervention was desirable though not precisely indispensable. St. Paul speaks of the faith of the Church of Rome as spoken of throughout the world, at the date of his Epistle to the Romans (Rom. i., 8). Allusions are frequently made to traditions, and practices which must have been taught orally by the first teachers of Christianity (2. Thess., ii., 14). The scene of Penticost represents the Church as waiting for the descent of the Spirit, who was to teach all the truth and to abide with it forever (John xiv., 16). Preaching, oral instruction, a perpetual magisterium are distinctly declared to be the manner in which the Christian Revelation was to be imparted to men (Rom. x., 18). The Scriptures, in a word, condemn in advance the theory of private interpretation as applied to their mysterious contents (2 Peter i., 20), and expressly or by implication, they refer the reader to the external tribunal of doctrine, to Bishops placed by the Holy Ghost as Rulers over the House of God (Acts xx., 28) and to the Church, of whom sublime and wonderful things are said, as, for instance, where it is called the Pillar and the Ground. of Truth (1 Tim., iii., 15). Fellowship and communion with her are made synonymous with union with Christ (Ephes. i., 22–23), and malediction and anathema are pronounced upon sects of perdition, dissensions, heresies, their authors and abettors (Rom. xvi., 17; 2 Peter, ii., 1). - In purposing to present the reader with a sketch of the History of the Kingdom of God on Earth, the writer deprecates the idea of being able to give it, within the space assigned to him, anything like an exhaustive treatment. For many and even important details, recourse must be had to voluminous writers. The endeavor is made to offer such a connected view of the leading events in Church History as to satisfy the general reader, and, perchance, to awaken a commendable curiosity in some to prosecute the study o | Church History in all its details. . HE APOSTOLIC AGE.-Upon the Ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven, the Apostles who were eyewitnesses of this event, returned to Jerusalem to await the descent of the promised Comforter, the Holy Ghost. The coming of the Spirit of Truth took place on the tenth day after the Ascension, and this date marks the full birth of the Church of God. The Apostles were renewed, strengthened and endowed with miraculous powers. The Holy City, thronged with Jews and with strangers, listened in astonishment to the preaching of St. Peter, who, on the very spot where Christ had been condemned and put to death, proclaimed His Divinity, His Resurrection and His Messiahship. Three thousand were converted to the new faith on this occasion, to be followed shortly after by the conversion of five thousand more. The Sanedhrin persecuted the Christian disciples, but was power- less to stay the spread of the doctrine. - . In fulfillment of Christ's prophecy that His Gospel should be - History of THE Holy CATHolic CHURCH. 3 ---- preached throughout the world (Matt. xxiv., 14), the Apostles separated for this purpose. St. Peter established his See, first at Antioch, and afterward at Rome. The establishment of the Apostolic See at Rome is a fact so abundantly verified by historical tradition, that such eminent Protestants as Calvin, Grotius, Ussher and Cave admit it without question. St. Peter also preached to the Jews settled in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. St. Paul preached Christ to the Gentiles with the same success. The “Acts of the Apostles” is largely taken up with an account of his labors. He taught in Seleucia, Salamis; travelled over Pisidia, Pamphylia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia and Macedonia. The tradition that he visited the British Islands lacks full verifica- tion. He founded churches at Corinth, Phillippi and Thessalonica. He was in Athens where he delivered a celebrated discourse from Mars' Hill. A prisoner in Rome, he converted many, among them, several of the household of Nero. Tradition teaches us that St. Thomas carried the Gospel to the Indies; St. John to Asia Minor ; St. Andrew to the Scythians; St. Philip to Asia; St. Bartholomew to Great Armenia; St. Matthew to Persia; St. Simon to Meso- potamia; St. Luke to Arabia, and St. Matthias to Ethiopia. The wonderful progress of Chris- tianity, viewed in relation to the difficulties which its myste- rious doctrines and rigid mo- rality were sure to create, and the small number and uninflu- ential character of its preachers was a manifest proof of its Divine Origin and supernatural assistance. FIVEIE TEN PERSECU - TIONS.—Although the Church had hitherto not been free from persecution, she had not been assailed by the su- preme authority of the Roman Empire. This embodiment of paganism and sensuality rose against her in the reign of Nero (A.D. 64), and for three centu- ries put forth all its power to destroy what it instinctively - - - ST. PETER. The second persecution took place under Domitian (A.D. 95); the third under Trajān (A.D. 106), in which St. Ignatius suffered martyrdom, after having instructed the Church by admirable epistles, valuable as evidences of the faith of the primitive Christians. The fourth persecution was declared by Marcus Aurelius, whose philosophical religion and boasted humanity cannot be reconciled with this cruel proceeding. In this persecution St. Polycarp, a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, was put to death. The fifth persecution took place under Septimus Severus (A.D. 202) and it was peculiarly severe in Gaul, where St. Irenaeus was sacrificed to the rage of the persecutors. The sixth persecution was instituted by Maximin (A.D. 235); the seventh by Philip (A.D. 249); the eighth by Valerian (A.D. 257), in which St. Cyprian suffered; the ninth by Aurelian (A.D. 275), and the tenth and last by Diocletian and Maximian (A.D. 303). Conspicuous among the martyrs of this last and worst of the persecutions were the soldiers of the Theban Legion, to the number of six thousand. Despite the unfeeling and unhistorical criticism of infidel writers, there is no more affect- ing spectacle than the ready, generous and unflinching con- stancy displayed for their faith in Jesus Christ, by these several millions of martyrs of both sexes, all ages, social conditions and nations. Surely, very deep must have been the conviction that enabled them to brave the fury of the tribunal and to endure the horrible torments with which a fanatical and heartless heathenism visited these confessors of Christianity. The glory of martyrdom, in its perfection, belongs to Chris- tianity alone; for, whilst every creed may have its martyrs, no religion can show so great, so innocent, so holy and so con- sistent an army of witnesses to the truth of the Gospel. Amid the multitude were many dis- tinguished by birth, education, refinement and the highest probity, and many were men eminent in intellect and learn- knew to be its most determined foe. Idolatry summoned to its aid ing, and incapable of being duped by a vulgar superstition. the worst passions of the human heart. A corrupted nationality sided with it under the delusion that the overthrow of the Pagan worship would involve the destruction of the Empire. Historians reckon ten great persecutions, which we shall summarize. The first, under Nero, was distinguished by savage brutality. The living bodies of the Christians were used as torches to illumi- nate the gardens of Nero. In A.D. 70 the City and Temple of Jerusalem were destroyed by Titus. The prophecies of the Old and the New Testament regarding this event were marvellously fulfilled, and the Hebrews were scattered throughout the world, without a priesthood, a country, or a friend. ſtoNVERSION OF CONSTANTINE.-The Almighty per- mitted His Church to sustain the successive shocks of ten fearful persecutions to display to the world the impregnable basis of Christianity. He then showed mankind Paganism subdued in the person of the Emperor Constantine, who was converted to Christianity by the manifest interposition of Divine Providence in his favor during a war which he was waging against Maxentius, a son of Maximian, who aspired to the purple. Eusebius relates, as a public and well-attested fact, that Constantine and his army beheld a luminous cross in the heavens, with the legend “In this sign thou shalt conquer.” : º $ 4 BIISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC CHURCH. The chief service rendered by Constantine to the Church was the convocation and protection of the First General Council of Nice, in which the Orthodox Faith in the true and proper Divinity of Jesus Christ was formerly defined against Arius (A.D. 325). T. ATHANASIUS.—The leading figure in the controversy against Arianism was the heroic Bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius. The Arians, undeterred by the anathemas of the Nicene Council, resorted to stratagem to protect their heresy. They prevailed upon Constantine to recall the heretics whom he had banished, and to exile Athanasius. The sudden and terrible death of the heresiarch Arius himself alone prevented the latter's restoration to the position which his error and conduct had forfeited in the Church of Alexandria. Pope Julius restored Athanasius to his See, with high commendations of his zeal and fervor. The Schismatics, however, encouraged by the favor of the Arian Emperor Constantius, a son of Constantine, elected one Gregory Bishop of Alexandria, and opposed the return of Athanasius. The city became a scene of tumult and bloodshed, and the persecution spread throughout Egypt. Constantius, in his zeal for error, endeavored to obtain conciliary sanction for the heresy. Pope Liberius, intimidated by threats of personal violence and deceived by false representations, consented to sign a document condemning Athanasias, but he subsequently repudiated his action. The Council of Rimini, free in its first sessions, held to the Nicene faith; but overawed by the threats of the heretics, and deceived by the sophisms of those who pretended to receive the word “consubstantial,” they signed a document which was not orthodox. On discovering the fraud, the Fathers of the Council protested against the perversion of their meaning, and loudly proclaimed their adherence to the faith as defined at Nice. and Saints whom God raised up at this period in defence of the True Faith were St. Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers (A.D. 353), and St. Martin, Bishop of Tours (A.... 369). ULIAN THE APOSTATE.—The Church next found an •) insidious foe in the Emperor Julian, who, by forswearing his Jhristian baptism and faith, became known as the Apostate. Fomenting the dissensions among the Christians, he openly pro- tected Paganism and restored the ancient superstition wherever he could. In order to falsify the prediction of Christ relative to the complete destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, he invited and assisted the Jews in their attempt to rebuild it, an impious experi- ment, which was miraculously defeated. Under his successor, Jovian, who restored peace and security to the Church, Athanasius returned from exile, and died in the government of the Patriarch- ate, from which he had been so frequently and so unjustly expelled. Living chiefly by the favor of the Court, Arianism died out at the death of Valens, the persecutor of the illustrious St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea (A.D. 370). HE ERA OF HERESIES.—The fifth century witnessed the rise of certain great heresies regarding the Person and Natures of Jesus Christ. They originated in the East, which had always been given to vague metaphysical speculation. These errors served to bring out more fully the faith of the Catholic Church and to display the presence of the Holy Ghost in the great Councils that met during this epoch. The Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) defined the Godhead of the Holy Ghost and his procession from the Father and the Son, against the Macedonians. The schism of the Donatists, who had disturbed all Africa by their novelties, was brought to an end, mainly by the labors of St. Augustine, at a Conference held at Carthage (A.D. 411). *...* A:isong tile JPoctors *—e -º-sº The same illustrious doctor refuted the heresy of Pelagius, which corresponded to our modern Naturalism, or the sufficiency of human nature to work out its own salvation. This heresy furnishes an example of the authoritative and definitive action of the Pope, whose condemnation of it was instantly accepted by the Universal Church. The General Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) condemned Nestorius, who taught that there were two persons in Jesus Christ, and that the title of Mother of God could not apply to the Blessed Virgin, as being only the mother of the man Jesus. The General Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) condemned Eutyches, who con- founded the Two Natures in our Lord. St. Leo, Pope, distinguished himself in this dispute, and the Prelates of the Council exclaimed, upon hearing his admirable dissertation on the Incarnation: “We believe all this. Peter has spoken by the mouth of Leo.” It was of these four great Councils, Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon, that Pope Gregory I. said: “They should be held in the same reverence as the Four Gospels.” Th; CONVERSION OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS.— . The fall of the Western Empire (A.D. 475), under the incursions of the savage tribes of the North, brought out the full missionary spirit of the Church. Whilst the invaders of Italy were gradually Christianized, attention was given to the remote countries of the North. St. Patrick arrived in Ireland during the Pontificate of Sixtus III. (A.D. 432). In his youth the apostle of Ireland had been a slave in that country. He sanctified himself in this lowly state, and, led by a divine impulse, upon his escape he devoted himself to preparation for the conversion of his former task-masters Ireland received the faith with fervor and docility, and in time became known to the world as the Island of Saints and Scholars. Divine Providence seems to have selected this favored spot as a new sanctuary for religion, when the Continent of Europe was ravaged by war, and the light of piety and learning appeared upon the point of being extinguished. Scotland embraced Christianity in the year 431. Palladius is regarded as the Apostle of the Scots. France entered the Church about A.D. 493. Clothilde, the Christian wife of Clovis, was instru- mental in effecting his conversion, which was hastened by a victory which he achieved over the Allemani, upon his beseeching the God of the Christians to come to his relief. St. Remi, Bishop of Rheims, baptized him and his principal chieftains. The cause of Christianity was immensely assisted by the labors of St. Benedict and his monks, who established a centre of learning and missionary enterprise at the famous Monastery of Monte Cassino, in the Kingdom of Naples. England was converted to the Christian faith by St. Augustine, the monk, under the special supervision of Pope Gregory the Great (A.D. 596). Germany was evangelized by St. Bonifacius (A.D. 723). The Danes and Swedes received the light of the Gospel shortly after Charlemagne had succeeded in converting the Saxons (A.D. 829). The entrance of the Normans into the Church (A.D. 912), and of the Hungarians (A.D. 1002), completed the evangelization of Europe. The Sclavs and Russians had embraced the faith in A.D. 842. The conversion of the nations, which Christ had commanded and enjoined, was thus accomplished. In every instance the moving and directing power had proceeded from the Apostolic See of Rome, whose Bishop was universally recognized as Supreme Pastor. The glory of this wonderful achievement, truly supernatural and divine, thus belongs. to the Church of Rome. So, too, the great reformatory movements of this period were inspired by this Church and conducted on methods which required and received her approval. In a word, Christianity was identical with Roman Catholicity as it exists at the present day, and the Catholic alone can claim for HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC CHURCH. 5 --~~ his Church the conversion of all Europe to the standard of the Cross. HE EASTERN SCHISM.–The establishment of the new capital of Byzantium or Constantinople, and the existence of the lºastern Patriarchate did not by any means change the recog- nized primacy of the Bishop of Rome. The writings of the Christian Fathers of the East abound in distinct declaration of the primatial power of the successors of St. Peter. Political intrigue, the decay of discipline, and the enervating influences of heresy combined to bring about the Greek schism. In 1053 Michael Cerularius revived the unhappy division com- menced by Photius, a layman, who had been intruded into the Patriarchal Chair. Although Greeks and Latins united at the Council of Florence (A.D. 1439) in acknowledging the supreme authority of the Roman Pontiff, the schism was reopened and continues to this day. The unhappy conse- quences of this division are seen in the pitiable condition of the schismatical Greek Church, which has become a mere tool of the Czar, and has practically ceased to be a moral power in the countries in which it drags out a miser- able and despised existence. HE CRUSADES. — The most famous military achievements of the middle ages were the expeditions against the Turks and Moham- medans, undertaken by West- ern Christendom for the de- liverance of Jerusalem from the yoke of the infidels. At a Council held at Clermont by Pope Urban II, in 1095, war was declared, and the principal knights and warriors of the day undertook the defense of the Holy Land. Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, is the chief figure of the First Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Jerusalem, and the establishment of a Christian monarchy with Godfrey as King. Out of the Crusades grew the Military Orders, which were of a semi-monastic nature. The Second Crusade (1146) was preached by St. Bernard, and enlisted the service of King Louis of France, and Conrad, Emperor of Germany. Its termination was disastrous, owing chiefly to the treachery of Manuel Commenus, Emperor of Constantinople. The Third Crusade was promoted by Henry II., of England, and after his death by his son Richard, CATHEDRAL OF STRASBURG. surnamed the Lion-Hearted, and by Philip Augustus of France. The only fruit of the Third Crusade was the taking of Acre, which became a city of refuge to the persecuted Christians. The Fourth Crusade (A.D. 1195) was led by Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and expended its force upon the brief establishment of a Latin Empire in Constantinople. In 1248 the saintly King Louis, of France, undertook a new Crusade, which ended in failure. He was taken prisoner. In 1270 he led a second expedition to the Holy Land, but died at Tunis of a malignant fever. The Crusades furnish a splendid proof of the Unity of the Christian Faith in Europe during their continuance. In- directly they conferred great material benefit upon civiliza- tion by opening the East to the knowledge and investiga- tion of the West. The fall of Constantinople beneath the power of Mahomet II. (1453), is regarded by Catholic his- torians as a punishment of schism. A united Christendom would have been too powerful an obstacle to the encroach- ments of the followers of the Crescent. The Middle Ages have been redeemed from the calumnies of prejudiced writers by the more patient and studious ex- amination of critical historians. The great orders of the Fran- ciscans and Dominicans con- ferred untold benefits upon Society and letters. The humane policy of the Church tended steadily toward higher civilization, better laws, and the enlargement of popular rights. The institution of chivalry did much to mitigate the horrors of war, and to lessen the temptations of mili- tary life. The thirteenth cen- tury is properly regarded as an epoch of vast intellectual activity. By his strenuous re- sistance to secular interference in ecclesiastical matters, Greg- ory VII. curbed the absolutist ambition of Kings and Em- perors, and maintained the distinctive supremacy of moral and religious power over all gainsayers. HE PROTESTANT REFORMATION.—A spirit of insub- ordination had prevailed for a long time in Germany. This was fostered by the Emperors and Princes. The ties of allegiance to the Roman See had also been weakened by the Western Schism, as it is called, which grew out of the absence of the Popes from Rome, and their residence at Avignon, in France. The dissatisfaction 6 HISTOR: Y OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH. culminated in the appearance of Anti-Popes. The Council of Constance, which terminated this schism, was also called to pass judgment upon a turbulent teacher, John Huss, who had been indoctrinated with the errors of the Englishman Wycliff, who opposed priestly and secular authority in those whom he judged Huss's doctrines were condemned, and the guilty of mortal sin. secular authorities of Constance—for the peace of the Empire, which the seditious writings and utterances of Huss and his disciple, Jerome, of Prague, had seriously disturbed—put him to death. In 1517, Martin Luther, a native of Saxony, and an Augustinian Friar began to attract notice by his opposition to the doctrine of Indulgence, which he and his followers misrepresented as permis- sions to commit sin. He encouraged needy princes to despoil the monasteries; allowed bigamy to Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, and in other ways courted the favor of the ruling powers with decided Popº INNOCENT XII. success. He opposed the celibacy of the clergy and set the example of taking a wife—a nun whom he seduced from her convent. His writings furnish a complete commentary upon the vagaries and contradictions of the human mind once thrown off from the centre of religious authority. His rival and opponent in the Reformation was John Calvin, a Frenchman, who established an ecclesiastical despotism at Geneva. In 1533, Henry VIII., of England, enraged at the refusal of Pope Clement VII. to divorce him from his lawful wife, abolished the Papal supremacy in England, and constituted himself Head of the Church. The Reformation, however, was not fully established in England until the reign of Edward VI. It is estimated that over a million human beings perished in the wars, tumults, and sackings which were the direct outgrowth of the Protestant Reformation. The ancient Church convened in Council at Trent in 1545. After many vicissitudes, the Council closed December 3, 1563. Its decrees reaffirmed the primitive faith of the Church, and they present an irrefragable answer to the attacks of modern heresy. All the erroneous teachings of the Reformation were patiently examined, calmly discussed, and, after mature deliberation, con- demned. HE FRENCH REVOLUTION.—The denial of the authority of the Catholic Church in matters of religious belief, and the absolute independence of opinion which Protestantism proclaimed, made their unhappy consequences felt during the seventeenth and Italy was invaded, and Pope Pius VI. taken prisoner. eighteenth centuries. Infidelity became fashionable. The decay of morals followed the negation of faith. A school of free thought was founded with a vast array of diversified talent. Deism began to prevail in England, skepticism in France. The corrupt morality of the Regency of Philip of Orleans was imitated throughout France. The Encyclopedists, with Voltaire at their head, scoffed at all religion. The long-pent-up storm at last burst upon altar and throne. Louis XVI. was beheaded and religion proscribed throughout France. Under the government of the Directory He died in captivity. After rapid changes the government of France was seized by the military genius of Napoleon Bonaparte, who restored the Catholic Religion, and had himself crowned emperor by Pius VII. The conqueror subsequently violated all the pledges that he had made, touching the independence of the Sovereign Pontiff, whom he finally compelled to deliver up Rome and the Papal *\!/? º POPE INNOCENT XI. States to the French Empire. The fall of Napoleon restored the Pontiff to his possessions. HE NINETEENTH CENTURY:-The present century of the life of the Church presents three illustrious Popes, Gregory XVI., Pius IX, and Leo XIII., the latter still happily reigning. The virtues and misfortunes of Pius IX. have rendered his name illustrious. He reigned longer than any other Sovereign Pontiff. His liberal policy toward Italy was rankly abused by the Secret Societies that never rested until they placed the King of Sardinia upon the throne of United Italy to the expulsion of the Pope from his temporal power, and the spoliation of the legitimato possessions of the Holy See. The war of France and Germany afforded an opportunity of entering Rome, September 20, 1870 Since that date the Pope has been virtually a prisoner in the Vatican Pius IX, convoked and presided over the Council of the Vatican (1869–1870), the most important decree of which was that of Papal Infallibility, or the exemption from doctrinal error of the Sovereign Pontiff, when he, as the Supreme teacher of the Universal Church, defines a doctrine. The present Pope, Leo XIII., was elected February 20, 1878. He has succeeded in materially lessening the evils which the Church has suffered in Germany from the new German Empire under the direction of Prince Bismarck. His encyclical letters and allocutions command the attention of the civilized world by reason of their rare wisdom and admirable adaptation to the wants of modern society. GREAT EVENTS IN CATHOLIC HISTORY. CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE PRESENT TIME EMPERORS, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR ACCESSION. POPES. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR DEATH. PRINCIPAL EVENTS. THE DATES MARK THE BEGINNING OF Events, AND THE DEATH OF PERSONS. SAINTS. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR DEATH, 161 180 193 193 211 218 218 222 238 244 250 253 260 268 on() 275 276 282 284 306 312 337 361 363 364 375 379 395 251 . Augustus Caesar reigns. Tiberius. Caligula. Claudius. Nero. Galba, Otho, Vitellius. Vespasian. Domitian. Nerva. Trajan. Hadrian. Antoninus. Marcus Aurelius. Commodus. Pertinax. Septimus Severus. Caracala and Geta. Macrinus. Heliogabalus. Alexander Severus. Maximin, Gordian. Philip. Decius. Gallus. Valerian. Gallienus. Claudius II. Aurelian. Tacitus. Probus. Carus, Carinus, and Numerian. Dioclesian and Maximian. Constantius Chlorus and Galerius. Constantine. Constantinus and brothers. Julian the Apostate. ovian. alentinian and Valens. Gratian and Valentinian II. Theodosius. Arcadius and Honorius. 68 St. Peter. 87 St. Linus. 91 St. Anacletus. 101 St Clement. 109 St. Evaristus. 119 St. Alexander I. 127 St. Sixtus I. 139 St. Telesphorus. 142 St. Hyginus. 157 St. Pius I. 168 St. Anicetus. 177 St. Soter. 192 St. Eleutherius. 202 St. Victor I. 219 St. £º. all 222 St. Callistus I. 23%) St. Urban I. 235 St. Pontian. 236 St. Anterus. 250 St. Fabian. 252 St. Cornelius. 253 St. Lucius. 257 St. Stephen I. 259 St. Sixtus II. 269 St. Dionysius. 274 St. Felix I. 283 St. Eutychian. 296 St. Caius. 304 St. Marcellinus. 310 St. Marcellus. 310 St. Eusebius. 314 St. Melchiades. 335 St. Sylvester I. 336 St. Mark. 352 St. Julius I. 355 St. Felix II., Administrator. 366 Liberius. 384 St. Damasus. 399 St. Syricius. 401 St. Anastasius I. 417 St. Innocent I. A. D. 34 38 51 64 70 95 106 150 166 171 174 189 202 220 235 245 249 251 253 257 275 277 303 304 313 314 319 325 326 330 337 357 360 420 B. : :"... of Christ. Conversion of St. Paul. Gospel of St. Matthew: - { First Ecumenical Council of Jerusalem. First Persecution. Destruction of Jerusalem. Jecond Persecution. Gospel of St. John. Third Persecution. Apology of St. Justin. Fourth Persecution, Montanists. Thundering Legion. Mission to India. Fifth Persecution. Clement of Alexandria. Sirth Persecution. Mission to Gaul. Tertullian. Sezenth Persecution. Schism of Novatus. Origen. Fighth Persecution, Ninth Persecution. Manichaeans. Tezeth Persecution. Theban Legion. Conversion of Constantinc. Donatists. Arians. {sº} Ecumenical Council at Nicaea. Conversion of AEthiopians. Invention of the Holy Cross. Arian Persecution. Sapor. Hosius. Macedonians. { Third Ecumenical Council at Constantinople. Vulgate translation. Theodosius. Mission to the Scythians. Pelagians. Nestorians. A. D. 33 St. Stephen. 44 St. James the Greater. 62 St. James the Less. 107 St. Ignatius. 107 St. Simeon. I66 St. Polycarp. 167 |. St. Justin 177 St. Pothinus. 179 St. Symphorian, 203 St. I renaeus. 206 St. Perpetua. 229 St. Hilarion. 231 St. Gregory Thaumaturgus. 258 St. Cyprian. 291 St. Sebastian. 304 St. Vincent. 305 St. Alban. 341 St. Paul the Hermit. 356 St. Antony. 375 St. Athanasius. 379 St. Basil. 389 St. Gregory of Nazianz. 398 St. Ambrose. 40ſ) St. Marlin. 407 St. Chrysostom. 420 St. Jerome. GREAT EVENTS IN CATIOLIC HISTORY. (CONTINUED.) PRINCIPAL EVENTS. EMPERORS, POPES. SAINTS. THE DATES MARK THE BEGINNING OF WITH THE DATES OF THEIR ACCESSION. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR DEATH. Events, AND THE DEATH OF witH THE DATEs of THEIR DEATH. PERSONS. * * ~~-- - - ~~~ : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ––ºº. – – ~ * : * - -------- – | - -Er A. D. A. D. A. D. e -> A. D. i 418 St. Zosimus. 431 (Fourth Ecumenical Council at - ; 422 St. Boniface. U Ephesus. 430 St. Augustine. 425 Valentinian III., in the west. | 432 St. Celestine. | 440 St. Sixtus III. 448 i Futychians. * * * tº a 461 St. Leo I. * 451 {F}; Ecumenical Council at 444 St. Cyril of Alexandria. 458 Št. Hilary. \ Chalcedon. . | 457 Vandal Persecution in Africa. ſº g 475 Romulus Augustulus. ; 483 St. Simplicius. 461 St. Simeon Stylites. Fall of the JP'estern Empire. A. mperors of the Aust. | 474 Zeno. 492 | St. Felix III. 491 Anastasius I. 496 St. Gelasius I. 496 Conversion of Clovis. 498 St. Anastasius II. 500 St. Asaph. {, 14 Symmachus. 511 Rogation Instituted. 511 St. Genevieve. 523 Hormisdas. 525 Foundation of Monte Cassino. 618 Justin I. 526 St. John I. 530 Felix IV. 529 Council of Orange. g Ö27 Justinian. 532 Boniface II. 530 St. Benedict. 535 John II. 530 St. Remigius, or Remy. 5:36 Agapetus. . e tº * 640 Sylverius. 553 Sixth Ecumenical Council. g 555 igilius. 545 St. Clotilda. 56() Pelagius. 558 Conversion of Visigoths. * 574 ł. | II. 565 Gildas. 565 ustin II. 578 enedict I. 578 Tiberius II. 590 Pelagius II. -- 582 Phocas. \ 604 St. Gregory I. the Great. 596 Conversion of England. 595 Gregory of Tours. 606 Sabinian. 607 Boniface III. 607 St. Augustine of Canterbury. 610 Heraclius. . 614 Honiface IV. - 618 Deusdedit. 622 Hegira of Mahomet. 615 St. Columban. 625 Boniface V. 628 Exaltation of the Cross. - 638 Honorius I. 630 Monothelites. 641 Constantine III. 64() Severinnus. 648 Mission to the Low Countries. 641 Constans II. 642 John IV. 64) Theodore I. 651 Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne. . 650 St. Gertrude, 655 St. Martin I. 662 St. Maximus. 657 St. Eugenius I. (j63 St. Eligius, or Eloi. 668 Constantine IV., Pogonatus. {572 Vitalian. (576 Duesdedit II. (or Adeodatus). 680 Seventh Ecumenical Council, 678 Domnus I. 682 Agatho. 683 St. Leo II. 685 Justinian II. 685 St. Benedict II. - 686 John V. 687 Conon. 690 Mission to Friesland. 690 St. Benedict Biscop. 701 St. Sergius I. 703 Adamnan of Iona. '705 John VI. 707 John VII. 709 Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury. 708 Sisimnius. 711 Leo III., the Isaurian. 715 Constantine. 71 Moors in Spain. 712 St. John of Beverly. 723 Conversion of Germans. 735 Venerable Bede. 731 Gregory II. 737 Iconoclasts. 738 St. Wilbrord of Ripon, Bishop o' { Utrecht. 741 Constantine V., Copronymus. 74.1 Gregory III. - 755 Patrimony of St. Peter. 755 St. Boniface. - 752 St. Zachary. - 752 {sº II. (died before his conse- Cration. 757 Stephen III. 768 Paul I. 767 Persecution of Iconoclasts. 766 Egbert of York. 772 Stephen IV. - 775 Leo IV. - e 778 Conversion of Saxons. 780 Irene. 795 Adrian I. 787 Eighth Ecumenical Council. 80ſ) Charlemagne, ; Nicephorus. 800 Charlemagne crowned. 8 Stauracius. § sº 804 Alcuin of York, Tutor to Charlc- 820 Michael II. 824 St. Pascal I. 826 Conversion of Danes magne. 827 Eugenius II. . 829 Theophil 827 Valentinus. - e eophilus. 830 Conversion of Sweden 842 Michael III. 844 Gregory IV. 844 Conversion of Russia. 835 St. Anscar. 847 Sergius II. 850 Moorish Persecution in Spain. 853 Leo IV. 855 Conversion of Bulgaria. º 858 Benedict III. 856 Rabanus Maurus. 867 | Basil. 867 Nicholas I. 869 |ſ Ninth Ecumenical Council of 872 Adrian II. Constantinople e & 882 ohn VIII. 877 John Scotus frigena. 877 {s; Ignatius, Patriarch of Constanti- 884 Marin I. 880 Conversion of Bohemia, 877 S º e. bbot of Gl b 885 Adrian III. 882 Hincmar of Rheims. t. Neot, Abbot of Glastonbury. 886 Leo VI. 891 Stephen VI. 891 Photius. 896 Formosus. 896 Boniface VI. 897 Stephen VII. 897 Romanus. 898 Theodore II. o 900 {. IX. - 303 enedict IV. 910 Asser, Bishop of Sherborne 910 St. Bemo 903 Leo V., Christophorus. 910 Order of Cluny founded. 910 Conversion of Normans 911 Sergius III. 912 | Constantine VII., Porphyrogenitus 913 Anastasius III. 913 Lando 928 lº A. 928 eo VI. º GREAT EVE S IN CATIOLIC HISTORY. T (CONTINUED.) EMPERORS. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR ACCESSION. WITH T H E TATES OF THEIR DEATH. POPES. THE DATES MARK THE BEGINNING OF PRINCIPAL EVENTs. EVENTS, AND THE DEATH OF PERSONS. SAINTS. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR D BATH. A. D. A. D. A. L. A. D. 931 Stephen VIII 936 John XI. i 939 Leo VII. 942 Stephen IX. 94.2 St. Odo of Cluny. l 946 Marin II. 950 Persecution by Moors in Spain. 955 Agapetus II. 959 Romanus. i 961 St. Bruno. 96.1 St Odor of Canterbury 963 Nicephorus Phocas 964 John XII. 964 Conversion of Poland. 965 Leo VIII, _966 | . Hodoard. - 965 || Benedict V. - 969 John Zimisces. 972 John XIII. 974 Benedict VI. . 974 | Boniface VII 975 Basil II. and Constantine. 983 Benedict VII. 988 iſ St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Can- 984 John XIV. U terbury, ; }: §i. 992 Oswald, Archbishop of York. 999 Gregory V. 1003 Sylvester II. 1001 Conversion of Hungary. 1003 John XVII. / 1005 John XVIII. 1005 || Invention of the Gamut, by Guido 1009 John XIX. U d'Arezzo. 1012 Sergius IV. 1006 ſ AElfric, the Grammarian, Archbishop 1025 Constantine. 1024 Benedict VIII. U of Canterbury. 1028 - || Romanus III. 1034 Canstantine Monomachus. 1033 John XX 1041 Truce of God Established. 1038 St. Stephen of Hungary. 1042 Theodora. 1044 Benedict IX., abd. 1046 Gregory VI. 104.7 Clement II. 1050 Heresy of Berengarius. 1048 Benedict IX., rest. 1054 Election of Popes Reserved to Car- 1048 Damasus II. dinals. . 1054 St. Leo IX. 1055 Schism of the Greeks. 1056 Michael VI. - 1057 lsaac Comnenus. 1057 Victor II. 1058 Stephen X. 1059 Constantine XI. 1061 Nicholas II. 1063 St. Peter Damian. 1067 Michael VII. 1073 Alexander II. 1078 Nicephorus. #. Abelard. g * 1081 Alexis Comnenus. 1085 St. Gregory VII. 1084 Carthusian Order. e 1089 { º Archbishop of Canter- # 3.}}| 1995 |{cºlº Clermont ºr *** 1005 |"wān, Bishop of worcester 1098 Cistercian Order. 1099 Osmund, Bishop of Sarum. 1100 Godfrey of Bouillon. - 1103 Order of Fontevrault. T 101 St. Bruno. 1105 Peter the Hermit. 1109 Ingulphus, Abbot of Croyland. 1118 John Comnenus 1118 Pascal II. 1118 Order of the Templars. s - 1118 Gelasius II. 1125 | | Tenth . Egumenical Council 1124 Calixtus II i (First of the Lateran). e 1134 St. Norbert, - 113ſ) Honorius II. 1139 Eleventh Ecumenical Council. 1143 Manuel Comnenus. 1143 Innocent II. 1143 Celestine II. 1143 William of Malmesbury. 1145 Lucius II. 1153 Eugenius III. 1153 St. Bernard. 1154 Anastasius IV. II 59 Adrian IV. 1160 Vendois. 1164 Peter Lombard. - 1179 || Twelfth Ecumenical Council. 1170 St. Thomas of Canterbury. 1180 Alexis Comnenus. 1181 Alexander III. 1185 Lucius III. # Urban º 1190 º 9. Gregory VIII. 1190 'hird Crusade. * * iii 8. H. 1200 | Universities. 1197 || Longchamp, Bishop of Ely. 1203 Alexis IV. 1198 Celestine III. 1202 Fourth Crusade. 1204 Alexis V. Latin Emperors at Constantinople. o g 1204 || Baldwin I. 1205 |{Thirteenth, Equmenical Coun- cil (Fourth Lateran). 1206 Peter Courtenay 1209 Carmelites. 1210 Friars Minor 1212 Clares. & ºn 1216 Robert Courtenay. 1216 Innocent III. 1216 Dominicans. 1221 St. Dominic. 1217 Fifth Crusade. 1224 Mission to Prussia. e 1226 St. Francis of Assisi. 1228 || Baldwin II. 1227 5.º. 1245 || Fourteenth Ecumenical Coun- 1228 Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury. 1241 Gregor gº Cll. 1241 §e IV. 1248 Seventh Crusade. 1230 St. Ciare. 1254 Innocent IV. T256 Augustinians. 1231 St. Anthony of Padua. - 1256 Sorbonne. 1245 Alexander of Hales. Greek Empire. 1253 ſ Robert Grossetéte, Bishop of Lin- 1261 Michael Palaeologus. 1261 Alexander IV. J 264 Corpus Christi. * { coln. 1264 |Urban IV. 1270 Eighth Crusade. * > e 1268 Clement IV. 1274 Fifteenth Ecumenical Coun- 1270 St. Louis. e 1276 Gregory X. *f cil. 1274 St. Thomas Aquinas. 1276 Innocent V. T274 Reunion of the Greeks. 1274 St. Bonaventura. . 1276 Adrian V. • & #; {...ºf 1283 || The Greeks Relapse into Schi 1280 Nicolas ge e Greeks Relapse into Schism. Hugh de Ba ishop of g 1282 Andronicus II. 1285 Martin IV. & # & 1286 gh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely 1287 Honorius IV. 1299 Institution of the Jubilee. 1292 Nicolas IV. 1309 Popes at Avignon. e I294 St. Celestine V. 1311 {sºenth Ecumenical Coun- 1308 John Duns Scotus. 1303 Boniface VIII. cil. 1304 St. Benedict XI. 1312 Suppression of Templars. 1314 Clement V. 1980 T inity Sunday. – GREAT EVENTS IN CATHOLIC - TORY. EMPERORS, with TH R DATES OF TH RI R ACCESSION. A. D. 1328 Andronicus III. 1341 John V. and John VI. 1391 Manuel II., Palaeologus. 1425 John VIII., Palaeologus. Constantine VII. A. mperors of Germany 1440 Frederick III. | 1403 Maximilian I. 519 Charles V. 1556 Ferdinand I. 1504 Maximilian II. 1576 Rodolph II. 1611 Matthias. 1619 | Ferdinand II. 16:37 Ferdinand Il J. 1657 Leopold l. i 1705 Joseph I. 1711 Charles VI. 1740 Charles VII. 1743 Maria Theresa. º Francis I. 1765 Joseph II. 1790 Leopold II. 1702 Francis II. Emperors of Austria. 1806 Francis I. 1835 Ferdimand. 1848 Francis Joseph I. (CONTINUED.) | THE DATES MARK THE BEGINNING OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS. Events, AND THE DEATH OF PERSONS. POPES. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR DEATH. | John XXII. 1342 Benedict XII. 1352 Clement VI. 1362 Innocent VI. 1:370 Urban V. 1:37.8 Gregory XI. | :38% Urban VI. 1404 Honiface IX. 1406, 1 nnocent VII. 14(){} Gregory XII., abat. 14().9 Alexander V. 14 13 John XXIII., aba. 14:31 Martin V. | 1447 Eugenius IV. 1455 Nicholas V. 1458 Calixtus II l. 1404 Pius II. I 471 Paul II. 1484 Sixtus IV. 1492 I 11 noccht W H II. 15().3 Alexander VI. 1503 Pius III. I31.3 Julius II. 1521 leo X. 1523 Adrian VI. 1534 Clement VII. 1549 Paul III. 155: , , Julius III. 1555 . Marcellus II. 1559 Paul IV. 1565 Pius IV. - St. Pitus V. 1585 Gregory XIII. 1500 Sixtus V. 15;}{} Urban VII. 1591 Gregory XIV. 1591 Innocent IX. 1605 | Clement VIII. ! {505 Leo XI. I (321 Paul V. 1 (32.3 Gregory XV. 1644 Urban VIII. l{};}} Innocent X, e 1(\{;7 Alexander VII. 1664) Clement IX. 167(; , Clement X. 1689 : Innocent XI. 1691 Alexander VIII. 1700 Innocent XII. 1721 Clement XI. 1724 . Innocent XIII. 17:30 | Henedict XIII. 1740 ! Clement XII. 1758 Benedict XIV. 1769 Clement XIII. 1774 Clement XIV. 1799 Pius VI. 1823 Pius VII. 1829 Leo XII. 1830 ; Pius VIII. 1846 Gregory XVI. 1°ius IX. 1878 Leo XIII. A. I.). 1327 1340 1370 1376 1378 1388 1414 1439 1439 144() 1449 1453 1454 1476 1492 1492 1504 1715 1742 1774 I801 1809 1814 1814 1829 1848 1848 1850 1854 1869 The Angelus. SAINTS. WITH THE DATES OF THEIR DEATH. Saturday Abstinence. Missions of Tartary. | Return of the Pope to Rome. º Great Schism of the West. Feast of the Visitation. Seventeenth Ecumenical Coun- i ... cil at Constance. . - iſ Eighteenth Ecumenical Coun- Čil at Florence. Reunion of Greeks. Return to their Schism. End of the Western Schism. Constantinople taken by the Turks. Order of the Minims. Feast of the Conception. End of Moorish Dominion in Spain. America Discovered. Mission to Congo. Lutherans. Mission to Mexico. Capuchins. Confession of Augsburg. The Recollets. Calvinists. Schism of England. Company of Jesus. Missions to India. - { Nineteenth Ecumenical Coun- cil at Trent. Socinians. Missions of Japan. Missions of Ethiopia. Missions of Brazil. Carmelites. Council of Trent Closed. Seminaries Instituted. Barefooted Carmelites. Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Missions of China. {*ś of the Calendar by Gregory 1 11. Order of Ursulines. Abjuration of Henry IV. Persecution of Japan. Mission to Paraguay. Order of the Visitation. Missions of Canada. & French Oratorians. Bellarmine. Lazarists. Sulpicians. Christian Brothers. Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Bossuet. Lull Unigenitus against Jansenists. Bourdaloue. Fénelon. Massillon. 1719 B Suppression of Jesuits. Concordat with Napoleon. Captivity of Pius VII. His Deliverance. Jesuits Restored. Catholic Emancipation Act. Pius IX. at Gaeta. Death of the Archbishop of Paris. ſ Re-establishment of the Hierarchy in England. The Immaculate Conception De- { creed, December 8. Twentieth Ecumenical Coun- cil (First of the Vatican.) As- sembled December 8th. - A. D. 1373 St. Bridget. 1380 St. Catharine of Sienna. 1426 William of Wyckham. 1471 Kempis. 1486 William of Waynflete. 1507 St. Francis de Paula. 1535 Sir Thomas More. 1535 Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. I552 St. Francis Xavier. 1556 St. Ignatius. 1558 St. Philip Neri. . Teresa. . Charles Borromeo. 1 ; 8 4 ** t 1591 St. John of the Cross. 1591 St. Louis of Gonzaga. 1622 St. Francis of Sales. 1640 St. Francis Regis. 1641 St. Jane Chantei. 1660 St. Vincent de Paul. . De la Salle. 1783 B. Benedict Labre. 1787 St. Liguori. 1802 | B. Maria Clotilde. ; i | 10 HISTORY OF THE HOLY BIBLE WITH AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPER READING OF THE SACRED BOOK. EDITED BY THE REV. IGN. F. HORSTMANN, D.D., PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AND LITURGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF ST. CHARLES BorroMEo, PHILADELPHIA. “ALL SCRIPTURE DIVINELY INSPIRED an immaculate word, converting souls, IS PROFITABLE TO TEACH, To REPROVE, To CoRRECT, To INSTRUCT IN JUSTICE; THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE PER- FECT, FURNISHED UNTO EVERY GOOD WoRK.”—2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. THE catechism of the Council of Trent in explaining those words of the Lord's Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” after having spoken of that bread which is asked for the nourishment and support of the body, and which God, “who maketh his sun to rise on the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust,” bestows, in His admirable beneficence, indiscriminately on the good and the bad, goes on to treat of that spir- | itual bread which comprehends every- thing necessary for the safety and sal. vation of the soul. “The soul,” it says, “not less than the body, is nour- ished by a variety of food: the Word of God, for instance, is the food of the soul; for Wisdom says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink the wine which I have mingled for you,” Prov. ix. 5. When God deprives men of this, His Word—a privation frequently involved by our crimes—He is said to visit the human race with famine; ‘I will send forth,’ says He, ‘a famine into the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst of water, but of hearing the Word of the Lord.” Amos viii. 11. And as an incapability of taking food, or, having taken it, of retaining it, is a sure sign of approaching dissolution, so it is a strong proof of the utter hopelessness of salvation, to reject the Word of God, or, hearing it, to be unable to endure it, and to utter against God the blas- phemous cry, ‘Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” Job xxi. 14." What more but in a special manner is that word which was once taught by the Eternal Son, thence preached throughout the whole world, and afterward handed down, partly in writing and partly in tradition, even to us, by faithful min- isters. This is that inexhaustible trea- sure of the Father of the family from which, according to the different con- ditions and needs of our souls, we may draw, as well salutary remedies to heal our infirmities, as opportune nourish- ment to strengthen us on the toilsome journey of our spiritual life. And surely there is no stimulant stronger or better adapted to awaken us from our profound lethargy than the voice of Truth, the sound of which, as it is sweet to the ear of the virtuous, so also is it terrible to the wicked. What § and how great consolation, then, must # it not be to pious souls that seek God in simplicity of heart, to be able whilst reading the Divine Word to taste those chaste delights which have both power and virtue to strengthen Christian pa- tience and hope, and which are re- | served not to a knowledge that puffeth up, but to purity of heart and to a sincere charity that edifieth ! They, in whose hearts God preserves the seed of faith, behold, especially in the Gospels, treasures of Divine Wisdom manifested to the world. With grati- tude and love they meditate on its teachings and on the life of their Sa- viour, and thence learn the means chosen by Divine counsel to lead man back to the state of innocence and to the dignity of his origin from which through sin he had fallen; and above all, they admire the constant goodness and charity of the God-man, traits so useful work, then, can be undertaken both for God’s glory, for the spread of the true Church, and for the edification of the faithful, than following the instructions of the Church herself to do all in one's power to make easy of access and profitable to the soul, this Word of God which in His mercy and goodness He has wished should be preserved for our benefit? What stronger bulwark can be raised against the prevailing corruption of morals and the spirit of the world so common in our age, than to call to mind the teachings that have come from the mouth of our blessed Re- deemer and Master—teachings which, aided by His Grace, changed the world from a state of universal degradation and corruption into a garden blooming with flowers of every virtue and holiness? The Word of God is AVE MARIA 1 ° becoming the Redeemer, traits He wished to belong to all His children and disciples, founding the new law on love and making the fullness of the same to consist in love alone. To pass one's life in meditating on these things, in knowing nothing else, in seeking nothing else, is this not to build for one's self here on earth a dwelling for the heavenly kingdom? To him who asks, it shall be given; to him who knocks, it shall be opened; he finds who seeks; and surely that knowledge is preferable to all others, which will accompany us even to heaven, and even there will remain always with us. In reading and meditating on this Divine Word, let our prayer be that of the great St. Augustine, and with him let us seek for a proper under- 4 Aſ /S 70 ſº Y OF THE HOLY CA. T H O L / C B I B L E. hand, the Son of man, whom Thou hast received as our Medi- ator, through whom Thou hast sought us not seeking Thee, but sought us Thou hast, that we might seek Thee; through Thy Word, through which Thou hast made all things, among which, me also; through Thy only Son, through whom Thou hast called unto adoption a believing people, amongst whom, me also; through Him who sitteth at Thy right hand and maketh interpellation for us, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and know- standing of the same: “O Lord, my God, hear my prayer, and in Thy mercy give ear to my desire, for it not only inflames my heart, but wishes also to be of service to my brethren, so dear to me: Thou seest into my heart that it is so. Let me sacrifice to Thee the ser- vice of my thoughts and of my words; grant unto me what I may offer to Thee. For I am needy and poor; Thou art rich to all who call upon Thee; truly dost Thou take care of us. From my mind and from my lips drive away all rashness and every false- hood. Let Thy Scriptures be my ledge, I beseech Thee. Him it chaste delight. Let me be neith- Wºs º/4 - -*-*. º 2 is I seek in Thy Book. Of Him er deceived in them nor deceive |\'º * > Z ºff 4 LILE * N N --> Moses has written. He himself from them. O Lord, attend to THE HOLY FAMILY. T has said so. Truth itself says the my petition, and have mercy, O same.” Lord, my God, Thou light of the blind and strength of the weak, Thou light of those who see and strength of the strong, look down upon my t soul and hear me crying to Thee from the deep. For unless Thy ears THE HOLY SCRIPTURE. listen even to those in the deep, whither shall we go? to whom shall THE books comprehended under the general title of the Bible, or the we call? Thine is the day, and Thine is the night; at Thy nod the Old and New Testaments, are called Holy Scripture, and also the Word moments fly by. Grant, therefore, unto us, time to meditate on the of God, because they are regarded by the Church not merely as authentic *ecrets of Thy law, and let it not be - and truthful, but also as inspired, shut to those who knock. For Thou hast not wished that so many pages should be written in vain, filled F with the most abstruse secrets. . . . [= O Lord, perfect me and reveal them Hr- to me. Behold, Thy voice is my joy, Thy voice is to me above all | other delights. Give what I love, for I do love, and this is Thy gift. Desert not Thy gifts, neither de- spise the thirsty plant. I praise Thee for whatever I find in Thy Book, and I will listen to the voice of praise, and I will drink, and will consider, the wonders of Thy law. from the beginning in which Thou hast created the heavens and the earth, even to the eternal kingdom s- with Thee in the Holy City. Have |>. mercy on me, O Lord, and hear = my desire. It is not for this earth, for gold or silver, for precious stones | or rich garments, for honors or power, for carnal pleasures, neither for those things necessary for the § body or for life during my pilgrim-fis age here, for all these things are added unto us who seek Thy king- dom and Thy justice. Behold, O Lord my God, of what kind my desire is. The wicked have told | me fables, but not as Thy law. O ş Lord, behold of what kind my de- sire is. Behold, O Father, and re- | or written by the special assistance of the Holy Ghost. St. Paul rec- ommends this “Scripture inspired of God” to Timothy (2 Tim. iii. 16), and St. Peter speaks of those “holy men of God who spake, inspired by the Holy Ghost,” 2 Peter i. 21. The Fathers of the Church called these books holy and divine, and fre- quently say that God Himself is their Author. The catalogue of these books is § called the Canon of the Scriptures, and hence the name Canonical, given to the writings themselves. Those which were inserted in the Canon #| immediately after their publication, are called Proto-canonical; those which found a place in it later, are called Deutero-canonical. The oldest book in the world which has come down to our time contains the history of the creation and the special Divine government | of the human race from Adam and Eve, our first parents, to the en- trance of the children of Israel into | the promised land. Out of the dif- | ferent nations inhabiting the earth, and which had forgotten the true worship of the Most High, God se- lected the sons of Abraham and Jacob. These He guarded as the Rº, apple of His eye; He led them, like a father his beloved children, safe gard; look on it and approve it, - and grant that it may please Thy |} --~~ =- and sound through the vicissitudes mercy, that I may find grace in Thy - of this earthly pilgrimage, chastis- - - THE WISE MEN WORSHIP JESUS. - - sight, that so the innermost mean- ing them at times and then consol- ing of Thy Holy Word may be opened to me, knocking. For this I be-ling them—a spectacle, a reproof, a lesson to the world. Then, at length, the seech Thee, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, the Man of Thy right | Wisdom of the Eternal Father, our Saviour, the Son of God, appeared to º %W #| || º L % | º & º CHRIST CALLING SAINT PETER AND HIS BROTHER SAINT ANDREw. instructfallen humanity. “ God having spoken on divers occasions and many of the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament is found even in the earli- ways, in times past, to the fathers by the prophets: last of all, in these est days of the Apostolic See. days, hath spoken to us by his Son.” Tit. iii. 4; Heb. i. 1, 2. That the books of the Old Testament, by far the greater portion of the Holy Scriptures, were written with special divine assistance, was not only acknowledged and affirmed by the Hebrew people and their priests, but by our Sa- viour Himself and by His Apostles. If our Divine Lord did not expressly point out their number, their names or di- vision, He at least referred to them all in general. John v. 39; Acts xvii. 11. The Apostles, however, and their disciples, the early Bishops, charged themselves with the important task of transferring the sacred deposit of the once chosen people into the Christian Church, and thus secured to the Inspired Word of the Old Testament that veneration and respect which is due to God's Revealed Truth. Instructed by Christ Himself, “like a Master of a house, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old,” they thus gave to the world both the older and new treasures of truth and consolation. This fact cannot be called into question, for the Canon containing a record ~~. Tº ſºzi, A") º!!!!!" | -- # N ! | | - w %, lºº ſ \ % 2% THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WA- TERs, IN Four STREAMs. A very Ancient Symbol of the Four Gospel-Books. RELATION OF THE CHURCH To SCRIPTURE. Whence is it that we know that the Sacred Books of the Old Testament are divinely inspired? The testimony of the Jewish race can only be pleaded in favor of the au- thenticity of these documents. Where, then, are we to look for an immediate divine authority in favor of each book of the Old Dispensation? And as regards the writings of the Evangelists, they cannot in a strict sense be called the New Dispensation, but are rather only authentic docu- ments of facts and doctrines which belong to the New Dis- pensation established by Christ, and which for the most part give us merely a short synopsis of the new law. The question, therefore, is a pertinent one: In what relation does the Church stand to Scripture? Can we suppose that it was the intention of our Divine Lord and of His Apostles to spread a knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world, principally by means of a written word? Was such His or their plan? And as a matter of fact, as age succeeded 6 1//STO ſº Y O F THE HOL Y CATH O L ſoft BIBLE. age, has the faith been spread than by preaching? Historically, it is certain that in point of time the Church precedes the Scriptures. was in existence, established and perfect, pos- sessing full and complete authority, before there was ever any question of the Scriptures. the Old Law we behold the Jewish Church constituted and governed, Moses invested with authority, the people seeking the judgment or sentence of God from him, Exod. xviii. 15, Aaron clothed with the priest- hood, Joshua placed at the head of their armies, the syn- agogue directed by chiefs, and as yet the Scriptures had no existence. The first tables of the Law, graven by the hand of God, had been broken by Moses; the second were not brought down from Sinai and presented to the people for some months afterward. It was very much later, accord- ing as events succeeded each other, that Moses wrote the Pentateuch. As for the other books, written by the Judges, by David, Solomon, the Pro- phets and others, they had no existence till many centuries after the institution and com- plete development of the an- cient Church. It was not till a few years before the coming of our Saviour that the Canon of the books of the Old Testa- ment was closed by the Second Book of Maccabees. Our Divine Master appears. He preaches. He commands His disciples to preach through- out the whole world, Matt. xxviii. 19, 20, but He writes nothing Himself, neither does He command any one else to write. He imparts His own authority to the Apostles, and especially to Peter, as their Head. After His ascension, He sends down His Spirit upon them, and from that mo- ment the Christian Church is constituted and animated with a living soul — the model Church which that Spirit Him- self describes as one heart and one soul in a multitude of be- lievers. She assembles Council, whether to appoint a successor to Judas, or to declare the Jewish ceremonies abro- gated. She pronounces definitely concerning the admission of the Gen- tiles; she preaches, baptizes, converts the world, and as yet the New Among the whole number of the Apostles and disciples there are only seven who have written at all, and they have Testament is not written. in more by writing She In . º. % = - - = - -- - º = - º | | | | | | || \ll \\\ - r--- | | ||| || || ||| | | | || | |||| HOMO ! ECCE written only fragments of history and a few letters. First of all, St. Matthew, at the very earliest, six years after the ascension of Jesus Christ, writes his Gospel. publish his, together with his letters and the Apocalypse, till toward the close of the first century—that is to say, forty years after St. Paul St. John does not had said to the Romans, “Your faith is spoken of in the whole world” (Rom. i. 8 and Rom. x. 18), he declares that the sound of the voices of the Apostles had gone all over the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world. At the time when St. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles there were numberless churches in exist- ence, each governed by its own pastor, as is clear from the Acts themselves. Need we say that the Church of Rome was established before the Epistle to the Romans was written? the Churches of Corinth, Co- losse, Thessalonica, Galatia, before the Epistles to the Co- rinthians, Colossians, Thessa- lonians and Galatians? The Apocalypse contains exhorta- tions and reproofs addressed to the Angels—that is, the Bish- ops—of seven Churches of Asia Minor. It is therefore an his- torical fact, and undeniable, that the faith was preached and believed, that particular churches had been organized before a word of the New Tes- tament had been written. Be. sides, it does not follow that because a Gospel or an Epistle was written and known in some particular church, that there- fore it was diffused throughout the universal Church. Even as regards the New Testament, we know from St. Irenaeus that at the end of the second cen- tury there were still many churches that believed all the doctrines of the Apostles with- out ever having received the Word of God communicated to them in a written form. “If the Apostles,” he says, “had not left us any writings, would it not have been our duty to be guided by the rule of that tradition which they delivered to those to whom they entrusted the churches? —a rule asserted by many bar- barous nations believing in Christ who, not possessing any written language, have the words of sal- vation written without paper and ink in their hearts by the Spirit, and carefully preserve the ancient doctrines delivered to them.” Adv. Haeres, l. iii., c. 4. Again, the Greek language, which was employed by the writers HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LIC 7 of the New Testament, though widely diffused at that time, was still not the popular lan- guage of the Roman Empire any more than the Hebrew, in which the books of the old law were written, was the popular language of the Jews in the latter period of their history. But beyond those regions in which Greek was known, St. Thomas preached the Gospel to the Indians, St Bartholomew to the Parthi- ans, St. Thaddeus in Meso- potamia, other Apostles in Spain, yet antiquity has not handed down to us an Indian or a Scythian translation or an African text of the Scrip- tures. We know of only two ancient translations of the original text of the New Tes- tament, the ancient Latin Vulgate, made toward the end of the first or the beginning of the second century, and the Syriac translation. But in Gaul, Spain, Germany and in the East, many centuries passed, before the different #: 2: churches possessed a complete º * :#º: º collection of the sacred books ===sºº and translations into the lan- guage of the people. These reasons and facts show con- clusively, that the Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ do not rest. upon the written word of the New Testament as upon their foundation, as well as, that the Bible is not the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. What we have said concerning the Church and its existence before the Scrip- ture we can say also of each member of the Church. If a man have but faith in the Church of Christ and receive her baptism, he is a Christian in any country in the world, whether he know how to read or not, whether he be ac- quainted with the existence of the inspired books or be ignorant of it. In the early days of the Church the law of secrecy required that the most sublime mysteries of Christianity, such as the Eu- charist, should be known to - - the initiated only—that is to THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. | ºil. - -> N N N N R § NN § N the complete Canon had been collected, which could scarce- ly have been done, before the end of the second century, Catholic worship did not so much consist in reading the sacred text proper, but rather in prayers and hymns, in cate- chetical instruction. The Bible was almost exclusively in the hands of the ecclesiastical su- periors. They selected cer- tain portions from the Gospels for the feasts and Sundays of the ecclesiastical year, and accompanied the reading of the same with explanations in the form of homilies which usually preceded the Offertory of the Mass. If we consider the history of each book of the New Testament, the ob- ject for and the intention with which it seems to have been written, we cannot find the least trace which would induce us to conclude that the author wished to com- pile, so to speak, a catechism of Christian doctrine; nay, rather, the New Testament bears on its face the evidence that it was addressed to men who already believed and were already instructed—par- tially at least—in the truths it teaches or enforces, and that it was not written to teach the faith to such as had no knowledge of it, but to correct errors, to present more fully the faith on certain points. No one can read it without perceiving that it neither is, nor professes to be, the original medium of the Christian revelation, but from first to last supposes a reve- lation previously made, the true religion to have been already taught and instruc- tions in it already received. From these facts it follows that a knowledge of the in- spired writings is not neces- sary to salvation, and further- more, that the Church ap- proves herself to men as a Divine authority, independ- ently of the Holy Scriptures. 2. Just as certain as is the fact that the Church existed before Scripture, so also is it say, to Christians thoroughly confirmed and proven in the faith. “Many certain that the Church alone, by means of her Divine authority sup- hermits,” says St. Augustine, “lived in deserts, having with them faith, posed to be previously acknowledged, can establish the Canon of the hope and charity, but without the sacred books.” It is clear, therefore, holy books and cause it to be adopted, and further, determine the belief that the Church flourished and brought forth fruit before the scriptures of mankind generally in the authenticity, and, what is more, the inspira- What, in fact, is the important point at issue for of the New Testament existed. It is equally well known that even after tion, of these books. 2 HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA TH 0 L 10 B I B L E. - explaining which we declare all hu- man power to be insufficient? It is not to verify the authenticity of a book by means of laborious research, and then to com- municate to a few learned men the certainty thus ac- quired. Every-day criticism has done this for each and every one of the sacred books. The question we are considering is, How are we to obtain from the whole Christian world this act of faith: “I believe the in- spiration of the seventy-two books, of which one re- counts the history ; of creation, another describes the last days of the world, and the greater part tell us the mysterious thoughts of God, while all were composed at a period now very remote and in languages entirely strange to us; I believe the inspiration of the Apocalypse, which con- tains as many mysteries as words; that of the second and third Epistles of St. John, in which there is no distinct evidence of inspired language at all; and that of the Canticle of Canticles, which so forcibly resembles a worldly love-song”? And this act of faith is demanded without any pos- sible demonstration or hesitation, from the simple and the learned alike; it is required to be firm, certain, unshaken, without the slightest doubt that God Himself has made His thought and His will known to us in this respect; for as an act of faith it is the acquiescence of man to the infallible declaration of God. St. Matthew and Mark, St. Luke and John, St. Peter and Paul, were either Apostles or disciples of the Apostles, but how do we know that all they wrote is truly the Divine Word? But why, if we accept the writings of St. Mark and Luke as without doubt of Divine origin, do we reject the eminently beautiful Epistles of St. Barnabas, St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp, who were like- wise all immediate disciples of the Apostles? Why are these latter not credited with the same author- ity? Why are their words merely human, when it is so difficult to distinguish their writings from those accredited to the Holy Ghost? There is and can be but one answer—the authority of the Church. Whether we consider the nature of the fact to be admitted-I mean the inspiration of the seventy- two books, written so many ages ago, in Hebrew or Greek or Chaldee; or, again, the infinite number of persons to whom this truth is proposed as an object of faith, the immovable firmness of the certainty which is demanded of them, or the ground on which this undoubting assent is required—we must be con- vinced that it cannot be a question of literary criti- cism which is here submitted to their examination, Fº THE ASCENSION. From the wood-carved decorations of the Church of San Carlo Borromeo, Antwerp, Belgium. TT but the necessary object of an act of faith required by the authority of God himself on that truth being proposed by His Church. “The | truth of faith,” says the Catechism º of the Council of Trent, “makes us hold that for cer- tain which the au- thority of the Church proves to have been revealed by God.” | Inspiration is a fact altogether su- pernatural, invisi- ble, beyond the reach of any of our senses; it is the work of God rather than of man; a fact which neither feel- ing nor reason will ever be able to dis- cern with perfect certainty of evi- dence, and which cannot be established by human testimony, for no one has seen the Prophet or the Evangelist conversing with God; no sacred writer has himself asserted the inspiration of each of his writings. believe this fact only on the testimony of a Divine witness; but left to my own researches, I could never discover it, either in the forty-five books of the Old Testament or the twenty-seven of the New. And yet this in- spiration must be admitted, for it is the principle on which so many mys- teries must be admitted and so many difficult duties must be performed. I can Is it not clear that the least doubt, thrown on either the authenticity or the inspiration of the Gospels, would entirely paralyze that zeal we must manifest if we would follow out its precepts and its maxims? Lastly, if the great God deigns to speak to His crea- tures, can it be conceived that the almighty word which man, a mere nothing, is to obey, should re- main open for discussion, even as the word of man, uncertain, or more or less probable? or that it should be accessible only to men of learning and to profound critics? Is it possible that these men should be able to boast of having attained it by their labor and talents, and that men in general must accept it only on the authority of the learned—an authority so often unsafe, always open to dispute, and actually disputed ? In order, then, to form the complete collection of the sacred books, to secure the adoption of that col- lection by the whole Christian world, to elicit from all the faithful such an act of faith in their inspira- tion, there was need of a pre-existing authority, a Divine institution, charged with the care of all the churches and making itself obeyed from North to South, from East to West. Under the old law we find ninety-nine Pontiffs succeeding to the chair of Moses; since the coming of Jesus Christ, the holy Roman Church has always enjoyed that prerogative of explaining and justifying the belief of Christen- dom in the Scriptures. Reason demands this in- HIS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CA. T H O L I C BIBLE. 9 tervention of the Church, and history attests that it has always been exer- cised. History attests that the Chair of Peter has always been the un- shaken foundation for the Canon of the Scriptures. St. Clement, the third Pope after the Prince of the Apostles, in the Epis- tle he wrote to the church of Corinth, cites as author- ities, texts from almost all the books of the Old and New Testaments, those even which are called Deutero-canonical. A few years later the church of Rome commu- nicates to the churches of Africa the whole Can- on, comprising the sev- enty-two inspired books. Then the Council of Hippo in 393, the third Council of Carthage in 397, St. Augustine about the same time, in his book on Christian Doctrine, re- peat the same Canon in its integrity. At the be- ginning of the following century Pope St. Inno- cent I. sends the same Canon to Exuperius of Toulouse; at a later pe- riod Pope Gelasius, and in 1435 Eugenius IV., communicate it to re- cently converted nations. Some of the Fathers of the Greek and Syrian churches make enumera- tions also, but they are defective, and in some cases they class as sacred writings, works that can- not be admitted; but they only show thereby that they were not fully ac- quainted with the teach- ing of their Master, and as disciples were to be instructed like others by the infallible Rock of Peter. It is clear, there- fore, that the powerful voice of the Church alone, speaking with full authority in the name of God, could establish the Canon of the holy books and demand our faith in their authenticity and inspiration, so that with St. Augustine we can all say, “For my own part, I should not have believed the Gospel if I had not been influenced by the authority of the Catholic Church.” And with Bossuet, “It is through the Church that the Holy Spirit leads us to believe in the Scrip- tures, and necessarily so, since it is confessed by the Church which puts the Scriptures into our hands.” 3. As the Church existed before the Scriptures; as the Church estab- THE CROSS OF CALV ARY. lished the authenticity and Divine inspiration of the same, so also is it cer- tain that it has always belonged to the Church, and to her alone, to give that authoritative inter. pretation of the Scriptures which in matters of faith and morals ought to de- termine their meaning with supreme authority obligatory on all. We know that the holy Scriptures are essentially the Word of God, in- spired by the Holy Ghost. The books are of Divine origin, not merely in this sense that they contain without error the revealed doctrines of God, but also that God Himself is their principal author. He it is who assisted the writers lest they might err in what they wrote; He as- sisted them also and di- rected them what they should write. To deter- mine precisely how far this Divine co-operation extended as to the whole composition would be diſ- ficult, if not impossible, for human intelligence; but this one thing is cer- tain, that the Holy Ghost is the principal and proper author of the work. No one can deny the possibility of such Divine influence over the thoughts and wills of men. Without doubt St. Matthew and St. John knew much, if not every- thing, about the teaching and actions of our Re- deemer, and St. Mark and St. Luke wrote what they received directly from the Apostles; yet they all stood in need of special Divine assistance to preserve them from confounding what was merely human with what was divine, to instruct them what to write down and what to omit according to God's will. As it is impossible to determine the interior effects produced by grace within the heart of the regenerated man, so also does it remain a secret how far the sacred writers were assisted, directed and impelled by the Holy Spirit in the composition of the holy text. This direction, however, certainly ex- tended–1st, to the resolution to write; 2d, over the selection of the mat- ter to be written; 3d, to Divine assistance excluding every error; and 4th, to giving Divine confirmation to what was written. These four con- ditions God fulfilled, and thus became the principal author of the Bible. 1() // LS TO R Y O F THE I/O L Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. The secondary authors were the different writers. Granted that the evan- gelists knew all the deeds and doctrines of our Saviour, certainly we can understand why the immediate resolution to write at all and the choice of the matter were given them by inspiration. In the case of prophecies, these come, and can come, only by immediate revelation, but where there was no danger of wandering from the true sense, we may easily suppose that each writer retained his own peculiar style of expression. If then, God is the principal author of the Bible, it must be clear that the same authority which, with God's assistance, guarantees to us both the authenticity and Divine inspiration of the sacred text, and to whom alone this treasure-house of the faith has been entrusted, can alone inter- pret for us its true sense. Otherwise endless contradictions would result, and the very object of a divinely-inspired scripture would end in total failure. They tell us that the Scriptures need no interpretation; that MODERN ROME FROM THE BANKS OF THE TIBER. they are so clear that he who runs may read and understand them. Can this be true? I open the Epistle of St. Peter, and I read that in the Epistles of St. Paul there are obscure passages, “some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as also the other scriptures, to their own perdition.” 2 Pet. iii. 16. I turn to the Gospel of St. Luke, and I read that “Jesus opened the understanding of His dis- ciples (who were on the road to Emmaus) that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke xxiv. 45)—a service which He had often to render to His Apostles by explaining to them His own words which they had misunderstood. He who asserts that the inspired text is always clear in questions affecting doctrine and morals shows that he has never studied the Bible. Certain texts concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost and the indissolubility of the marriage tie when stained by adultery, have given rise to endless discussion between the Greek and Roman churches, How many other texts are there not, in which it is so difficult to distin- guish a precept from a counsel, the figurative from the literal sense? When Quakers conclude from the words, “Swear not at all,” that it is unlawful to swear in any case, and from those others, “They that take the sword shall perish with the sword,” that war is unlawful, are they right or wrong? When the ancient Anabaptists and modern Communists claim the authority of the text, “They had all things in common,” for establishing community of goods, are they right or wrong? The book of Exodus says, “Keep holy the Sabbath day,” from which many have con- cluded that Saturday ought still to be the day of rest; others that it is sufficient to call the day reserved for the worship of the Lord the Sab- bath; which is right? There is no end of such difficulties in the Scrip- tures. We may conclude this part of our subject by asking the follow- ing questions: If the Gospel does not need any interpretation, whence the need of ministers of the holy Gospel? And if it is so clear, how does it happen that sects the most opposed in their belief, all base their sys- tems on texts of the Bible? And how comes it that these four words, “This is my body,” have given occasion to more than two hundred dif. ferent interpretations? And that, according to Osiander, among the par- tisans of the Augsburg Confession alone, there have been counted no less than twenty different opinions on justification, sixteen on original sin, etc., etc., all supported by Scripture, and that in reference to the Sacra- ments there are as many theories called scriptural as there are different sects? Is there any such thing as heresy, or can there be, if Scripture be so clear? Scripture, then, needs interpretation. It is with this written law as with all others. Whilst they remain superior to the individuals whom they themselves designate as their interpreters, the Scriptures need to have their exact meaning, the extent of their application, their excep- tions, etc., determined according to necessity by a counsel of state which lives, speaks, explains its decisions and can ensure obedience. Now, at all times and everywhere, the Church has claimed the right of interpret- ing the Scriptures with supreme authority through her chief pastors, but principally through her Head. We read in Deuteronomy, “If thou per- HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B IB L E. 11 ceive that there be among you a hard and doubtful matter in judgment and thou see that the words of the judges within thy gates do vary: arise, and go up to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt come to the priests of the Levitical race, and to the judge that shall be at that time: and thou shalt ask of them, and they shall show thee the truth of the judgment. And thou shalt do whatsoever they shall say. . . . But he that will be proud and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest who ministereth at that time to the Lord thy God, and the de- cree of the judge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel.” Deut. xvii. 8–13. The Christian Church, charged with instructing not one nation only, but the whole world, must have received at least an equal prerogative in the interpretation of the Scriptures, to which, since the coming of Jesus Christ, twenty-seven books have been added. This prerogative is con- always, even to the end of time,” and of that guiding Spirit, “the Com- forter, who was given her in order to bring to her mind all the words” which in the beginning she had gathered from the very lips of her Spouse. If those who contradict her teaching are to be classed with the heathens and publicans, then this, her prerogative, necessarily involves the right of interpreting the sense of Scripture with an indisputable authority. The whole history of the Church from the day St. Peter proclaimed, “Men, brethren, the Scripture must be fulfilled” (Acts i. 16); and that, on which he declared that, according to Divine appointment, it was from his lips the Gentiles were to receive the word of the Gospel (Acts xv. 7), from the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem down to the Vatican, the Church has ever fulfilled this holy function, speaking with authority, that it has seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to declare what was to be held and what to be rejected in order to be saved. SAINT PETER'S, ROME. tained in her duty of preaching imposed on her by our Saviour: “Go teach all nations. . . . Preach the Gospel to every creature, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. He that heareth you heareth me; I am with you (preaching and teaching) all days even to the consummation of the world.” For as Christ does not favor His Church with new revelations, the teaching she must impart to the world can have no other subject-matter than the utterances of the Incar- nate Word—utterances consigned to and preserved in Scripture and Tra- dition. Her whole office, therefore, is to tell us what this divine doctrine is, and to verify and establish its true sense. She, then, in due time and place, propounds this heavenly doctrine in the most precise terms, thus breaking the bread of life for her children, and bringing forth from her treasury and diffusing over the world the riches of early ages and of recent days, “things new and old.” While she fulfills this sacred duty, she is assisted by the presence of Him “who promised to be with her 2 ON THE RELATIONs BETWEEN THE SCRIPTURE AND THE C-TURCH. Scripture, the true Word of God, spoken on divers occasions and many ways, in times past by the prophets and in these last days by His own Son (Heb. i. 1, 2), is not inferior to the Church in excellence and dignity. It is inspired, holy and divine. The Church, faithful Spouse of Jesus Christ, acknowledges openly and lovingly that she owes obedience to her Lord, but professes with no less confidence that she is charged with the duty of conveying to His children, the orders of their Father, and also of explaining them in His name and with the assistance of His Spirit. It is her custom to erect a throne in the centre of the Council-chamber, on which she places the Holy Books as presiding over the assembly, thus occupying, as it were, the first place and deciding with supreme authority. When she celebrates the Holy Mysteries, she wills that all should rise and remain standing, as a mark of reverence, whilst the Gospel is being read. 12 ///ST'ſ) ſº Y OF THE // O L Y CA. T H O L / O B J B L E. to be explained by other texts, or, to omit innumer- able other explanations, however clear the text may be, I may understand it wrongly from not knowing the genius of the language or not distinguishing be- tween the figurative and literal sense. From the time the Chris- tian Church came into ex- istence, there is scarcely a text of Scripture which heresy has not sought to make use of as a weapon against her, and yet, for one obscure passage which may be twisted against her doctrine, there are a mul- titude of very clear ones which serve as the founda- tion and the proof of her teaching. Scripture con- sidered as a whole, studied with an honest understand- ing and a teachable heart, and interpreted according to the consent of the Fath- ers, cannot in any case be favorable to schism or her- esy. On the other hand, considering the many mys- teries of our holy religion, its teachings so pure and so holy, the laws it imposes on us—laws often so bur- densome to our passions— and the numerous difficul- ties which present them- selves almost on every page of our Sacred Books, and, above all, considering the Scripture entrusted to the s—º’ Church is her light and her treasure. It is a powerful means furnished her for at- taining her end—namely, the salvation of souls—by teaching the doctrine of Jesus Christ, administering His Sacraments, promulga- ting His laws and celebrat- ing His worship. All the points of Christian doctrine have relation to the exist- ence and attributes of God, the creation and govern- ment of the world, the re- demption of the human race, the eternal destiny of the good and the bad; and how magnificently are not all these points treated in the Sacred Books Grace is given us by the Sacraments—grace, without which no one can attain to glory. Now, is there any one of these precious chan- nels whereby the blood of Jesus Christ flows in upon our souls, of which the in- stitution, the use, the won- derful efficacy, are not told us in the Gospels and writ- ings of the Apostles 7 The Decalogue, which Jesus came, not to abolish, but to carry on to its perfec- tion, is written in the book of Exodus. The Gospel is the commentary which Christ Himself has made upon it. As to the legis- lative authority of the Church, the Old and New unfathomable mysteries of Testaments serve as her iniquity concealed in the archives. In them you - - F- - human breast, it is no won- find her title-deeds and also THE TRIBUNE OF ST. PETER, IN ST. PETER'S, ROME der that St. Augustine a portion of her history. … - - should affirm that all here- Lastly, the form of prayer is taught us by Jesus himself. The mode sies have sprung from the fact that the Scriptures, so good in themselves, of worship also is imparted to us in the celebration of that rite by which have not been well understood. To give a few examples. The Adamites our Saviour celebrated His sacrifice in the Supper-room, enjoining on us argued from Genesis that as they were as pure as our first parents, they to offer it after His example. need not be ashamed of being naked; Arius found no less than forty- Thus, as the Apostle says, Scripture provides us with means useful for two passages in the Bible to prove that the Son of God was not consub- teaching, reproving, correcting, instructing in justice, that the man of stantial with the Father; Macedonius read in the Scripture, that the God may be perfect, furnished to every good work. By it we are made Holy Ghost was not God; Pelagius, that man could work out his salva- partakers of that blessedness which Jesus Christ has declared to be tion without grace; Calvin, that man could not observe the Divine com- greater than the Divine maternity: “Blessed are they who - mandments; many, that these words, “This is my body,” hear the Word of God and keep it!” It is, then, for the do not mean that the object spoken of, was His body. And Church, as, according to the Apostle, it was for Israel, a so we might say of every sect and ism, that Scripture has great and peculiar advantage that she is made the deposi- always been the armory from which weapons have been tory of the oracles of God. Rom. iii. 2. Scripture always drawn for their own defence against the condemnation of confirms the authority of the Church, and cannot in any the Church. case weaken it. His Word cannot contradict Himself. It follows, then, from what has been said, that the read- No text of the Bible can contradict the teaching or the ing of the Sacred Books, may be productive of great good morals officially proclaimed by the Church. Therefore any or great mischief, according as the version is correct or un- opposition between the sacred text and any Catholic dogma faithful and the disposition brought to the reading or study, can only be apparent, not real. It may be that the trans- =& good or bad. Now, since the Church is charged with the lation I use is faulty, or the text is really obscure and needs AGNUS DEI. duty of teaching all necessary truths, and performs that HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B I B L E. 13 duty by ex- plaining to all the elements of Christian truth through cate- chetical in- struction; and as she reverts to these instruc- tions every Sun- day morning during the cel- ebration of the Holy Myste- ries, it follows that, as a gen- eral rule, the reading of Holy Scripture is not necessary for salvation. The proper relations which must of neces- sity subsist be- tween Scrip- ture and the Church are faithfully re- called by the following pas- sage from the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Philip the dea- con had been preaching the Gospel in the city of Samaria. The angel of the Lord said to him: “Arise, and go toward the south, to the way that - taken a way from the earth? And the eu- nuch, answer- ing Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the Prophet speak this? of himself or of some other? And Philip, opening his mouth and be- ginning at that Scripture, preached to him Jesus. And as they went on the way, they came to a certain water, and the eunuch saith: See; here is water; what hindereth me from being bap- tized 2 A n d Philip said: If thou believest with thy whole heart, thou mayest. And he answering said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he com- man ded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the % º º ſyll l go eth down §s Illſ|| eunuch ; and from Jerusalem sº º, he baptized ºv. ... NANNo ºccur 2 ey were rising up, he $gulº hº - come up out of went. And be- Fº ſº the water, the hold, a man of Spirit of the Ethiopia, a eu- Lord took away nuch of great Philip, and the authority Uln- OUR HOLY FATHER, Pop E PIU's IX. eunuch saw him der Can dace no more. And queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore: and he was returning, sitting on his chariot and reading Isaias the prophet. And the Spirit said to Philip : Go near and join thyself to that chariot. And Philip, running thither, heard him reading the Prophet Isaias, and he said: Thinkest thou that thou un- derstandest what thou readest? And he said: How can I unless some one show me? And he desired Philip to come up and sit with him. And the place of the Scripture which he read was this: As a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb without a voice before his shearer, so opened He not His mouth. In humility His judgment was taken away. Who shall declare His generation, for His life shall be he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found in Azotus; and passing through, he preached the Gospel to all the cities till he came to Caesarea.” Acts viii. 26–40. In this history Philip represents the Church. To her it belongs to explain to us the Sacred Books which she received from her Divine Spouse, together with the Spirit, who alone can fathom their mysteries. It is for us to say with the Ethiopian, “How can I understand the language of infinite depths if no one explain it for me?” The Church, therefore, and Scripture must work together, guiding the elect to heaven. Like the eunuch, we must obey–obey without delay, without resisting the Divine will made known to us by the Word of God, explained by the Church. “See; here is water; why should I not be baptized?” Or, 14 III.S TO R Y OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. “Here is the bath of peni- ten ce: why should I not seek a new bap- tism 7” Or, “This is evi- dently the true Church of Je- sus Christ; why should I delay acknowledging her authority? To -m or row, perhaps, the minister of Je- sus Christ will be carried far away. Since it is a duty to obey, surely the Sooner it is done, the safer and better.” It is now that | | nº- - - lº Ilij - ----- º º Till |-|| - -. - --- | | | - 2% º |M|| | | n | #|In <} - -- - - > - º | | | | | || | --- III # - | ºf ºf |H|- º - º jº ººl | | ||||| 7 ºf "|| i. =|| || - I- º "E" - - º! º º Sacred Books be inserted in this Decree lest a doubt may a rise in any one’s m ind which are the books that are received by this Synod. They are as set down here below: of the Old Testa- ment, the five books of Moses, to wit, Genesis, Exodus, Leviti- cus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Josue, Judges, Ruth, the five books of Kings, two of Parali- pomenon, the first book of * / | Esdras, and the second, which is entitled Nehe- mias; Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Psalter, called David's, consisting of Michaias, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zach- arias, Malachias; two books of the Machabees, the first and the second. Of the New Testament, the four Gos- pels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke the Evangelist; fourteen Epistles of Paul, the Apostle, (one) to the Ro- mans, two to the Corinthians, (one) to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, (one) to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two of Peter the Apostle; three of John the Apostle; one of the Apostle James, one of Jude the Apostle, and the Apocalypse of John the Apostle. But if any one receive not as sa- cred and canonical the Sacred Books entire, with all their parts, as they have been usually read in the Cath- olic Church and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition, and knowingly and deliberately con- temn the traditions aforesaid, let him be anathema. Let all, therefore, understand, in what order and in what manner the said Synod, after having laid the foundation of the Confession of Faith, will proceed, and what tes. it timonies and authorities it will mainly use in confirm. ing dogmas and in restoring morals in the Church.” Z. Vº *|†. we can proper- º ly understand º the Decree of ſ | the Holy Coun- ; ; cil of Trent con- . cerning the Ca- nonical tures. SAINT PETER'S DELIVERANCE FROM PRISON. ----- Engraved from the original painting in the Vatican at Rome; this was executed by Raphael during the pontificate of Leo X. ; it is painted above Scrip- and at the sides of the top of a window, and is in three parts—the centre showing the angel delivering Peter; the right, the angel and Peter emerging It is as from the cell; the left, the consternation of the guard on discovering Peter's absence. ||||||||||||| Mimì. º | follows: “The sacred and holy occumenical and general Synod of Trent— one hundred and fifty Psalms; the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of lawfully assembled in the Holy Ghost, the same three legates of the Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias with Baruch; Ezekiel, Apostolic See presiding therein—keeping this always in view that, errors Daniel; the twelve minor prophets, to wit, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, being removed, the purity itself of the Gospel be preserved in the Church, which (Gospel), before promised through the Prophets in the Holy Scrip- tures, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first promulgated with His own mouth, and then com- manded to be preached by His Apostles to every creature, as the fountain of all, both saving truth and moral discipline; and seeing clearly that this truth and discipline are contained in the written books, and the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down even unto us, transmitted, as it were, from hand to hand; (the Synod) following the exam- ples of the orthodox Fathers, receives and venerates with an equal affection of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and of the New Testaments—see- ing that one God is the author of both—as also the said traditions, as well those appertaining to faith as to morals, as having been dictated either by Christ's own word of mouth or by the Holy Ghost, and pre- served in the Catholic Church by a continuous suc- cession. And it has thought it meet that a list of the Sr. MICHAEL, I HE ARCHANGEL. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C BIBL. E. 15 JERUSALEM IN THE TIME OF OUR LORD. THE SOURCES OF THE DOUAY VERSION. THE ORIGINAL HEBREW AND GREEK TEXT. ON this subject we will confine our remarks to the books found in the Hebrew Bibles as printed in our day. Must we defend their integrity? We find that two extreme opinions have had their defenders. The first is that the Hebrew Bibles have been wilfully corrupted by the Jews. The second is that no mistakes whatever, even of copyists, have crept into the text. Now, as to the first, we hold that the Hebrew Bibles have not been wilfully cor- rupted, and, moreover, that no substantial interpolation has found its way into them; for were such interpolation to be admitted, then it must have been made either before the com- ing of Christ or since His coming. Now, neither in the one period nor in the other could it have been made. Not before His coming—for before that time we cannot suppose that the Jews would wish to corrupt the Scriptures. The only reason they could have had for such corruption would have been to avoid the arguments drawn from the sacred text in favor of the Christian religion. Now, this reason manifestly can only apply to the time after Christ's coming, and it would show a great ignorance of the regard which the Jews had for their Scriptures to suppose that they would have wilfully corrupted them without any motive. Besides, we see that our Divine Redeemer, whilst He upbraids the Scribes and Pharisees with their many sins, does not count this among them, that they had either wilfully corrupted, or by their negligence had permitted the interpolation of the sacred text. On the contrary, He refers them to this text as establishing His mission: “Search the Scriptures,” etc., or, “Ye search the Scriptures,” which He would not have done if it had been a corrupt text. ić 1//S TO R Y O F THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B I.B L E. | |: | | | |ft | | º ſ | | #| | | I - # Tºſſilſ # | | OUR LORD COMMENDS THE WIDOW's OFFERING. This interpolation could not have been made since Christ's coming. If it had been made, it would have happened either before the time of St. Jerome or since. Now, at neither time was this corruption of the text possible. First, not before the time of St. Jerome; for that Saint, who knew the disposition of the Jews in regard to the Scriptures so well, did not think that they had corrupted the text; neither did the Church think so, which approved of his translation. Besides, at the period we speak of even if the Jews had been so disposed, they could not have introduced corruptions into the text without their conduct becoming known and being reprobated in the Church; but we cannot find any evidence of the Church ever having made any reclamation of such a nature. Again, if the Jews had wilfully corrupted the text, influ- enced by their hatred of the Christian religion, they surely would not have spared those prophecies which make so manifestly against them- selves; yet they have left them all, whilst almost every change of the text which is ascribed to them, even if it was wilful, would not produce any important change in the sense of the passage in which it is found. We may then conclude that no corruption took place before the time of St. Jerome. Now, for the time since St. Jerome's translation was made, it is beyond all question that this wilful corruption of the text cannot be proved against the Jews, for throughout this period we find an admirable agreement between St. Jerome's version and the original text in almost every passage. We may conclude, therefore, that the Jews have not at any time wilfully corrupted the text, and, moreover, that their manifest veneration for it at all times would not have permitted them to overlook the introduction of any substantial interpolation into it. We admit, however, that, although the Jews have not wilfully corrupted the text, yet that upon occasions where there were two readings they may have rather followed that one which was less favorable to the Christians whom they hated. Instances of this conduct can be found in almost any work treating of the original Hebrew text. On the other hand, it cannot be said that the Hebrew text is free from slight errors. The early so-called Reformers were very anxious to uphold the perfect purity of the Hebrew and Greek texts, because since, accord. ing to them, God had given the Scriptures to be the sole rule of faith, so they wished to make it appear that He had preserved them in their prim- itive purity as they came from the hands of the sacred writers. But most obvious reasons have long since left the assertion without defenders; for such an absolute integrity of the text would suppose that God, by a con- tinual miracle, had preserved the sacred text from the slightest mistakes of copyists. Now, there is no sufficient reason for thinking that God would have derogated from His ordinary laws for the purpose of thus preserving the copyists from slight mistakes. On the contrary, we know that no such miracle has taken place; for if it had, then all the Hebrew manuscripts should agree even in matters of the least importance, whereas this is far from being the case either with the modern or the ancient HIS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B I B L E. 1 Z. \\ §§ - §ſ º - THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, manuscripts. Hebrew manuscripts when collated do not present so many differences as the Greek manuscripts, because they are not so numerous. Nor have we any very ancient Hebrew manuscripts. The oldest He- brew manuscript at present known dates back only to the eleventh century. Concerning the New Testament, it is generally admitted that the Gos- rest of the same was written in Greek. That the original Greek text of the New Testament, as now received, is not faultless, is too clear to require any proof. The immense multipli- cation of the copies of the New Testament has been attended with mu- merous discrepancies between these copies, proceeding from the mistakes of copyists, either mistaking one word for another, or inadvertently pass- ing over words, or mistaking for a part of the text, and therefore insert- ing, quotations from other parts of the Scripture marked in the margin, or, in fine, compounding with the texts, words introduced to mark the com- mencement or ending of those portions of Scripture which were read pub- licly in the Church at the time of divine worship. Yet these numerous discrepancies, for the most part, do not greatly affect the sense; and when pel of St. Matthew was written originally in Syro-Chaldaic, whilst all the they do, we are not left without sufficient means of correcting those copies in which a fault of any importance is found. From what has been said, we can justly conclude that it is unreasonable to insist that everything which is found in a version differing from the present Hebrew or Greek text ought to be changed and rendered conformable to the present received reading of those languages, for the simple reason that the re- ceived reading cannot be proven to be the correct one, and takes for // 1,570 ſº Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. THE SERMON AT THE SEASIDE. granted that the original texts have retained their primitive purity. That they have not continued in that perfect purity will not, at the present day, be questioned by any Biblical scholar. We will now add a few words as to the antiquity of the manuscripts of the New Testament. It is clear, in the first place, that we have no longer the autographs of any of the sacred writers; and it is equally clear that the manuscript copies which we have, and which are very numerous, speaking of the New Testament, are more or less valuable in proportion as they represent, with greater or less fidelity, the autographs. These manuscripts have been reduced to certain groups or families, which means that they are copies of so many different originals. We men- tion here only the more famous. First, the Alexan- drine. It was presented by the well-known Cyril Lucas, patriarch of Constantinople, to Charles I. of England, and is preserved in the British Museum. It is ascribed to the fifth century. Second, the Vat- ican, so called because it is preserved in the Vati- can library at Rome. It was written either in the fourth or fifth century. It has been long a matter of dispute which of these two manuscripts ought to be preferred, both on account of antiquity and for in- THE LAMB OF THE APOCALYPSE. ternal excellence. At present, however, the decision of the learned ap- pears to be generally in favor of the Vatican manuscript on both these points. It is therefore considered the most valuable Greek manuscript. Third, the Codea. Rescriptus Ephremi, so called because the original writing has been in great part removed, to make way for the works of St. Ephrem, the Syrian. Being written on parchment, the original writing has not been so effectually removed as not to be still traceable. It is placed by some as belonging to the fifth century, but all admit that it goes back to at least the seventh. The fourth and last that we will mention is the Codea, Canta- brigiensis or Bezae. It is preserved in the public library of the University of Cambridge, to which it was presented by Theodore Beza in the year 1581. Some place it as a work of the eighth century, but others date it back to the end of the fifth. We have purposely abstained from noticing the various editions of both Hebrew and Greek texts which have appeared since the invention of print- ing, as this would lead us too far, and does not necessarily belong to the kind of history of the Catholic Bible fitted for a brief introduction. In conclusion we may observe how little the sub- HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B IB L E. 19 ATHENS, THE ANCIENT CITY RESTORED. stantial integrity of the sacred text is affected by all the various readings which the comparison of manu- scripts, versions and ancient quotations has discovered. When Biblical criticism commenced its investigations, there were not wanting those who, hostile to Divine Revelation, hoped that these inquiries would end in bringing into doubt and uncertainty the whole text of Scripture, but they have been signally disappointed; so that, however mortifying it may be to them, we may say with the learned Cardinal Wiseman, “We must feel great satisfaction at the small difference between the best and the most inferior manuscripts, and conse- quently at the consoling manner in which the integ- rity of the inspired records has been preserved.”—Sci- ence and Revealed Religion. THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The Septuagint version, if not the most ancient of all the versions of the Scripture, which is highly prob- able, is at least the earliest of all the Greek versions, having been made a considerable time before the com- ing of our Redeemer. In all probability, it dates as far back as two hundred and eighty years before that event. The name Septuagint, which this version bears, has been generally accounted for by the fact of its having been made by seventy translators, or rather seventy-two; but the round number is used. (It is 20 Aſ/S 70A: Y OF THE HOLY CA 77 FIO L / O B J B L E. ^º ºis | | º | i- | --- ". -- ſº sI º \º |h. . ' 2" - || 1|||| |- often designated by the Greek letter o.) This version is remarkable for many reasons: it was quoted by the Redeemer and the Apostles, and used in the Church commonly for at least the first four centuries; for from it was made the ancient Latin version used in the Western Church before the time of St. Jerome's version. It was held in great repute for a long time among the Jews, and read in their synagogues. It is the version the great body of the Fathers have quoted in their writings. It is still the version used in the Greek Church, and a portion of our Latin Vulgate is a translation from it. We shall in- quire into the origin of the version and its consequent his- tory; and first, respecting its origin: The ancient writers generally quoted on this subject are Aristeas, Aristobulus, Josephus, Philo, St. Justin Martyr, and St. Epiphanius in his work “De Ponderibus et Mensu- ris.” We have a history of the Septuagint version ascribed to Aristeas, in which he gives the following account of the matter: When Demetrius Phalereus was librarian to King Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria, and had collected a great many books for the library there, he was asked on SAINT PAUL AT ATHENS. one occasion by the king how many books he had then collected; he re- plied that the whole number at that time amounted to two hundred thousand, and that he hoped that the number would be further increased to five hundred thousand. He at the same time added that the laws of the Jews were very deserving of a place in it, but that they should be first translated from the Hebrew. The king then promised to have letters sent to the high priest of the Jews at Jerusalem, with a view to procure for his library a copy of these laws translated into Greek. Aristeas, the writer of this history, who was favorable to the Jews and is supposed to have been him- self a Jewish proselyte, happened to be present. This Aristeas was a prefect in the king's body-guards, and on hearing mention made of the Jews he thought of the idea, which he in common with Sosibius and Andrew—two other prefects of the king's guards—entertained, of procuring the liberation of the Jews, who were numerous in Egypt, having been brought captive thither from the Syrian and Phoenician wars by Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, father of Ptolemy Philadelphus. This occasion then presenting it- HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB L E. 21 self, these three officers said to the king that it would be worthy of his clemency and altogether a very congruous thing, that, as he expected this favor of the Jews, he would on his part liberate those of their nation who were held captive in his dominion, especially as this would induce the Jews to comply the more willingly with his request. The king then inquired what was the number of these captive Jews; and being informed that they amounted to one hundred thousand, he promised that he would have them liberated. He then ordered twenty drachmas to be given to each of them, that they might thus have the means of compensating their masters for the loss of their services. In this way he expended beyond six hundred talents, and then by a royal edict declared the Jews to be free. He now gave letters, addressed to the high-priest Eleazar, requesting of him to send the Sacred Book, and along with it, men who were able to make a translation of it in Greek. Aristeas and Andrew formed part of the embassy to the high-priest, which brought suitable presents from the king. Eleazar sent the books of the law, together with seventy-two interpreters—six from each tribe—qualified for the office of translating them, and at the R-TS “J” Š same time he sent letters in which he extolled the liberality and s - A &/º- * clemency of the king. * . . . .His Y-s . These Jews were kindly received by Philadelphus, who on L a ke M a r e o tº S 5. - ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA Stadia g-z-T-E-i English Feet 0 lood 2000 4000 Good 8000 - Fºchange C [] - Hiuno- At the - ppo Arsinoeum & *Somas, | ". - s] frºm [] Nº sº ºn sº st- aneumſ & Dº C \ R. W. |U Panium-Gymnasium ºh- § º: (Dicasterium) § - § their introduction, to testify his veneration for the Sacred Books, made a profound adoration seven times, He praised very much the elegance of the manuscript, which was written in golden letters. He then gave a grand entertainment to the seventy-two, and was so much delighted by the answers given by nine of them to questions proposed by him that he prolonged the festivity for seven days more, until all were heard in reply to as many questions as there were translators. Soon after, Demetrius Phalerus conducted them to the island of Pharos, where a house was fitted up for them to the north of the island on the sea-shore, where they were to translate the Sacred Books. They divided the labor among them, and it was determined that if any difficulty should occur they would all discuss it together. As the translation of each part was finally settled and committed to writing, it was handed to Demetrius, who had it transcribed by amanu- enses. The translators were employed in the work each day from morning to the ninth hour, or three hours before sunset; then they returned to the city (Alexandria), where they were abundantly supplied with all necessaries. In the morning they resumed their labors, having first washed their hands and re- - cited their prayers, according to custom. In the space of seventy-two days the version was finished. The work, being concluded, was read in the assembly of the Jews at Alexan- dria, and approved of. Such is the substance of the famous book of Aristeas; and whatever may be held concerning the several details of the narrative, the substance of the same as confirmed by many writers is now generally admitted by all critics. Another question regarding this version is whether the translators were divinely assisted in making it. The affirma- tive seems to have been commonly, if not universally, held by the ancient Fathers and writers of the Church, as it was also by Philo in his “Life of Moses.” Bellarmine claims St. Je- rome also for this opinion. Yet all Catholics even do not now adhere to it. If, however, we consider the important ends which this version in the designs of God was destined to fulfil, we ought not to be surprised at finding it so easily admitted that God, who had inspired the writers of His Sacred Word, had also inspired the interpreters of it on this grand occasion; for these interpreters were in reality preparing the Scripture for its publication among the Gentiles in the language which the Gentiles understood, seeing that, when in after times the Apostles were spreading the faith among the nations, these were the Scriptures which they quoted and to which they referred; and what the Hebrew Scriptures were for the Jews did this Septuagint version become for the Church, which for centuries read the Divine Word in it or in versions made from it. - We shall come now to the subsequent history of this version. So great was the esteem in which the Egyptian and Grecian Jews held this version at first that according to Philo (in the second book of his “Life of Moses”) they repaired yearly to the island of Pharos and kept a festival on the shore in memory of this inspired translation. It is man- ifest, indeed, from the manner in which the Redeemer and Apostles quote the Septuagint, that the veneration for it was not confined to the Hellen- ist Jews. But we find that about the commencement of the second cen- tury and subsequently it became very odious to the Jews on account of Enzº - Eºſº, 3. yzº’. Kºſºv MODERN ALEXANDRIA. their not being able to answer the arguments brought from it by the Christians in their disputes with them. The Jews on these occasions used to appeal to the Hebrew text, with which they knew that the Chris- tians were generally unacquainted; and it is said that this translation became so odious to them that they proclaimed a fast on the eighth day of the month Thebet—corresponding to our December—in order to per- petuate the remembrance of so inauspicious an event as the making of this version by this annual mourning. With the Hellenist Jews, however, this version continued to be an ob- ject of veneration down to a much later period than the second century. These Hellenist Jews are mentioned more than once in the Acts of the -- 22 A1/S 70A: Y OF THE HOL Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. §§ Nº. | º - - sº CHRIST ON THE SEA. Apostles; one instance is in Acts vi. 1, where the word which we trans- late Greeks is in the original E22m tarov, meaning Christians who had been not Grecians, but Hellenists, or Grecizing Jews. Another instance is in ix. 29, where we read that St. Paul disputed against the Hellenists (here we again translate Greeks), who are there distinguished from the Gentiles, and therefore must mean the unconverted Grecizing Jews or Hellenists. It would appear that this name was first given to one section of the Jews after the formation of this Septuagint version, because at Alexandria and the other Grecian cities, where the Jews became dis- persed, they learned the Scripture in the synagogues; from this version, therefore, were they called Hellenists, to distinguish them from the Jews who read the Scriptures in the synagogue in Hebrew, and had them ex- plained for them in Syro-Chaldaic (which was also commonly called Hebrew), and hence were called, in contradistinction, Hebrew Jews, or Hebrews. The Hellenist Jews adhered to their veneration for the Sev- enty down at least to the middle of the sixth century of our era; for about the year 550, in the time of the emperor Justinian, we find that the Hellenists gave great offence to the other Jews by continuing to use the Septuagint in their synagogues. So great was the excitement on this matter among the Jews that the dispute was only settled by a constitution of the emperor, which is ex- tant (Novel. 146), and in which he decides in favor of the Hellenists, declaring that they shall have full liberty to continue the use of their version in the syna- gogue. This, as has been already observed, was the great version in which the early Christian Church, gener- ally at least, read the Scrip- tures. At the same time, it did not continue to be the same perfect transla- tion which it was when leaving the hands of the translators. St. Jerometes- tifies, in his preface to Paralipomenon and Es- dras, that it had been vi- tiated in many and various ways; so faulty, indeed, did it become in the book of Daniel that it was set aside there, and that book was read from the version of Theodotion. Various persons undertook the task of correcting the mistakes which had crept into the Seventy, but before all oth- ers, Origen deserves to be mentioned for his wonder- ful labors in this matter. In the early part of the third century he undertook the laborious task of col- lating the Septuagint text then in use with the original and with the other Greek translations then in existence, and from the whole to produce a new revisal. Twenty-eight years were devoted to the preparation of this arduous work, in the course of which he collected manuscripts from every possible quarter. He com- menced his labor at Caesarea in 231, and, it appears, finished the under- taking at Tyre, but in what year is not precisely known. This work of Origen's is designated by the various names of Tetrapla, Hexapla, Octa- pla and Enneapla. The most ancient, as well as the most famous, manuscripts now known are the Roman manuscript, preserved in the Vatican Library, and the Codex Alexandrinus, preserved in the library of the British Museum. Both are supposed to belong to the fourth or fifth century. We will but add that it is still the common version of the Greek Church, and we hold that it continues free from substantial faults; it contains the Word of God, and is, therefore, of divine authority. HIS TO R Y OF THE HOL Y CA THOLIC BIBLE. 23 --~~" —-----T --> ~ * * * BETHLEHEM, witH THE GREAT Convent of THE NATIVITY or THE LEFT. THE LATIN VULGATE. - History of the Vulgate.—By the Vulgate we mean that Latin version of the Scriptures which the Council of Trent in its fourth session declares to be authentic, and which has been for many centuries in common use in the Latin Church. Use had given to it the sanction of the authorized version of the Latin Church long before the Council of Trent proclaimed its authenticity. Taking it as a whole work, we may date its birth about the end of the fourth century, in or about the last ten years of that century; I say as a whole, because on examination we shall find that part of it can lay claim to a much higher antiquity. In order, then, to trace its early history, we must go a little farther back, and see how the faithful of the Latin Church were provided with the Sacred Volume before the above-mentioned period. The Hebrew Scriptures were not, of course, in common use anywhere from the commencement of the Christian Church. This cannot be said of the Greek scriptures of the New Testament or of the Septuagint version of the Old; these were read over the entire Church in its be- ginning, the Latins even being then well acquainted with the Greek language. Notwithstanding this, Latin versions must have been made at a very early period in the Western Church; these were exceedingly numerous in the time of St. Augustine and St. Jerome. St. Augustine says, “Lib. de Doctrina Christiana”: “Those who – T – – have translated the Scriptures into the Greek language can be FROM THE “MADoNNA” of FRA BARTOLOMEO, AT LUCCA. counted, but the Latin interpreters are without number; Ior in 24 A/IS TO R. Y OF THE HOL Y CA THOL I C B IB L E. º . | // L- 2: º CHRIST CLEANSING THE LEPER. those early times of the faith, when any one procured a Greek copy and thought that he had some facility in both languages, he attempted a trans- lation.” But among these versions there was one in much greater esteem than any of the others, because, as St. Augustine says, “to perspicuity it joined a more literal rendering of the words.” St. Jerome styles it communis on account of its general use. It is frequently, also, referred to by the designation of the Vetus Italica or Itala version. This version in the Old Testament was made from the Septuagint version and edition. By the Septuagint edition, I observe, once for all, I understand the Greek copy of the Old Testament, which comprised all translated by the Seventy, and at the same time the other books not translated by them. We know not who the translator or translators of the old Itala version were; indeed, it does not appear that it was the work of one man. The translators, as far as we can judge by the parts of their work which re- main at present, were thoroughly acquainted with the meaning of the Greek in the Old as well as the New Testament, and, generally speak- ing, have rendered it very literally. This was the version commonly read in the Latin Church in the early times. It was in use long before the time of St. Jerome, and continued in use after him down to the time of St. Gregory the Great, about the year 600. St. Gregory distinguishes it from our present Vulgate by calling it retus. We have no exact copy of this version now, although Flaminius Nobilius prepared an edition of it, as well as he could collect it from the writings and commentaries of the ancient Fathers. This was published at Rome in 1558. From this ancient version a great portion of our present Vulgate has been taken. Notwithstanding this, we date our present Vulgate from the end of the fourth century, because it was then that St. Jerome made his new trans- lation from the original text, and his corrections of the old version which form so much of the Vulgate that the whole version is usually ascribed to him, although he did not even correct some parts of it. St. Jerome first corrected the old translation of the four Gospels at the request of Pope Damasus; he afterward corrected the rest of the New Testament, all by the original Greek. “Novum Graeca, fidei reddidit.” This was well received, as appears from St. Augustine, and it is this correction which is inserted in our Vulgate. That St. Jerome only corrected the ancient Vulgate and did not translate de novo, as far as regards the New Testa- ment, appears from his preface addressed to Pope Damasus. Again, from the number of changes which St. Jerome in his writings points out as desirable in the old Vulgate of the New Testament, and which we find in ours, we have a clear argument for the assertion that St. Jerome's cor- rections have been adopted in the version of the Latin Church. Nor does it make against this conclusion that some things have not been changed, although said to require change by St. Jerome in his commen- taries; for, as he himself testifies, he did not make all the changes which he thought improvements lest he might alter too much, and as he wrote those commentaries before his correction of the New Testament, he might HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B IB I, E. 25 OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR AºEARING UNTO His DiscIPLEs. have changed his mind afterward, as Bellarmine observes; De verbo Dei scripto, de Versione Latina Vulgata. St. Jerome corrected many books of the Old Testament in the ancient Italic by the Septuagint of Origen's Hexapla, but we are not concerned with any of his corrections of the Old Testament except that of the Psalms. St. Jerome translated the Psalms from the Hebrew, but that transla- tion the Church has not received into its edition. He also translated the Psalms from the Hexaplar edition of the Septuagint. He again twice corrected the psaltery of the old Vulgate from the roam (edition) of Lu- cian the Martyr, first at Rome in 382 or 383, again at Bethlehem about the year 389. We have this second correction in our Vulgate edition. St. Jerome commenced his translations from the Hebrew with the books of Kings; they, together with Job, the great and minor prophets, Psalms and books of Solomon, were finished before 392. This translation of the Psalms is to be seen in his works. Between 392 and 394 Esdras and Genesis were finished. He did not finish the rest of the Pentateuch before 404 or 405, About the same time were translated Josue, Judges and Ruth. Pa- ralipomenon was not finished before the year 396. St. Jerome also translated that part of the book of Esther which in his time was reckoned canonical by the Hebrew Jews—in other words, which was then to be found in the Hebrew Bible. St. Je- rome, moreover, trans- lated Tobias and Ju- dith from the original Chaldaic. We have all these translations, ex- cept that of the Psalms, in our Vulgate. That we have there St. Je- rome's translations of Tobias and Judith will not be disputed, and for the other books just mentioned it is equally certain. Our Vulgate is manifestly in these a translation from the Hebrew; now that St. Jerome was the only one among the ancients who translated from the Hebrew into Latin is beyond all question. Sanctus Pagninus, un- der Leo the Tenth, was the next to follow him. St. Jerome did not translate the books of Wisdom and Ecclesi- asticus, the two books of the Machabees, the prophecy of Baruch, the Epistle of Jeremi- as n or the deutero- canonical portions of Esther and Daniel. These remain precisely as they were in the old, the ante-Hieronymian Vulgate. Such is the early history of our Vulgate, which did not displace the other, or older Latin Vulgate for two centuries—until after the year 600. St. Jerome, in his preface to Paralipomenon, says that if the version of the Seventy had remained pure as it came from their hands it would be a superfluous task to undertake a new translation. From this observa- tion we see that the mistakes of copyists had then given some handle to the Jews in their appeals from the Septuagint to the original text; but when St. Jerome made the people acquainted with the original, then were their clamors effectually silenced. St. Jerome proposed to himself to give the sense clearly, not adhering too closely to a literal or verbum verbo trans, lation of the text; at the same time, he did not overstep the limits of a translation. Very soon after the version was completed it was well re- ceived by many, notwithstanding the opposition of some who did not think it advisable to introduce a new version among the people so long accustomed to another. This difficulty proved an obstacle to St. Je- H 1970ſ, Y OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. CHRIST AT NAZARETH-THE PEOPLE SEEKING TO CAST FIIM DOWN THE PRECIPICE. rome's translation of the Psalms being ever received. Lucinius, a Spanish bishop, sent six persons from Spain in St. Jerome's own time to copy his version. St. Jerome's version spread rapidly over the Church; and although St. Gregory the Great speaks of the old and new Vulgate being both much used in his time, yet he says of ours that it gave more truly the sense of the Hebrew, and that it was in all things most worthy of credit. St. Isidore of Seville testifies, whilst he prefers St. Jerome's Vulgate to all other Latin versions, that in his time it was commonly received by the Christian churches and approved of, because it “rendered the words more clearly and gave the sense of the original more faithfully.” He lived in 630, about twenty-five years after the death of St. Gregory. In a word, this version has continued now for more than twelve hundred years in general use in the Western Church. This will not be denied at present. We shall not delay to speak of those who labored in correcting mistakes of copies in the Vulgate before the introduction of printing. The prin- cipal persons who devoted themselves to this work of correction in the Middle Ages were the learned Alcuin and Lanfranc, archbishop of Can- terbury, the former in the beginning of the ninth century and the latter in the eleventh. The printed edition of the Vulgate in the Compluten- sian polyglot was carefully prepared. Afterward, Robert Stephens, the famous French printer, and again the divines of Louvain and also those of Paris, gave corrected editions of it. Some of these editors had it in view to meet the wishes of the Council of Trent with respect to an exact edition of the Vulgate, for that Council in the year 1546, having declared this version to be authentic, ordered that it should be most carefully printed. However, the task of complying with the Council's wish was more properly undertaken by the Holy See, and Sixtus V. gave to the public in 1590 the corrected edition as prepared by a number of most learned cardinals. He himself even inspected the press. Sixtus was not yet satisfied, and he ordered the work to be again submitted to cor- rection, but he died before another edition was prepared, and in rapid succession there followed Urban VII., Gregory XIV. and Innocent the IX. It remained for Clement VIII. to finish the work, which he did in 1592, in which year his edition first appeared. Another edition was given in 1593 by Clement, with some slight changes, and this is the model of our present Bibles, from which no publisher or printer is permitted to depart. Even the different readings formerly printed in the margin must be there omitted. The authenticity which the Council or Popes claim for the Vulgate or any edition of it does not mean more than that this edi. tion is free from all error in faith or morals, and that it fairly represents the original Scriptures in all important particulars. The meaning of their decrees, and especially that of the Pope, manifestly is that as chief pastor of the Church he guarded, as he had a perfect right to do, the authorized edition of the Scriptures from being tampered with by any unauthorized critic. He had no intention, at the same time, of depriving either himself or any of his successors of the liberty of submitting this edition to a new revision. Hence it ought not to be a matter of surprise HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B I B L E. 27 "... CHRIST GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD-HEALING THE SICK. to us that Sixtus himself really intended a new edition of the version, with corrections, and that this intention was afterward carried out by . Clement. And even after all that Clement has done and decreed respect- ing the present edition of the Vulgate, it is quite clear that Pius IX., if he so pleases, has a perfect right to order a new revision of it. We come now to speak of the authority which attaches to the Vulgate in virtue of the declaration of the Council of Trent. We give the words of the Coun- cil: “But if any one receive not as sacred and canonical the said books entire, with all their parts as they have been usually read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition, and knowingly and deliberately contemn the traditions aforesaid, let him be anathema.” From these words it follows—first, that the Vulgate is au- thentic in all its parts; secondly, that no one is at liberty to reject its au- thority; and, thirdly, that it is at least preferred by the Council to all the other Latin versions then published. The version, therefore, is a faithful º § N s Sº ": w w WA º º translation of its origi- nal. But must we believe it to be a correct version in every word and iota? The strictest defender of the accuracy of the version will admit with Bellarmine that in four cases we may have re- course to the original: First, when there ap- pears an error of the copiers in our books; second, when the Latin copies differ from each other, that we may dis- cover the true reading of the Vulgate; third, when a phrase is doubt- ful in the Latin text, in order to remove the am- biguity; fourth, to un- derstand the force and propriety of words. Moreover, it is certain that the Council did not intend to depreciate the originals by sanctioning the Vulgate. The Fa- thers speak not at all in their decree of the originals, but only of the Latin versions. Another question which presents itself is this: Did the Council select a good version when it pronounced on the authenticity of the Vulgate? We answer, Most certainly it did. This appears as well from the character of St. Jerome and the abundant means of ar- riving at the true sense of the original which were available to him, as also from the abun- dant testimonies of an- cient and modern crit- ics in its favor. St. Jerome either translated or corrected by the original all the Scripture, about the sense of which the sectaries of these latter ages and we dispute, except the Psalms, of which we shall speak afterward. Now, St. Jerome was well acquainted with Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This was not denied even by those who were opposed to his undertaking. The Chaldaic also he had studied with great care. His talents and theological knowledge were of the highest order; then he had collected at Bethlehem a rich library; he had there all the versions of the Scripture. He had his instructions in Hebrew from the famous school of Tiberias—the most learned of the Jewish academies—regarded as such by the most learned Jews; he had an assistant in his labors from it. He had the great advantage of being able to consult the Hexapla of Origen, which has since been lost, having been destroyed in 653 at the siege of Caesarea, where it had been deposited, together with the other books of Origen. He lived in that country where the scenes of the Scrip- ture-history had been for the most part laid. If we join to all this, his || || | | - | . º | - | | - // IS 70 R Y OF THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. CHRIST RAISING FROM THE DEAD THE SON of THE WIDOW OF NAIM. great and indefatigable labor, and that piety for which he was so much distinguished, and which would prevent him from substituting a rash conjecture for a known truth, may we not then safely assert that our ver- sion deserves to be looked upon as a work of the greatest merit, seeing how well qualified in every way St. Jerome was for the task he under- took 2 - We shall come to the same conclusion about the merits of this version, if we weigh well the testimonies of ancient and modern critics in its favor. We have already noticed the high opinion entertained of it by St. Gregory the Great, St. Isidore of Seville and others. St. Augustine's attachment to the old version made from the Septuagint is well known, and yet he writes in his book 18th, c. 43, De Civitate Dei. “Although there has not been wanting in our times the priest Jerome, a most learned man, skilled in all the three languages, who translated the same Scrip- tures, not from the Greek, but from the Hebrew, into the Latin tongue; but although the Jews acknowledge that his learned labor is distinguished by fidelity,” etc. This testimony of St. Augustine is peculiarly valuable, inasmuch as it not only conveys to us the high opinion which he himself entertained of the version, but also makes us aware of the fact that the Jews even acknowledged its fidelity. But superior to a hundred testi- monies of ancient times is the universal reception in the Latin Church of this version in preference to so many others. As to modern testimonies, we shall, for an obvious reason, pass over those of Catholic critics. Protestant critics, however, and those the most learned of that body, may be abundantly quoted as bearing testi- mony to the fidelity and excellence of this version. We shall, then, cite a few of these. Grotius, confessedly a high authority with Biblical crit- ics, held our version in high esteem, alleging as his reason “that it con- tains nothing but sound doctrine, and that its author is full of erudition.” –Grotius, Praf. Annotationum in Vet. Test. It was his esteem for the Vulgate that induced Grotius, as he tells us, to make that version the basis of his notes on the Old Testament. Again, Paul Fagius, who was appointed by Cranmer to teach Hebrew in Cambridge, thought so highly of the Vulgate that he treats those as half-learned and impudent fellows who spoke slightingly of this famous translation. Drusius, for some time, professor of Oriental languages in Oxford, speaks highly of this version, and praises the Council of Trent for the preference which it gave it (the Vulgate) above the modern versions of the Scripture. The references to Fagius and Drusius may be seen in Richard Simon's Histoire Critique du Vieuw Testament, liv. 2, ch. 14. Walton, in the prolegomena to his Pol- yglot, adds his testimony in favor of the excellence of this version, say- ing, “Although we do not call it divine, we yet say that it is highly to be esteemed and not rashly set aside, as well on account of its antiquity and general use throughout the West for a thousand years as on account of the learning and fidelity of the translator, whom we admit to have been Jerome, in the greater part of the work; the same who is gratefully JH IS TO R Y OF THE HIO L Y \,A THO LI C B I B L E. CHRIST RAISING THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. acknowledged by the most learned Protestants to have deserved well of the Church.”—Prolegomenon 10, sectio ult. He then goes on to state that Beza in the New Testament preferred the Vulgate to all other Latin ver- sions, and censured Erasmus for condemning it because it does not agree always with the modern Greek copies; “whereas,” says Beza, “it appears to have followed a more correct Greek copy.” The conclusion which we ought to deduce from all that has been said is that, although the Council of Trent did not intend to depreciate the originals, nor to pronounce St. Jerome inspired in making his transla- tion, nor the ancient interpreter, either in the parts which have been retained from him, yet that no Hebrew or Greek manuscript extant or printed copy of the sacred text can be equally depended on as contain- ing throughout the pure Word of God, because, in the first place, we have not the same formal testimony of the Church in favor of any of these manuscripts or printed copies; and because, in the next place, con- sidering the high esteem in which our version has been held even by the most learned adversaries of the Church, and at the same time consider- ing its general use in the Western Church for so many hundred years, with the fact that it was made at a period anterior to the date of the most ancient known Hebrew or Greek manuscripts, we ought, in consequence of all this, and w even abstracting from the declaration of the Council º of Trent, to look upon this version as a safer guide to º the knowledge of what the sacred penmen wrote than any extant copy whatever of the original text. The limits which we have prescribed to ourselves do not permit us to delay much longer in treating of this version, yet there are still some points which demand a few words from us. First, we have observed already that a part of our Vulgate in the Old Testament has Dov E—A SUPERB PIX. been taken from the old or ante-Hieronymian Vulgate, without any alter- ation. In the New Testament we have the ante-Hieronymian translation as corrected by St. Jerome, according to the original Greek. In the Old Testament we have one book—the book of Psalms—taken from the old Italica, as corrected by St. Jerome, not according to the original Hebrew, but according to the Septuagint, from which the version was originally made. St. Jerome made a translation of the Psalms from the Hebrew, but it was not thought prudent to adopt it as the common version, seeing how much accustomed the people were to the singing and reciting the Psalms from the ancient version. St. Jerome twice corrected the Psalms by the Septuagint. He first made a slight correction of them which was adopted in the Roman Church. His second correction was made with greater diligence, and was first adopted by the churches of Gaul; hence it is called the Gallican Psaltery. The former edition—that is, the first correc- tion of St. Jerome—having been retained for a considerable time by the Church of Rome, is called the Roman Psaltery. It is the Gallican Psaltery which we have in our Vulgate. The Church of Rome adopted the Galli- can Psaltery, Mariana thinks, in the time of Charlemagne, or rather in the time of Pope Nicholas III.-Mariana Dissertatio pro Editione Vulgata, cap. xix. Secondly, we do not deny that the sanction of the Council of Trent may con- sist, with slight mistakes, in our version or the edition of it which we use; for as Mariana observes (Ibidem, cap. xx.), the Council has declared it authentic cum omnibus suis partibus, not cum omnibus suis particulis- that is, in all its parts, not in all its particles. Such is the extent to which the Council has gone; and we trust that enough has been said to make it clear that the Council had good reason for approving, as it did, this ancient version. HIS TO R Y OF TH E H O L Y CA. T H O L / O B J B L E. rº * ... º rº. * , º º, - * - , ``'`, º º 2^ * 'tººn ". . º. \ º ...” -, -" " & Y., ºn . * Wºla, "I WILL SET UP PASTo Rs ov ER THEM, AND THEY SHALL FEED THEM.”—Jer. xxiii. 4. THE DOUAY BIBLE. IN speaking of the English versions of the sacred Scriptures, we shall not dwell upon those versions, either of the entire Scriptures or of por- tions of them, which were made in England before the period of the Reformation; some of these were in Saxon, others in English. Vener- able Bede translated the entire Scriptures into Saxon for the use of his countrymen in the early part of the eighth century. Other ancient ver- sions were made at various periods. We are now concerned specially with the history of the present received Roman Catholic English version called the Douay Bible. The Reformers, as we have seen, accepting only the Bible as their rule of faith, and knowing that it was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, and not wishing to accept the Latin Vulgate, fell back on what they assumed to be the original text. They made this the foundation of all their translations, and from it each sanslated according to his own peculiar religious opinions. Wickliffe had alrea- dy begun this tampering in En- gland, and the persistent efforts of his followers to revolutionize Church and State by means of his doctrines, thus cunning. ly clothed in Scripture, led the orthodox to discounte- nance a general diffusion of the Bible in English, even after Catholic translations had ap- peared in the languages of the nations on the Continent. In Germany there were seventeen Catholic editions of the Bible issued from the press between the invention of printing and Luther's rebellion against the Church. The English govern- ment did not set up a religion that suited all, nor were the translations made, acceptable to all. Each party had its own pet doctrines to advance, and its Bible must be made to har- monize with these views. So then sprang up Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Cromwell’s, Cran- mer's, the Geneva and the Bishop's Bible. To meet this motley array, by giving to English Catholics a faithful version, was a serious thought with the persecuted clergy of England. Driven from their churches and from the universities, their monas- teries and seats of learning de- stroyed, the possession of any book containing the church service being prohibited, as well as any, upholding Catholic doc- trine—that is to say, nearly all the writings of Christendom for fifteen centuries—their very lives in daily and hourly peril, it was not an easy matter for the Catholic clergy of the Brit- ish Isles to find time or place for so important a work. At last, by the exertions of the Rev. William Allen (after- ward Cardinal), the Catholic members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, scattered over the Continent, were gathered in 1568 at Douay, the university of which city having adopted the new English college. This new college soon numbered a hundred and fifty persons, including eight or nine eminent doctors of divinity. Gregory Martin, one of the original scholars of St. John's College, Oxford, where his learning was long remembered, a man “of extraordinary modesty and moderation, the Hebraist, the Grecian, the poet, the hero and glory of St. John's College,” a man singularly fitted for the task, at once set to work to translate the Bible from the Vulgate into English for the use of Catholics in the British Isles. Conscious how much of the power ac- quired by the Reformation was based on Scriptural perversion, this step roused the jealous fears of the English government, and steps were at once taken to break up an institution laboring to supply the English Catholics with priests and to give them the Bible in their own language. º § \ º HIS TO R Y OF THE HOL Y CA THO LI C B IB L E. 31 OUR LORD TEACHING MARTHA AND MARY. By intrigue the authorities of Douay were induced in 1578 to expel the Psal. 118, Da mihi intellectum, et scrutabor legem tuam, et custodiam English Catholics and their college, which they removed to Rheims, in illam in toto corde meo’—that is, ‘Give me understanding, and I will France. search thy law, and will keepe it with my whole hart.” St. Aug. Tract. 2 Here Dr. Martin completed his translation, and his work was revised in Epist. Joan. “Omnia quae leguntur in Scripturis sanctis, ad instruc- by William, afterward Cardinal, Allen, Dr. Richard Bristow and Dr. John tionem et salutem nostram intente oportet audire: maxime tamen memo- William Reynolds. The notes on the New Testament were from the pen ria commendanda sunt, quae adversus Hæreticos valent plurimum : of Dr. Richard Bristow. The necessary means, however, for printing the quorum insidiae, infirmiores quosque et negligentiores circumvenire non work were not readily found. It appeared at last at Rheims in 1582. cessant'—that is, “All things that are readde in holy Scriptures, we must The times were terrible for Catholics. Persecution, martyrdom, was the hear with great attention, to our instruction and salvation: but those order of the day. The Rhemish Testament is a book to be opened with things specially must be commended to memorie which make most against reverence. It seems environed with the halo of the martyred priests and Heretikes: whose deceites cease not to circumvent and beguile al the laity of the British Isles. It deserves to be treated like a relic. The weaker sort and the more negligent persons. Printed at Rhemes by original is a small quarto volume with this title: John Fogny, 1582. Cum Privilegio.” “The New Testament of Jesus Christ, Translated faithfully into Eng- The approbation of the official ecclesiastical authorities at Rheims was lish, out of the authentical Latin, according to the given in these words, which are printed on the back best corrected copies of the same, diligently conferred of the title page: with the Greeke and other editions in divers lan- “Whereas the authors of this version are fully guages: With Arguments of bookes and chapters, known to us as men of sound faith and erudition; Annotations and other necessarie helpes, for the bet- and whereas others well versed in sacred theology ter understanding of the text, and specially for the and the English language have certified that nothing discoverie of the Corruptions of divers late transla- - has been found in the work that is not conformable to tions, and for cleering the Controversies in religion THE TREE OF LIFE. the doctrine of the Catholic Church and to piety, or of these daies: In the English College of Rhemes, A lamp found in the catacombs of Rome, that is in anywise repugnant to civil power or tran- 39 Ay/S 70 ſº y OF THE HOLY CATH O L / O B J B L E. quillity, but that all rather promotes true faith, the good of the state and probity of life and manners: relying upon them, we think that it may be usefully printed and pub- lished.” Then comes “The Preface to the Reader, treating of these three points: of the translation of Holy Scriptures into the vulgar tongues, and namely, into English; of the causes why this New Testa- ment is translated according to the ancient vulgar Latin text; and of the manner of translating the same.” These important topics are ably treated. The argument in favor of the Vulgate over the wretched received text of the Greek is very strongly put, although the more recent pub- lication of the Vatican, Alex- andrian and Sinaitic codices has in our day absolutely settled the question. point might well be retained in every Catholic Bible to give all who read a concise argument justify- ing the use of the carefully-handed-down Vulgate in preference to a care- lessly-kept Greek text. The note at the end of the Apocalypse closes with this touching prayer, which, when we remember the torrents of Catholic blood then poured forth in the British Isles, will speak to every heart: “And now, O Lord Christ, most just and merciful, we Thy poor creatures that are so afflicted for confession and defence of the holy Catholic and Apostolic truth con- tained in this Thy Sacred Book and in the infallible doctrine of Thy dear Spouse, our Mother the Church, we cry also unto Thy Majesty with ten- derness of our hearts unspeakable. Come, Lord Jesus, quickly, and judge betwixt us and our adversaries, and in the mean time give patience, comfort and constancy to all that suffer for Thy name and trust in Thee, O Lord God, our only helper and protector; tarry not long. Amen.” The text extends from page 3 to page 745 inclusive. Such, in its out- ward guise, are some of the features of this venerable volume which our Fathers in the faith welcomed with such joy, and which they prized for all the peril that attended its use. This was the Catholic Bible hid away like the priest and the altar furniture in cunningly contrived retreats; this was the book brought out in those days of deadly persecution and strata. It has been aptly called a “Beehive.” º rºº º . swº º --- * º - …!" s ºs- Jºs sºsºvº - > - ~~ - ~%zis wº * --> *…*An i-º-º: JERUSA Showing Mount Moriah, the Mount of Oliv ANCIENT CONVENT OF MAR SABA, NEAR JERUSALEM. This remarkable Convent consists of a large number of caves in the sides of lofty precipices, enlarged in This some cases, and fashioned into houses or cells by the aid of the walls closing apertures and connecting jutting. It is in the gorge of the Kedron, a short day from Jerusalem. read in a whisper to the faith- ful family, while spies were around ready to drag to prison for pretended civil crimes the faithful Catholic who read the Word of God in its purity, Every copy of the book that reaches our day might tell its history—read by the faithful Catholics of the British Isles at the risk of life, liberty and property, Bible of our Fathers, wrought in the day of martyrs, read and prized by heroic con- fessors. Elizabeth had in vain en- deavored to prevent the ap- pearance of this honest trans- lation. Her law forbade its in- troduction into England; but it came, and it came like a thunder-clap. It was learned; for they could not gainsay the ability of Gregory Martin. It was in point of language equal to the best they could show, and, what galled them most, it was honest—rigidly, thor- oughly honest. Its honesty has never been called into question. It should and will ever stand as the first really honest English translation that issued from the press, Scrivener, a learned Protestant writer, says of it: “In justice it must be observed that no case of wilful perversion of Scripture has ever been brought home to the Rheimish translators.” No wonder that it was attacked; for, no harder blow was ever dealt by Catholics against the motley array of sects in England than that given by this honest translation. In the mean time, the persecution continued as bitter as ever. The circulation of the Scriptures in consequence was attended with the greatest difficulty. Yet circulate it did, for a new edi- tion of this New Testament was issued at Antwerp in 1600, and Catholics faced death in every shape to obtain these Testaments and read them in Secret. - Meanwhile, the printing of the Old Testament was delayed. The pref- ace of the New Testament tells us that lack of means had prevented the issue of the whole Bible down to 1582. The persecution had certainly not improved the circumstances of Catholics or made it more easy to publish the work during the remaining years of that century or the ear- lier years of the seventeenth. Nor was the college left in peace at Rheims. The French government no longer offered it an asylum, and in 1597 the , of THE PRESENT, VIEWED FROM THE SOUTH. the Kedron Walley, Siloam and the Mount of Corruption—all hallowed by our Lord's footsteps, HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O L J O B J B L E. 33 | | º S *† ſimis 19–sºl JOHN 11:35, ºx-s Sº s - --~~~~ *--> *- ~~3 T-2 se-->s- - -> --~~ - - - ~~~ —-T-->~~ — OUR LORD WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. institution returned to Douay. These changes of course embarrassed them, and prevented any important work like the printing of the Bible. But the time came at last. In 1609, the first volume of the Old Testa- ment appeared with this title: “The Holie Bible, Faithfully Translated Into English Out Of the Authentical Latin. Diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greeke and other Editions in divers languages. With Ar- guments of the Bookes and Chapters: Annotations: Tables: and other helpes for better understanding of the text: for discoverie of Corruptions in some late translations: and for clearing Controversies in Religion. By the English College of Douay. Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris. Isaiae 12. You shall draw waters in joy out of the Saviour's fountaines. Printed at Douay by Lawrence Kellam, at the Signe of the holie iambe. MDCIX.” The approbation of the same is from three professors and doctors of theology of Douay University. Then comes a preface: “To the Right Wel beloved English Reader, Grace and Glorie in Jesus Christ, Everlast- ing. At last through God’s goodness (most dearly beloved) we send you here the greater part of the Old Testament: as long since you received the New; faithfully translated into English. The residue is in hand to be finished: and your desire thereof shal not now (God prospering our intention) be long frustrated. As for the impediments, which hitherto hindered the worke, they al proceded (as manie do now) of one general cause, our poor estate in banishment. Wherein expecting better meanes. greater difficulties rather ensued. Nevertheless, you wil hereby the more perceive our fervent good wil, ever to serve you, in that we have brought forth this Tome in these hardest times, of above fourtie yeares, since this College was most happily begune (anno 1568).” The preface then goes on to discuss “Why and how it is allowed to have holie Scriptures in vulgar tongues.” The Vulgate is again de- fended. Of the translators it says: “Those that translated it about thirtie years since, are wel knowen to the world to have been excellent in the tongues, sincere men and great Divines.” As, however, in the mean time 34 HMS TO H. Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B / B L E. the editions of the Vulgate issued under Sixtus V. and Clement VII. had appeared, they note: “For which cause we have again con- ferred this English translation and conformed it to the most perfect Latin edition.” They make a strong point against the new English words introduced by the Reformers which require explanation as much as the original Hebrew and Greek terms if retained: “It more importeth that nothing be wit- tingly and falsely translated for advantage of doctrine in matter of faith. Wherein as we dare boldly avouch the sanctitie of this translation, and that nothing is here untruly or obscurely donne of purpose in favour of Catholique Roman Religion, so we cannot but complaine and challenge English Protestants for corrupting the text contrary to the Hebrew and Greeke, which they professe to translate, for the mere show and mainteyning of their peculiar opinions against Catholiques.” It concludes with a touching address to all that understand English, encouraging the Catho- lics amid their persecutions, trials and sufferings, and inviting the others to return : “Attend to your salvation, dearest countriemen. You that are farre of draw mere, put on Christ. And you that are within Christ's fold kepe your standing, persevere in Him to the end. His grace dwell and remain in you, that g 1 or i o us crownes may be given you. Amen.” The preface, dated the Octave of All Saintes, 1609, covers twelve pages. The text from Genesis to the end of Job one thousand one hundred and four teen pages; after which is a page “To the Curt e o us Reader.” The next year, with a title differing only in date, nº º i. ºil. nºi. *|| | | t ill | | - i" | ||| OLIVE GROVE OF GETHSEMANE, THE SCENE of ou R Lok D's AGoRNY. appeared the second tome of the Old Testament. On the back of the title the approbation was re- peated. Then followed Proemial Annotations upon the book of Psalms, pp. 3–14. Text, 15 to page 1071, including the Prayer of Manasses and the second ald third books of Esdras. Page 1072, Table of Epistles; 1073–1096, an Historical Table; 1097–1123, a particular table of the most prin- cipal things; 1124, an Approba- tion of the work by three English theologians, all formerly connect- ed with Douay College. The last note on the Machabees ends in these words: “But we who by God’s great goodness have passed now to the end of this English Old Testament, justly fearing that we have not worthily discharged so great a worke; and in nowise presuming that we have avoided al errors, as wel of doctrine as historie: much more we acknow- ledge that our stile is rude and unpolished. And therefore we necessarily and with al humilitie crave pardon of God, and al His glorious Sainctes. Likewise of the Church militant, and par- ticularly of you, right wel belovol English readers; to whom as , , the beginning we directed and dedicated these our endeavoures; so to you we offer the rest of our laboures, even to the end of our lives: in our B. Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be al praise and g 1 or i e . 2 22 § Amen. Riº The great work of the illustrious Gregory Mar- tin was thus printed at last. The Old Testament as issued was re- vised by Dr. Thomas Wor- thington, who was president of Douay Col- lege from 1599 to 1613, and the An- notations and Tables a re said to have been written by him. Both the Rheimish Testa ment and Douay Bible were the HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO L J C B IB L E. 85 translation of Gregory Martin. He may have lived to see the New Testament in print, but even that is doubtful, as he died in the same year that it appeared, October 28, 1582. The Old Testament provoked no controversy in England. The work of Greg- ory Martin was a terrible blow to Protestantism: it was truth holding up her mirror to error. Protestants felt that at last something must be done. To give a really honest translation was scarcely possible, so much of their structure was reared on mistranslation or misconceptions carefully fostered by all their systems and teaching. But something must be done; and this led to the appointment of a body of translators, who took in hand all the editions from Tyndale down, and going over the whole carefully, steadily using the Rheims and Douay Bible and frequently adopting its renderings, both as correct translation and as pur: * English, in preference to those of any of the previous translations. This is clear, == *I for they waited for the Old Testament to appear at Douay; and when that - E Ill reached their hands in 1609 and 1610, they in 1611 brought out a new translation of the Bible and dedicated it to the king at whose orders it was under- taken. This edition is the one known as the King James Bible, or the “Au- thorized Version,” and which, modified in parts and misprinted in others, is now generally used in England and this country. In the lull of the persecution in Eng- land between 1618 and 1641 the Catho- lics contrived to issue a new edition of the Bible, this time in France. The English Catholic Bible was thus re- zºº ". w * Fºll {{(\\\\} printed at Rouen in 1633–5 by John º º |}}º - - - \,. º - ºG) Tº Cousturier in three quarto volumes, like º ſ the original. But now a new system of tactics was taken up, and the Douay version was steadily decried as antiquated, un- English, accompanied by notes of un- due severity. Gradually this made an –––. impression, and Catholics began to OUR LORD. think that Gregory Martin’s translation might be greatly bettered. In this they OUR Lord GIVING THE CRow N of LIFE to St. PETER AND ST, PAUL. - :--> From a painting on bright blue glass, executed in the third century, and pre- in the Bibliotheca of the Vatican at Rome. made a great mistake. Martin's trans- served in the Catacombs of St. Sebastian at Rome. From a bronze medal made in the third century, preserved in the Catacomb of St. Agnese, and now // /ST'ſ) ſº Y OF THE HOL Y CA THOL / C BIBLE. Lºſ T - º: iſºlº Hº". | | | | | |||| LillilulliſDI º | --- FT | | | - - | º lation is terse, close, vigorous, grand old English of the very best era of English literature, coeval with Shakespeare, Bacon, Ben Jonson, Spenser, and with the King James Bible that is not regarded as antiquated or obso- lete. Early in the eighteenth century, when Shakespeare was looked upon as rather barbarous, Gregory Martin's English was out of fashion. Then began attempts to modernize the Catholic version by various editions of the New Testament, and finally in 1738 of the whole Bible of Martin, with the spelling modernized and some few alterations in the text and notes. At length Dr. Challoner, aware of the wishes of the great majority of English-speaking Catholics, set to work to give a new version of the Bible, with few notes suited to the times, and the text in language no longer obso- lete or harsh. He issued a New Testament in 1748 and the whole Bible in 1750, his New Testament being revised and amended in some cases. º This is properly Challoner's translation, the one which, with more or less variations, is now printed as the Catholic Douay Bible. Of it Cardinal Wiseman says: “To call it any longer the Douay or Rheimish version is an abuse of terms. It has been altered and modified till scarcely any verse remains as it was originally published, and, so far as simplicity and energy of style are concerned, the changes are in general for the worse. It had been well if Dr. Challoner's alterations had given stability to the text and formed a standard.” Variations have crept into almost every new edition; typographical errors also. Archbishop Kenrick's endeavor to secure uniformity by a new translation, has not been adopted. There seems, then, no alternative but to go back and modernize Dr. Martin's and print it correctly, or to reprint as accurately Challoner's edition of 1750. We hope that such a work will yet appear. HIS TO R Y OF THE HOL Y CATH O LI C B IB L E. 37 THE BOOKS OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE ń. | | Tſ > º º $º º | º '', Y | THE PENTATEUCH. THE Pentateuch is the Greek name given to the five books commonly called the Five Books of Moses (# Tevrá Tevzor). In the time of Esdras and Nehemias it was called the “Law of Moses,” or “the book of the Law of Moses,” or simply “the book of Moses.” Its usual name when quoted in the New Testament is “the book of Moses,” or “the Law.” The division of the whole work into five parts is commonly attributed to Esdras. These five parts are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and W ſº º | = A. \\ º, º \\ \ W \\\\\\\\\ º º A. \\ \\ \ \ s †† | Deuteronomy, and being the work of Moses are usually grouped to gether and called “The Pentateuch,” a word signifying the five-fold book. The Mosaic authorship of these books, independent of the constant tra- dition of the Church and the decision of the Holy Council of Trent, is settled by the concurrent testimony of all ages. It is always assumed as a fact when quoted in the New Testament, and it has ever been an article of faith among the Jews. The five books were written between the time of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt and their entrance and set tlement in the land of Chanaan. B I B L E. A THO L / O' C - - /. F TH TO /2 Y O // ſ.S. wae-№ THE BOOK OF H. O. L. 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T Ť S Ē Ē Ē Ē Ģ Ē Ē Ī , ） ğ +→. +→.Q>~ ~ ~ 5C <-2"） ！-----© È Ě Ě Ē ĻĒ Ē Ē Ģ Ķ Ķ Ř Ě Ě Ě ě Ē Ē Ē Ē Ģ ģ Ķ ĶĒĒ## H TË 5 * $ $ € £ ¥ $ 5 ） E § TF 3 ： ? º ? $ $ $ $ $ 5 & -4 # （ ）, "S: ， ：， ’:’， ：，..?? 23 ğ - §§ \ A. -- W Tº º sº Vº KS \\ - | lºº ~~~~ § w \ºm m * , º | . ſ ſ | º , | ū; lºſ ||||W2 - º His ºf ^ - 1. | º 58 HISTORY OF The Ho Ly CATH O LI C B I B L E. 3.2% im lill | º : ||| !!! l | | 4) HTLIII, \ ^*** * * **** * *. ..ºvar tºº. *::: wn v.tv, v'." ' ºw-ºr nº-º -w SAP HAN READING THE BOOK OF THE LAW TO JOSIAS. disposes all things sweetly and forcibly, and directs them to the fulfil- ment of His own deep designs. Thus this divine history is intended more to form the heart than to adorn the mind. Man is here praised, not for his natural talents, not for his political or military actions, but for what he was to God, for his piety and for his virtue. We are here taught and made to feel, that true wisdom, true greatness, true hap- piness, has not and cannot have any other foundation, than the holy fear of God and the observance of His holy law. Its examples instruct both the little and the great; for what makes man worthy of praise in God's sight is common both to the little and great. Those princes who corre- sponded with God's mercy and made use of the power given them by the King of kings to maintain piety and religion are praised, and their mem- ory is in benediction; whilst, on the contrary, those who made use of the gifts of God, only to serve pride and ambition, are unmercifully censured, and because they loved the glory of this world they lost that true glory, which can come only from God. Such are the grand truths we should draw from these holy books, so that, in the words of the Apostle, we may experience that, as “all Scripture divinely inspired, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice.” 2 Tim. iii. 16; so this, and this especially, is the object of the many lives and actions unfolded for us in these books of Kings, that its manifold lessons both of encourage- ment and warning may be taken to heart by us; and that as we see how temporal prosperity was always the reward of the observance of the law, and wretchedness and captivity the punishment for its violation, looking higher and living by faith, we also may run joyfully in the way of His holy commandments, knowing that the Lord is a just Judge, and that He will reward every man according to his works. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. 59 THE TWO BOOKS OF PARALIPOMENON. THE ancient Hebrews, according to St. Jerome, united these two books in one, to which by the Septuagint version and our Vulgate the name Paralipomenon has been given—that is, of things omitted, meaning that they are supplementary to the books of Kings. By others they are called the books of Chronicles—that is, journals or diaries, or records of the daily occurrences of the kingdoms of Juda and Israel. They are commonly ascribed to Esdras, who in the work was aided by the prophets Aggieus and Zacharias, with whom he lived in Jerusalem. But whoever may have been their author, it is beyond doubt that in composing them, he made use of the public annals and written records preserved with such great care and diligence by the synagogue. We may here observe that the history of no nation of antiquity has been handed down to us by writers of such merit, virtue, religion and wisdom as those of the Hebrew people. To confine ourselves to the kingdom of Juda, we learn from these books - of Paralipomenon that it had for historians, many prophets who lived §T **** | from the time of Saul and David, down even to the end of the kingdom. | We must deplore the loss of their writings. The history of David was | written by Samuel, Nathan and Gad (1 Paral. xxix. 29); that of Solomon | | by Nathan, Gad, Ahias and Addo (2 Paral. ix. 29); that of Roboam by Addo and Semeias (2 Paral. xii. 15). Thus also we read that the same prophet Addo wrote an account of the reign of Abias (2 Paral. xiii. 22); Hanam, of the reign of Asa (2 Paral. xvi. 7); Jehu, of the reign of Joso- phat (2 Paral. xx. 34); and to pass over others, Isaias wrote concerning Osias (2 Paral. xxvi. 22) and Ezechias (2 Paral. xxxii. 32). This book has been lost, but in his prophecies we have almost a complete account of the reign of Achaz. Such were the men who wrote the history of the Hebrew people; and, therefore, with reason, does Josephus praise the dili- SOLOMON RECEIVES THE QUEEN OF SABA, G() ///s. To ſº y of THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. gence, exactness and incorruptible fidelity with which the ancient memoirs of his nation were written and preserved. In these books we have but little concerning the kingdom of Israel, as the sacred historian confines himself almost solely to the kings of Juda. In the first eight chapters of the first book a record is given of the gene- alogy of the patriarchs. These genealogies formed the most essential and most jealously-guarded portion of Hebrew history, not only because of the distinction of tribes, but far more, on account of Christ, that thereby in all times it might be proved that He came of Abraham, of the tribe of Juda, of the stock of David. Then the history of Saul is given briefly, to pass on to David, to whom the rest of the book is devoted. In the second book we have the history of Solomon and of his successors down to the captivity of Babylon. Of these books St. Jerome says that the § ||| whole doctrine of Scripture is contained in them, and that they are a compendium of the Old Testament—a compendium of such importance that he who would flatter himself with understanding the Scriptures, with- out studying them attentively, deserves to be treated with contempt; that from them alone, innumerable questions which arise in the Gospel can receive their proper explanation. No greater praise could be bestowed upon them. We need not add that as the synagogue has always held them to belong to the inspired Word, so also has the Catholic Church constantly testified to their divine origin. THE ToMBs of THE ISRAELITISH KINGS IN JERUSALEM- HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B I. F. 61 -- - - - - - | - --- - Kº º =\s |lllllllllllllllll- - - - == sutri-Jºliº |T|| Eiº- ~~~~~ - = - |HL *T*E. - º - as N | w/º. Fiſſiſſil l | º | § º, r º º . N \\ * THE FREE-WILL OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE, THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS. ESDRAS was of the priestly race, and according to some, the son, according to others, the nephew, of Saraius the priest, who, with other illustrious personages, was killed by Nabuchadonosor after the taking of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Sedecias. 4 Kings XXV. 18, 21. His continuous study of the law of the Lord and of the ancient customs of the people of God merited for him the title of the ready scribe (1 Esd. vii. 6)—that is, the illustrious, learned and venerable doctor of his nation. It is said that he re- turned to Jerusalem with Zorobabel; but the restoration of the temple being stopped by enemies, he went to Babylon; at length he obtained from Artaxerxes, surnamed the Long-handed, permis- sion to return to Judea, with all who wished to accompany him. He likewise obtained many favors and the most ample privileges for the Jews. This book has always been acknowledged as the work of Esdras, and as belonging to the Sacred Scriptures, not only by the synagogue, but also by the Catholic Church. Esdras here writes of things which he not only saw, but in which he played a conspicuous part. In the first six chapters we have an account of the liberty restored to the Jews by Cyrus, the arrival of Zorobabel at Jerusalem, the renewal of the sacrifices, the work of restoration, begun on the temple, interrupted by order of Artax- erxes, the exhortations of the two prophets Zacharias and Aggeus to continue the grand work, and, finally, the permission granted by King Darius to finish it. Then we see, how this man of God, not content with what he had done for the good of his people in so many ways, filled with a holy zeal, turns his attention to the cor- rection of abuses which might again provoke God’s anger against them, and by his prayers and by his penitential tears he obtains from the Lord the grace of conversion for the guilty, and the whole nation by a new solemn covenant bind themselves to the observance of the law. In the following book of Nehemias we be- hold the same Esdras, always intent on the fulfilment of his min- istry, instructing the people and explaining the divine law in their solemn assemblies. Mention is likewise made of him as of one of the principal pillars of the new republic in the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehem. viii. 2, 3, 26, 35. 62 J//S 70 ſº Y OF THE HO I, Y CA THOL I C B IB L E. THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS, CALLED ALSO THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAS. NEHEMIAs, the son of Helcias, is thought by some to have been of the tribe of Levi, but by others of the tribe of Juda, because of his exercising the authority of head of the republic, and likewise because his name is not mentioned in any of the catalogues we have of the priests. But who- ever he was, he was a great man, and is justly ranked amongst the restorers of the Hebrew republic. Greatness of soul, generosity of heart, the spirit of piety and religion and a most tender love for his -_--LZ brethren, such were the qualities with which God endowed him that --- he might be, as his name indicates, a true consoler of his people. This book is a continuation of the history begun in the preceding, and by the synagogue was joined to the same. Therein we learn that Nehemias was high in office at the court of the king of Persia, acting as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus. In the twentieth year of the king's reign (B. c. 445) certain Jews, one of whom was a near kinsman of Nehemias, arrived from Judea and gave him a deplorable account of the state of Je- rusalem and of the residents in Judea. Nehemias, having obtained from the king of Persia permission to go to Jerusalem and to build up the walls of the city, finished that great work in a few weeks, in spite of the plots, the threats and of all obstacles put in his way by the enemies of his peo- ple. He then returns thanks to God in the most solemn manner, cele- brating the dedication of the walls with all possible splendor, amid the rejoicing of the whole nation; after which, he labors not without fruit to bring back the Jews to the desolated city. He establishes good order, extirpates abuses, makes provision for the support of the ministers of the Lord, for the maintenance of divine worship and for the observance of the Sabbath. Then, to confirm and perpetuate the new state of things, he renews the covenant with God, swears undying fidelity and obedience to the same, and makes the priests and princes of the nation take a like oath. In 2 Macc. i. 19, 20, 34, 35, and ii. 13, we have an account of other facts which redound greatly to the faith and piety of Nehemias. He is the recognized author of this book, in which, as St. Jerome observes, under the covering of historic simplicity, we have in the person of Nehe- mias a beautiful figure of Christ sent by the eternal Father “to heal the contrite of heart and to preach a release to the captives; . . . to comfort all that mourn; . . . to appoint to the mourners of Sion and to give them a crown,” etc. (Isa. xli. 1, 2, 3); and to restore and renew the ancient Sion, and to transfer it unto a new and holy Church without spot or wrinkle and worthy of such a Saviour. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B II: LE. 63 THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. THIS book was not comprised in the ancient canon of the Hebrews, for the simple reason that therein were numbered only such books as were written in the Hebrew language. It is now the common opinion of interpreters that this story of Tobias was written in Chaldee, and it was from that language St. Jerome made his version, as he himself tells us. The Hebrews, however, always considered it as a holy book, dic- tated by the Spirit of the Lord and worthy of our veneration, and as such it has always been held by the Catholic Church. This is clear from the works of the Fathers who quote it, but more so from the various Councils which have classed it in the catalogue of the divine books; thus the Council of Hippo, A. D. 393, the third Council of Carthage, the Roman Council under Pope Gelasius, the General Council of Florence, and, lastly, the General Council of Trent. Almost all agree that the two Tobias, father and son, were the authors of the book, and that the last two verses were added afterward by some other hand. It was written by them at the angel’s command: “Bless ye God and publish all his wonder- ful works.” xii. 20. They wrote in the language of the country in which they lived. The book was afterward translated into Greek, which version is cited by the Apostolic Constitutions, by St. Polycarp, St. Clement of Alexandria and other Fathers, and from this version the Latin translation used in the Western Church before the time of St. Jerome was made. It is most likely that the Hebrew text was composed from the same version. We have in this book the portraits of two worthy children of Abra- ham, even more according to the spirit than according to the flesh, wor- thy by their faith and by their exalted virtue to be numbered amongst those saints who belonged to the Gospel and to the new covenant before the coming of Christ. In the father, we admire his wonderful faith in the divine promises, his spirit of prayer, his detachment from earthly TOBIAS AND THE FISH. goods, his tender love for his neighbor, his patience under affliction, his firm hope in God and his holy solicitude in pleasing Him in all things. Although afflicted by God with exile, with captivity, with poverty, with loss of his sight, ill treated by his friends, and even by his own wife, sought after by a violent and cruel prince to be put to death, yet he never loses his faith or his magnificent constancy, and as a reward for his faith God grants him a revelation of what was to take place. He sees in spirit that New Jerusalem of which he was already a citizen, in which all the nations of the earth were to assemble, and where all the kings would adore the new King of Israel, their common Saviour. In the future res- toration of Jerusalem he sees foreshadowed the restoration of the ancient Church; he beholds the glory of the new Sion; he recognizes its ever. lasting triumph in heaven, where, united for ever with its divine Head, it will sing to Him an eternal alleluia. Taught in such a school and ani- mated by such examples, the younger Tobias shows himself on all occasions a worthy son of such a father, and furnishes us with a perfect example of piety, chastity and of every virtue. But what shall we say of the youth- ful Sara, tried by God, by so terrible and so unheard-of a tribulation? What sentiments of solid piety, what purity of heart, what innocence of manners, how lively a faith and what wonderful hope in the divine prom- ises, does she not manifest in her most touching prayer offered to God! She was worthy of being kept by God to become the spouse of the youth. ful Tobias, according to those words of the wise man: “House and riches are given by parents, but a prudent wife is property from the Lord.” Prov. xix. 14. Reading these lessons and beholding such examples of the most sublime evangelical perfection, let us not forget that they are given for our instruction, and therefore, thanking the Lord for the trea- sures He has given us, let us humbly and with great fervor ask of Him the grace to profit by them. 64 ///S 70 ſº Y OF THE HO I, Y CATH O L / C BIBLE. |\! ſ º - - | - º º | - N \\ *\\\\\\\\\\". º Å. NNW// Nº. W // | i | \ % f | | º | JUDITH IN THE PRESENCE OF HOLOFERNES. THE BOOK OF JUDITH. MANY are of the opinion that the book of Judith was written by the high-priest Joachim or Eliacim, who is mentioned in the same St. Je- rome translated it from the Chaldee into Latin. It has always been ac- knowledged by the Church as belonging to the Canon of Sacred Scrip- ture. It is cited by St. Clement, Pope, in his letter to the Corinthians, by the Apostolic Constitutions, by St. Clement of Alexandria, and by many other Fathers. It is mentioned in the Canon by the Council of Carthage A. D. 419. If it is omitted in some ancient catalogues of the sacred books, it is because the authors of such catalogues wished only to copy the canon of the Hebrews, in which this book, as not being written in the Hebrew, was not included. The Jews, however, always held it to be a sacred book and dictated by the Spirit of the Lord. In the words of St. Jerome: “Among the Hebrews the book of Judith is read among the Hagiographa, . . . and being written in the Chaldee lan- guage, is reckoned among the histories.” Praef. ad Jud. We will now give a brief summary of the book. Nabuchodonosor, king of Assyria, having overcome Arphaxad, king of the Medes, wishes to become master of the whole earth. He sends Holofernes with a great army to bring into subjection the various nations, and to force them to adore his mas- ter as their only god. Whilst he is engaged in subduing the cities of Idumea, the Jews, frightened, prepare themselves to resist the terrible enemy, and at the exhortation of the high-priest Eliacim they implore the divine aid in their extremity by prayer and fasting. In the mean time siege is laid to Bethulia. The aqueduct is destroyed and the wells near the city guarded. The inhabitants, suffering from thirst, wish to surrender. The elders at last promise, that if aid do not come in five days they would do so. Then it was that Judith, a widow distinguished not merely for her great riches, beauty and nobility, but much more for her excellent virtue, comes forth and rebukes the elders for their promise, exhorts them to encourage the people by the remembrance of the mercies of the Lord experienced so often by Israel, and to have recourse to God in prayer that He might prosper the great design she had in her mind. After having invoked God's protection by sighs and penance, she adorns herself magnificently, and with a maid-servant, goes forth to meet Holo- fernes. He is stricken by her beauty; and having gained his confidence, on the fourth day, after a banquet in which Holofernes is stupefied with drink, she cuts off the head of the proud enemy of her people and carries it to Bethulia. An assault is made on the enemy, and, in consternation at the loss of their general, they are routed and destroyed. Such is the history of Judith, praised by all the Fathers for her courage, her con- stancy, her piety and trust in God. It has been used by them all for its grand lessons of faith and the many instructions that may be drawn from it. It does not fall within the scope of our subject to vindicate the cha- racter of Judith from what might seem to some, blameworthy in her con- duct. This has been done by almost all earnest writers on Scripture. She is blamed for the falsehoods she told after leaving Bethulia; and again she is censured more severely for exposing her virtue to such a ter- rible ordeal, for adorning herself to be the more successful, for striving by all means to gain the love of Holofernes. It is enough for us to know that she is not censured by the sacred writer; that what she did, is pre- sented to us as having been done through God's inspiration and with His assistance, and therefore that her conduct admits of explanation and can be defended. If, however, there should be anything that would still re- main inexplicable in her conduct, we might answer that therein she is not presented to us as an example. We know that the book is divine; it is proposed as such by the General Councils of Florence and Trent. Judith is a type of piety, beauty and chastity. St. Jerome sees in her daring conduct an image of the victory of the Church over Satan's power. HIS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. 65 THE BOOK OF ESTHER. THIS book has always been acknowledged as belonging to the Canon of Scripture and as inspired by God, both by the synagogue and by the Catholic Church. By the Jews it has always been held in the greatest esteem and veneration; it is compared with the books of Moses, and is preferred to their greatest prophets. Our version s that of St. Jerome, taken from the Hebrew ; but as in the Greek text and in the old Vulgate, certain additions were found, which were not contained in the Hebrew text of his day, these St. Jerome re- ligiously preserved, and placed them in the end of the book. These additions, beginning with the fourth verse of the tenth chapter, have always been considered and cited as Sacred Scriptures by the Greek and Latin Fathers, and the Church herself has made use of them in the celebration of the divine mysteries. Rom. Missal fer. 4 post Dom. ii. Quadrag, and Dom. xv. post Pent. Some attribute the book to Esdras, but it is more likely that Mardochai himself was its author. In the person of Mardochai, we have a type of a true son of Abraham, who, not to transgress the law of the Lord by rendering to man the honor due only to God, did not fear to expose himself to the anger and vengeance of the most powerful and cruel man in the court of Assuerus. Resisting impiety, he was willing to suffer death; but when on his account he beheld the whole of his nation condemned to destruction, he turned to Him who is the refuge of the poor in their distress, and in ardent and humble prayer invoked His aid. God rewards the faith and zeal of His servant, delivers him from death, and raises him from his abject state to the second | | | *i-L-L-L-L |Nº||W i. #|| | Mſ. ſ | º : 66 HIS TO R. Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LIC BIBLE. º º º | | sº i. - sºs º . § . - * |*|| Wºº. #!/ º | - E - T º - i. - - * -º-º: 3.////Zºº<= THE FEAST of PURIN, CELEBRATED BY THE JEws IN CoMMEMORATIon of H º º THEIR DELIVERANCE FROM AMAN's PLOT. -- * rank in the kingdom of Persia. But what shall we say of the courage, º piety and charity of Esther toward her nation ? To save them, she does not hesitate to imperil her own greatness, her high dignity, the love of her royal husband—nay, more, even to expose herself to death. “I will go to the king,” she says, “against the law, not being called, and expose myself to death and to danger.” iv. 16. Resolving to try all means to liberate the Jews, she does not put her con- | fidence in her beauty, nor in those exterior gifts which had gained for her the love of Assuerus and had raised her to the throne of Persia, but her refuge and her hope is in God. She has recourse to Him in prayer, and by tears and by penance she implores His mercy. Behold her purity of heart, her detachment from earthly things, her perfect love of God, in that admirable prayer she addressed to God both for herself and for her people, wherein she says that He knows that she never took joy or de- light in the magnificence of royal ornaments nor in the luxury and wealth of the court; that she abominated them, but that she always rejoiced in Him, the Lord, the God of Abraham. No wonder, then, that the Fathers attribute to her virtue and to her piety the revocation of the cruel edict published against the Jews, and the salvation of the nation. In her they recognize also a figure of the Church of Jesus Christ substi- tuted for the synagogue. As Esther replaced the proud Vashti, so the Catholic Church has replaced the synagogue, that dared to despise her Spouse and her King, putting Him to death. Esther, a stranger to Assu- erus, is also a beautiful figure of the Gentiles, who were strangers to Israel -“strangers to the testaments, having no hope of the promise.” Ephes. ii. 12. This Church, which merited the love of her King and divine spouse, is represented to us under the figure of a fountain (chap. x.) which grew into a river and was turned into the brightest sun. This typifies the fruitfulness and wonderful propagation of the Church and the glory with which she is invested by God here on earth, but much more in the king- dom of heaven, SHRINE of ESTHER IN THE TOMB AT HAMADAN. |||} §§ | º| išº º | Jºſſ]|| #|| § º | º º º º º |# HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. 67 º | t º * º º §§ THE BOOK WE find Job mentioned by name, together with Noe and Daniel, and proposed by God Himself to us, as three saintly souls, sons of justice, each in his own age, and worthy by their virtue, to obtain from God whatsoever they should ask for. Ezech. xiv. 14, 20. He is referred to once more in the book of Tobias (ii. 12), and again more particularly in the Epistle of St. James, as the most perfect example of patience, worthy to be a figure of Christ Himself: “You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord.” v. 11. There cannot, then, be a shadow of doubt, that Job really lived and passed through the events recorded in this book; for, the Holy Ghost presents him to us as the model of patience and as a living personage. The ancient synagogue as well as the Catholic Church, have at all times recognized the history as a true one, dictated by the Holy Spirit, and it is mentioned by every Council that has given us the Canon of sacred Scripture. The date to which it refers is more likely that of Moses himself. Job was a wealthy Arabian shepherd-prince, who worshipped the one true God and led a holy life in His presence, practicing the moral virtues according to the principles of the natural law. To try his virtue, to purify his soul and cause him to increase in justice, God allows Satan to visit him with misfortunes—to rob him of his property, his flocks, his servants, his children, of all worldly goods; and as this visitation did not shake his constancy or faith, he is allowed to afflict him corporally, so that from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, he was covered with ulcers. Reduced to this extreme state of poverty, misery and wretchedness, he is visited by three of his friends, who come to console him; but finding him obstinate in defending himself, they begin to rebuke and to deride him, thus adding the most acute mental torture to his already innumer- able afflictions. This dialogue constitutes the matter of the book, which, for sublimity of thought, the beauty of its language, the grandeur of its argument, surpasses any other ...Tº º E. - -º, º T-7 Z.A.F./º 3Gºz. -. Aſly, >sº | ºs. -- - - * -- " -->== >–. – 7: 68 Aſ ISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LIC BIBLE. is * | : ſ | | | | book of the Old Testament, except, perhaps, the book of Psalms. The ex- haustless treasury of its truths, and the many impressive warnings it gives us, to lead a life of piety and virtue, have commanded for it, at all times, the greatest veneration, as unmistakably the work of the Holy Ghost. It vindicates God’s providence over all things, and shows in the most sub- lime manner, why it is, that God afflicts even the just here on earth. The argument of the dialogue the pious reader must study and meditate at- tentively. The three friends are not wrong in what they bring forward to convict Job of impatience and impiety; they are only wrong in what they conclude from their reasoning, and the bitterness with which they persistently strive to force him to acknowledge his secret guilt, which they take for granted, must be true. God vindicates the honor of His patient servant, and in the end rewards him even in this life by exalting him far above what he had been before. Passing over the many lessons contained in the book—which are almost as numerous as there are sen- tences—let us draw out the analogy suggested by St. James, as existing between Job and our divine Saviour. If all the just men of the Old Tes- tament were types of our Lord, in a special manner have the Fathers of the Church recognized in Job, the most lively image of the mysteries of our crucified Master. Others have represented Him only in a certain special character or in some particular actions; but all that is told us concerning Job, of his life, of his words, of his actions, all have their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Christ is the man of sorrows, Job signifies - --- - * ~~ ---- --— -- Tº –- - - - --- - --- - ELIU REFUTING JoB AND HIS FRIENDS.–JOB xxxii. 6. grieving. Christ's life on earth is summed up in the words, He went about doing good. Job could say, “I was an eye to the blind and a foot to the lame; I was the father of the poor.” xxix. “From my infancy mercy grew up with me, and it came out with me from my mother's womb.” xxxi. For His benefits, His miracles, the holiness of His doctrine, the grace of His words, crowds followed our Lord, and were never satisfied with hearing Him. Of Job we read: “When I went out to the gate of the city, . . . the young men saw me and retired, and the old men rose up and stood. The princes ceased to speak; . . . the ear that heard me blessed me, and the eye that saw me gave witness to me.” xxix. Such was his life in the days of his splendor. But the time of affliction comes on. Do we not realize the words of Isaias foretelling the passion of Christ? “Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity; . . . and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.” Isa. liii. The words of God to Satan are: “Behold he is in thy hand” (ii. 6); the words of Jesus are: “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luc. xxii. 53. The foolish wife of Job despises him and mocks his piety; his very friends insult him, load him with abuse, declare him deserving of the evils that press on him. Do not these recall the senseless synagogue rejecting Christ? the princes and elders and people blaspheming Him, crying out that He is worthy of death, and even rebuking Him for having placed His trust in God? And how sublime is the application to both, of the HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO LIC BIB L E. 69 words: “Now I am turned into their song, and am become their by-word. They abhor me and flee far from me, and are not afraid to spit in my face.” xxx. 9, 10. Christ naked on the cross Job naked on the dung-heap ! God accepts the sacrifice and prayer of Job: “His face I will accept, that folly be not im- puted to you” (xlii. 8), and He will also, the sacrifice of His only Son for the salvation of the human race and the prayer He offered for those who crucified Him. The friends also repenting of what they thought and said against the just one, are they not a manifest figure of those who returned from the sight of the crucifixion, striking their breasts, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God”? In reading this sublime book, therefore, let the de- vout student ask, with one of the old interpreters of Scripture, the protection of holy Job: “Do thou blessed one, author of this sublime philosophy, re- ceive us, guide us and be our director, so that, having placed us on the level road, we may always walk aright and never depart from the truth.” But, above all, let us beg of him to obtain for us the grace to love and imitate his patience, so that, according to the teaching of St. Paul, joining patience with the medi- tation of the Holy Scriptures, we may preserve our hope in the midst of the contradictions and afflictions of this life. “Through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we may have hope.” Rom. xv. 4 sº - sº wº. DESOLATION OF JOB. 70 Aſ 1,970 R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O L I C B IB L E. <> -*S*-*º-Sº º #f tº ||||||Rh. º §§ §: *... - | s. THE BOOK OF PSALMs. THIs book is a collection of hymns or sacred canticles, with which the ancient Church was wont to celebrate the praises of God, to return Him § thanks for His benefits, to implore His mercies in time of necessity, to exalt the sanctity of His law, in order to inflame the hearts of all with love of the same, or to commemorate the great works of the Lord, but especially the miracles of His loving providence in favor of Israel. This custom had been introduced by Moses himself and followed ever after- ward; but the name Psalmist especially belongs to the holy prophet-king David, who received from God this particular gift of composing a great number of these canticles, so that amongst his other glorious titles he is called “the excellent psalmist of Israel” (2 Kings xxiii. 1), the singer | inspired by God. Therefore, not only as the work of so great a king, but | much more because dictated by the Spirit of God, these songs were in constant use in the synagogue. They were used in the dedication of the temple of Solomon (2 Paral. vii. 6), again in the restoration of worship under King Ezechias (2 Paral. xxix. 30), and again after the return from the Babylonian captivity, as soon as the altar was erected. 1 Esdr. iii. 10. From all this we learn that these psalms were not only read and studied § in private by the Jews as a divine book, but sung solemnly and con- stantly in their sacred meetings and at the sacrifices, which were daily § memory even from a tender age. The very titles of the psalms teach us § this constant use; thus: For the first day of the week, or, For the day be- \\ fore the Sabbath, etc., mean, that such psalms were sung on these days. The Psalms are one hundred and fifty in number, as contained in the tº collection handed down by the synagogue to the Christian Church, which, if not all, at least the greater part, were composed by David. If we synagogue, we would have no difficulty in ascribing them all to him. David is recognized as the author of the book by St. Luke: “And David himself saith in the book of Psalms” (xx. 42); and again in the Acts, the second Psalm, which has no title either in the Hebrew text or Latin version, is cited as the psalm of David; and wherever in the New Testa- ment the book is mentioned it is ascribed to David. Matt. xxii. 42, Marc xii. 36, Acts ii. 25, 35, etc. The argument contained in the psalms, is so varied and so vast, that we may say, we have here united in one book, all that renders the other ibooks of Scripture so precious to our faith. We behold here the creation of all things out of nothing; man placed in honor by God, but he does HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC Brer, E. 7t =#| || | | º * sºlº m |] J. P. | rºll!! N A. º | | % r % ji | -it- : Iº | º | º º -I " | in i. i. i. º . ºv º- * > ----. - * º º . . N | N l | | N || || N | N N º Tº º { II. i. º | | | . | DELIVERANCE OF DAVID FROM HIS ENEMIES.—Ps. LIx. I. not realize his dignity nor his duty, and sins, thus entailing original sin on his posterity; thence the general corruption of the human race, idol- atry; the separation of Abraham, his faith, and so on through all the grand and prophetic events of the Pentateuch. The description is accu- rate, but wonderfully embellished and adorned by that sacred eloquence and sublimity, which is the special gift of the royal psalmist. Every- where in these grand hymns, whilst commemorating the things of the law, as a prophet he foretells the glories of the new Church, the new worship, the Redeemer to come, His life, His passion, His glorious resur- rection, and the triumphs and mysteries of the gospel. There is scarcely a point of the life of our divine Lord or of the history of His Church which is not clearly portrayed in the Psalms. No wonder, then, that not only the Apostles, but Jesus Himself, made use of the Psalms of David more than of any other book of Scripture, to demonstrate the truth of the gospel and to confound the unbelief of the Jews. If we would speak of the principles of Christian wisdom, many are the lessons and examples contained in this divine book. Love is the theme of the Psalms. Love breathes, inflames, speaks constantly in these sacred songs. It aspires to God, pants for God, thirsts for Him, delights in Him, exults in Him; in a word, neither in heaven nor on earth does love find an object worthy and to be desired, except God. Ps. lxxii. 24, 25, 27. Thence spring, pure love of our neighbor, brotherly union, mutual concord, love of enemies, pardon of injuries. Vices are blamed because opposed to this love, and the natural desire of the just to draw all hearts to God, is often repeated. But if we would wish to give merely an outline of their subject-matters we would have to repeat them all. In conclusion, we may say a word as to how we ought to read them, to obtain the greatest fruit from them. St. Augustine tells us that we ought to strive to enter into the feelings and affections of the holy prophet, and to make them our own. In his book of Confessions he says: “Ah! what sounds I raised to Thee, O my God, whilst reading the Psalms of David, those faithful canticles, ex- pressions of piety which dissipate every proud swelling of the heart! . . . And how inflamed I was by them with love toward Thee, and I burned with the desire to recite them, if I could, to the whole world against the proud vanity of mankind ' And they are indeed chanted everywhere, and no one can hide himself from Thy heat. . . . I would have wished that the enemies of piety had been near me, and without my knowledge had heard me and seen my face and listened to my words as I read the fourth Psalm, that they might know what effect that Psalm had on me: “When I called upon Him, the God of my justice heard me. . . . Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.' I shuddered for great fear, and at the same time I was inflamed with hope, and I exulted, O Father, in Thy mercy; and all these feelings gushed forth from my eyes and from my mouth, as Thy kind Spirit, turning to us, added: “O ye sons of men, how long will ye be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lying?” For I had loved vanity and I had gone after alie.” Confess., ix. 4. 72 H IS TO ſº Y OF THE HO I, Y CATH O LI C B IB L E. THE BOOK OF PROVERBs. THE book of Proverbs is the first of the so-called sapiential books, whose object is to instruct men in that wisdom which is the most important and necessary—the way to ===== live. Both the synagogue and the Catholic Church have always received and vene- rated this book not only as a part of Holy Scripture, divinely inspired, but also as the work of Solomon, who is thrice mentioned as its author. i. 1, 12; xii. 8. The book divides naturally into four parts: the first, from i-ix., is, as it were, an introduc- tion in praise of wisdom and an encouragement to follow it; x-xxiv. give a collec- tion of sayings of Solomon himself; xxv-xxix., a collection of the same, added in the time of Ezechias; xxx.-xxxi., additions. We do not know at what time they were composed, but it is certain they were written before the book of Ecclesiastes, as is clear from cap. xii. 9 of that book. These Proverbs teach us moral lessons for the regulation of our lives, for the correction of bad habits—in a word, warnings concerning all we ought to do or to avoid. Amongst the works of Solomon, this book holds the first and highest place, not only by reason of its great usefulness, but also on account of its pure and holy doctrine. It is truly an inexhaustible treasure, from which new riches can always be drawn both for our own and for others' edification. The instructions and maxims suit every class of persons; the rules given are not merely of morality, but of true and sound policy and prudent economy. Those who live in the world and those who are separated from it; the young and the adult; mas- ters and servants; husbands and wives; parents and children; judges and magistrates and kings, all men, find in this book lessons of wisdom, adapted to their needs, to their capacity, set forth with such grace and unction as to render them pleasing, and to dispose and inflame the heart to put them in practice. Their author was an ex- ceedingly great king, the son of the holy and wise David; he was blessed by God not only with great wealth, but, more, with such wisdom that his name has almost become the name for wisdom; he was that king to whom God Himself said: “I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, insomuch that there hath been no one like thee, before thee, nor shall arise after thee.” 3 Kings iii. 12. Therefore we can say with justice that not only for their antiquity and divine authority, but also for their beauty, their abundance and solidity, these Proverbs, or parables, of Solomon, far surpass the writings of the philosophers of after ages, especially because they have for their foundation true piety and a holy fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of true wisdom—of that wisdom, of which the most renowned wise men of paganism either had no idea or a very obscure and confused one. How blameworthy, then, and shameful is that negligence in which so many Christians remain, of the infinite value of this treasure, so little known and so little prized How little do they think of the immense advantage they might derive therefrom, for the formation of their own character, but especially for the education of youth for they are particularly directed to the instruction of the young, inciting them to the love of virtue and a horror for vice. According to St. Jerome, Solomon in these Proverbs gives us the beginnings of holy wisdom; in Ecclesiastes he carries us to the manly practice of virtue by teaching us the vanity of all earthly things, whilst at last, in his sublime hymn, the Canticle of Canticles, he shows us pure and perfect happiness in the full union of the human soul with God. = --- ----- s | | In our Vulgate there are a few pro- "Miſſ E| | | verbs inserted taken from the Sep- - | H º tuagint - - - *sº i |EV)|| fºrt | º -> | H = - g been received an i | º approved ofby the Church, belong, = º - like the rest of the book, to the EHºº sacred deposit of Scripture. º . º ; ||| THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES. THE Greek word Ecclesiastes signifies a preacher—one who speaks SOLOMON IN HIS GLORY. more reasonable. Some hold that it was written by Solomon after his sad and disgraceful fall; according to this notion, we have in this book what may be called the confession of Solomon of his errors and a decla- to an assembly, who instructs the multitude, explaining the lessons of ration of his repentance. If this were true, it would render easy the ex- wisdom. The title is taken from the name preacher, by which the planation of the only difficult passages contained in this book; but we do author of the book speaks of himself throughout it. From the different places of the book itself in which the author thus speaks of himself, it is hard to understand, how any one could have doubted that it really was the work of Solomon. He calls himself the son of David and king of Je- rusalem. i. 1. He says of himself, v. 16: “Behold, I am become great, and have gone beyond all in wisdom that were before me in Jerusalem.” It has not been our object to answer any of the diffi- culties which modern so-called advanced criticism brings against the universally-received opinions of the ancient synagogue and of the Catholic Church. It is enough, therefore, to state that the belief that Solomon was the author of the book was received both by Jews and Christians, and was held by all the Fathers of the Church. The book itself was always held as a part of sacred Scripture by the Jews from the time in which the idea of a canon first presented itself. It is found in all the Jewish catalogues of the sacred books; it is found likewise in every catalogue of the canon published by the Catholic Church. As to the date of its composition the doubt is THE COMMON LILY OF SYRIA. not see how it can be reconciled with that tradi- tion so common concerning the doubtful salva- tion of the great king. The pious reader will not fail to admire the nervous, divine eloquence with which the wisest of kings explains, and, as it were, places under our eyes, that great, most useful and most important truth of which the whole of the book treats—viz., that all is vanity under the sun, all a breath, a shadow, a nothing, and that man will find nothing substantial and great, except to fear God and keep His command- ments, and by innocence and purity of life, to prepare himself for the future judgment. As Job deals with the great mystery presented by the sufferings of the just, and writes as one who has known those sufferings in their intensity, so do the words of Solomon, the preacher, trace chiefly the weariness or satiety of the pleasure-seeker and the failure of all schemes of life but one: “Let us all hear together the conclusion of the dis- course. Fear God and keep His command- ments: for this is all man. And all things that are done God will bring into judgment for every error, whether it be good or evil.” xii. 13, 14. 74 fr/S. To R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C BIBLE, º THE CANTICLE OF CANTICLES OF SOLOMON. This little book is so called because, of all the songs composed by Solomon, it is the most beautiful, the most excellent and the most sublime. According to the He- brew idiom, this is the meaning: the best ºf a/ canticles. Taken literally, it is a de- scription of the chaste love of a happy couple, who, in spite of all obstacles to their union, but especially in spite of the many and severe temptations to which the virtue of the bride is exposed, remain faithful to one another. This, however, is but the outer shell, covering a deeper and holier meaning, concealing the most sublime truths, on account of which alone, both the ancient synagogue and the Catholic Church have always recognized it as contained in the Canon and as a portion of sacred Scripture. The more the book is studied in this higher sense, the more does it show, that it is like the grain of mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, yet it grows to be a great tree; so likewise is it with the many sublime doctrines contained in each sentence of this heavenly little treasure. As to the opinion of those who say that it was originally written by Solomon to celebrate the festivity of his nuptials with the daughter of the king of Egypt (3 Kings xi. 1), independent of the fact of there being so many circumstances contained in the book which would be utterly false in such a view, it is enough for us to know that the second General Council of Constantinople condemned that opinion of the heretic Theodore, who held it to be merely a love-song, descriptive of that event. As to those whose irreligious, or even impure, imaginations find subjects of ridicule even in the most sacred things, taking occasion of scandal from God's Word and abusing it to their own perdition, for such argument is of no avail. For where is there anything holy and divine which the spirit of falsehood and pride has not abused? “All things are clean to the clean, but to the defiled and unbelievers—nothing is clean, but both their mind and their conscience are de- filed.” Tit. i. 15. As to the author of the book, it has always been recognized as the work of Solomon both by Jews and Christians. His name is found in its title both in the Hebrew text and in our Latin Vulgate, and that title is a portion of sacred Scripture. Its canonicity, likewise, has never been questioned either by the synagogue or by the Catholic Church. It has always been held to be an inspired work and clothed with divine authority. The argument contained in the book is in the form of a dialogue or drama descriptive of the tender love of the bridegroom for his bride. The ancient Hebrew interpreters make the personages God and the synagogue and God and each soul, living in His holy fear and love. Catholic inter- preters, however, do not so restrict its meaning; but by the bride they understand the Church in general, of all times and of all nations, the faithful at large who have believed in the true God, the promised Redeemer, and who have hoped in Him during the ages which preceded His coming, and who believe and hope in Him after He has come and fulfilled the mysteries foretold of Him. Now, it is apparent on the surface to any one that reads the Scripture, that this spiritual union between God HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. and man through faith and love, is represented under the figure of espousals, by which the faithful are bound to God as a bride to her beloved. The Jews re- cognized this meaning in many places of their Scrip- ture, wherein God speaks plainly of Israel as if she were His spouse. Thus in Jeremias ii. 2 He expos- tulates with the Jews for their ingratitude: “I have remembered thee, pitying thy youth and the love of thy espousals when thou fol- lowedst me in the desert;” for, in the desert Israel first was consecrated to God, receiving the law. Again, most beautiful and most tender is the description given by the prophet Eze. chiel of the unhappy state in which God found Israel, abandoned and exposed in Egypt; how He looked on her with compassion, raised her up, covered her, chose her for His spouse, beau- tified her, and enriched her with priceless gifts. Then he goes on to describe her sins and infidelities, and calls them adulteries: “But trusting in thy beauty, thou hast played the harlot because of thy renown.” xvi. 15. In the whole chap- ter God shows Himself to be a jealous God, who does not wish and will not suffer any rival in her affections. But the Catholic Church, called to a closer and an in- dissoluble union with God is especially the beloved spouse spoken of through- out the Old Testament (Ps. xliv.), and of whom principally our book treats. The glories, privileges and greatness of this spouse, as well as those of her Lord Jesus Christ, form the subject of every book. The eternal Father is the great King, who wishes to give His only Son in marriage, and invites the guests to the wedding. Matt. xxii. 2, etc. The Jews refuse to come, but the Gentiles yield to the sweet violence. Of them united together by one faith, “in one spirit all baptized into one body, . . . and in one spirit all have been made to drink,” 1 Cor. xii. 13, He made His only spouse, His dove, His beautiful and only beloved one. “Christ,” says St. Augustine, “has for His spouse whom He redeemed her, to whom He gave His Holy Spirit in pledge. He gave His own blood for her to whom He joined Himself in the womb of the Virgin, for, the Word is the spouse, and the espoused one is human nature, and the two become one; and the Son of God and the Son of man became one person, when He became the Head of the Church. The womb of Mary Was the couch whence, as from the nuptial chamber, He as a Spouse came forth.” Tract viii. in Jon. St. Paul, the most profound interpreter 10 THE THREE HEBREWS AND THE FIERY FURNAcE. of the mysteries of Jesus Christ, tells us that that closest of all unions— that of husband and wife—was from the very beginning a great sacrament, because it typified and foretold the future admirable union of Christ with His Church (Ephes. v. 31), so that of Him as their Head and of them as the body but one body should be formed. This idea, then, of the heavenly espousals of God with His Church, and mediately of God with each individual soul living in Him, by Him and for Him, is the key to the explanation of the manifold mysteries contained in the Canticle of Canticles, and therefore it is, that the book has always been the favor- ite book for devout meditation and explanation with the Fathers of the Church, but, above all, with those who have striven to make progress in the mystic life. It, above all other writings of the Old Testament, gives us the true and complete idea of our divine Saviour and of our holy Mother, the Church. The more we strive to advance in perfection, the more we cultivate the spirit of prayer and interior recollection, the more will God reward us, by opening up to us the sublime lessons and hidden treasures contained in this Canticle of Canticles of the soul. E- THE BOOK OF WISDOM. THE book of Wisdom takes its name from the fact that therein true wis. dom—that is, the knowledge and fear of God—is recommended both by word and example. Its divine authority is evident from the use made of it by the Apostles, but especially by St. Paul, who introduced many quota- tions from the same into their writings. Matt. xii. 43 quotes Wisd. iii. 7; 1 Cor. vi. 2, Wisd. iii. 8; Heb. xi. 5, Wisd. iv. 10; Ephes, vi. 17, Wisd. v. 19; 2 Cor. iv. 4, Wisd. vii. 26; Rom. i. 20, Wisd. Xiii. 2; Rom. ix. 24, Wisd. XV, 7, etc. Its canonicity is shown likewise by the universal con- sent of the Fathers of the Church. It is sufficient to cite S. J.ustin, Ter- tullian, Innocent I., Gelasius, St. Augustine, the various Councils of the Church, with the General Council of Trent, all recognized it as an in- spired work, dictated by the Holy Spirit. The prophetic spirit of the sacred writer is clearly manifested therein, so that his writings serve not § N § - merely for the edification of the Church, but furnish arguments against the Jews, to establish the divine mission of Jesus Christ. If, then, its divine authority be rejected, those who do so should explain how it was that a writer not inspired by God, and living two centuries before the time of our Saviour, could have foretold so distinctly all that Christ was to suffer from His nation. For those who hold that it is not the work of Solomon, date its composition or compilation about the time of the Mach- abees; and add that as its author was treating a similar subject to that of the Proverbs, he introduces Solomon, as speaking, in his work. In the Greek version, however, and in the Syriac and Arabic, the book bears the name of Solomon. It was not numbered in the Canon made by Esdras of the Hebrew Scriptures because it was not written in that language, but in the Chaldee, or, as some hold, in Greek. But whoever may have been its author, it is enough for us to know that it is the work of the Holy Ghost and most worthy of the veneration of the faithful. HIS TO R Y OF THE HOL Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. 77 JESUS, THE SON of SIRACH, AND THE WoRKERs. THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. THE Greeks called this book the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach, or, compendiously, the Wisdom of Sirach. Latin authors named it Ecclesi- asticus, because it was read so frequently in the Church for the edification of the people. They, therefore, considered this holy writer as the preacher of every good and holy doctrine and of every virtue. Several of the Fathers have cited it as the work of Solomon, simply on account of the similarity of its subject-matter to the Proverbs and book of Ecclesiastes of Solomon. It has always been recognized as divinely inspired both by the Greek and Latin Fathers and by various Councils of the Church. The General Council of Trent, testifying to the universal tradition, enu- merates it also in the Canon of Scripture. According to the testimony of St. Jerome, it was written in Hebrew, he affirming that he saw it in that language, with the title of Parables. As to the author of the work, we can only say, that he was of Jerusalem (1.29), that he studied the law and the prophets diligently (Prol.), that he travelled much, recommended himself to the Giver of every good, in order to obtain the gift of wisdom (xxxiv.), that he suffered persecution and encountered great dangers, from all which, the divine goodness delivered him. From the book itself we ob- tain some light, to fix the date when the author lived and wrote. In the fiftieth chapter he speaks of the high-priest Simon, the son of Onias, as of a great man deserving well of his country, and as already dead. Again with humble and ardent prayers he implores the divine Mercy to deign to console His people and the Holy City, to repress the pride and impiety of His enemies (li.), which show that, as he was writing, the Jews were - persecuted and oppressed by the neighboring princes. Without entering into the details drawn from these two facts, we can conclude that in A. M. 3870, in the time of the high-priest John Hircanus, son of Simon Mach- abee, under the reign of Ptolemy Evergetes II., a translation of the work was made into Greek by Jesus, the nephew of the sacred writer. A trans- lation of it was made into Latin in the earliest days of the Church (the version we still possess); this version was made most likely from the Hebrew, and by a Greek, which renders the Latin text very hard to translate into the vulgar tongue. As to the truth, sublimity, abundance and utility of the doctrines contained in the book, it is second to no other book of the Old Testament. The author shows himself to be a doctor and master of wisdom, a sublime theologian, and even a prophet. Such are the titles given him by St. Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and by other Fathers. No other book is more frequently quoted and praised by them than this of our author. Besides the wonderful copiousness of the docu- ments, rich in the purest and holiest morality, adapted to every state and condition of life, we find in this book, innumerable sentences which serve to nourish in us the spirit of religion, and to give us the most exalted idea of that fundamental virtue. With the book of Proverbs and Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus should constitute, as it were, the first milk, with which the tender minds of youth should be nourished. They are the most useful books not only to form and give shape to the inner spiritual life, to train the mind and the heart, but also to elevate and strengthen them against the seductions of the passions and the allurements of temptation, and to impress on them, those true and sound principles which alone can conduct man safely through this present life, and thus render him worthy of his eternal life hereafter. , 8 III,570 ſº Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB L E. ON THE PROPHETS IN GENERAL. THE Church of Jesus Christ, in her faith, has always recognized the divine au- thority of the prophets, professing her belief “in the Holy Ghost, who spoke by the prophets.” With the Apostle we must also recognize them as pillars of our faith; for, he tells us: “You are no more strangers and foreigners, but . . . domestics of God: built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” Ephes. ii. 19, 20. Jesus Christ Himself is the chief corner-stone; but as He was preached by the apostles after His coming, so was He preached and foretold in the ages that went before, as the only Saviour and principle of salvation for all, by these holy prophets. It is needless for us to vindicate the usefulness of their writings as confirmatory of our faith and as animating and inflaming our hearts to true piety. God so wished it, that His chosen people, the depositories of the true religion, should at all times have with them, men and women raised by Him to the knowledge of the secret de- signs of His providence, to announce solemnly to them, long before the event, what would come to happen. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph and Moses, Aaron and his sister Mary, Deborah, Samuel, David, Gad, Nathan, Solomon, Addo, Ahias and many others, are mentioned as prophets in the books we have already treated of. We come now, however, to treat specially of the so-called major prophets—Isaias, Jeremias with his disciple Baruch, Ezechiel and Daniel—whose writings are of greater length, and of the twelve, called minor prophets, because what we have received of them, though very important, is yet brief in its exposition. They are called pro- phets, because they were inspired by God to see, foretell and announce future events. But their ministry was not restricted to this duty alone. As St. Augustine describes them: “These prophets were the philosophers of the Israelites—that is, they were lovers of wisdom; they were their theologians; they were the messengers of future events; they were masters of morality and of piety; so that he who thought and lived according to their teachings, thought and lived according to God, who spoke through their words.” De Civit. xviii. 41. The ministry, therefore, of the prophets was, first, to teach the people both what they were to believe and what they were to do, to please God; to instruct them in the faith and to show them the way of virtue; hence they spoke, not only of God and of spiritual things, but they taught the true spirit and language of the most sublime theology, to all succeeding ages. Secondly, their office was to preach to the people, to correct the erring, to rebuke, to menace sinners, to exhort to penance, threatening, in God's name, future chastisements. In both these duties they are the models of true apostolic preachers, teaching in true wisdom and matchless eloquence. Thirdly and lastly, it was their duty, under divine inspiration, to announce what would take place to the people of God and to other nations, but principally to foretell, in detail, the many mysteries of Christ and of His Spouse, the Church. As, according to St. Paul, all that was said and written of the chosen people, is applicable to or intended for Christ and His Church, so what- --~~~~~. --- - HIS TO R Y O F THE HOLY CA THO LI C B IB L E. 79 ever the prophets have written leads to Christ, to Christ the end of the law, to Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Christ is the centre, to which converge all the separate announcements of all the prophets. It is to be noted, however, that the ministry of the prophets is always directed to the correction of morals, to stirring up the faith, to consoling the virtuous. This they do either by announcing future scourges, or by promising divine favors, or, especially, by foretelling the coming of the Messias, who was always the hope of the true children of Abra- ham. Hence it is, that the nearer we approach His coming, the more frequently and the more clearly, did God wish to foretell and show forth the mysteries of His Christ, His incarnation, His life, His death, the foundation of His Church, of which He was to be the Head, the Shep- herd and High-Priest. These prophecies are the clearest proof and an irresistible argu- ment for the truth of religion; and God Him- self, disputing against the vanity of idols, makes the prophet Isa- ias say: “Shew the things that are to come hereafter, and we shall know that ye are gods.” xli. 23. Of such pro- phecies the books we are now to treat of are full. We may say with truth, that the whole life of our divine Lord, from His birth till His cruel p assion and death, His resurrection and ascension in to heaven, the foundation of His Church, her pre- rogatives and future history, are all contain- ed in the various an- nouncements of the prophets. All these prophecies have been preserved for us by the synagogue, as the word of God, inviolably. They have never called into question their authenticity; and although still obstinately refusing to admit the evidence of their own records, still answering only by explaining away what cannot be refuted, yet they continue to venerate as sacred Scripture these prophets, who not only tell of the condemnation of their former crimes, but also their future reprobation. The prophets, like Abraham, all looked forward to the day of the Messias and rejoiced therein. They saw the glory and future happiness of the new Sion, of the new spiritual Israel, redeemed from its old, miserable slavery by the work of our divine Saviour, who was to be the light and salvation and blessing of all nations. Their ministry was not limited to their own brief span of life nor to the period of the Jewish Republic, but in God’s design, they were to serve the faith of all ages and of all nations; they were to be for ever an edification to the Church of Christ. As St. Peter tells us (1 Pet. i. 12), they knew that it was not for themselves nor for their own times, that these revelations were principally made to them, but for the future Church and for us; that to pave the way for the spread of the faith amongst the nations the economy of redemption had been revealed to them, as well as the mag- nificent promises in favor of the Catholic Church. Heb. xi. 13. Hence those transports of admiration and love with which they speak of this ELISEUS AND THE ARROW OF DELIVERANCE. spouse of Christ. The foundation of the Church in Jerusalem; the multitudes of all nations flowing in a steady stream into her bosom ; her triumphs over idolatry and impiety; the knowledge of the true God and of His only Saviour, sent to the uttermost bounds of the earth, such are the subjects on which they expend their lofty powers of de- scription, and in words give us the most lively picture of the events to come to pass. It is true, there are many and great difficulties to be met with in their writings; but these arise not only from the sublimity of the mysteries they treat of, but, much more, from our want of proper knowledge of Jewish history and of the nations around them, with whom they were brought into relation. Divine Providence so ordered it, that the remarkable events, not merely of Israel, but of many other nations, º º § sº º º should be foretold by the prophets, so that after their fulfilment, the nations also, might easily admit the divinity of His Scriptures, and thus be led to embrace the faith and to hearken to its precepts of salvation. We may be truly thankful, however, that in spite of this obscurity, the labors of that diligent scholar-saint St. Jerome, have come down to us, shedding light on what otherwise would most likely remain hidden from our understandings. For the rest, even from out of the very ob- scurity of these divine books, the faithful can behold, how great is the advantage, the Church possesses over the synagogue; for, if the latter had more light to understand the prophecies in that sense which con- cerned the Jewish Republic, the Church of Christ has far greater light, to grasp the more sublime, useful and important sense, veiled so often under the covering of the mere letter. She sees the mysteries which were the principal object and end of the Holy Ghost in speaking to the prophets. After the coming of Christ, and through the frequent use made of these prophecies in the New Testament, the way has been opened to us, to penetrate into very many of these hidden secrets, inac- cessible to the carnal-minded Jew, over whose eyes the veil is still spread, which Christ alone can take away. 2 Cor. iii. 14. // IS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O L IO B J B L E. |\; º % º ſ/ / º º º 7. º Ø à. Z Ž º'N, º/* " - - º º T | ISAIAS. OF the four major prophets Isaias, as the most eloquent and most sub- lime of the whole prophetic choir, holds the first place. He was of the tribe of Juda and of the royal stock of David. The Jews say that his father, Amos, was the son of King Joas and brother of King Amasias, and that a daughter of Amos married King Manasses, making that sovereign a near relative of the prophet. Amos, the father of Isaias, was, therefore, a different personage from Amos the shepherd-prophet, numbered amongst the minor prophets. This is clear also from the way in which their names are given in Hebrew. The father of Isaias is called Hamoz or Hamots whilst the prophet's name is Amos. Isaias began his mission toward the end of the reign of Ozias, B. c. 759, continued it under Joatham (759–743), Achaz (743–728), Ezechias (728–699), and for some of the years of the reign of King Manasses, by whom he was put to death. He was the first to announce to the people of Juda their future captivity in Babylon, as well as their deliverance from the same; and these two grand subjects are made the figures of two other events incomparably grander and more important, viz., the enslavement of the human race to Satan and its re- demption through Jesus Christ. All the arguments and thoughts of the DEAL THY BREAD to THE HU | || #| || Fºº- Ngry-I win, i. holy prophet have some relation to this divine Saviour, to the mysteries of His life, His victories, the establishment of His Church and the de- struction of idolatry. It is for this reason that his writings are quoted more frequently in the New Testament than those of any other book of the old law. St. Jerome in beginning his commentary on Isaias says: “I will explain Isaias in such wise as to show that he is not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle.” This praise had already been given him by the Holy Spirit through Ecclesiasticus, where we read: “Isaias, the great prophet and faithful in the sight of God. . . . With a great spirit he saw the things that are to come to pass at last, and comforted the mourners in Sion. He showed what would come to pass for ever, and secret things before they came.” xlviii. 25, 27, 28. He con- firmed his prophecies by miracles: “In his days the sun went backward, and he lengthened the king's life.” It has been the constant tradition of the Jews, repeated by Origen, Tertullian, St. Jerome, St. Augustine and others, that Isaias suffered death at the hands of his relative King Manasses; that he was slowly and most cruelly tortured, being sawed in pieces. The zeal and holy freedom with which he reproved the notori- ous impiety of the king merited for him a martyr's crown, a fitting re- ward for his long and glorious ministry. HIS TO R Y OF THE HO I, Y CA. T H O LI C B IB I, E. JEREMIAS. JEREMIAs, the son of Helcias, was of the priestly race, a native of Anathoth, a village of the tribe of Benjamin, not far distant from Jerusalem. He was blessed with the singular privilege of having been chosen by God even from his mother's womb, having been then sanctified, and whilst still young he was sent to exercise the prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josias, B. c. 629. He continued his prophetic office under Joachaz, Joachim, Jechonias and Sedecias, a period of over forty-two years. || He preached to his people with incredible constancy, ex- || horting them to penance and foretelling the scourges with which the Lord visited them by the hands of the Chal- deans. From the very beginning of his mission, he speaks | so forcibly against the vices of the Jews, that we can see plainly that even under the reign of the good and pious king Josias the sad effects of the impiety of his predeces- sors, and especially of Manasses, were bringing forth their fruits. Joachaz, the son and successor of Josias, did evil before the Lord (4 Kings xxiii. 32), but he reigned only || three months, when he was deposed and carried away into Egypt by Pharao Nechao, who placed Joachim on the throne in his stead. This prince likewise did evil before ii the Lord. xxiii. 37. Hence the prophet continued his | warnings and his threats against him and his sinful people, | foretelling the dreadful death of the king. This stirred up the royal anger and the indignation of the nobles, priests N. and false prophets, all of whom persecuted Jeremias, in- ||N sulted him, put him in prison, where no doubt he would have suffered death, had not God destined him to be a more perfect type of Christ, and rescued him from their hands that his crown might be a more glorious one. After the short reign of Jechonias, when the greater portion of the nation was carried off to Babylon, our holy prophet did not cease to exhort the remainder to penance, during the reign of the last king Sedecias. He foretold the ruin of the city and the destruction of the temple—of that temple on which the carnal-minded Jew founded all his foolish || hopes. Nebuchodonosor at last captured the unhappy city, delivered the prophet from prison, into which he had § º been again cast, and recommended him to the governor º -- to whom he consigned the care of the country. The Jews, is having killed that officer, took the desperate resolution of migrating in a body to Egypt, to escape the vengeance || of the Chaldeans. In vain did Jeremias offer resistance, promising them, in God's name, peace and security. They º went and forced the prophet and his faithful disciple Ba- \ \ * * ruch to accompany them. There he still continued his work, reproaching his brethren for their immorality in spite of the many visitations of the Almighty, which at last so incensed them that they stoned him to death. Such has been the constant tradi- tion of the synagogue. He crowned his holy life and most laborious ministry by a martyr's death. It is the common opinion of the Fathers that Jeremias lived and died in the holy state of virginity, and this opin- ion might seem conclusive from the words of chapter xvi. 2. The most tender charity for his neighbor—a charity full of compassion for their spiritual and temporal evils, a charity which never wearied even in the midst of the confusion of war, the terrible incidents of the siege of the city, the destruction of the republic and the slaughter of the people—this was his special virtue. With all zeal he strove for the salvation of his countrymen, so that he might justly be called “the lover of his brethren and of the people of Israel.” 2 Machab. xv. 14. The Lamentations of this prophet, besides the praise of being sacred Scripture, make up a remarkable poem full of the most touching thoughts descriptive of the saint's feelings concerning the destruction of the holy city, the ruin of the temple of the true God—that temple which was the wonder of the world—and the extreme misery and slavery of God's people. Grand as |; º | $º | E. T |ſº ſ|| º º º º | º | i. | . "I ſº N JEREMIAS IN THE POTTER'S HOUSE. –Jer. xviii. 2–4. is the subject and worthy of the Holy Spirit, the thoughts and words with which it is expressed are in keeping with it, so that the heart that is not touched by these complaints of the prophet must be hard indeed. Jere- mias pays the last tribute of his love to his beloved Jerusalem, conse- crates her memory to posterity and excites his fellow-citizens to tears of repentance, that so they may seek and obtain their deliverance from God. In Hebrew these Lamentations are written in the following order: the first verse begins with the first letter of the alphabet, the second with the second, and so on through the whole alphabet; in the third chapter, however, the first three begin with the first letter, the next three with the second letter, and so on through the other letters. In our version the Hebrew letter has been retained and placed before the translation of each line. The sighs and complaints of Jeremias are a figure of the sor- rows and lamentations of Christ suffering, who in the midst of His passion wept and exhorted others to weep (Lam. xxiii. 28, 29, 30) over the terri- ble calamities to which Jerusalem, guilty of the death of her Messias and her God, would be subjected for her ingratitude. It is for this reason the Church reads these Lamentations during Holy Week. H/S 7'0 R Y OF THE HOLY CA THO LI C B I B L E. BARUCH. BARUCH was the well-beloved disciple and inseparable companion of the prophet Jeremias, and hence also he had the honor of suffering with him, by reason of the hardened unbelief of the Jews. He was of noble birth, the son of Nerias, and his brother Saraias is called a prince. Jer. li. 59. Under the reign of Joachim, at the dictation of Jeremias, Baruch wrote all the discourses and predictions of that prophet, and read them first to the people and the nobles, and then to the king. That work was consigned to the flames. Again Baruch wrote a second and more copious copy, dictated by his master. This is the work we have at present. With his brother Sa- raias (according to some interpreters) during the fourth year of the reign of Sedecias he went to Babylon, and brought to the Jews, who had been led away captives into that city with Je- chonias, a letter of Jeremias (Jer, l., li.), which he read to Jechonias and all the Jews, and thus awakened in them a . spirit of sorrow and repentance. Ba- ruch i. 3, 4, 5, 6. Others hold that his journey to Babylon was made only the [ fifth year after the burning of Jerusa-', lem, and the words of Baruch himself (i. 2) seem to confirm this opinion; for, they appear to refer to the capture of Jerusalem under Sedecias. Besides, the frightful calamities described by our prophet (ii. 2) and what he adds con- - cerning the ruin of the temple can refer only to the last siege and total destruc- - tion of the city. Lastly, we have no account of the journey of Baruch and BY THE RIVERs of BABYLoN THERE we SAT AND WEPT, when we REMEMBERED SIon.—Ps. cxxxvi. It is most probable, Saraias either in Jeremias or by Baruch himself. then, that he wrote his letter in Babylon and after the death of his master Jeremias. It is the common opinion also that he died there in the twelfth year of the captivity. At present we have only the Greek version of this prophet; but it is most ancient and retains all the marks and characteristics of the Hebrew original, as does also our Vulgate trans- lation, which, from its style, must have been taken from the same He- brew text. The book has always been recognized by the Catholic Church as canonical; and if some of the Fathers, in giving a list of the sacred books, do not mention it, it is because they con- sidered it a portion of the prophecy of Jeremias. It is for this reason that the words of Baruch are often quoted as those of Jeremias, not only by the Fathers, but also generally by the Church, as St. Augustine remarked even in his day. De Civ. xviii. 33. St. i Irenaeus, Cyprian, Clement of Alex- andria, Ambrose, Athanasius, Ephrem, the Church-historian Eusebius and other Fathers quote from his writings, and the General Councils of Florence # and Trent vindicate the divine author- ity of the work by expressly mention- ing it in the Canon of Scripture. Baruch's name has always been held - - in veneration by the synagogue, and in º NSS the Catholic Church it is commemo- W f Nº rated on the twenty-eighth of Sep- \ tember. Our Vulgate version of the § prophet is not the work of St. Je- MWW rome, but one of the remnants of the łº, § old Itala version which was in use, from the earliest days, in the Latin Church. s v. ſ | HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA. T H O L 1 C B I B L E. 83 EZECHIEL PORTRAYING THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM.–Ch. iv. 1, 2. EZECHIEL. EZECHIEL, the son of Buzi, of the priestly race, was led away into the Babylonian captivity with Jechonias, king of Juda (4 Kings xxiv. 14), and after five years began his prophetic ministry, in which he labored for the space of twenty-two years, B. c. 595-573. Ezechiel began his mission as a prophet at the same time that Jeremias was teaching in Jerusalem; and just as the prophecies of the latter were sent to Babylon, so were those of Ezechiel carried into Judea, that thus in both countries God's providence might be made manifest, and the Jews might under- stand, that whatever happened unto them, was the effect of divine ordina- tion. Like Jeremias, he constantly resists the teachings of the false prophets, who declared the speedy overthrow of Babylon and the resto- ration of the Jews held in captivity, and in God's name he foretells the fulfilment of the predictions made by his brother prophet concerning the total destruction of Jerusalem and of its temple. This, however, was not the sole object of his mission. He prophesied also of the punishment God would inflict on the surrounding nations, and in particular on proud Babylon; he told of the happy return of the Jews into their own land, of the restoration of Jerusalem and of the temple, of the new covenant, of the call of the Gentiles, of the kingdom of Christ and of His baptism, and of the resurrection of the dead. St. Gregory Nazianzen calls him “the greatest and most sublime” of the prophets. St. Jerome names | | | | | | ii. him “the ocean of Holy Writ and the labyrinth of the mysteries of God.” These mysteries of God are explained by our prophet under the covering of figures, symbols and enigmas, which render the explanation of the same, most difficult. It was for this reason that all that the prophet has narrated in his first vision, and all that he writes concerning the new building of the temple, was not explained by the synagogue. The Jews affirmed that the subjects there treated were beyond the grasp of the human mind; therefore they were forbidden by their teachers even to read this book before they had attained the age of thirty years, and then only to explain the leading arguments of the work, without presuming to enter into details, by taking it up sentence by sentence. Ezechiel is a bright example of conscientious fidelity to duty, of heroic obedience and of sublime self-abnegation. His laborious ministry and painful life mer- ited for him the martyr's crown. He is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 6th of April in these words: “The memory of Eze- chiel the prophet, who was killed near Babylon by a judge of his people because he rebuked him for the worship he paid to images. He was buried in the sepulchre of Sem and of Arphaxad, the progenitors of Abraham, whither many flock together to offer their prayers.” His predictions concerning the new Jerusalem, the coming Saviour and His kingdom of truth and justice, furnish us with the deepest and richest mine for meditation and edification, exciting us to profound admiration of God's providence. // IS 70 ſº y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB L E. |N|| y | | º- J. : tº º \\ - tº - VIIA - - ZZ" - N T º -- - w - at w º N M Sºlº -N -- Now. - - º KNW'ſ \ Mºº- - º - - º, Nº. WIM º - W - NN\\ N } \ N º N º Nº. \\ § -- T-- º iſºlſ||19|||}|\º ºf \ tººlſ " i - his | | º: " * * * | Hºmº " . | º " - º | " . º º |Wººſ %| | ji º DANIEL INTERPRETING NABUCHoDoNosoft's DREAM. T)ANIEL. DANIEL was of the tribe of Juda, of the royal stock of David, and was one of the Jewish captives carried off by Nabuchodonosor into Babylon when he took Jerusalem, in the fourth year of the reign of King J oachim, B. c. 606 or 604. He was then quite young, and, together with three other noble youths, was chosen to be instructed in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans, that thus he might be employed at court. He was called Baltassar. Although surrounded by all the seductions of paganism, “steemed and highly honored by several kings, he remained always faith- ful to his religion, to his God and to his persecuted nation. The Spirit of the Lord, dwelling in him, manifested itself even in his youth in the case of the virtuous and chaste Susanna. He detected the wickedness and guilty deception of the two powerful lords who had accused her of infidelity, and had already procured the death-sentence against her. His conduct on this occasion gained for him the esteem and veneration of his countrymen. But with King Nabuchodonosor and the Chaldeans he acquired far greater glory and power by the divine gift of interpreting dreams. He narrated to that king a dream which had been forgotten by him, and explained in detail its mysterious signification, wherein the con- dition, succession and destiny of the four greatest monarchies were fore- told. As a reward he received the highest honors from the king, and seems to have retained them until the destruction of the Chaldean mon- archy. On the accession of Darius the Mede (Cyaxares II.) he was made first of the three presidents of the empire, and was delivered from the lions' den, into which he had been cast through the envy of his rivals for HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. 85 his faithfulness to the rites of his holy faith. At the death of Darius his nephew Cyrus succeeded to the throne, and united the Persian, Median and Babylonian kingdoms into one. Under this monarch Daniel still retained his prosperity as his friend and companion. But again, on ac- eount of his resistance to their idolatry, through a commotion of the peo- ple, the king was forced to allow him to be cast into the lions' den. For six days was he miraculously preserved unhurt, and on the seventh, he was set at liberty by the king. How long he lived after that event or what was his death is not related in Holy Scripture. We only know that in the third year of Cyrus he saw his last recorded vision on the banks of the Tigris. Cyrus having granted the Jews permission to return to their native land, instead of embracing the opportunity and enjoying that consolation, Daniel preferred to re- - main and assist those of his people who could not return, and defend them from the envy and jealousy of them. His charity toward his breth- ren was most ardent, and merited for him the title given him by the angel, of “the man of desires.” This charity obtained for him not only the re- establishment of his nation in its an- cient abode, but merited also that to him should be granted the privilege of announcing the precise time of the coming of Christ, the glory and hope of Israel and of all nations. At the same time God revealed to him the passion and death of the Saviour at the hands of his own people, that \. they would reject and deny Him, \ and therefore cease to be His people. He tells him of the establishment of His new kingdom, the introduc- tion of true justice and the fulfilment of all the prophecies in Christ. These great mysteries, so clearly foretold by Daniel, and so visibly fulfilled, but especially that concerning the rejec- tion of the synagogue, are the real reasons why modern Jewish teachers have desired to exclude Daniel from the prophetic choir. The ancient synagogue always honored him as one of the greatest prophets. Eze- chiel classes him with Noe and Job as having the greatest power with God. xiv. 14, 20. Again (xxviii. 3), he is mentioned as a pattern of wisdom. Even for some time after the death of Christ, his authority was not called into question, as is clear from Josephus (Antiq. x.), who says that Daniel not only foretold future events, but, moreover, fixed the time in which they would take place. The testimony, therefore, of their own synagogue, both before and after the time of our Saviour, is the only answer we need give to their children, who have abandoned the faith of their fathers. Some ancient ecclesiastical writers have called into dispute the authenticity of certain portions of the book of Daniel, viz., the Canticle of the Three Children, the story of Susanna and that of Bel and Dragon, because they are not found in the Hebrew text. But the Catholic Church includes these portions also in the Canon of Scripture. She knew full well that in the existing codices they were not to be found, but she knew as well that they were contained originally therein; that the Septuagint version, Aquila, Theodotion and Symmachus—all of whom translated the Hebrew text into Greek, and all of whom were Jews by origin—are witnesses unto us THE PROPHET DANIEL AND KING DAVID. The original of this group in the Church of St. Maria della Pace, Rome, was painted by Timoteo della Vite from drawings by Raphael. that not only in the centuries that preceded the coming of Christ, but down to the end of the second century of our era, the Hebrew text con- tained these portions. The style also of all the old versions—Greek, Syr- iac, Arabic and Latin—all show that they were derived from the Hebrew; and Origen tells us that these portions were read in all the churches as parts of Scripture, the same as the text. St. Ignatius M., St. Cyprian, and generally all the Fathers, both Greek and Latin, affirm the same. Inde- pendent of these authorities, it is enough for us to know that the whole book, as printed in our version, is declared canonical by the holy Coun- cil of Trent. As Daniel was the last of the four major prophets, it may not be out of place to give a brief summary of his prophecies. God reveals to him the special characteristics of the four grand empires that were to succeed one another, from the time of Nabu- chodonosor until the coming of Jesus Christ—the Chaldean, Persian, Greek and Roman. He beholds the Chal- dean subverted by the Medes and Per- sians; these in their turn succumb to Alexander the Great; his kingdom is divided into four parts at his death; thence, wars between the kings of Egypt and of Syria; the latter per- secutes bitterly the people of God; he then foretells that the fourth king- dom would subjugate all the others, and then the Messias would come; the new spiritual kingdom would be founded; it would last for ever, and would embrace the world; Israel would be rejected; carnal sacrifices and the Jewish worship abolished: Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed, and the desolation thereof was to last for ever; then the reign of anti-Christ, the final conversion of Israel, the future judgment and the glory of the saints, who would reign eternally with Christ. Thus to Dan- iel was revealed by God the history of all times. How evidently visible the Spirit of the Lord in these reve- lations ! How worthy of our admi- ration and reflection l Nabuchodo- nosor still reigns, and Daniel tells him of the overthrow of his mighty empire. The Greeks conquer the Persians, and to describe the rapidity of the victories of Alexander, the prophet says, “And he touched not the ground.” viii. 5. Who revealed to him that Alexander would have no successors of his own posterity? that his kingdom would be divided amongst four, and that Egypt and Syria, at that time belonging to the Chaldeans, would be governed by Greeks? that the wars between Egypt and Syria would be terminated by a marriage? that Antiochus would become the most deadly enemy of the Jews, worthy to be a figure of anti-Christ? how—to omit the rest— that he who loved his people so well should be forced to foretell the rejec- tion of the synagogue, the desolation of Jerusalem, the destruction of its temple, in punishment of the blood of the Saint of saints, Jesus Christ, shed by them? It being a fact that Daniel wrote all these things—a fact attested by innumerable witnesses, attested by the enemies of our faith— this one fact is abundantly sufficient to show the truth of the Christian religion, that it is of God, and that against the Rock on which the Church founded by Him rests, the gates of hell shall not prevail. 86 Aſſ S TO R Y OF THE HOL Y CA THOLIC BIBLE. Tiaº 1111 Illlllllilllllllllllllllll |||||||||||||||||||||||| m IN § º | || . º % ºnſ - _ % | | º | | | | | |*|| º | | * \ ſº - . º % tº \º º \º A "* - | ºffs - | |\ º - - | |º s lºº º . º!º |\\ºº-ºº: - º | | iſſ | l - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| | THE PRoPHET JonAs AND Osee. | |||||| From the painting of Raphael, in the Church of Sta. Maria della Pace, Rome. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 11|||||||| |--|--|| Lilm == OSEE. OSEE, the son of Beeri, prophesied during the reigns of Ozias, Jona- than, Achaz and Ezechias, kings of Juda, 811–699 B. C., and of Jeroboam II., king of Israel, 825–784 B. C. From these dates we ought not to con- clude that he exercised his ministry for over a hundred years, but that during some period of the reign of each of the kings mentioned he ful- filled his sacred office. His contemporaries were the prophets Amos, Michaeas, Nahum and Isaias. It is most likely that he died before the sixth year of the reign of King Ezechias, 722 B. C.; for, he makes no men- tion of the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Salmanasar, king of Assyria, which event took place during that year. He delivered his prophecies directly to the kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel. He fore- told the captivity of the four tribes led away by Theglath-phalasar and of the destruction of Israel by Salmanasar. He never ceased preaching with freedom and great zeal against iniquity and idolatry, exhorting his breth- ren to seek in penance and amendment of life, the remedy against the judgments of heaven, instead of uselessly begging help from strangers. But not only to the ten tribes did he minister, but he spoke also to Juda. He told them of the coming of Sennacherib, of the final captivity of the two tribes in Babylon, and of their return to their native land. He prophesies concerning the Messias, who was to unite together all the na- tions of the earth: “I will have mercy on her that was without mercy. And I will say to that which was not my people, Thou art my people. And they shall say, Thou art my God.” ii. 23, 24. He announces the rejection of Israel for a long time, but also its conversion in the end: “For the children of Israel shall sit many days without king, and with- out prince, and without sacrifice, and without altar, . . . and after this ... shall return and shall seek the Lord their God, and David, their king.” iii. 4, 5. Other facts told by him in figure are explained in the Gospels. Matt. ii. 15. The obscurity of the writings of our prophet is due partly to the meagre details we have of the history of those times, and partly to the terseness of his style; but with all its brevity and cloud- iness, his book is filled with noble sentiments, beautiful figures and pow- erful argument. One fact is certain, considering the manifold sins of Israel, of priests, people and princes, the universal corruption and degra- dation, the gross immorality and idolatry so prevalent, it is no wonder that the heart of the prophet seems to have been so full and fiery that it might well burst through all restraints of style and composition. Amongst the other references made to our prophet in the New Testament we may cite Matt. ix. 13, xii. 7; Osee vi. 6; Luke xxiii. 30; Apoc. vi. 16; Osee x. 8; Matt. ii. 15: Osee xi. 1; Rom. ix. 25, 26; 1 Pet. ii. 10; Osee i. 10, ii. 23; 1 Cor. xv. 4; Osee vi. 2; Heb. xiii. 15; Osee xiv. 2. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THO I, I C B 7 B1, E. 87 JOET, SEMEIA WARNING KING JEROBOAM. JoEL was the son of Phatuel, but of what tribe we know not. As to B. C. 811–759. After describing the evils that would soon come upon the time in which he flourished, some endeavor to fix the date from the the synagogue, the prophet speaks of the new happiness of Jerusalem, to famine predicted by him in the opening of the book, considering it to be the same, as that described by Jeremias, and therefore hold that he was a contemporary of that prophet. It is most probable that he directed his prophecies to Juda and Jerusalem, seeing that he mentions them so often. He never speaks of Israel. As he only mentions the Phoenicians, Idumeans or Edomites, Egyptians and Philistines as the enemies of Juda, he must have pro- phesied before the time of the Assyrians and Chalde- ans, and therefore probably in the time of King Ozias, whom God would send “a teacher of justice,” that the Spirit of the Lord would be poured forth on His chil- dren and on all men, and that all who would call on the name of the Lord would be saved. These promises, as they relate to the Church of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Ghost which were to be so plentifully given in the beginning, for the propa- gation of the faith through- out the world, are cited by the apostles St. Peter and Paul, who appeal to their fulfilment manifested in their preaching. Aets ii. 16, 17; Rom. x. 13. 28 // LS TO ſº Y OF THE HO /, Y CATH O L I C B I B L E. Fº 2. º | i º - º º *2 ºf | || -->4 º A Tº º ſ º H = | || Fº º - º -- - N. S. º ޺ - - - | W - º N. W. - - | \ſ w |l\\\\ W - º NºN s tº s º s º - AMOs, the shepherd-prophet, rude in speech but not in wisdom, prophesied toward the end of the reign of King Ozias of Juda and under Jeroboam, king of Israel, 810–785 B. C. He was the contemporary of Osee and Isaias. His prophecies are directed specially against the kingdom of Israel. He preached against the wickedness and impiety of Israel, and foretold not only their total dispersion amongst the Assyrians, but also the heavy evils that would so soon come upon them at the death of Jeroboam. In the first and second chapters he foretells events concerning Damascus, the Philistines and nations round about Judea, and concerning Juda also. Then he speaks of Israel. From his menaces, we learn not only of the existence of idolatry amongst the ten tribes, but also of vice, luxury and corruption, which so frequently result from long years of prosperity, when religion and sincere piety do not restrain the human heart, so apt to abuse the gifts of God. But in the midst of his warnings he does not forget the promises made to Abraham, and speaks of the kingdom of Christ: “But yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord; . . . in that day I will raise up the taber- nacle of David that is fallen, and I will close up the breaches of the walls thereof and repair what was fallen.” ix. 8–11; Acts xv. 16. In the remaining verses he beautifully pictures the freedom, peace and happiness of that kingdom of the Messias. St. Jerome says that our prophet is rude in speech, by which he means, that his style of language is not so pure as that of the other prophets; but as to grand and forcible thought, St. Augustine appeals to his dis- course, contained in the sixth chapter, where he inveighs against the dissoluteness of Sion and Samaria, as a magnificent specimen of true eloquence. His freedom of speech drew on him the enmity of the priests of Bethel (vii. 11), and it may have been on account of their persecutions or the vengeance of his other enemies, but it is certain that he died a martyr's | s MODERN DAMASCUS, H IS TO R Y OF THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. 89 ABDIAS. NoTHING certain is known concerning the life of this prophet. We only know that he wrote down his predictions about the seventh year of the Babylonian captiv- ity, after the destruction of Jerusalem, and when the greater portion of the land had been occupied by the Edomites. His prophecy is directed against these ene- mies of his people for making common cause with the Chaldeans in persecuting the Jews: “For the slaughter and for the iniquity against thy brother Jacob confusion shall cover thee, and thou shalt perish for ever. In the day when thou stoodest against him, when strangers carried away his army captive, and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, thou also wast as one of them.” 10, 11. The prophet foretells that retribution will come upon them and that they will be entirely destroyed. Cf. Isa. xxxiv.; Jer. xlix. 7–22; Ezech. xxv. 12–14. It is clear from verses 1 and 18 that this punishment of Edom was to be inflicted not only by the Chaldeans, but also by the posterity of Jacob, which latter was fulfilled in the time of the Machabees. After the description of the misfortunes of Edom, the pro- phet, under the figure of the happy return of Jacob from captivity, and of his tem- poral prosperity, portrays the happiness of the new spiritual Israel in the times of Christ. St. Jerome in his commentary on this prophet speaks of his sepulchre, which in his day was honored at Sebaste, together with that of Eliseus and St. John the Baptist. ->Nº. -- - º - º ºnzº- - *:::: RUINS AT SEBASTE. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH 0 L I C B J B L E. |4. | º º *=ºſ e- =º º, º N JONAS CAST INTO THE SEA. JONAS. “JoNAs,” says St. Jerome, “a most beautiful dove, by his shipwreck, gives us a figure of the passion of our Saviour, invites the world to pen- ance, and under the name of Ninive announces salvation to the nations.” Not only Christ's passion, but also His resurrection on the third day, which is one of the principal dogmas of our faith, was represented and foretold by this prophet by his deeds. The fact narrated in his life speaks more eloquently and clearly than any reasoning could of that great mystery, and as such it is made use of by our divine Lord as an argument of His own glorious resurrection. Matt. xii. 29, 40. Jonas was the son of Amathi, a native of Geth-Opher, of the tribe of Zabulon. He is mentioned in the fourth book of Kings (xiv. 25) as foretelling to Jero- boam, the son of Joas, king of Israel, that he would restore the confines of Israel from Emath to the Dead Sea. After his shipwreck and deliver- ance, Jonas goes to Ninive and preaches penance, in that populous and corrupt city. The Ninivites are converted, do penance and appease the anger of the Lord. The threat of extermination is cancelled by God, and Ninive is saved. Christ, risen from the dead, through His Apostles preaches penance to all nations and faith in Him as their only Saviour. They believe and are saved. But Jonas grieves that his menaces have no effect, and that the Gentiles find grace in God's sight. He thus de- picts the jealousy of the unbelieving Jews, who withdrew the more from Christ and His Church, because they saw the hosts of Gentiles admitted into her bosom, whilst they held, that they could never become partakers of the privileges granted to the children of Abraham. Even the faithful converted from Judaism were scandalized, when they knew that Peter had entered into the house of the centurion; and after the Apostle had shown them how God, by the celebrated vision and by other wonders, had given him to understand that, as regards salvation, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, filled with admiration they cried out, “God then hath also to the Gentiles given repentance unto life.” Acts xi. 18. In the days of St. Jerome the sepulchre of this holy prophet still existed in Palestine. He is honored by the Church on the 25th of September. His book is remarkable also as being the record of a prophet, sent spe- cially to the Gentiles. HISTOR Y 0 F THE HOL Y CA THOLIC BIBLE, 91 MICHEAS. OUR prophet must not be confounded with another of the same name, the son of Jemla, who is mentioned in the third book of Kings, xxii. 8, 9, etc., who lived in the time of Ahab, king of Israel, and of Josaphat, king of Juda, but of whom nothing further is known. Micheas was of Morasthi, a small village near Eleutheropolis, of the tribe of Juda. He prophesied during the reigns of Joathan, Achaz and Ezechias, kings of Juda, 759–699 B. C. As his predictions relate to Samaria and Je- rusalem, it is clear that Samaria still flourished. It was taken and destroyed by Salmanasar, king of Assyria, in the second year of Ezechias. This calamity which fell upon Samaria and the tribes of Israel, is announced by Micheas as a punishment for their impiety and wickedness, and the prophet grieves that Juda is not wiser, but imitates their iniquity, wherefore he predicts a similar vengeance to be visited on Jerusalem: “You that build up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity, . . . because of you, Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a heap of stones, and the mountain of the temple as the high places of the forests.” iii. 10, 12. This famous prophecy was known to all Jerusalem, and mentioned again by Jeremias on the eve of its fulfilment. Jer. xxvi. 18. But to Jerusalem belonged also the hope of the promises, and these promises are reconfirmed by God, through the mouth of Micheas. Jerusalem will fall; but when Babylon shall be laid waste, she will rise again. Jerusalem will be a great city; she will be happy and blessed when her Saviour shall be her pastor. Moved with pity for His people, He will cancel their sins, and will fulfil the promises made to their fathers. In temporal events Micheas finds occasion of foreshadowing the times of the Messias and of His new kingdom. He foretells His birth in the little village of Bethlehem, and manifests at the same time His divinity by saying that He would be born as the Son of David according to the flesh, but “His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” v. 2. These grand and essential truths of our holy religion are portrayed with the greatest clearness by our prophet, and were so well known that the wise men, on coming to Jerusalem, had no difficulty in obtaining an answer to their ques- tion, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” St. Jerome tells us that the sepulchre of our prophet was to be seen at Morasthi, having been discovered dur- ing the reign of Theodosius the Great. He is commemorated by the Church as a martyr on the 15th of January. NAHUM. NAHUM was a native of Elecese, a little village of Galilee. Nothing certain is known about his history. The whole of his prophecy is directed against the Assyrian kingdom, but specially against its chief city, Ninive, the siege and destruction of which he predicts. The date of his prophecy is not given, but we can gather it from 92 N W his book. As the Assyrians are represented as the enemies of Israel, and as we know that those of the first Assyrian kingdom were never such, so he must have lived and prophesied during the second Assyrian mon- archy, whilst Ezechias reigned in Judea, and after the war of Sennache- rib against Egypt and Judea. The destruction of Ninive, therefore, fore- told by Nahum, must be the same as that spoken of by Tobias (xiv. 6) when the city was taken by Nabopolassar, the father of Nabuchodonosor, 625 B. C., after which time Ninive never recovered, but its power passed to the Chaldeans and Medes. Tobias, when near his death, spoke to his son of that event, and alluded to the prophecies of Nahum and Sopho- nias: “The destruction of Ninive is at hand, for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled.” Tob. xiv. 6. St. Jerome remarks concerning this prophecy, that what Nahum foretells against Ninive, the bloody and dissolute city, should in figure be applied to the world, and therefore for the consolation of the just its destruction is foretold; that all that we see in the world will pass away; that as frail and corruptible they should be despised; that we ought all to prepare for the day of final judg- ment, when the Lord will take ven- geance on those, who are Assyrians in- deed. The style of our prophet is no- ble, grand, sublime, full of the liveliest descriptions, so that it may be said he makes us not merely understand, but almost see with our eyes, the truths he is unfolding. HABACUC. OF this prophet we know nothing concerning the place of his birth or of his history. As to the time in which § sº *\{}) < *. W W WILDERNESS OF PHARAN. he prophesied it is doubtful. He speaks with great earnestness against the wickedness of Juda, and foretells the punishments to be inflicted on them by the Chaldeans. Whence we might conclude, that Habacuc prophe- sied in the beginning of the reign of Joachim, and that he foretold the first invasion of the Chaldeans, which took place the third or fourth year of that king's rule, 606 B. C. He would then most likely be the same person men- tioned in the book of Daniel as having by a remarkable miracle brought food to that prophet when shut up in the lions' den. Dan. xiv. 32. Such is the opinion of St. Jerome and other ancient writers. On beholding the prevalent wickedness of the Lord's people, so long unpunished, the prophet is afflicted beyond measure, but he grieves as much over the fact, that when the day of vengeance will come, it will be inflicted by a nation no better, no holier—nay, most wicked and abominable—which will rise, grow and prosper thereby. The Lord there- fore allows him to see what will hap- pen to Nabuchodonosor and the Chal- deans, and then shows him the future destruction of idols and the abolition of their worship. Then the prophet intones a most majestic and sublime prayer or hymn, full of the deepest mysteries, wherein, after having de- clared what God had done and would do in favor of the Jewish people, he announces the still greater wonders of the divine goodness and mercy, in favor of the spiritual Israel, the Christian Church. The historian Sozomen tells us that the body of Habacuc was dis- covered at Ceila, in the time of Theo- dosius the Great, on the 15th of Janu- ary, on which day also, the Church honors his memory. -- HISTORY OF THE HO I, Y CA THOL I C B I B L E. 93 ~ Š S ºf itſ unulla - Luluuuuu ==St. - --- - - - s == lº-F |||||||| I' - r - --> I-s-s-s SOPHONIAS. WE know nothing concerning the life and history of this holy prophet. From the context of his prophecy, however, we may conclude that he wrote during the reign of Josias, king of Juda, who came to the throne 641 B. C. 4 Kings xxii. 1. He could not have written toward the end of that king's reign, who died 610 B.C.; for, he speaks of the destruction of Ninive, as of a future event, and that took place 625 B. C. He also reproaches Juda bitterly for its worship of Baal under Josias; but we know that in the latter part of his reign Josias succeeded in destroying that idolatrous public worship, although he was unsuccessful in entirely eradicating it from the hearts and homes of the people. Sophonias prophesied to the two tribes of Juda and Benjamin, exhorting them to abandon idolatry, to be converted to the Lord and to do penance, so as to ward off the scourges their obstinacy would provoke from God, at the hands of the Chaldeans. After the description of the calamities, that were to come upon Jerusalem, he concludes his prophecy, by the glorious promise of future deliverance and happiness, in store for Sion. These promises have for their principal object, a better redemption, a new peo- ple and a new Church, composed not merely of Jews, but of all nations. Christ is to bring salvation and abundance of spiritual favors to these; the law of the Gospel is to be promulgated, under which the nations will live justly and piously until the end of time, when the glory of the children of God will be full and perfect, and unbelievers and sinners will be condemned to eternal punishment. The memory of Sophonias is celebrated by the Church on the 3d of December. AGGEUS. It is commonly supposed, that Aggeus was born in Chaldea, during the captivity, and that when Cyrus restored liberty to the Jews, our prophet returned with Zorobabel to Jerusalem. On arriving there the work of restoration on the temple and altar was immediately begun, and soon the accustomed sacrifices were once more offered. 1 Esd. iii. But on account of the jealousy and calumnies of the Samaritans, the prosecution of the work was forbidden, and that prohibition remained in force not only during the rest of the reign of Cyrus, but also of Cambyces, his successor. At last, however, under Darius Hystaspis, all obstacles were removed; but now, the Jews were unwilling to resume their task, and seemed inclined to care more for the adornment of their own dwellings, than of that of the house of the Lord, 520 B. C. Then it was that the Lord commanded Aggeus, to exhort both princes and people, to carry on the work with promptitude and constancy, giving them to understand that the drought and sterility, with which they had been visited for some years, were the just punishment of their negligence and coldness in restoring the house of God—a work they thought not of, saying, “The time is not yet come.” The exhortations of Aggeus and Zacharias had their effect, and all gave their aid and support to the work, in which the prophets themselves took a part. 1 Esd. v. 2. Then it was that God consoled and rewarded the solicitude and zeal of the people, by telling them, through His prophet, that this second temple, so inferior to the first in richness and magnificence, would yet be far more --→ THE PEOPLE GOING UP TO THE TEMPLE. 94 // ſs. To ſº y of THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB I. F. tº w Nº. \ * - -- - glorious, for to it the Desired of all nations would come. ii. 8. The new temple would be enriched by the true Arc of the Testament, the living Arc, wherein the plenitude of the divinity dwells corporally; the Word of God made flesh would come to the new house, and would fill it with His glory. Aggeus foretells also the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ; that this Church would take the place of the ancient synagogue, and the Gentiles succeed to the Jewish people; that God would once more move the heaven and the earth, and through the preaching of the Gospel would lead all nations into His Church. ZACHARIAs, the contemporary of Aggeus, returned with him from the Babylonian captivity, and two months after the beginning of that prophet's mission, he also was called by the Lord, to assist in that laborious and glorious office. 1 Esd. v. 1, vi. 14; Agg. i. 1; Zach. i. 1. By some he is supposed to be the same Zacharias mentioned by our divine Lord as having been slain between the temple and the altar (Matt. xxiii. 35), although St. Jerome holds that that Zacharias was the son of Joiadas, put to death by King Joas. Zacharias, with the greatest fervor, exhorts his brethren to be converted to the Lord, and no longer to follow the bad example of their fathers, who had been so often punished by God, for their indocility and hardness of heart. In visions, God gives him to un- derstand, that his prayers and desires had been heard, that Jerusalem would be restored and enlarged to such an extent, that its walls would no longer be able to surround its inhabitants. God's people are invited and exhorted to flee from Babylon, the land of darkness and falsehood, and the nations answering the call will come to inhabit the new Jerusa- lem, the Church. The angel afterward announces to him the coming of the Orient, the promised Messias, who would wash away the iniquity THE DESTRUCTION OF THE COVENANT.-Zach. xi. 8–11. - % - } º | - - of Israel and bring peace to all men. The Lord Himself will dwell in Jerusalem. She will be the faithful city; peace will dwell in her; the Lord will bless her with every blessing; and the most distant nations will come to her to adore the Lord. The prophet speaks of the meek and lowly entrance of Christ into Jerusalem: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion. . . . Behold, thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour; He is poor and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (ix. 9); but He will bring peace to the Gentiles, and in the blood of His testament, He will deliver the prisoners out of the pit, and to His friends He will give as food, the bread of the elect and wine making virgins spring forth. The prophet goes on to declare the victories of the Church, and the destruction of Jerusalem and of its temple, in consequence of refusing to hear the voice of the Lord. The Shepherd appointed by God asks of them the reward of His labors, and they weighed for Him thirty pieces of silver, and the Lord orders these wages to be cast to the potter. Then the ungrateful and unbelieving people is handed over to foolish pastors, but the spirit of grace and prayer will be diffused over the mystic Jerusalem. The true Shepherd will be struck and His sheep be scattered, but the Lord will bring them once more together and will protect them. The Church will be enlarged and glorified, she will pass through much persecution and great tribulations, but God will love her, exalt her and favor her as His beloyed people, whilst her persecutors will be humbled and punished. Such are some of the principal prophecies contained in this noble and sublime book, concerning Christ and His Spouse, the Church. The clearness and beauty of the imagery, with which they are delineated, should make us bless and adore that loving Providence, which, as the time of the advent of Christ drew nigh, foretold so minutely and forci- bly, almost all the mysteries to be unfolded in the life, mission and death of the divine Saviour, and of the Church, He came to establish, to carry on the work of our redemption. - HISTORY OF THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. - ------ º — i. — ---- | Žºs = = . = thiſ | THE REJECTION OF THE JEWISH SACRIFICE.-i. 11–14; ii. 1–3. - MALACHIAS, whose name |T|| time when Nehemias came which had crept in during his absence. 2 Esd. xiii. 7. The contents of the book prove this conclusively; for, it supposes the laws regulating divine worship to be in full operation, and it reproves the very abuses Nehemias came to abolish. Our prophet speaks more than once against the priests who were profaning the name of the Lord. He inveighs against marriages contracted with the Gentiles, blames his brethren for their cruelty and rapacity, condemns the freedom with which they repu- diated their wives, and treats of many other violations of the law. He foretells, moreover, with the greatest clearness, the coming of the precursor of Christ, St. John the Baptist, as also of Christ Himself, and tells us that He will be like a refining fire, cleansing and purifying those who will be chosen by Him to be His priests. He foretells that there will be a new sacrifice, and that such will demand a new order of priests; that this new sacrifice will be offered in every place and by all nations, amongst whom His name will be great, and will be known and honored. This oblation, always clean, always holy, always pleasing to the Lord, will MALACHIAS. in Hebrew signifies the Angel of the Lord, received his prophetic mission after Aggeus and Zacharias, when the restoration of the temple was complete, about the for the second time to Jerusalem, in order to destroy the abuses This is clear also from the fact that the new sacrifice was to be offered in all places and by all nations, as well as that it was to constitute a universal, visible and manifest sign of the reunion of all nations in the one true worship of God: “From the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles: and in every place there is sacrifice and there is offered to my name a clean oblation, for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.” i. 11. closes the list of the prophets. The eternal Father has now finished the portrait of His beloved Son. First, He gave the roughest outline, and then touch by touch it was rendered more distinct and bolder. Prophet after prophet added the different colors, one bringing out this character- Malachias istic, another that, until divine Wisdom considered the picture perfect. Malachias comes last, and with his brush applies the finishing touches, and then in God's name, tells us, who it is that will remove for the ex- pectant world the veil from before the painting: “Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the take the place of the carnal sacrifices which heretofore had been offered Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the testament, whom you desire, only in the temple of Jerusalem, and had been acceptable only inas- much as they were a figure of this one divine oblation. Here we have the momentous prediction of the new sacrifice of the Christian Church which was to do away with the sacrifices of the law. This new sacrifice, therefore, was to be external and visible, and not merely spiritual, for that internal spiritual sacrifice always accompanied the Levitical sacrifices. shall come to His temple.” iii. 1. St. John the Baptist is the angel of the Lord sent before His face to prepare the way for Him, to herald His coming, and who, after publishing to all Judea the glad tidings, “Be- hold the Lamb of God” as Prophet, Apostle and Evangelist, linked to: gether, both the Old and New Testaments, giving unto us, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the Iife. HIS TO R Y OF CA. T H O LI C B / B L E. THE HOL Y º- ſº THE TWO BOOKS OF MACHABEES. AFTER the return of the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity they lived, as a rule, peacefully and happily during the domination of the Persian monarchy. Cf. Esdras, Aggeus, Zacharias and Malachias. Alexander the Great, who overthrew the Persian government, did not disturb this tranquillity of the Jews. Zach. ix. At his death his im- mense kingdom was divided into four portions, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor and Macedon. Then it was, on account of the jealousy which sprung up between the kings of Syria and Egypt, that a long period of perse- cution and suffering fell upon the chosen people of God. Dan. vii. 8. It was at this time that many Jews settled in Egypt under Ptolemy Lagus, 320 B. C., and the Greek version of the seventy interpreters was made, 298 B. C. Under the Syrian king Antiochus the Great, Palestine was subjected to Syria, 298 B. C. Under his successors, but especially under Antiochus Epiphanes, 168 B. C., the Jews suffered the most bitter perse- cution. This king determined to exterminate the Jewish religion and to introduce paganism. Then it was, that the priest Mathathias arose and undertook the defence of his countrymen. These two books recount the history of the Machabees, the sons of Mathathias. They have always been recognized by the Church as a part of the canon of Scripture. The first was written in Hebrew, or rather in Syriac, the language then used in Judea, and the original text of the same was seen by St. Jerome; but our version is taken from the Greek, and was made long before the time of St. Jerome, who allowed it to remain as it had come down to him. The second book is a compendium of five books written by Jason of Cy- rene—a compendium no doubt made by order of the synagogue; for the first chapter contains a letter from the Jews of Jerusalem to their breth- ren in Egypt. Both of the books refer principally to the illustrious deeds of Judas, Jonathan and of Simon, sons of Mathathias. Judas was sur- named Machabeus—a name given also to his brothers, and likewise to the seven saintly brothers and their mother, who suffered martyrdom, for refusing to obey Antiochus, commanding them to violate the law. As to the title “Machabeus” there are various opinions. The most common is | | 1 | || that it is made up of the initial Hebrew letters of a passage taken from Exodus, which were inscribed on their banners by these heroes: “Who is like to thee among the strong, O Lord?” xv. 11. The historian Jose- phus (Antiq. xii. 8) tells us that Mathathias, the father of Judas, was the son of John, the nephew of Simon and grand-nephew of Assamonaeus, whence we may conclude that the other surname of Assamoneans, given to the descendants of Mathathias, was derived. That family, which had merited so well from the republic, retained the chief authority in the na- tion, until it was deprived of its liberty by Herod the Great—that is, for about one hundred and twenty-eight years. The Machabees were of the tribe of Levi, but St. Jerome and other interpreters affirm, that by their mother's side they could claim descent from the tribe of Juda. The two books, as we have said, contain the same history, viz., of the Jews under the Greek domination, but especially under Antiochus Epiphanes, Anti- ochus Eupator, Demetrius Soter Alexander, and of Antiochus the son of Demetrius, against whom Judas, Jonathan and Simon Machabee waged long and terrible wars. In the books of Kings, we see what the faithful people of God had to endure from the Assyrian and Chaldean monarchs. In Esdras, Nehemias, Tobias, Judith and Esther, we behold their condi- tion under the Persian kings. Lastly, under the Greek dominion, which was to yield to the Roman, which in its turn was to acknowledge the power of Jesus Christ, we have the history of the Jews in these books of the Machabees. We have here again many and wonderful arguments showing God's loving watchfulness, in defending His people, the deposi- taries of the true religion. We behold how, in the midst of furious storms, against all the power and seduction of prevalent impiety, God was able to raise up defenders of His faith, who upheld it and adorned it with fresh glory. What a source of wonder for man, and what a triumph for heaven, were the victories of the aged Eleazar and the blessed Mach- abee martyrs, with their heroic saintly mother! Their unconquerable fortitude, their superhuman patience in the midst of the most horrible torments, their greatness of soul, rendered them superior to all the world holds dear or dreads, crowned their faith with honor and contributed mightily toward strengthening the minds and hearts of the weak. That HIS TO R Y OF ("A TH O LI C B I B L E. T H E H U L Y §º T SoLoMon’s RECEPTION OF PHARAo’s DAUGHTER. same faith and hope which sustained them, made heroes of the sons of Mathathias. They show us, what the soul filled with faith and piety is capable of accomplishing—that true courage and military valor, not only are not incompatible with a sincere religious spirit, but rather that re- ligion is the unfailing fountain of all heroic virtues. In the midst of the universal dismay of the nation, whilst a most powerful monarch, with un- heard-of cruelty, is filling Judea with slaughter, whilst the city is laid waste, its temple profaned, whilst the victor is striving to totally abolish the ancient religion, a mere handful of brave men remain faithful to their God, and prefer death to offering sacrifice to idols. By their faith and by their death, they recall to the minds of their countrymen, the cov- enant made with the true Grod and the infallibility of the eternal prom- ises, and thus, whilst confounding and humbling the proud enemy of the Most High, they reawaken the languishing faith of their brethren. Then it was that the sons of Mathathias with a small band of their nation retire to live in the forests, coming forth like raging lions against their enemies, scouring the country to gather recruits to their desperate cause, until, gradually growing in numbers and courage, they put to flight even armies sent against them, and at last reconquer their beloved Jerusalem, purify the temple and restore the worship of the Lord. Continued victories over the successors of Antiochus are the rewards showered down on them from heav- en for their piety and constancy, until at length, under Simon, the only remaining son of Mathathias, the Jewish nation is blessed with a full and glorious liberty. Thus God, whose justice, providence and mercy shine forth so clearly in these holy books, shows us how in all ages, He comes to the aid of His Church, to console her, to repair her losses and renew her ancient splendor. The synagogue was restricted to one country, to one people, and was destined to prepare the way for the new covenant. In its regard, the divine promise of duration, was temporal. To the Church of Jesus Christ all nations have been given as an inheritance. Her confines are the bounds of the earth. The promise of life to her is until the consummation of ages. Therefore it is that against this house, founded on a rock, neither the power of the world nor the gates of hell shall ever prevail. The scandals of the wicked may rob her of some of her weak children, the impious and unbelieving may assault her with fury, may calumniate and blacken her fair name, but the same divine Hand that founded her, sustains and will sustain and comfort her, unto the end. In our own time we can weep over and deplore the ravages of the enemies of faith, the bad doctrines sown and scandals given, but never can we fear that these vain assaults of rash impiety will ever shake the foundations or walls of the eternal Church, for the Lord is her Archi- tect and Master: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consum- mation of the world.” Matt. xxviii. 20. 38 fy/S 70A: Y OF THz tº HOLY CA THO LI C B I B L E. Tº - º munitiºn ºf | | / | TTI IMMEDIATELY after the sin of our first pa- | rents, God re-estab- | ||||||| - lished His kingdom of - | "|| |Nº. truth, virtue and relig- | | ion, which Satan had | endeavored to destroy. | Gen. uſ. 1,8–19. Like sº | ºil. | | everything temporal, 2. this kingdom is subject to changes and vicissi- - 7- sºlº *3. - sGQ. - L 2% zºº | world with Adam, grew, extended itself, and will receive its perfection, only with the consum- mation of ages. Our divine Lord, therefore, compares it to the grain of mustard seed, which grows to be a large tree. Matt. xiii. 31. God established it first with Adam and Eve, and made faith and hope in the promised Redeemer, their consolation, as well as that of all their poster- ity; but the corrupt heart of man was constantly placing obstacles to the workings of the Holy Spirit, so that we behold this kingdom, first re- stricted to the posterity of Seth (Gen. iv. 25, 26), and afterward, to the small family of Noe. Gen. vi. 9. After the deluge, the Lord commanded Abraham to leave his father's house and go whither He would show him; and there, in the patriarchal homes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the kingdom of the Lord, though small in numbers, yet bloomed fresh and beauteous in the sight of Heaven. The time now came for its greater It was to number not only families, but a whole people, tudes. It came into the extension. - - == ºw. l'º sº Timmimilmmiſſimillimmm. TTTI tº ºf º | | ſ . M Jº Nº. | s NEW TESTAMENT OF within its fold. This took place when, through the divine power, Moses rescued the persecuted children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. For nearly two thousand years the kingdom of the Lord was restricted to the Jewish people; but at last, in the fulness of time, a child of Abra- ham according to the flesh, but who was at the same time, the Son of God, Jesus Christ came, and then was the commission given to that king- dom, to extend its power, over all the nations of the earth, so that the sal- vation lost by sin might once more, through the ministry of that king- dom, be extended to all the children of men. The Church, therefore, appeared first, as the religion of a family, then of a race, then of a nation, and, lastly, of all nations. At all times, however, it was substantially the same holy religion, the same faith, the one Church (Heb. xi.) through which souls are sanctified; but this religion, faith and Church manifested itself in different stages of growth or development. These stages are or- dinarily called the patriarchal, the Mosaic and the Christian revelations. St. Paul, to show the unity and at the same time, the diverse gradations of the Church, compares its life to that of the different stages in the life of man—his infancy, youth and manhood. 1 Cor. xiii. 11; Gal. iii. 24. Just as a man, in each stage of his life, stands in need of the same truth, but presented to him under a different form, so was it necessary, that God's revelation should be imparted in different ways, at different periods of the life of the world. The child believes and loves and stands in need of few precepts; for, faith and love are laws for it. Thus also was it with the childlike lives of the patriarchs; they stood in need of but few laws; for, faith, confidence and love of God were their rich and sufficient protection. Conceit and selfishness are the characteristics of youth. Love and faith are apt to grow weak in such hearts, and therefore they HISTO R Y O F THE HOLY CA Tri O LI C B I B L E. THE TRIBUTE MONEY. require much teaching and discipline. So was it with Israel. They be- came a hard-hearted, stiff-necked people, and could be controlled only by a severe law and a complex ceremonial religious worship. Carnal- minded and rude, they could receive the sublime spiritual truths of faith, only under the cover of figures and parables. Therefore it was that God gave unto them a religion of forms and ceremonies, of purifications and sacrifices. But when the time came for Israel to pass from youth to manhood, God's treatment was again changed. Just as the grown man delights in his knowledge, believes and loves, and does not need fear to restrain him or force to urge him to keep the law, so the law of fear and compulsion was abolished; the religion of sensible forms and shadows gave way to the reality, and faith and love were allowed to appear as they really are. The law was to be given, no longer written on stony tables, but engraved on the heart of each one; faith and love would guarantee thenceforth its fulfilment; truth would reveal herself to the minds of men, no more in pictures and shadows, but would be studied as she is in herself. This new revelation of the spirit of truth, of faith and of love was given to us by the Son of God—according to the flesh, the Son of Abraham—who came upon earth, as the Redeemer of mankind from sin and misery, as He had been foretold so often in the Old Testa- ment. For, as St. Paul writes to the Hebrews: “God having spoken on divers occasions, and many ways in times past to the fathers by the pro- phets: last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world.” Heb. i. 1, 2. He established the new covenant of God with the human race foretold by Jeremias: “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God 100 HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATH O LIC BIBLE. JERUSADEM of THE PRESENT, VIEWED FROM THE SPOT where JESUS STooD AND WEPT over IT. and they shall be my people.” Jer. xxi. 33. What the Son of God said, what that law of faith and love was, which He promulgated, His meek- ness and humility, His life and labors, His death and glorious resurrec- tion,-these constitute those holy books known as the four Gospels. The Greek word for gospel (eiayye/tov) means the announcement of some happy event, good news; our English word gospel means the same, good tidings. These four books tell us, how the Son of God brought to man, the blessed news of his deliverance from sin and death, and how that deliverance was to be accomplished. Jesus Christ Himself did not write them. They were written a long time after His ascension into heaven, after the faith had been spread far and wide in the Roman empire. They were written by only two of the apostles and two disciples of our divine Lord, who, by God's inspiration and with His assistance, and most likely at the urgent request of the faithful, who desired them for their own instruction and consolation and for that of the faithful who would come after them. That Jesus Himself was not their author, does not affect their divine cha- racter; for, as He promised His apostles, that He would send them the Holy Ghost, and that He would teach them all things and would bring all things to their mind whatsoever He had said to them (John xiv. 26), therefore this promise of His divine assistance gives us the same assur- ance as if His own hand had written them. These Gospels were written, according to the most ancient witnesses, during the last half of the first century; and that they are really the works of the authors to whom they are ascribed has never been called in question, either by pagans or here- tics, who, in fact, afford a strong argument in their favor. The evangelists wrote most likely in the order in which they are placed in the New Tes- tament; for, St. Irenaeus, who lived in the second century and had received his instruction from disciples of the apostles, and who therefore ought to have known the date of their composition, tells us in his third book against heresies, that “Matthew wrote his gospel in the Hebrew tongue whilst Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome and founding the Church. After their death, the interpreter Mark wrote for us what Peter had preached, and Luke, the companion of Paul, composed his Gospel from the sermons of Paul. Finally, John, the disciple of the Lord, whilst at Ephesus, in Asia, gave us also a written Gospel.” These books were soon transcribed and spread abroad amongst the faithful, because they had the testimony of the apostles in their favor; whilst other accounts of the life and doc- trines of Jesus Christ were devoid of faith, because wanting that guaran- tee. There are different opinions of the Fathers in answer to the ques- tion, why it was that divine Providence has given us four such accounts of our divine Lord. St. Augustine says that it happened as a figure, that the gospel would be preached in the four portions of the world; but the deepest and truest cause he finds, with many other Fathers (Irenaeus, Gregory the Great, Jerome, Athanasius) and Catholic interpreters, in the fourfold character of our Saviour, as foreshadowed by the prophet Eze- chiel, cap. i. As in the old law, God the Saviour manifests Himself in prophecy, as man, as King, as priest and as God, so does Jesus fulfil in His person these four offices, and therefore the history of His life should be a representation of His fourfold ministry. Therefore it is, that the Fathers have given to each evangelist a symbol, characteristic of the spe- cial account, he has given us, of the life of the God-man; to Matthew they give a man as typical of his writings, to Mark a lion, to Luke a calf for sacrifice, and to John an eagle, the bird of the Most High. According to St. Jerome, the reason for this division is this, that St. Matthew begins his Gospel with the account of the genealogy of our divine Lord accord- ing to the flesh; St. Mark begins with the impressive sermon of John the Baptist: Do penance; a voice like the roar of the kingly lion; St. Luke begins with the priesthood of Zachary; St. John with the eternal Godhead of Jesus Christ. From this we see also, why the Fathers call the evangel- ists, the fourfold cherubim-chariot of the Lord, which the prophet Eze- chiel describes in his wonderful vision. Ezech. i. The cherubim are the carriers of the Lord, who sits above them, on His throne. They go whither the Spirit of the Lord directs them, and their wings are joined together. They pull onward the chariot of the Lord, the wheels of which are full of eyes; these wheels move when the cherubim do; they stand still when they stand still; they rise from the earth, when they do likewise. All the details of this remarkable vision are fulfilled in the case of the evangelists. They are truly the carriers of the Son of man, the cherubim of the New Testament, whose wings are joined together; for, the one com- pletes and explains the other. They are the guides of all wayfarers; for, they teach us the way of life. They rise with those who are striving to mount to perfection; for, they always furnish matter for deeper and more sublime meditation on the doctrines and actions of Jesus. With all their simplicity and unassuming exterior, the holy Gospels are an exhaustless treasure, a perennial fountain, a mine as yet incompletely explored. St. Jerome, writing on this subject to Paulinus, makes use of these words, with which, we may justly conclude: “Do not be scandalized at the sim- plicity of the holy books, which are partly such on account of the defi- ciency of the translator, and partly have been so composed intentionally, that thus, their unadorned language might instruct the more easily, and that one and the same utterance might be heard by both learned and un- learned. I am neither so vain nor so foolish as to imagine that I under- stand them fully. But to those who ask it will be given, to those who knock it will be opened, and he who seeks will find. Let us, therefore, whilst here on earth learn that knowledge, that will remain with us also in heaven.” HIS TO R Y OF THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B IB I, E. 101 | | {{|| | | | sº # º | | º | ºft | | |S | | º li ſººn | | º | THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. ST. MATTHEW, the author of this Gospel, was one of the twelve apostles. He is surnamed Levi. Matt. ix. 9; Mark ii. 13; Luke v. 27. He was the son of Alpheus (Mark ii. 14), and before his call to the apostleship was an under-collector of taxes in the Roman service. These collectors of Jewish birth were called publicans, and by the nation at large were classed with sinners, and were held in contempt and hated by them. St. Matthew in his Gospel does not omit this title of publican, which had belonged to him, but the other evangelists never speak of him as such. He was an eye-witness of what he relates. He immediately responded to the call of his divine Master, accompanied Him always during His public ministry, beheld His miracles and glorious resurrection, and after His ascension preached the faith of Jesus in Judea. To convince the Jews that Jesus was the promised Messias—at the request of the faithful, according to some, and of the apostles themselves, according to others— he wrote the Gospel which bears his name at the time that St. Peter and St. Paul were preaching in Rome—that is, between A. D. 61 and 66. According to unanimous tradition of the early Church, he wrote it in Hebrew, or rather in Syro-Chaldaic, the language then in common use in Palestine. But for the benefit of converts from paganism it was immediately translated into Greek, either by the apostle himself, or by St. James, or by some author living in the apostolic times. This is certain from the fact, that the Greek translation was circulated from the very earliest times, and gradually took the place of the original Hebrew, which was neglected, and thus º | E E =l was lost. Whoever may have been -- ^ºº!!!M - the author of the Greek version, as also of the Latin, made from the Greek, both of these versions are very ancient and have always been recognized as sacred Scripture by the Catholic Church. As regards the further history of St. Matthew, the ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Rufinus and others, relate, that he preached the gospel in Ethiopia, In- dia and Parthia, and that he suffered a martyr's death. The Church cele- 102 1/1,970 ſº Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C. BIBLE. THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. THERE are several opinions of the early Fathers as to, who, Mark the Evangelist was. Some say that he is the same person mentioned by St. Peter in his first Epistle (1 Pet. v. 13), whom he calls his son, on account of having converted him to the faith. Others say, that he was the disci- ple and interpreter of that apostle; others that he was one of the seventy disciples of our divine Lord; and still others that he is the John Mark, spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles (xii. 12; xv. 37, 39), the cousin of Barnabas. It is probable, that most of these characteristics were verified in the case of the last-mentioned John Mark. He became afterward the companion of St. Paul (xii. 25; xiii. 5) and of Barnabas (xv. 35–39), and accompanied them during their missionary labors; he was also the compan- ion of St. Paul during his detention in Rome. Col. iv. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 11. He was here thrown very much in the company of St. Peter, who was in Rome at the same time, and was encouraged by that Apostle, to compose JESUS HEALING THE LEPERS. the Gospel which bears his name. That he wrote it under the direction of the Prince of the Apostles is the opinion of all antiquity; for, he is always called the interpreter of St. Peter, the dispenser of his Gospel. There is, however, some difference as to the date of its composition. It was most likely written in A. D. 66 or 67. Most writers hold, that it was written at Rome, but some contend for Alexandria, whither Mark had been sent by St. Peter, and where he preached for a long time. St. Mark was not an apostle, but as an evangelist gives us in an especial manner the teaching of St. Peter. By nationality he was a Jew, as appears clearly from the style of his composition. But although a Jew, there can be no doubt that he wrote his Gospel in Greek, which language at that time was the most universally used both in the East and West; and even in Rome, the resident Jews made use of Greek, in preference to Latin. The Latin version is also most ancient, and is probably by the same author, to whom we owe the translation of the other Gospels. Ac- cording to Eusebius and St. Jerome, St. Mark suffered a martyr's death at Alexandria, in Egypt, April 25, on which day also, the Church com- memorates his memory. AHI S TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. 103 THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. St. LUKE, “the physician most dearly beloved” (Col. iv. 14), “whose praise is in the gospel through all §tles. According to Eusebius and St. Jerome, he was born at Antioch. St. Paul is said to have converted him to the faith in that city, and to have made him thenceforth the companion of his missionary tours. It § companion of that apostle. Acts xvi. 8–10. Just as the Gospel of St. Mark was written under the guidance of St. Peter, so that of St. Luke was composed under the direction and teaching of St. Paul. Though not ºùùºss º TSE an apostle, and not claiming for himself the authority of J tº man lº º sº º an eye-witness of the actions and sayings of our divine -- Tºš | Lord, St. Luke has given us perhaps the most valuable, - is §§ll- certainly the fullest, narrative of our Saviour's life. In his preface he tells us clearly what are the sources of his information. Some hold that it was not written before # A. D. 70, although many contend for A. D. 63. Cf. Acts i. 1. # St. Luke mentions many details and facts concerning Jesus which are not given by the other evangelists. We have to thank him particularly for much that is precious, relating to the Blessed Virgin, the parable of the good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus, the prodigal son, ; the Pharisee and publican, and other divine documents almost as remarkable and valuable. Nicephorus, referring to an ancient tradition, speaks of St. Luke as being also a painter. All agree that he reached a venerable old age, and some hold that he died a martyr's death. The Church celebrates his festival on October 18. St. Jerome and many other authors hold, that where St. Paul in his Epis- tles, speaks of his Gospel, he intends this Gospel of St. J. Luke, which he adopted and approved of as his own. It % is addressed to Theophilus. We do not know whether this NINY ºs S name indicates a particular individ- i. ual, or whether it be a general name for every one “who loves God,” which is its literal meaning. Sl IIIll' | Willllllllllllllllllll §§ º illuſillºlliſi - | - : Himm-mm. ill||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||| %N Zſ TV/ lsº Sºul NA. * 104 // IS TO R Y 0 F THE HOLY CATH O LI C B I B L E. | | RT-T –H THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST sº --~- ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. ST. JoHN was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman of Gal- ilee, and of Salome (Matt. iv. 21; x. 3; xx. 20; xxvii. 56; Mark xv. 40), and a brother of James the Greater. W - Matt. x. 3. He was a fisherman by trade, a native of º- = - = Bethsaida. Whilst still young, he was called by our | | | ſº 11 |- º º | | |||| | | º | divine Lord to the apostleship, and immediately respond- ed to the invitation (Matt. iv. 21; Luke v. 10), became | thenceforth His constant companion, and with Peter and | James deserved to be numbered amongst His most in- | H = timate disciples. Mark v. 37; Matt. xvii. 1; xxvi. 37. - He was the apostle most beloved by Jesus, who gave him the tenderest proof of His affection, allowing him not only to recline on His bosom (John xiii. 23, 25), but also when dying, He confided to his loving care His own beloved Mother. John xix. 26. In thankful remem- brance of this wonderful proof of divine love, St. John speaks of himself, as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John xix. 26), and his whole life is the clearest man- ifestation of his right to that title. St. Peter was indeed more impulsive and active, but the love of St. John was deeper and truer; for, of all the disciples of Jesus, he alone | stood by Him, during His cruel passion, followed Him to | Mount Calvary, and was with Him when He breathed Int | - Hº | | - ||||||||||||= | | º | iiii ||||| | - sº º w | | º N - N º § iſſ | º | | | | |W | | | º | | | º - |º º | | i. º HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. lº |liſi º º | |ii = --~ Tº º | |||||| sº out His soul. This peculiar love of the God-man for St. John, is ascribed by many Fathers to the perfect purity of our evangelist; for, according to their testimony, he lived and died a virgin, and for this special gift merited to obtain the care and protection of the Virgin-mother of Jesus, being ap- pointed by Him on the cross to take His own place. After the ascension of Christ into heaven, he remained for some time with Peter in Palestine to help him in propagating the faith. Gal. ii. 9. Afterward he labored in the more distant Roman provinces, but especially in Asia Minor. It is certain that after the death of the apostles Peter and Paul, he took up his permanent abode in Ephesus, a city of Asia Minor, whence also he is called the bishop of that city. He there kept a watchful eye over all the churches of Asia Minor, so that he was considered almost as a new founder and confirmer of the same. It is most likely that under the reign of Domitian, he was carried off from this city and exiled to the island of Patmos. There, at the Lord's command, he wrote his book of the Apoca- lypse concerning the persecutions of the Church of God. On the acces- sion of Nerva to the throne, and with the permission of that emperor, he returned to Ephesus and resumed his government of the churches of Asia Minor. Toward the end of the first century of our era, at the earnest request of many of the faithful and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote his Gospel. The principal object he had in view, as he himself tells us in the end of the same, was to show that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that those who believe in Him, shall have eternal life. It was at this time, that Cerinthus, Ebion and other heretics sprang up in the Church, and propagated all sorts of false teaching concerning the person and exalted dignity of our divine Lord, saying that He was merely a man; and therefore it was that St. John had far greater reason than the other evangelists to explain clearly and fully for the faithful CHRIST TEACHING THE MYSTERIES OF HIS KINGDOM. in. Illul |Tii | the pure doctrine on all disputed points. He also completed, so to speak, the narrations of the other three evangelists in this respect, that he gives us the discourses of our Saviour rather than His deeds, and adds details and circumstances omitted by the others, and which, as an eye-witness, he alone was competent to supply. It was on account of this special character of his Gospel that the early Fathers called it the spiritual, the divine Gospel, and its author the theologian, in opposition to the other three Gospels, which represent rather the human and earthly character of Christ. St. Augustine develops this idea beautifully, saying “that in the four Gospels, or rather in the four books of the one Gospel, the holy apostle John, who, on account of his spiritual knowledge, is compared to the eagle, has exalted his narration far higher and in a more sublime manner than the other three, and thereby has desired to raise our hearts as well. For the other, three evangelists conversed with the God-man whilst here on earth equally with himself, but have spoken less concern- ing His divinity; but St. John, as if he scorned to creep along the earth, raised himself, not only above the earth and the uttermost limits of the air and of the heavens, but also above the choirs of angels and the orders of invisible powers, and goes direct to Him, through whom all things were made, proclaiming; In the beginning was the Word. What he had drunk in, that it was that flowed from his mouth; for, not without cause is it said of him in the Gospel, that he reposed on the breast of the Lord at the Last Supper. From that bosom he had drunk in secret; but what he had drunk in secret, he poured forth openly for us.” History tells us that he reached the venerable age of almost one hundred years, and that he died at Ephesus, where for a long time his sepulchre was to be seen, and was held in great veneration. The Church celebrates his festival on December 27. 106 - Prys To ſº y of THE HO I, Y CA THOLIC I, II; L E. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. AFTER the history of the redemption of the human race, de- scribed by the four evangelists and completed by the account of the resurrection and ascension into heaven of our divine Saviour, s: Jesus Christ, divine Providence willed, that the same Holy Spirit should give us the narrative of the preaching of the apostles, and of the early days of the Christian Church. Here a new and a | wide field is opened up to us for our meditation and admiration. | We behold a few preachers, unprovided with all that could concil- ; iate the minds or hearts of men, undertake, according to the com- mand given them by the Saviour, to persuade the Jews that that same Jesus, whom they had persecuted and put to death, is the only name under heaven given to men as the beginning and source of their salvation; to reclaim the Gentiles from the uni- versal false worship of idols to the knowledge of the one true God; and (what is more) to withdraw them from the horribly cor- rupt state of immorality, in which they were living, to a life, having for its groundwork the mortification of the old Adam and love of the cross; and all this without any other hope than this— which, indeed, is infinitely great, but not at all attractive to the corrupt heart of man—the happiness of a future life. A design so vast, so unheard of, does not now seem foolishness to us, who | º wº º \\ \ | HIS TO R Y OF THE HO I, Y CA THO LI C B I B L E. | ºffl Tº º İ|| H | ||||Wii º º # Tº | | |º | º º | * . | | º: li º | º i. Nº. * || º º * | º --- ST. PAUL’S ESCAPE FROM T)AMASCUS. | | Mill | | | - ºſſilſº ºf | recognize in the Author of it, an infinite wisdom joined to infinite power, and, at the same time, know that the design was accomplished; but imagine what must have been the idea, mere human wisdom with its narrow views formed of it! The wonderful propagation of the doctrine of Christ by the means, described for us in the Acts, is a most complete and overwhelming proof of the divinity of our most holy re- ligion—a proof with which the unbeliever can find no like example to contrast, drawn from history, no evasion with which to save himself from its convincing force. In only one century, and a century as enlightened in literature and philosophy as any other in the annals of the world, a mere handful of Jews—a people known to the cultivated Greek and Ro- man only to be despised—destitute of all human knowledge, bear the name and glory of the crucified Redeemer, not only to the most illustri- ous cities of the East—Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Athens—but to the queen city of the world, Rome. According to the argument of St. Au- gustine, either it was God who did it all, and therefore the religion of Christ has the approval of Heaven, or without any miracle, mere men did it all, and the conversion of the world was effected without a miracle; and this would be the greatest of all miracles, the like of which had never been seen on earth. But God was certainly with the apostles, and we behold the clearest proofs of it. These proofs ought to produce two re- sults in hearts truly faithful: they should fill them with a sweet consola- tion, on beholding how sound and unshakable the foundations of their faith are, and they ought to give them courage in the days of affliction and darkness, which the Lord sometimes permits to come over His Church. The same divine Hand that founded her, the same rules and 108 Aſ IS TO R Y OF 7 HE HO I, Y CA THO I, I C B IB L E. º º º º º º St. PETER IN PRISON, VISITED BY AN ANGEL. supports her in all ages; in every storm and trial He is with her, and knows not only how to save her from shipwreck, but to strengthen and glorify her. By the unanimous testimony of the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers, St. Luke is the author of this book. It is called the Acts of the Apostles, because we have here related, principally, the deeds of the two apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and incidentally something concerning the other apostles. What is here given, is almost all that we know with certainty of the lives and actions of the apostles; for, the accounts we have received, whether from the early Fathers or Church historians, are scanty indeed. These Acts give us the history of the infant Church during a period of thirty years—that is, from the ascension of our Lord until the first im- prisonment of St. Paul in Rome—and are divided naturally into two parts. In the first (i.-xiii.) St. Luke describes the descent of the Holy Ghost; the first conversions amongst the Jews in Judea and the neigh- boring provinces, wrought through the preaching and miracles of the apostles and disciples, but especially of St. Peter; the death of St. Ste- phen and of St. James the Greater; the conversion of the treasurer of the Ethiopian queen Candace and of the centurion Cornelius; the persecu- tion of the apostles and faithful in Judea; and the miraculous change of the persecutor Saul into the apostle Paul. The last sixteen chapters are taken up with a description of the missionary labors of St. Paul, his tire- some, dangerous and repeated voyages to Judea, Asia Minor, Greece and the neighboring islands, and the book closes with an account of his voy- age, shipwreck and arrival at Rome as prisoner. The exact date of the composition of the book is uncertain. We can only say with safety that it was after the first imprisonment of St. Paul in Rome, A. D. 63; for, that event is given at the end of the book; and after St. Luke had published his Gospel, for that book is called his first treatise. Acts i. 1. The book itself, independent of its historical value, is rich in instruction and edification. Example is more powerful than precept; and the Acts are filled with the grandest examples of virtue and Christian courage. The infant Christian Church is the model of every social and do- mestic virtue. The unity of mind and heart of the first faithful must excite us to nourish and foster those same virtues. The burn- ing zeal of the apostles to labor and suffer for Jesus, the good works of Cornelius and Dorcas, inspire us to their imitation. The prayers of the faithful of Jerusalem for the prince of the apostles and the miraculous deliverance of Peter in answer to those prayers, and of that of St. Paul from the prison of Philippi, bring home to our hearts the words of our Saviour: “Amen I say to you; if you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it you.” John xvi. 23. The pious and longing desire of the early Christians for the word of God (xx. 7), their earnestness in destroying bad or danger- ous books (xix. 19), their respectful love and devotion shown for their teachers and bishops, their courageous fidelity in the midst of persecutions and sufferings, all inspire us to make good resolu- tions to imitate their example. On beholding the great Saint i Paul preaching Christ to Jews and Gentiles, and yet at the same time supporting himself by the labor of his own hands (xviii. 3; xx. 34), who is there that does not feel that the practice of religion is no obstacle to the fulfilment of the duties of one's state of life? And if the history of these apostles represents them at one time in prison, then in perils of shipwreck, again undergoing persecutions of every kind from Jew and heathen, should not the timid and carnal-minded Christian be ashamed of himself, to bear the name of Christian, and yet to work so little for the spread and support of the Church of Jesus Christ, and for his own salvation? These are some of the lessons the Holy Spirit desires us to draw for our profit from this holy and inspired book. THE APOSTLE ST. PAUL. From the original in Brancacci Chapel, Florence. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE, 109 H ul º | º | | | iTT | | º | | | º – º º | º | | #ºſſ |º ſº | º º * ; º \ (W º | . º tº ſº ST. PAUL WRITING HIS EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.–From an old painting. THE APOSTOLIC LETTERS OR EPISTLES. ANCIENT PORTRAITS.–From the Catacombs of Rome. intended to give a complete idea of Christian doctrine, but were re stricted to some particular truth which the apostles judged necessary to be there and then specially explained. Other things were touched on only in passing, and very many were passed over entirely. Just as the holy Gospels do not give us the whole of Christ's teaching, so neither do these apostolic Epistles. The preachers of the word, by oral instruction, were expected to fulfil this mission, just as they do at the pres- BY the command of Jesus Christ their Lord (Matt. xxviii. 19), the apostles travelled to all parts of the then known world proclaiming the gospel. It was the living speech, the preaching by word of mouth of the divine truth, which they used in order to move the nations to embrace the faith. In working for the salvation of the faithful, however, they did not confine themselves solely to these means. As by their vocation, after hav- ing formed congregations, they were forced soon to leave them, they desired to give them in writing, what they no longer could do by word of mouth. They therefore directed their epistles either to established churches or to particular in- dividuals, to strengthen them in the faith, to console them under persecution and suffering, to warn them against dangers, but especially against the perils of threatening corrupt doctrine, so that the seed of divine truth, sown by them, might not be again choked. Sometimes they wrote also to congregations which had been founded, not by themselves, but by their disciples, knowing full well that their words would be accepted with grat- itude and reverence, and would have the greatest weight in their regard. These letters are called the apostolic Epistles. Peculiar circumstances gave rise to each one of these letters. They never were ent day. Matt. xxviii.; Rom. x. 17. But if they do not contain everything that was taught, yet as works of the Holy Spirit, they are priceless, and have always been regarded by Christians with reverence and devotion. They were read, together with the Gospels and books of the Old Tes- tament, in the public assemblies of the faithful, and with oral instruction, consti- tuted the fountains from which their faith and morality were nourished and strengthened. The letters which have come down to us as authentic, were writ- ten by the apostles Peter, Paul, John, James and Jude. The apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul, wrote fourteen of the twenty-one acknowledged by the Church. They were written at very different epochs, and, after the Gospels. constitute the richest treasure of Christian doctrine and wisdom. They are not ranged in the order in which they were written, but ac- cording to their length and the import- ance of the subject-matter they treat of. 11() J//S 7'ſ) ſº y O F 7// E H () I., Y CATH O L J C B I. B. J. E. THE EIPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. IN all times the Epistles of St. Paul have been the object of the affection and delight of every Christian soul, not merely because therein we find the dogmas of our holy religion, as well as the principles of sound morality and Christian discipline, enorced with incredible power of argu- ment, but (what is specially his gift) ren- dered not only credible, but acceptable, by his superhuman eloquence. With truth we call him eloquent, notwithstanding in his modesty he declares, that he was not skilled in speech, although he was in knowledge. It is true, he did not pay any attention to the study of eloquence or ora- tory, seeking for choice words, elegant ex- pressions, or the rounding and harmony of his sentences; but that eloquence which consists in sublime thoughts and lively images appropriate to the subject, which alone becomes a preacher of the truth, al- though not sought after by St. Paul, is in- separable from the expression of the wis- dom of that Apostle. St. Augustine, than whom there could be no better judge in such matters, after having given examples of his eloquence, taken from his different VIEW OF ANCIENT CORINTH, RESTORED. Sºz º | Ti º STATUE OF ST. PETER, AT Rom E. letters, says: “These things were not com- posed by human industry, but were put together with wisdom and eloquence by a divine mind, his wisdom not being di- rected to beautiful composition, but elo- quence could not separate itself from his wisdom.” But not to quote the testimony of friends, even heretics and heathens, the enemies of St. Paul, testify to the force and strength of his writings; and according to St. Chrysostom, pagans sought after them with avidity, and were in doubt whether to give the palm of superiority to him or to their most sublime writer and philoso- pher, Plato. It is not our intention to de- scribe the incomparable beauty of these Epistles. We will merely consider them as a supplement to or an exposition of the gospel, and therefore as an evident confir- mation of the truth and divinity of the gospel. St. Paul had studied in Jerusa- lem, and had learned from Gamaliel the knowledge of the Scriptures, but this knowledge did not aid him in acquiring the truth concerning the Redeemer of Is- rael. Not only an unbeliever, but a fu- rious enemy and persecutor of the Church, ; St. Paulis miraculously converted by Jesus Christ, whilst on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus, intent on taking as prisoners, all HIS TO R Y OF THE HO I, Y CATH O LI C B IB L E. Itti £2% Pºº | - º "| | - THE ROMAN FORUM IN ITS PRESENT STATE. whom he could find adoring the crucified One. He is baptized by Ananias, and by express command of Christ is destined to preach the faith. He does not go to Jerusalem to meet the other apostles, nor yet, does he stop in Damascus, to be instructed by approved disciples there in the doctrine of Jesus Christ, but begins immediately to preach in the synagogues of that city. the word of Christ, and with such zeal and energy, that the astonished and incredulous Jews can think of no other remedy to the conquests of the new apostle, than the desperate expedient of putting him to death. From a persecutor of the crucified Redeemer, in a moment he becomes His adorer and neophyte; from a neophyte he becomes a master, and such a master that his doctrine is approved and canonized by the apostles themselves, and especially by their prince, St. Peter, who by an express encomium, the like of which is found nowhere in the apostolic letters, wished to ren- der solemn testimony to the wisdom of our apostle. These are facts re- lated in the Acts, and often repeated with frank boldness in the presence of his enemies, by St. Paul himself. The perfect conformity, then, be- tween the teaching of St. Paul and that of the other apostles, who had received the heavenly doctrine from the lips of our Saviour Himself, forces us to recognize the fact, and to conclude, that St. Paul received his knowledge of the gospel by a revelation granted him from heaven. If so, then the mission of St. Paul, independent of the miracles which pre- ceded and accompanied it, is the clearest proof of the truth of the gospel. But there is no stronger argument of this truth, and, so to speak, no more palpable one, than the writings themselves of the apostle. In them the Holy Spirit who dictated them, shines forth in such a way, that we see tlearly, that the Apostle learned these grand mysteries from heaven, and, #bove all, that sublime knowledge of the ineffable greatness of that Sa- viour, in whom it pleased the Father to renew all things, both in heaven and on earth. St. Paul is truly grand, and we might say surpasses even himself, whenever he treats of the incomprehensible riches we possess in Christ Jesus, and the immense benefits showered by him on the human race, and that excessive charity the limits of which we cannot conceive. It makes no matter what he is writing about, he soon speaks of Christ, whose adorable name is to be found in almost every line. With Him he begins, with Him he ends. He must speak of Him; for, his heart is filled with the thought and love of Him. “St. Paul,” says St. John Chrysostom, “although living upon the earth, yet had his abode and resting-place with the seraphim, nearer to Christ than courtiers and guards are to the kings of earth. He cared for nothing earthly, for he kept the eyes of his soul always fixed on his King.” Hence it was that he could truly boast, not only of having received, as his peculiar privilege, a great knowledge of Jesus Christ, but also of having been specially chosen to communicate this knowledge to the whole Church. Hence also we can easily under- stand, what must be the immense spiritual advantages to be derived from the study and meditation of these Epistles, and with what good reason that great student of our apostle, St. John Chrysostom, could say to the People of Antioch whom he was addressing: “I feel keen sorrow and great affliction because all do not know this great man as he should be known. . . . This happens, not because they are unable to understand him, but because they do not want to converse often with this saint. We ourselves, if we know anything, whatever we know, we can thank, not our own sharpness of mind, but his writings, which we continually study and love with the greatest affection. Wherefore, if in reading him, you pay strict attention, nothing else is wanted, for the saying is true: “Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.’” // /S TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O L / C B / B L E. †l. l º |º Ill - III | ||||| - | - | lin - Null it." º lºt º tº: † tºº Ilºilº --- *~! | - - ºl, ſlº ſº | º | º | !!! T - º ſ Illum un l | º º j | i. ºw-wº º ºil. Z/Z. *— º ſº THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE ROMANS. IT is most likely that Christianity gained a foothold in Rome at a very early day. There was constant intercourse and business traffic between the Jews residing there and their brethren of Palestine, Syria and Greece; of this fact we have copious testi- mony in history. There were Romans at the first Christian feast of Pentecost who were witnesses of the coming of the Holy Ghost. Acts ii. 10. Even though these may not have established a Christian congregation on their return home, still there can be no doubt that they prepared the field for the missionaries to come. According to tradition, St. Peter came first of the apostles thither, during the reign of Claudius, and shortly after the conversion of Cornelius. Acts xxx. 17. Afterward Andronicus and Junias preached the gospel there before the coming of St. Paul. Rom. xvi. 7. Our apostle had often resolved to go there, but had always been prevented. Rom. i. 10– 15. Whilst he was making his second visit to Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23; 1 Cor. i. 14), thinking about journeying to Jerusalem with the bearers of the charitable contribu- tions of Greece (Rom. xv. 23; Acts xx. 3; xxiv. 17), in the year 58 or 59, he seized the opportunity of sending this letter to the Romans, to testify his ardent de- sire of contributing to their salvation. The occasion which gave rise to it was the departure for Rome of Phoebe, who was employed in the ministry of the church of Cenchrea, the harbor of Corinth. Rom. xvi. 1, 2. It seems not only probable, but almost certain, that St. Peter was at that time absent from Rome, engaged in the work of his apostolate elsewhere; for, St. Paul would not otherwise have neglected to salute him in his Epistle, and it may be that the absence of their pastor had given courage to the wicked, to sow the bad seed of discord and contention, to uproot which is the scope of the whole letter of St. Paul. He shows himself to be the apostle of all, both Jews and Gentiles, whose duty it is to bind them all together into the one household of the faith. He undertakes to prove to them (i. 16, 17) that both Jew and Gentile have no right to claim anything for themselves in regard to their sal- vation, but that they must attribute all to God's grace through the faith given them. The choice of this subject was, as it were, forced on him, by the peculiar cir- cumstances which arose at that time among the converts from Judaism to paganism. In many instances, the Jewish converts, although sincerely embracing the faith of Christ, yet retained still an immoderate love for Moses and his law; they therefore THE EARLY CHRISTIANS OF ROME—LISTENING TO THE READING OF ST. PAUL's EPistle. wished that all converts from paganism should be subjected to the legal observances they had been wont to practice. This was the root of most of the grave disputes which sometimes disturbed the peace and tranquil- lity of the different churches. by their teachers, opposed always, and sometimes without due moder- ation, these unjust pretensions of their brethren. The Jewish converts boasted of their descent from Abraham, the father of the faithful, of the promises made by God to their forefathers, of the law given to them, of the Scriptures consigned to their care, and therefore despised the Gentiles, reproaching them with their past shameful idolatry and their bygone horrible corruption of morals. These, in their turn, did not forget to extol the wisdom of their illustrious lawgivers, the immense fund of knowledge of their philosophers, as well as the glorious deeds and moral virtues of their heroes; and to the reproaches of the Jews, they answered by corresponding bitter words, bidding them remember, how ungrateful they had always proved themselves, unfaithful to God, violators of His law, and, what is more, traitors and murderers of Christ. They therefore concluded that the privileges granted by God to Israel, far from giving them any ground for being preferred to the Gentiles in the kingdom of God, rather made them more guilty and undeserving of so great a favor; therefore it was that as a matter of fact, the greater part of the Jews remained steadfast in their incredulity, whilst the Gen- tiles in vast numbers had embraced, and daily were embracing, the The pagan converts, being well instructed gospel. To put a stop entirely to these disputes our apostle humbles both the one and the other, showing that by the sin of our first parents all men became the children of wrath; that all had sinned—the Gentiles against the natural law, the Jews against the written law—and therefore that no one could take glory to himself; that the vocation and the faith is a pure gift of God; that the law of Moses could not lead man to true justice or merit the grace of faith, and much less could the natural law; that it is faith animated by charity that renders us just in the sight of God, and that all else is of no avail. He then passes on to speak of the rejection of the Hebrew nation and of its future conversion, as well as of the deep mystery of predestination and reprobation. Such is the subject of the first eleven chapters. In the remainder of the book he gives admirable instruction concerning morality and Christian discipline, and terminates by sending his greetings and thanks. The letter was written originally in Greek, which language was at that time the common one, throughout the whole of the Roman empire. Of all his letters, it is the richest and most sublime, and consequently very hard to be understood. St. Jerome often laid it aside in despair, saying: “Paul, you do not want to be understood.” Speaking of its difficulty, St. Augustine says, that God allowed it, to humble the pride of the human mind, so that it would be forced to pray for understanding, and to seek for the many lessons contained therein. But the same Holy Spirit that gave it, the same in His Church watches over and interprets its meaning. (14 // ſ.S. 770 ſº Y OF THE HOLY CATH O L / C B / B L E. THE TWO EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS. CoRINTH was the principal city of the Greek province of Achaia, the Morea of our day, a rich commercial city with two harbors, a place famous for its worship of Venus, and hence given up to luxury and corruption, but at the same time renowned for its learned and eloquent citizens. On his return from Athens (Acts xviii. 1) in the year 52 or 54, St. Paul came to the city, and on the strength of a revelation made to him, of the good fruit to be gathered in there (Acts xviii.), he labored for eighteen months amongst them, converting many, but especially pagans, to the faith, and established a large congregation. The Jews, however, here as else- where, placed every obstacle in his way. Acts xviii. 6, 12, 13, 15. St. Paul had every reason to be satisfied with his Corinthian converts. On leaving them, however, to go to Ephesus and from thence to Jerusalem (Acts xix. 21), many returned to their former course of life, and gave the apostle occasion to write to them; but that letter has been lost, and all we know concerning it is, that the apostle forbade them, all intercourse with those who might corrupt them. 1 Cor. v. 9– 12. About the same time, certain Jewishly-inclined Christians, who came most likely from Pales- tine, introduced confusion into the new flock. Boasting of their own excellence (2 Cor. v. 12; xi. 18, 22), they gainsayed the teaching of St. Paul (2 Cor. xi. 4), made little of him (1 Cor. ix. 2), and extolled St. Peter. 1 Cor. i. 12. Whilst the apostle was absent, Apollo came to Corinth (Acts xviii. 24; xix. 1), a man learned in the Scriptures, who, however, did not differ from St. \||M||M| HISTORY OF THE HOLY CA. T H O LI C B I B L E. 115 º | % % % º - Paul in his teaching (1 Cor. iii. 6; xvi. 12), but only in the learned manner in which he imparted his instructions. There were therefore different kinds of teachers in Corinth, and soon parties arose favoring one or the other. Some were said to belong to Paul, others to Peter, others to Apollo. 1 Cor. i. 12. The obligation of obeying the ceremonial law of Moses, was not the only point of dispute amongst them. A man had married his stepmother; some in horror condemned it as incest, others looked on it as permissible. The custom of appealing to the Roman tri- bunals, taking part in heathen sacrifices, marriages with pagans, concu- binage, the veiling of females when present at divine service, the Lord’s Supper, the authority of philosophical argument for Christianity, the gifts of the Spirit, the resurrection of the dead—all these were points that were argued with great vehemence. The apostle heard of all these things whilst at Ephesus (1 Cor. xvi. 8, 19; Acts xviii. 19) partly from the servants of Chloe, a convert of Corinth, partly from rumor and partly from a letter sent him from Corinth. 1 Cor. i. 11; vii. 1; xvi. 15–18. This led him to write our first letter to the Corinthians, to instruct them on all these subjects and to warn them to preserve unity. The messen- gers were to carry the epistle back to Corinth, and at the same time Tim- othy, on his way from Macedonia, was to pass through that city (Acts xix. 22), most likely to inform the apostle what impression his epistle had made on the Corinthians. According to the apostle's view, the messengers would arrive in Corinth at Easter (1 Cor. v. 7, 8), and Tim- othy ought to return to Ephesus by the feast of Pentecost. 1 Cor. xvi. CoRINTo, ON THE SITE of THEANCIENT CITY OF CORINTH. 8–12. They must therefore have left Ephesus in the month of March, and thus the letter must have been written in that month of the year 57 or 58; for, St. Paul states particularly (1 Cor. xvi. 8, 9) that he would remain in Ephesus only till Pentecost of that year. The apostle, full of anxiety as to the impression made by his letter, sent besides Timothy, also Titus from Ephesus to Corinth, bidding him at the same time to see that collections were taken up for the poor. But in the mean time, he had to leave Ephesus (Acts xx. 1), and thought he might expect the return of Titus at Troas (2 Cor. ii. 12, 13), but he only met him in Macedonia. 2 Cor. vii. 5, etc. From him he learned that his epistle had not been in vain (2 Cor. vii. 7–9), but that it had not produced its full effect (2 Cor. vi. 14–18; xii. 21; xiii. 10); that many still strove to lower him in their estimation (2 Cor. ii. 15–17; iii. 1; i. 10); nay, that they went even farther, and accused him of weakness and irres- olution. 2 Cor. i. 12–23; x. 1–11; 1 Cor. iv. 18–21. This and much more he heard from Titus, and therefore wrote our Second Epistle to the Corinth- ians during his stay in Macedonia, and not long after the writing of his first. In this letter we behold him, as it were, a tender, loving father, who with sad heart, but still courageously, has been compelled to punish the transgressions of his children, who then awaits with care and anxiety the effect of the punishment, embracing with double affection the contrite and repentant loved ones, but, fully impressed with the dignity of his apostleship and with the greatness of his self-sacrifice for the spread of the gospel of salvation, resolutely casts off from him, all who stubbornly resist. 116 IIIS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C BIBLE. THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE GALATIANS. GALATIA was a province situated almost in the centre of Asia Minor, between Phrygia and Cappadocia, which received its name from certain hordes of Gauls, who in the third century before Christ had immigrated thither and had intermarried with the original inhabitants. On his sec- ond missionary tour, St. Paul came amongst them (Acts xv. 40; xvi. 6), and most likely established there at that time many congregations, A. D. 52 or 53; for, on his return from his third mission (Acts xviii. 23), passing again through Galatia, he found many who owed their faith to his labors. Gal. iv. 13. At both visits he was received with a hearty welcome, and was highly esteemed by the Galatians. iv. 13, 14. He had, however, been but a few months absent from them after his last visit (i. 9), when he heard at Ephesus, whither he had gone direct (Acts xix. 1), of great disturbances existing among them. As elsewhere, so here, Jewish-think- - ſ º – º - Nº º THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS. EPHESUs was the most important city of Asia Minor, a seaport with extensive commerce, populous, prosperous and wealthy. It was famous, the whole world over, for its temple of Diana, and was the headquarters of pagan magic and superstition. On his return from his second mission- ary tour, as he was going from Corinth to Jerusalem, St. Paul came to Ephesus, but did not delay long there. Acts xviii. 1, 19. He preached in the synagogue, and left behind him Aquila and Priscilla, who, to- gether with an Alexandrine Jew, a catechumen, learned in the Scrip- tures, continued to preach the name of Jesus Christ. St. Paul, however, returned to Ephesus (Acts xix. 1) A. D. 54, and for over two years he preached to both Jews and Gentiles and established a most flourishing ing heretics had come from Jerusalem, and were telling the Galatians that St. Paul was not a true apostle; that he taught the abrogation of the Mosaic law only to gain the good-will of the heathens; that every Chris- tian, if he wished to be justified and saved, must obey that law in all its details. To refute such dangerous doctrines St. Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians. By the clearest arguments he proves his mission and the entire agreement existing between his teaching and that of Peter and the other apostles (i. 11); he then shows that the observance of the law was no longer necessary, that it was useless for salvation (iii.-v. 13); but that a Christian, although freed from the Mosaic law, could not live as if without restraint, but rather his whole care should be to strive after charity, meekness and every virtue. He then passes on, as is his wont, to give some rules of discipline. The date of the letter must have been about the year 58, and the place where it was written, Ephesus. In close reasoning and similarity of thought, it can be compared with the Epistle to the Romans. chureh in and around the city, which afterward deserved to have for its special pastor the beloved apostle, St. John. By the commotion caused by Demetrius (Acts xix.) St. Paul was forced to flee into Macedonia. Whilst he was on his way from there to Jerusalem, to carry the alms that had been collected for the poor of the holy city, he was arrested by the Jews in Corinth, for violating the law, and put into prison. He defended himself before the governor, but not receiving satisfaction, he appealed to the emperor, and as a prisoner was carried to Rome. Acts xxi.-xxviii. It was in the Eternal City, whilst held captive, that he heard both good and bad reports concerning the churches of Asia Minor. Epaphros (Colos.) had informed him of the false doctrines which had crept into the church of Colosse; on the other hand, he received the most joyful tidings concerning the spread of the church at Ephesus. His apostolic zeal was excited for both. A certain Tychicus was about to set out from HIS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB I, E. 117 - Rome for Asia Minor. St. Paul seized the opportunity of sending two letters by him—one to the Colossians, warning them against heretical teaching, and the other . to the Ephesians, to strengthen and confirm them in their good dispositions. In the latter the apostle does not openly speak of any error, but we can easily see that his mind is running on the practices of magic, which might be a source of danger to the Ephesians. In the first three chapters, he speaks of the sublime mysteries of faith, the great blessings we have received through Christ, that all our good comes through Him; that His precious blood has united both Jew and Gentile into one family, the Church. He confesses that his mission is specially the conversion of the Gentiles, and that, to that end, all his labors and all his prayers tend. In the last three chap- ters he gives first, universal rules of Christian conduct, and ends with instructions adapted to particular states of life. The Epistle was written in Rome during the first imprisonment of St. Paul, A. D. 61–63, and is a glorious memento of his heroic nature, that whilst in bands himself his only thought was to win souls for Christ. The teach- ings of the apostle in this Epistle, are especially useful and applicable in our day, when men glory in their progress and enlightenment; for, if there is any truth the apostle strives to bring home to the Ephesians, it is this one, that the gospel truth and it alone can satisfy the mind and heart of man. THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS. PHILIPPI, so called after Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, was a cele. brated and influential city of Macedonia. St. Paul, having received a revelation from heaven, to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts xvi. 9, etc.), came to Philippi and preached there until, having driven out a pythonical spirit from a girl, who was of great profit to her master, both he and Silas were scourged and cast into prison, and were afterward begged to leave the city. During his stay, however, he had formed a small congregation of faithful, gathered mostly from the pagans. Acts xvi. 12. Again, when he was compelled to flee from Ephesus, he came to Macedonia and paid a visit to Philippi (Acts xx. 6), but did not stop long, as he was on his way to Jeru- salem. It was on this mission that he was taken prisoner, and finally led away to Rome. When the Philippians heard of the misfortunes of the apostle, whom they highly esteemed and loved sincerely, they sent Epaphroditus, one of their number, with a contribution of money for his support (Phil. iv. 18), just as they had formerly come to his assistance, when at Thessalonica (Phil. iv. 16) and at Corinth. 2 Cor. xi. 9. From no others did St. Paul ever receive any recompense for preaching the gos- pel, and therefore could show his beloved Philippians no greater mark of his love for º: them, than allowing them to come to his aid. From Epaphroditus, St. Paul learned Ps H º full details, concerning the church of Philippi. Some contentions had arisen, espe- {{! | #| ºw- A\ S. | % cially on account of the teaching of the Judaizing Christians, in favor of circumcision ºf ſºft'ſ E= . - - - - - - - *\tiº == º §º and the observance of the Mosaic law. This was sufficient to inspire the apostle to ------- write them a letter warning them against the threatening perversion. Epaphroditus fell sick whilst in Rome, and as soon as he recovered set out on his return home, car- rying with him the letter of St. Paul, the principal object of which is to encourage the Philippians to unity in charity and to warn them against false doctrines. It was written toward the end of his first imprisonment in Rome, A. D. 63 or 64, and shows the deep affection and sincere good-will the apostle entertained toward this portion of the Lord's flock. HISTOR: Y OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE. - +. | --- - | | , ſº | º ºn' - - Lºcº &FE: §§ - --- ----- º Hº \ Ås - º ..","...[] º º ººcºº 7Tºyº º % º I Dº º t º THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS. COLOSSAE was one of the principal cities of Phrygia, in Asia Minor. St. Paul was not the founder of the Christian flock there, but Epaphras, whom the apostle praises as a faithful disciple. i. 7; ii. 1. Here also dangerous doctrines had crept in amongst the faithful, which threatened to lead them astray. Not only Jewish-thinking Christians insisted on the observance of the Mosaic law (ii. 16), but heathen philosophy also, in direct opposition to the doctrines of Christianity, was exercising some evil influence. ii. 18. As these latter teachers, under the show of great learning, were being talked of and might destroy the good seed, which Epaphras had planted, this zealous disciple paid a visit to St. Paul, who had not long before arrived a prisoner in Rome. He tells him of the sad state of affairs at Colossae, and asks aid and counsel of him. This led St. Paul to write his Epistle to the Colossians. In it, with beauty, gravity and force, he proves against the false teachers, who boasted of their wisdom, that the fulness of wisdom is in Christ Jesus. This idea he develops with his wonted sublimity of language. He then warns them against false wisdom, showing them, how useless and dangerous it is; lastly, he points out the influence of Christian wisdom on life and morals. We see clearly in this Epistle, that it is the apostle of the world who comes forward to speak. Girded for the fight, he boldly meets his enemy, sure that he will be victorious. Each word is full of force and meaning, and in them all shines forth the low- ing heart of a care- ful father, whose highest happiness is the well-being of his children. Tychicus, a converted Jew of Asia Minor (Acts - $ºss- º- º xx. 4; Col. iv. 7–9), 4 and Onesimus, were # the bearers of the letter. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE | 19 SALONIKI, ON THE SITE OF THESSALONICA |Hill||1|1}}}''|| 2N I (C THE TWO EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL TO THE *I THESSALONIANS. THESSALONICA was one of the principal cities of Macedonia, inhabited by Greeks, Romans, and also by many Jews. It was in the year 52 or 53 that St. Paul, after leaving Philippi (Acts xvii. 1), came thither. He preached the word of God, and his labors were blessed with great success. Many converts were made, especially from among the Greeks, so that he could soon rejoice in the existence of a consid- erable Christian congregation. But according to their custom, the Jews showed themselves hostile to the new doctrines. They stirred up a commotion against the apostle, and he was forced to leave the city. He went first to Berea and preached the gospel there, God blessing his work; but being followed thither by his perse- cutors, he was again compelled to depart, and went to Athens. Acts xvii. 5–15. Full of solicitude and anxiety of mind for his children of Macedonia, whom he left exposed to the fire of persecution, whilst still so young in the faith, the apostle sent Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen the newly-formed flock. 1 Thess. iii. 1, 2. That disciple returned soon after, but did not find the apostle in Athens, but in Cor- inth. Acts xviii. 1. From him, the apostle learned many things that rejoiced his heart—their zeal in the faith, their firmness, their charity for their neighbor, and their fortitude in suffering for the name of Jesus (1 Thess. iii. 6; iv. 9)—but at the same time something that grieved him. Some were still inclined to sins of impu- rity, to fraud and deception (1 Thess. iv. 3); others to idle lives (iv. 11); whilst others were spreading false teaching concerning the second advent of Christ and the resurrection of the body. Therefore from Corinth, in the year 52 or 58, St. Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians. Its object is to confirm them in their love for the truth, to instruct them on the disputed points, and to warn them against the sins we have mentioned. He does this with his customary admirable tact, tempering his reprehension with great sweetness and tokens of his tenderest love, praising the good in them, and animating them to become in all things perfect. Whilst still at Corinth, St. Paul heard that although much good had come from his letter, yet, some still neglected to hear his words. Besides, other false teachers had arisen, who boasted that they had received a special revelation concerning the speedy second advent of our Lord; they even went so far as to show a forged let- ter of the apostle himself confirming their views. St. Paul, therefore, wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians, and most likely in the same year as the pre- ceding. In it he gives the necessary instruction and explanation of the doctrine of the second advent of Jesus Christ. But as he had, when present amongst them, taught them by word of mouth, he here, as it were, only touches on the va- rious points in dispute, so that his language, on account of its conciseness, has given some difficulty to interpreters. These two Epistles of our apostle were most likely the first, in the order of time, of his writings to the faithful. – H *Tºt º ºn Tillº º - sº | //7970 ſº y OF THE HO I, Y CA THO I, I C B / B L E. º % %| L º | * * º º in º | . ||| * ºl. | - I III - | -- | --i-in- - ||| º | - | --- -- - -- | ||||||||||||||| - - W. º º º - º º In ſºil - ſººn |% | - - IIIllul ºr nº i. | - In III ||||ſ||M||M||||||||| - ||||||||||| T - Tº - || º | “BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.”—ACTS XVI. 31. THE TWO EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL TO TIMOTHY. TIMOTHY was the son of a heathen father and a converted Jewish mother, and was born in Lycaonia, a province of Asia Minor. He was religiously educated by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois (2 Tim. i. 5), and was already a Christian when St. Paul met him in Lystra. Acts xvi. 1. The faithful of that city and of Iconia having ren- dered the best testimony to his virtues and talents, the apostle resolved to make him his apostolical companion, and at the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, bestowed on him immediately, both priestly and episcopal consecration. 1 Tim. iv. 14; 2 Tim. i. 16. In order to do away with all cause for murmuring on the part of the Jews, Timothy was circumcised. From that time he was the steady companion of our apostle; and if ever separated from him, it was only for a time, and then only to fulfil commis- sions for the apostle, to obtain information concerning the youthful con- gregations, to comfort them in their trials, and to strengthen them in the faith. 1 Thess, iii. 1–5; Acts xix. 22; 1 Cor. iv. 17. During the first im- prisonment of St. Paul in Rome, when he wrote the Epistles to the Phil- ippians, Colossians and to Philemon, we know that Timothy was near the apostle. He seems also to have been imprisoned himself; for, he was set free shortly before the liberation of St. Paul. Heb. xiii. 23. On ob- taining his liberty, Paul, accompanied by Timothy, set out to visit the churches of Macedonia and Asia Minor, and left his beloved disciple in Macedonia. 1 Tim. i. 3. It was most likely from Philippi that he dis rected his first letter to Timothy, to give his beloved co-laborer prudent advice for his direction in his new pastoral charge. It was written in A. D. 63 or 64. The letter is an inexhaustible source of instruction, warning and of consolation for all entrusted with that most sublime office, the care of souls. Together with the second letter to Timothy and that to Titus, these three Epistles are called the pastoral letters of the apostle. Timothy continued to govern the church of Ephesus, when St. Paul, having returned to Rome, was preaching the faith of Christ once more in that capital of the world, and at last was imprisoned by Nero. 2 Tim. i. 8, 16, 17; ii. 9. His condition now was far different from that of his first imprisonment. He is treated as a criminal (ii. 9); he is often con- tradicted (iv. 14); his life is manifestly in danger (iv. 17); he is aban- doned by all (iv. 16); he is convinced of the near approach of his violent death (iv. 6), and finds his consolation in the thought of his eternal re- ward. iv. 6–8, 18; i. 12. From his prison he writes the second letter to Timothy, and it must have been shortly before his martyrdom, A. D. 67. In it, after having invited him to come and visit him in his prison, he animates him to constancy in his trials and persecutions; he again speaks to him of the high and important nature of his holy ministry, and of his manner of life as bishop. Cheerful content in the face of death; tender solicitude for his beloved son Timothy; anxiety for the Church, but at the same time confidence in her triumphant victory, such are the distin. Ephesus, to remain there as bishop, whilst he himself turned toward guishing traits of these two Epistles to Timothy. HISTORY OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLE THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO TITUS. TITUS was a pagan by birth (Gal. ii. 1– 3), but seems to have been converted in the earliest days of Chris- tianity; for, we find him in the company =l of St. Paul at the --> # time of the first |||||| Council of Jerusa- ºº i lem. Acts xvi. 1; Gal. ii. 1. The apostle re- fused to yield to the , who insisted on the | circumcision of Titus. He must have been with the apostle at Ephesus, when the first -> # St. Paul sent him shortly after to Corinth, | to find out what impression his Epistle had # produced. Titus, on his return, met the apostle in Macedonia. After that event we Wºjº have scarcely any further mention of Titus ºw # in history. From i. 5 of this letter, we learn that St. Paul had left him on the island of Crete, to provide for the necessities of the faithful there, to teach and strengthen them—in a word, to be their bishop. As to the exact time when this took place, it is difficult to determine. The Acts of the Apostles, which continue the history of St. Paul down to his first imprisonment at Rome, make no mention of this fact; therefore, it must have been after his liberation. The apostle seems, then, to have preached, A. D. 63 or 64, in Crete, and to fulfil his promised visits to his converts, to have left Titus there, to carry on and complete the work be- gun by him. On his journey he wrote this letter to Titus to encourage him and to strengthen the respect his flock should have for him. He in- vites him to come and visit him at Nicopolis. The subject-matter of the letter is much the same as that to Timothy. He is commanded to use special care in the selection of good priests and bishops, whose proper qualifications are mentioned. As the successor of the apostle, Titus THE ISLAND of CRETE, MoDERN CANDIA. seems to have labored also in other countries; for, 2 Tim. iv. 10 describes him as being in Dalmatia. Ecclesiastical history, however, records that he died bishop of Crete, at the venerable age of 94 years. THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO PHILEMON. PHILEMON was a noble and pious citizen of Colossae (5–7), whose slave Onesimus, on account of theft, had run away and sought refuge in Rome. He there met St. Paul, was kindly received by him, and became a con- vert to Christianity. St. Paul was then in prison, and would willingly have retained Onesimus on account of the many services he was render- ing him; but not wishing to do anything, without the consent of Phile- mon, he thought it best that Onesimus should return to his master and beg his pardon. He therefore sent him back and gave him this letter of recommendation, in which he solicits a cordial welcome for the criminal. The little letter must have been written about the end of his first im. prisonment, A. D. 64; for, the apostle looks forward to that event and asks for hospital- ity from Philemon. In it he gives us an example of true love of our neighbor, and in- structs us how to correct the erring, in all love and meek- ness, especially when they show signs of repentance and refor- mation. Philemon not only pardoned Onesimus, but gave him to the apostle as a servant. St. Paul made use of him on many important missions, or- dained him priest, and finally made him bishop of Berea, in Macedonia. Onesimus is hon- ored by the Church as a martyr. | Philemon likewise, whose faith, love and liberality are praised by the apostle, suffered martyr- dom under Nero, together with his wife Appia and his friend Aristarchus. Q li /2 From the Catacombs of San Ponziana. 122 // IS TO R Y OF THE HOLY CATH O LI C B IB L E. | º > º * )||N * - - > - º º N > - 7. | |T. W ||||| ==== THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE HEBREWS. THE Church of Christ has no more precious document, preserved by her in the sacred deposit of revelation, than this admirable Epistle, whether we consider its depth and sublimity of argument or its mascu- line, majestic eloquence. It needs only to be read to be at once recog- nized as sacred Scripture divinely inspired; for, in every chapter we behold the clearest manifestations of the Holy Spirit, by whom it was dictated. It is addressed to the Hebrews, by whom are understood not merely Jews or converted Jews, but especially Jewish converts, living in Palestine or in the East; for, it is clear that the letter is intended for those who had still the Jewish ceremonial worship as a cause of danger to their faith. We have seen that as a rule, the Jewish Christians retained a great love for the law of their fathers, as well as for the ceremonies and cus- toms of the same; nay, many went so far as to assert that a Christian could not be saved, unless he joined together the practices of Judaism with those of Christianity. If such was a danger for Jewish converts in general, how much more was it for those living in Palestine ! These had constantly before their eyes the existence of the Jewish republic and the ceremonial worship, with all its pomp and magnificence, still in a flour- ishing condition, and therefore might be led to conclude, that Judaism was not entirely abolished, and so ought to be united to the faith and practices of Christianity. Not only were they in danger of estimating the law too highly, but were ever exposed to the temptation of relapsing into their former errors and denying their faith. Oppression and con- MACEDONIAN CHRISTIANS BRINGING GIFTs To St. PAUL.—II. COR. VIII. 3–4. stant persecution was their ordinary state of life. Everything was done to crush out the detested religion of Christ, and their sad condition was daily growing worse and worse. Many, as this Epistle tells us, were made a public spectacle, exposed to the mockery and reproaches of the crowd; many had been deprived of all their possessions (x. 32–34); and the terrible ordeal of the times of the Machabees, was alone wanting, to fill up the chalice of the hatred of their enemies. xi. 34–39. These man- ifest dangers of apostasy gave rise to the present Epistle to the Hebrews, wherein the apostle gives a full and clear exposition of Judaism and Christianity, so as to warn and protect the faithful against all peril of relapse. For this end, he draws a comparison between the Jewish and Christian forms of worship. He shows that in virtue of her divine Founder, the Son of God, and of the means of sanctification given by Him, the Christian Church is far nobler and more glorious than the Jew- ish; that the Old Testament proves this truth; that the whole of Juda- ism, with its ceremonies, customs and regulations, was only a shadow of something higher and nobler; that after the coming of Christ and the establishment of His Church, the shadow lost all its force and meaning; that sacrifices, days of propitiation, altar, high-priest, all ceased; for the carnal and mutable had been superseded by the spiritual and eternal sacrifice of the Christian dispensation. These thoughts he develops somewhat as follows: By how much more excellent Christ is than the angels, so much does the gospel surpass the law; and if the denial of the law, which was given by the ministry of angels, be a great sin, how much greater must the denial of the gospel be which was given by the Son of God! i. As far as Christ, the Son, is more exalted than Moses, the servant, so also is the gospel far above the law; how much greater, therefore, must the sin of apostasy be for Christians! iii.; iv. As Christ HIST () /* Y O F THE HOLY CATH () L / C B I B L E. 123 ºn tº | º | | H | º III. !ººl -i. n |-- - Nº. === | º ſ ºl - - | | - L - | - | | - - | | | Illili - | | zº E- - - - - - I Illillº | | the High-priest far surpasses Aaron the high-priest, so also does the law 4, etc.; ix. 6; xiii. 10. It was most likely composed toward the end of of the gospel surpass the Mosaic law; how terrible, therefore, must it be the first imprisonment of St. Paul in Rome, A. D. 64. to fall away from that faith ! iv.–x. 31. He then encourages them to --- - stand fast in the faith and hope (x. 32; xii. 12), and warns them to be on their guard against dangerous doctrines, but especially against the danger of apostasy. The letter was at all times recognized as the work of St. Paul by the Greek Church; and if in the Latin Church, there were - some who attributed it to Luke or Barnabas, these few can form no diffi- culty against the common consent of the many, especially when we con- sider that no one ever called into question its divine character or doubted its canonicity. In the fourth and fifth centuries, however, all controversy ceased for ever amongst the faithful; for then, in the Councils of Hippo, Carthage and Rome, the Fathers, following the apostolic traditions, estab- lished the canon of sacred Scripture, and numbered the Epistle to the Hebrews amongst the Epistles of St. Paul. It has remained for the rationalistic criticism of modern times to open up the old dispute; but instead of diminishing the weight of evidence in favor of St. Paul, it has served only to strengthen the judgment of the Church. The Epistle was written originally in Greek, as is evident from its flowing style, its rounded periods, but especially from the texts of the Old Testament quoted in it, which are all taken from the Septuagint version. As to the date of its composition, it was certainly written before the destruction of CROSS OF SOLID GOLD. Jerusalem; for, the Jewish worship is recognized as still flourishing. viii. Worn by St. Cuthbert and found in his tomb. HISTOR: Y OF THE HOLY CA THOLIC BIBLE. º ſ ſº ºr. Tº ſº | - THE CATHOLICEPISTLE OF ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE. |F. E. H TIIIſ FAITH WORKING BY CHARITY. (John xix. 25), and had for brothers, Joseph, Simon and Judas Thaddeus. Matt. xiii. 55; Jude 1. After the ascension of our divine Lord, he became bishop of Jerusalem. Gal. i. 19; Acts xii. 17; xv. 13; xxi. 18; Gal. ii. 9. He always led an austere life. According to Hegesippus, one of the oldest ecclesiastical writers, he lived the life of a Nazarene, eating no flesh, drinking no wine, and always intent on prayer. His piety was a wonder to the Jews, who surnamed him the Just. To his unjust martyrdom by the Jews, the historian Josephus attributes the manifold terrible misfortunes which afterward overwhelmed his nation. Being taken to the summit of the temple, he was called upon to make a profession of his faith in Jesus Christ, which he nobly and generously gave. He was then cast head- long down, but was not killed; he continued to pray, and was then stoned to death. This took place about the year 64. It must have been after the year 51, when St. Paul returned from his first mission amongst the nations, and before 64, that the letter was written. The circumstances of the times gave rise to its composition. For fear of the persecution, many Christians were in danger of apostatizing from the faith. The doctrine of justification by faith, so insisted on by St. Paul, had occasioned some misunderstanding, so that many considered good works as of no avail; hence arose uncharitableness, oppression of the poor, dissoluteness and wickedness. To combat these evils, which were beginning to inflict injury, St. James wrote this Epistle, which, as bishop of Jerusalem, and therefore, apostle of the Jews, he addressed to the Jewish converts living amongst the pagans. It contains instruction (i.), warnings (ii.-v. 7) and consolation. In the Oriental style, the apostle writes in detached sentences, much after the manner of the book of Prov- erbs. It was written most likely in Greek; for, the texts quoted are from the Septuagint version. It was undoubtedly written in Jerusalem. Its authenticity was only questioned after the time of the so-called Refor- mation, and then not on any historical ground, but on account of its teaching, which is so explicit, concerning the necessity of good works for salvation, and also concerning the sacrament of Extreme Unction, both of which points of faith were denied by Protestants of that period. as were the Epistles of St. Paul, all the faithful. THIS Epistle is called catholic—that is, universal (as were formerly also the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude)—because it was not addressed to a particular congregation, or church or person, for the instruction, warning and consolation of We read of two Saints James in the Gospels, both of whom were apostles. The one, James the son of Zebedee and brother of John the Evangelist, was called the Elder or the Greater; but was intended and James, the son of Cleofas or Alpheus, a cousin-german of our divine Lord, and therefore called by Hebrew usage His brother, was surnamed the Less or the Younger. Matt. x. 3. This letter could not have been written by James the Elder; for, he suffered a martyr's death in the year 42 or 43 (Acts xii. 2), and at that time Christianity had not as yet ex- tended itself notably outside of Palestine, which circumstance is taken for granted in the greeting of the letter. i. 1. The missionary career of St. Paul amongst the nations only began in the year 44 or 45. St. James the Less is therefore, by the unanimous voice of tradition, the author of the Epistle. He was the son of Mary, a near relative of the Mother of God ALPHA AND OMEGA. A seal ring found in the Catacombs. B. EUCHARIST. SYMBOL OF An ornament found in the Catacombs, HIS TO R Y OF THE H () I., Y CA THO I, I C B I B L E. 125 ". == i | | º | Pº TV %*— - - THE TWO EPISTLES OF ST. PETER THE APOSTLE. SIMON PETER, the prince of the apostles (Matt. xvi. 16) and supreme pastor (John xxi. 13), whose life is narrated in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, set up his episcopal see, first in Antioch and afterward, in Rome; but like the other apos- tles, he travelled about the various parts of the Roman empire, either to introduce the light of the Gospel or to strengthen the faith of those already - i H º º -© - º - l, - -NNS s—w º N *\" www. §§ - \ *NE º º =>\º \\\\\\; B --- w sºlºs W º s /*- - converted. According to the best authorities, he yº labored in Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy, besides Palestine. As his first letter is addressed to the Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cap- s sº > padocia, Bithynia and Asia, there can be no doubt _* º > that he preached the faith there. The object of { the letter was to confirm the faithful in their be- º /* s lief, to encourage them to perseverance in suffering A. %. and persecution, and to warn them, concerning holiness of life. It was º s written in Greek, whilst St. Peter was in Rome. This city, according to the received mode of speech amongst the Christians of that time, he calls ( \ º Es Babylon. v. 13; Apoc. xiv. 8. The date cannot be determined with ac- | º S. curacy. As St. Peter wrote his second Epistle shortly before his martyr- º dom (2 Pet. i. 13–15), and to the same Christians (2 Pet. iii. 1), the space º of time intervening between the two must have been short. He was put 2 * ſ/ to death June 29, A. D. 67. " The second letter was addressed to the same Christians of the East as | is - - his first. 2 Pet. iii. 1. With St. Paul, he was defending the faith against N —— the famous magician Simon, a great favorite of Nero. He was in conse- A \ºs º quence sought after by that emperor. As he was about leaving the city, Jesus Christ appeared to him; \\ º - º and on Peter asking Him, whither He was going, the Saviour replied: “I go to Rome to be crucified again.” From these words, Peter understood that it was God’s will, that he should return to Rome and = −. º end his life by a glorious martyrdom. Such is the tradition concerning that event. He seems to allude * ~2%iz ſº | to this apparition in these words: “Being assured that the putting off of this my tabernacle is at hand, Ø- º N sº // % even according as our Lord Jesus Christ hath signified to me.” i. 14. The subject-matter of this Epistle * & CŞ sº / º! is the same as that of the first. He admonishes them again, to lead virtuous lives, to stand firm in the own foºp, with the Book. faith and to avoid all false doctrine, but especially that, calling into question the second advent of Christ. This engraving is from the original in the Trastevere, The authenticity of this second letter was doubted by some of the early writers; but after the Councils Rome. It is of neºlinai" with sº Pºº "º of Laodicea and Carthage, since the fourth century, it has always been recognized as the work of St. and though scarcely fine as a specimen of work, it is - - peculiar in the commanding spirituality and the won- Peter, and as belonging to the canon of sacred Scripture. derful appearance of life in its expression. 19ſ, // 1,870 R Y OF THE H O L Y CATH O L / O B J B L E. º º *N º ºf aſ a * . . º, º ºs | | ſ ; t --- | N § § THE T mer Epistles OF ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE. THE first Epistle of St. John has from the earliest times been recog- nized as his composition, so that whatever may have been brought against its authenticity, is undeserving even of notice, St. Polycarp, a disciple of St. John himself, speaks of it; so also do St. Irenaeus and other Fathers of the primitive times, Besides its subject-matter, the argument and style of language, all show that it was written by the author of the fourth Gospel. As in that Gospel St. John proves that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God, so in this Epistle his great object is to warn the faith- ful against every teaching that denies this fundamental truth. The ex- hortations to mutual love which are so impressively enforced in the Gos- pel are repeated almost word for word in the Epistle (ii. 7–11); and in the further development of this same obligation, to love one another, we cannot fail to recognize the heart of St. John, striving to make all prac- tice the ardent charity he himself had drunk in from the bosom of his divine Master. v. 3; iii. 22–24; ii. 24; John xiv. 15, 21; xv. 9, 10. Ac- cording to the received opinion of interpreters, this Epistle accompanied the transmission of his Gospel to the faithful, and therefore was written at Ephesus about the same time as the Gospel itself. In it the apostle warns the faithful of Asia Minor who were under his care, to be on their guard against the spirit of the world, to avoid heretical teachers, and to show forth the working of their faith by a virtuous life. He especially refutes those false teachers who, glorying in their wisdom, either denied the com- ing of Jesus Christ and His life on earth or held it to be without meaning, and who, by their immoral habits and dissensions, were causing great scandal in the Church. The second letter was written most probably to a noble matron, surnamed Electa, to confirm her in Christian faith and charity, and to warn her against paying any attention to false doctrines which attacked the divinity of Christ and the truth of the incarnation. In the third Epistle St. John writes to a certain Gaius, most likely of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23), celebrated for the hospitality he afforded St. Paul and all Christians. In both these letters St. John speaks of him- self as the elder; but both the style in which they are written and the ideas therein expressed, as well as the perpetual tradition of the Church, show that the beloved disciple was their author. As to the time or place in which they were written we know nothing certain. THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF ST. JUDE THE APOSTLE. ST. JUDE or Thaddeus was a son of Alpheus and brother of St. James the Less, and is called a brother of our Lord, because of the very near relationship of his mother Mary to Mary the Mother of our divine Sa- viour. He wrote this letter not to any particular congregation, but to all the faithful (hence it is called catholic or universal, and is very like the second chapter of the second Epistle of St. Peter; whence, many have con- cluded, that the one was made use of in the composition of the other). As to which letter was first written, we cannot decide; neither can we tell the time or place of the composition of that of St. Jude. He writes against the same heretics whom St. Peter refutes. Origen, speaking of this Epistle, says: “Jude wrote a letter small in bulk, but full of the most forcible arguments of heavenly grace.” HISTOR Y 0 F THE HOLY CATH O LI C B 1 B L E. 27 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE. ST. JOHN ON THE ISLE OF PATMOS. lation into the eternal heavenly kingdom, at the consummation of ages, when the Lord will come to judge the living and the dead. It enlightens us on all these subjects—not in the usual prophetic style, foretelling often without figure precisely what future events will occur, but rather it presents to our view a series of allegorical visions, one depending on the other in a most wonder- ful manner, and all making up a complete picture of the destiny of the Church on earth, from her first struggle down to her final triumph over all at the end of time. After the introduction (i. 1–19), the book is divided into two principal parts. The first informs us of the condition of the seven churches of Asia Minor, and is intended as a picture of the whole Church; the second foretells what is to come to pass, viz., the combats and victory of the Church over her enemies. In these prophecies we are told, first, what will be the struggle of the Church with Judaism and of her triumph over it. Jerusalem is destroyed. In a series of vis- ions we behold her punishment; her land, city and altar are to be given up to desolation; her total overthrow is proclaimed. iv.–xii. After this exposition of the victory of the Church over Judaism, the prophecies go on to declare the triumphs of Christianity over paganism, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem, strove with increased fury and greater power to annihilate the Church. Paganism with its innumerable hosts encounters in deadly conflict the small army of Christ. Heaven decides in favor of the holy warriors; and in a series of allegor. ical visions we behold the overthrow of the Roman empire, as well as of the idolatrous and corrupt city of Rome. xiii-xix. Then for a long THE Apocalypse or Revelation is the only book of the New Tes- time Christianity obtains dominion over the earth. xx. 1–6. Satan, dur- tament which has prophecy for its sole object. It treats of the world- |ing this long period, having been deprived of his power to seduce men wide expansion of the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth, of its vic- as he had done during the days of Roman paganism, is once more, in the tory over both of its enemies, Judaism and paganism, and of its trans- end of time, let loose to lead the world astray. The struggle is now re- 128 // 1870ſ: Y OF THE I/O LY CATH O LI C B II, L. E. | that such interpreters had already formed their conception of its plan, and were determined to explain everything in ac- | cordance with their preconceived notions. The general out- H line we have given, is the one commonly received in the Church, and in it, every sentence has a reasonable meaning, and can be easily understood. For the faithful, the reading and meditation of the book should be a source of great con- solation and plentiful instruction. Our Saviour Himself to: ward the end of the same admonishes us to make such use of Hiſ it. The glorious picture of the happiness of the saints and * the condemnation of the reprobate, was intended to serve as a sº support to the faith of Christians in all ages until the last * day, the great day of judgment, which in the whole of the HNew Testament is proposed so often as the object of the ex- pectation of the people of God. The persecutions of the i Roman emperors had already begun. Heresies were to newed. Infidelity seeks again to destroy Christianity, but in vain. Christ arise and to tear the bosom of the Church. They who would strive appears. Satan and his followers are cast into hell. The dead rise to live piously in Christ Jesus would always be compelled to suffer again, are judged; and the Church, heretofore earthly, passes into the persecution; but in the latter days that persecution would become terri- heavenly kingdom. xx. 7-xxii. 15. Then with a brief admonition and ble, insomuch that if it were possible even the elect would fall away. encouragement the book is concluded. xxii. 16–21. Such is the sublime Matt. xxiv. 24. For the consolation, then, of the faithful, the eternal subject of this revelation. St. John tells us himself, that he is the author and immutable law is set before our eyes, viz., that only through much of it. i. 1; iv. 9; xx. S. Even granting that a cunning deceiver might | labor and suffering can we gain our crown and happiness; but in these have interpolated his name, the book itself would contradict that suppo- struggles God is always with those who fight, restraining the power and sition. Its spirit is pure, holy, earnest and apostolic. All the most forces of our enemies, and moderating according to His will and for His ancient testimonies agree in declaring it the work of St. John. Papias, own designs the bad use they make of their talents, adapting them to the a disciple of St. John, St. Ireneus, Justin, Origen and many others salvation and glorification of His elect. Hence those magnificent pic- speak of it as being composed by him; and if, in the fourth century, tures of the providence, with which the Prince of pastors watches over His some hesitated as to the name of its author, the Councils of Carthage beloved flock; of the wisdom, with which He makes everything work to- and Rome, which examined critically the whole of the tradition con- |gether unto good for those who love Him; of His justice, in humbling cerning the books of sacred Scripture, decided that the Apocalypse is and subduing oppressors; of His mercy and goodness, in consoling from the genuine composition of St. John, and divinely inspired. That time to time, by unlooked-for events, the hopes of the good; hence at last decision has never been questioned in the Catholic Church. As to we have portrayed, for the benefit of the whole world, that immense and the date of its composition, it is commonly attributed to the reign of inexpressible liberality with which the Lord will reward for ever, the mo- Domitian, although stronger arguments could be brought for the reign mentary tribulations of this life. Such is the consoling object of the of Nero. The overthrow of Jerusalem and its temple is foretold, and work. May we all profit by reading it piously and attentively 1 May therefore they are supposed to be still in existence (xi. 1); but in the we all pay heed to its last warning cry! They are the words of Jesus: time of Domitian, they were already destroyed. The reign of Nero, or “Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” May we all be shortly after, A. D. 68, would be a probable date. As to the place where always ready, dressed in our wedding garments, prepared to welcome it was composed, although commonly said to be the island of Patmos, Him, and so enter in with Him to celebrate our nuptial feast for ever ! this also is not certain. St. John certainly received his visions whilst an exile there (i. 9), but he does not say that he wrote them down whilst there. Much controversy has always existed concerning the interpreta- A TMI IE INT I "THE B O O K OF G ENESIS. • {1, xok is so called from its treaturig of the GENERAtiox, th...t is, of the creation, and the beginning of the world. The Heó, evos call it Brresith, from the word with which it begins. It cºntains not only the history of the creation of the world, but also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 wears ..hat is, until the death of Joseph. CHAP. I. Jod createsh heaven and earth, and all things therein, in sia: days. N the beginning God created heaven and earth. 2 And the earth was void and empty, and dark- ness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved over the waters. 3 And God said: Be light made. And light was made. 4 And God saw the light that it was good : and ne divided the light from the darkness. 5 And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night: and there was evening and morning one day. 6 And God said: Let there be a firmanent” made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made a firmanent, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And God called the firmament, Heaven ; and “he evening and morning were the second day. 9 God also said: Let the waters that are under “he heaven, be gathered together into one place : and et the dry land appear. And it was so done. 10 And God called the dry land, Earth: and the gathering tºgether of the waters he called Seas. And iod saw that it was good. - 11 And he said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. 12 And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that heareth fruit, having seed each one ºins to its kind. And God saw that it was É000. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said: Let there he lights made in | the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and th might, and let them be for signs, and for seasons and for days and years: - 15 To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done. 16 And God made two great rights.f a greater light to rule the day, and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars. 17 And he set them in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth. 18 And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. d 19 And the evening and morning were the fourth 8 W. % God also said: Let the waters bling forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven. 21 And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, every winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea ; and it t the birds be multiplied upon the earth. day. 24 And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so done. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth ac- cording to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the carth after its kind. And Giod saw that it was good. 26 And he said: Let us make man to our imaged and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. - 27 And God created man to his own image . to the image of God he created him. male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, saying: Increase 23 And the evening and morning were the fifth * A firmament. By this name is here udderstood the whole space between the earth and the highest stars. The lower part of which | ** and made the sun, moon and stars. The moon, though much less | than the stars, is here called a great light, from its giving a far greater divideth the waters that are upon the earth, from those that are above "light to the earth than any of them. in the clouds. # Two great lights. God created on the first dav light, which being moved from east to west, by its rising and setting rºde morning and evening But on the fourth day he ordered and distributed this light, f Let us make ran to our image: . This image of God in man, is not in the body, but in the soul; which is a spiritual substance, endued with understanding and free-will. God speaketh here in the plural mini, ber, to insinuate the plurality of persons in the Deity. Q Yºr & ſ • ***... -- --- - GENES S and multiply,” and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth. %;"And God'said: Behold ihave given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be "Our meat : 30 And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was so done. 31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day. CHAP. II. God resteth on the seventh day and blesseth it. The earthly paradise, in which God placeth man. He commandeth him not to eat of the tree of knowledge. And formeth a woman of his rib. () the heavens and the earth were finished, and k-2 all the furniture of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he restedt on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 4. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth : 5 And every plant of the field "eſcre it sprung mp in the earth, and every hero of the ground before :: grew: for the Lord God had not rained upon the *arth; and there was not a man to till the earth. 6"But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface of the earth. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 8 And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. • 9 And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of lifeſ also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledges of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads. ll The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth. 12 And the gold of that land is very good: there is found lºdellium and the onyx stone. . 13 And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris the same passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the Lord God took man, and out him intº the paradise of pleasure, to dress it and to keep it. 15"And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat: 17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evi thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. 18 And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself. . 19 And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam called any living creature, the same is its name. 20 And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not found a helper like himself. 21 Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam : and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it. 22 And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought het to Adam. 23 And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. 24. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mo- ther, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh. 25 And they were both naked; to wit, Adain and his wife: and were not ashamed. . CHAP. III. The fall of our first parents. The promise of a redeemer. The serpent’s craft. These punishment. NOW the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath. God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise f . 2 And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise, we do eat : 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat: and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. * Increase and multiply. This is not a precept, as some protestant controvertists would have it, but a blessing, rendering them fruitful: for God had said the same words to the fishes, and birds, (ver. 22.) who were incapable of receiving a precept. # 1 le rested, &c. That is, he ceased to make or create any now annºls of th; tıgs. Though, as our lord tells us, John v. 17. He still u erketh, viz. by conserving and governing all things, and creating souls. f The tree of life. So called, because it had that quality, that by eating of the fruit of it, man would have been preserved in a con º state of health, vigour, and strength, and would not :.ave died at all. # The tree of knowledge. To which the deceitful serpent falsely ge. tributed the power of imparting a superior kind of knowledge bey and | that which God was pleased to give | () CHAP. IV. 5 For G d doth Know that in what day soever you shall eat there of, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And the w; oman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to '...'r husband, who did eat. 7 Aud the eyes” of them both were opened : and when they perceived themselves to be naked, thew sewed together fig-leaves and made them- selves aprons. 8 And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. 9 And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him : Where art thou ? 10 And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. - 11 And he said to him : And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? - 12 And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13, And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The ser- pent deceived me, and I did eat. - - 14 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Be- cause thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed annong all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon th breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. 15 } will put enmities between thee and the wo- man, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crushf thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. 16 To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee. 17 And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work: with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. - 18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to ther; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth. ...19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou w8s, taken : for dust thou art, and into dust thou shal. return. - 20 And Adam called the name of his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them. 22 And he said: Behold, Adami is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now therefore lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. 23 And the Lord God sent him out of the pala . of pleasure, to till the earth from which he w a takell. 24 And he cast out Adam : and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. - CHAP IV. The history of Cain and Abel. ND Adam knew Eve his wife: who conceived and brought forth Cain, saying: I have gotten a man through God. 2 And again she brought forth his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, and Cain a husband- IIlºiſſl. 3 And it came to pass after many days, that Cain offered, of the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord. 4 Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat; and the Lord had respects to Abel and to his offerings. 5 But to Cain, and his offerings he had no respect: º Cain was exceeding angry, and his countenance €ll. 6 And the Lord said to him: Why art thou an- gry P. and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou do well, shalt thou not receive P but iſ ill, shall not sin forthwith be present at the door * but the lust thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it. 8 And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew" him. - 9. And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered: I know not; am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And he said to him: What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the earth. 11 Now therefore cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy lº at thy hand. 12 When thou shalt till it, it shall not its fruit: a fugitive and a vagabond s upon the earth. º to thee alt thcu be *-> z' cence, and incurred the dreadful evil of sin. * And the eyes, &c. Not that they were blind before (for the woman ** that the tree was fair to the eyes, ver, 6.) nor yet that their eyes were ºpener any more perfect knowledge of good; but only to the un- happy experience of having lost the good of original grace and inno- From whence followed a shame of their being naked; which they minded not before; be- cause being now stript of original grace, they quickly began to be subject to the shameful rebellions of the flesh. * She shall crush. Iosa, the woman: so divers of the fathers read { kd this place, comformably to the Latin: others read it insum, viz the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head. o - . f Behold, Adam, &c. This was spoken by way of reproaching him with his pride, in affecting a knowledge that might make him like to God. * Had respect, &c. That is, shewed his acceptance of his sacrifive (as coming from a heart full of devotion); and that, as we may suppose. by some visible token, such as sending fire from heaven upon his wifarings - 11 ---------— -- -_* GENESIS. 13 And Cain said to the Lord: My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon. 14 Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the earth: every one therefore that find- eth me, shall kill me.” iš Ānd the ford said to him: No, it shall not so be : but whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished seven-fold. And the Lord set a markt ūpon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive on the earth at the east side of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife,f and she conceived, and brought forth Henoch: and he built a cit ;S and called the name thereof by the name of his son Henoch. 18 And Henoch begot Irad, and Irad begot Ma- viael, and Maviael begot Mathusael, and Mathusael begot Lamech. 19 Who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Sella. * 20 And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of herdsmen. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of them that play upon the harp and the organs. 22 Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and artificer in every work of brass and iron, And the sister of Tubalcain was Noema. 23 And Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man|| to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own bruising. 24 Seven-fold vengeance shall be taken for Cain: out for Lamech seventy times seven-fold. 25 Adam also knew his wife again : and she brought forth a son, and called his name Seth, say- ing: God hath given me another seed for Abel whom Cain slew. 26 But to Seth also was born a son, whom he called Enos: this man began to call upon] the name of the Lord. CHAFTER W. The genealogy, age and death of the Patriarchs from Adam to Noe. The translation of Henoch. THIS is the book of the generation of Adam. {} In the day that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female; and blessed sº Gº * . . 2 ******* * *******************zº- * * • • . . . . - - . . . .es/, 7 ". * - iſ 2 r. * : *r . . . . . . .”. e ºf : -... . . . * • - . . . . . .” -: * xx - ..” a - , . • * * - ' º - - * - e * . . . . . - * * - - - Aº them: and called their name Adam, in the day when th; were created. . And Adam lived a hundreid and thirty years and begot a son to his own image and likeness, an called his name Seth. * --~ , = 4 And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters. * - 5 And all the time that Adam lived, came to nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. 6 Seth also lived a hundred and five years and begot Enos. 7 And Seth lived after he begot Enos, eight hun- dred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. 9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After whose birth he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died. 12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Malaleel. 13 And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. 15 And Malaleel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. - ió And Malaleel lived after he begot Jared, eight ° hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daugh- terS. - 17 And all the days of Malaleel were eight hun- dred and ninety-five years, and he died. 18 And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Henoch. 19 And Jared lived after he º Henoch, eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 20. And all the days of Jared were nine-hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. 21 And Henoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Mathusala. - 22, And Henoch walked with God; and lived after he begot Mathusala, three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. - 23 And all the days of Henoch were three hun- dred and sixty-five years. . 24 And he walked with God, and was seen no more : because God took him. . 25 And Mathusala lived a hundred and eighty- seven years, and begot Lamech. * * Every one that findeth me shall kill me. His guilty conscience made m fear his own brothers and nephews; of whom, by this time, there ight be a good number upon the earth; which had now endured Cear 130 years; as may be gathered from Gen. v. 3. compared with Chap. iv. 35., though, in the compendious account given in the scrip- ture only Cain and Abel are mentioned. . | Set a mark, &c. The more common opinion of the interpreters of holy writ, supposes this mark to have been a trembling of the body; or a horror and consternation in his countenance. * | His wife, &c. She was a daughter of Adam, and Cain's own sister; God ...ºf with such marriages in the beginning cf the world, as usaukind could not otherwise be propagated. T-- **- ! He built a city, viz. In process of time, when his race was mu- tiplied, so as to be numerous enough to people it. For in the . hundred years he lived, his race might be multiplied even to ITIL roſl S. - - | I have slain a man, &c. It is the tradition of the Hebrews, that Lamech, in hunting, slew Cain, mistaking him for a wild beast- and that having discovered what he had done, he beat so unmercirully the youth, by whom he was led into that mistake, that he died on the blows. ... • * Began to call upon, &c. Not that Adam and Seth had not called upon God, before the birth of Enos; but that Enos used more sº- lemnity in the worship and invocation of God. i {\ 12 CHAP VI, VII 26 And Mathusala lived after he begot Lamech, reven hundred and eighty-two years, and begot sons 'und daughters. 27 And all the days of Mathusala were nine hun- dred and sixty-nine years, and he died. 28 And Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot a son. ~. . 29 And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall comfort us from the works and labours of our hands on the earth, which the Lord hath cursed. - 30 And Lamech lived after he begot Noe, five hundred and ninety-five years, and begot sons and daughters. - 31 And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. And Noe, when he was five hundred vears old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth. .. CHAP. VI. Man's sin is the cause of the deluge. Noe is commanded to build the ark. AN D after that men began to be multiplied upon +*- the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 The sons of God” seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose. 3 And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, because he is flesh, and his days shall bet a hundred and twenty years. 4. Now giantsí were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown. 5 And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, 6 It repented him$ that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with sor- row of heart, . 7. He said: I will destroy man, whom I have cre- ated, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noe found grace before the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a Just and perfect man in his generations, he walked with §. 10 And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, ar Japheth. w ll And the earth was corrupted before God, an was filled with iniquity. 12 And when God had seen that the earth wa corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted its way upol the earth), 13. He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make littie rooms in the ark, and thou shall pitch it within and without. 15 And thus shalt thou make it. The length o the ark shall be three hundred cubits: the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. ić Thou shalt make a window in thear , and in a cubit shalt thou finish the top of it; and the door of the ark thou shalt set in the side: with lower, middle chambers, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed. 18 And I will establish my covenant with thee. and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee 19 And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring two of a sort into the ark, that they may |live with thee: of the male sex, and the female. 20 Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their kind and of every thing that creepeth on the earth according to its kind : two of every sort shall go in with thee, that they may live. 21, Thou shalt take unto thee of all food that may be eaten, and thou shalt lay it up with thee and itAhall be food for thee and them. 22 “And Noe did all things which God com- manded him. i | CHAP. VII. Noe with his family go into the ark. The deluge overflows the earth. - ND the Lord said to him: Go in, thou and all thy house into the ark: for thee I have seen just before me in this generation. 2 Of all cleanºl beasts take seven and seven, the male and the female. * —h- ~g-–ºr sumº - e == * The sons ºf God. The descendants of Seth and Enos are here called sens of God from their religion and piety: whereas the ungodly race ºf Cain, who by their carnal affections lay grovelling upon the earth are called the children of men. The unhappy consequence of the former marrying with the latter, ought to be a warning to Christians to be very circumspect in their marriages; and not to ſuffer themselves to be determined in choice by their carnal passion, ºr the prejudice of virtue or religion. t His days shall be, &c. The meaning is, that man's days, which wefire the flood were usually 900 years, should now be reduced to 120 years. Or rather, that God would allow men this term of 120 years, for their repentance and conversion, before he would send the deluge. - f Giants. It is likely the generality of men before the flood were of a gigantic stature in comparison with what men now are. But these here spoken of an e called giants, as being not only tall in stature, but violent and savage in their dispositions, and mere monsters of cruelty and lust. # It repented him, &c. God, who is unchangeable, is not capable of repentance, grief, or any other passion. But these expressions are used to declare the enormity of the sins of men, which was so provoking as to determine their Creator to destroy these his creatures. whom before he had so much favoured. | Three hundred cubits, &c . The ark, according to the dimension, here set down, contained four hundred and fifty thousand square cubits; which was more than enough to contain Alſº, kinds of livine creatures, with all necessary provisions: even supposing the cubit: here spoken of to have been only a foot and a half each, which was the least kind of cubits T Of all clean, &c. The distinction of clean and unclean beast, appears to have been made before the law of Moses, which was stoº promulgated till the year of the wo; 2514. J * GENESIS. / 8 But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, e male and the female. Of the fowls also of the r seven and seven, the male and the female : that 2ed may be saved upon the face of the whole earth. 4 For yet a while, and after seven days, I will aim upon the earth forty days and forty nights: and I will destroy every substance that I have made, ‘rom the face of the earth. 5 And Noe did all things which the Lord had .ommanded him. - 6 And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the flood overflowed the earth. 7 An i Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the ark, be- cause of the waters of the flood. 8 And of beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of every thing that moveth upon the earth. 9 Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had commanded Noe. 10 And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the flood overflowed the earth. ! ! In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the fiood gates of heaven were opened: 12 And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 In the self-same day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark: 14 They and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds, and all that fly, 15 Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein was the breath of life. 16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him : and the Lord shut him in on the outside. 17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high fre:... une earth. ið For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the ark was carried nºon the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the efºrth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mºuntains which it covered. 21 And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beasts, nd of all creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men. 22 And all things wherein there is the breath of tife on the earth, died. 23 And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the earth, from man even to beast, and the |creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noe only remained. and they that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a Hundred and fifty days. CHAP VIII The deluge ceaseth. Noe goeth out of the ark, and ºfferetà sacrifice. God’s covenant to him. - AND God remembered Noe, and all the livin creatures, and all the cattle which were with him in the ark, and brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters were abated. 2 The fountains also of the deep, and the flood gates of heaven, were shut up, and the rain from heaven was restrained. • 3 And the waters returned from off the earth going and coming; and they began to be abat-d after a hundred and fifty days. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia. - 5 And the waters were going and decreasing until the tenth month: for in the tenth month, the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared. 6 And after that forty days were passed, Noe opening the window of the ark, which he had made, sent forth a raven: . . 7 Which went forth and did not return,” till the waters were dried up upon the earth. 8 He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth. 9 But she not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him into the ark: for the waters were upon the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and caught her, and brought her into the ark. 10 And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And she came to him in the evening carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green leaves. in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days: and he sent forth the dove, which returned not any more unto him. - 13 Therefore in the six hundredth and first year, the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were lessened upon the earth, and Noe opening the covering of the ark, looked, and saw that the face of the earth was dried. 14. In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth was dried 15 And God spoke to Noe, saying: 16 Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons and the wives of thy sons with thee. - 17 All living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep |. the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon the earth: increase and multiply upon it. --as-ºs ºva - ~~~ *gage * /hd not return. The raven did not return into the ark: but (as it may be gathered from the Hebrew) went to and fro sometimes going ^. ! 4 _rºº *L* - * = --><ſtill to the mountains, where it found carcases to feed on; and other times returning, to rest upon the top of the ark NS=2… e =s - - - *NS º ! (GN ºb. UHAP IX, X. 18 So Noe went out, he and his sons: his wife, and the wives of his sons with him. 19 And all living things, and cattle, and creeping things that creep upon the earth, according to their kinds, went out of the ark. 20 And Noe built an altar unto the Lord : and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, of fered holocausts” upon the altar. 21 And the Lord smelledt a sweet savour, and said: I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man: for the imagination and thought of man’s heart are prone to evil from his youth: therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done. 22 All the days of the earth, seed-time and har- vest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease. CHAP. IX. God blesseth Noe ; forbiddeth blood; and promiseth never more to destroy the world by water. The blessing of Sem and Japheth. - ND God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them : Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth. - 2 And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into your hand. 3 And every thing that moveth, and liveth shall be meat for you : even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you : - 4. Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat. 5 For I will require the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man, and of his brother, will I require “he life of man. - 6 Whosoever shall shed man’s blood, his blood º be shed for man was made to the image of *UIOOl. - . 7 But increase you and multiply, and go upon the earth, and fill it. - - 8 Thus also said God to Noe, and to his sons with him: 9 Behold I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you: r 10 And with every living soul, that is with you, as well in all birds, as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth. Il I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood, neither shall there be from henceforth tº flood to waste the earth. 12 And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you, and to living soul that is with you, for perpetual g tions. 13 I will set my bow in the clouds, and it sl the sign of a covenant between me and betwe earth. 14 And when I shall cover the sky with cl my bow shall appear in the clouds: 15 And I will remember my covenant with and with every living soul that beareth flesh: there shall no more be waters of a flood to des all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the clouds, and l sl see it, and shall remember the everlasting covena that was made between God and every living st of all flesh which is upon the earth. 17 And God said to Noe: This shall be the sie of the covenant, which I have established, betº-ºn me and all flesh upon the earth. . \ 18 And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Čhanaan. 19 These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all mankind spread over the whole earth. 20 And Noe a husbandman began to till the ground, and planted a vineyard. o & 21 And drinking of the wine was made drunk,1 and was uncovered in his tent. • 22 Which when Cham, the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father's nakedness was unco vered, he told it to his two brethren without. 23 But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the naked- mess of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24 And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him, 25 He said: Cursed be Chanaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan his servant. 2^ 27 May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Sem, and Chanaan be his servant. . 28 And Noe lived after the flood three hundred a' fifty years. 29 And all his days were in the whole ni: dred and fifty years: and he died. CHAP. X. The genealogy of the children of Noe, by whom "he world wus . peopled after the flood. HESE are the generations of the sons of Noe, Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood. * Holocausts, or whole burnt offerings. In which the whole victim was consumed by fire upon God’s altar, and no part was reserved for the use of priest or people. - # Sinelled, &c. A figurative expression, denoting that God was pleased with the sacrifices which his servant offered. f Drunk. Noe by the judgment of the fathers was not guilty of sin, in being overcome by wine; because he knew not the strength ºf it. * Cursed be Channan. The curses, as well as the blessings of the patriarchs were prophetical: And this in particular is here recorded b | Moses, for the children of Israel, who were to possess the land of Chanaan. But why should Chanaan be cursed for his father's fault 2 The Hebrews answer that he being then a boy was the first that saw his grandfather's nakedness, and told his father Cham of it; and joined with him in laughing at it: which drew upon him, rather than tipon | the rest of the children of Cham. this prophetical curse. 1 : GENESIS *... -- a he sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and and Javail, and Thubal, and Mosoch, and $o and the sons of Gomer: Ascenez and Riphath hogorma. And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Cet- and Dodanim. By these were divided the islands” of the iles in their lands, every one according to his le and their families in their nations. And the sons of Cham : Chus, and Mesraim, Phuth, and Chanaan. And the sons of Čhus: Saba, and Hevila, and ratha, and Regma, and Sabatacha. The sons of igma Saba, and Dadan. 8 Now Chus begot Nemrod; he began to be ish", on the earth. 2 And he was a stout huntert before the Lord. Hence came a proverb: Even as Nimrod the stout hunter before th. Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Baby- lon, and Arach, and Achad, and É. in the land of Sennaar. ll Out of that land came forth Assur, and built Ninive,and the streets of the city, and Chale. 12 Resen also between Ninive and Chale: this is the great city. iš And Mesnin begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Laaiyim, Nephtuim, 14 And Phetrusim, and Chasluim ; of whom came forth the Philistines, and the Caphtorim. 15. And Chanaan begot Sidon his first-born, the Hethite. 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite, 17 The Hevite and Aracite : the Sinite, 18 And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Ha- mathite ; and afterwards the families of the Chanan- ites were spread abroad. 19 And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to Gerara, even to Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha, and Adama, and Se- 'oim, even to Lesa. °0 These are the children of Cham in their kin- and tongues, and generations and lands, and Tem also the father of all the children of elder brother of Japheth, sons were … I'he sons of Sem: Elam and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. 23. The sons of Aram: Us, and Hull, and Gether; and Mes. 24 But Arphaxad begot Sale, of whom was born Heber. 25 And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phaleg, because in his days was the earth divided: and his brother's name Jectan. 26 Which Jectan begot Elmodad, and Saleph and Asarmoth, Jare, 27 And Aduram, and Uzal, and Decla, 28 And Ebal, and Abimael, Saba 29 And Ophir, and Hevila, and J obab. All hes, were the sons of Jectan. 30 And their dwelling was from Messa, as we gº on as far as Sephar, a mountain in the cast. 31 These are the children of Sem according ic their kindreds and tongues, and countries in their nations. 32 These are the families of Noe, according to their people and nations. By these were the nations divided on the earth after the flood CHAP. XI. The tower of Babel. The confusion of tongues. The genealogy of Sem down to Abram. AN D the earth was of on tongue, and of the same speech. 2 And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the hi of Sennaar, and dwelt in it 3 And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of In Ortar. e 4 And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our names famous before we be scat- tercă abroad into all lands. - 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building. 6 And he said Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off in their designs, till they accomplisb them in deed. - - 7 Come ye therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech. - 8 And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city. 9 And therefore the name thereof was called Ba bel,f because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries. 10 These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood. • * * 1 And Sem lived after he hegot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12 And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale. - - 13 And Arphaxad lived alter he begat Sale, three hundred and three years,and begotsons and daught rs 14 Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber 15 And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hun dred and three years: and begot sons and daughters •º-ºw-e =~... -- *** * * The islands. So the Hebrews called ai, the remote countries, to which they went by ships from Judea, as Greece, ''. Spain &c. # 4 stewt hunter Not of beasts but of men; whom by tolence and tyranny he brought under his dominion. And such as tº was, not only in the opinion of men, but before the Lord, that is, in bis wight who cannot be deceived That is, confusion. f Babel. 16 CHAP. XII, XIII. PI And Heber lived thirty-four vears, and begot laleg. 17 And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters. 18 .#. lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hun- ired and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. S 20 And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot arug. 21 And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hun- dred and seven years: and begotsons and daughters. i. And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Na- CIlOT. 23 And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two inundred years: and begot sons j daughters. 24 And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and ºrg Thare. And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters. * 26 And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran. 27 And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot. 28 And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nachor’s wife, Melcha the daughter of Aran father of Melcha, and father of Jescha. 30 And Sarai was barren, and had no children. 31 And Thare took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son's soil, and Sarai his daughter- in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. - 32 And the days of Thare were two hundred and five vears, and he died in Haran. CHAP. XII The call of Abram and the promise made to kim. He so- journeth in Chanaan ; and then, by occasion of a famine, goeth down to Egypt. ND... the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall show thee. - - 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou halt be blessed. - 3 l will bless them that bless thee, and curse them hat curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindreds f the earth be blessed. - 3. So Abram went out as the Lord had command- ed him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy- five years old when he went forth from Haran. 5 And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot nis bro- ther’s son, and all the substance which they had athered, and the souls which they had gotten in aran : and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, 6 Abram passed through the country unto the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chananite was at that time in the land. 7 And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said Jº him : To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the i.d. who had appeased to him. 8 And passing on from thence to a mountain that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitche his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: he built there also an altar to cº-' ord, and called upon his name. 9 And Abram went forward, going and proceed- ing on to the south. 10 And there came a famine in the country: and Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very grievous in the land. 11 And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful weman: g 12 And that when the Egyptians shall see thee they will say: Šhe is his wife; and they will kill me, and keep thee. 13 Say therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister:” that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake. 14 And when Abram was come into Egypt, the ºptiºns saw the woman that she was very beau tiful. 15 And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao. h 16 And they used Abram well for her sake. Ant he had sheep and oxen and he-asses, and men-ser. vants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. 17. But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai Abram's wife. 18 And Pharao called Abram, and said to him : What is this that thou hast done to me? Why dids thou not tell ma that she was thy wife? 19 For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to Iny wife? Now there- fore there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way. . 20 And Pharao gave his men orders conceinin Abram: and they led him away and his wife, an all that he had. CHAP. XIII. Abram and Lot part from each other God’s promise to Aoran ANP Abram went up out of º he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the south. º 2 And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver. (2 sister. This was no lie; because she was his niece, beng daughter to his brother Aran, and therefore, in the style of the He. brews, she might truly be called his sister; as Lo’ is called Abra. ham's brother, Gen. xiv. 14. See Gen. xx. 12. 17 GENESIS. * º 3 And he returned by the way that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai: 4. In the place of the altar which he had made be- fore, and there he called upon the name of the Lord. But Lot also who was with Abram, had flocks af sheep, and herds of beasts, and tents. b Neither was the land able to bear them, that “hey might dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together. 7. Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chananite and the Pherezite dwelled in that country. 8 Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren. 9 Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me, I pray thee: if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left. 10 And Lot lifting up his eyes, saw all the coun- try about the Jordan, which was watered throughout lefore the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha as the paradise of the Lord, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor. 11 And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the east: and they were separated one brother from the other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan: and Lot abode in the towns, that were about the Jor- dan, and dwelt in Sodom. * 13 And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before the face of the Lord beyond measure. 14 And the I ord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him : Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place, wherein thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. 15 All the land, which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to thy seed for ever. ić "And Twili make thy seed as the dust of the earth: if any man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be able to number thy seed also. 17 Arise and walk through the land in the length, and in the breadth thereof: for I will give it to thee. 18 So Abram removing his tent, came, and dwelt by the vale of Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the Lord. CHAP. XIV The aſpedition of the four kings: the victory of Abram; he is blessed by Melchisedech. -N1, it came to pass at that time, that Amraphel king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus, tal, Chodorlahomor King of the Elamites, and 'l tº idal king of nations 2 Made war against |Bara king of Sodom, and against Bersa king of Gomorrha, and against Sen- naal king of Adama, and against Semeber king of Seboim. and against the king of Bala, which is Segor. 3 All these came together into the wordland vale, which now is the salt sea. - 4. For they had served Chodorlahomor twelve ſº and in the thirteenth year they revolted from III]. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chodorla- homor, and the kings that were with him ; alsº they smote the Raphaim in Astarothcarnalin, an the Zuzim with them, and the Emim in Save ( ! Cariathaim. 6 And the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir even to the plains of Pharan, which is in the wil derness. 7 And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat, the same is Cades. and they smote all the country of the Amalecites, and the Amorrhean that dwelt in Asasonthamar. 8 And the king of Sodom, and the king of Go- morrha, and the king of Adama, and the king of Seboim, and the king of Bela, which is Segor, went out: and they set themselves against them in battle array in the woodland vale: 9. To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and Thadal king of nations, and Amra phel king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus four kings against five. . . - 10 Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime.” And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha turned their backs and were overthrown there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the substance of the So- domites, and Gomorrhites, and all their victuals, and went their way: ~. 12 And Lot also, the son of Abram's brother who dwelt in Sodom, and his substance. 13 And benold one, that had escaped, told Abram the Hebrew, who dwelt in the vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these had made a league with Abrain. 14. Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he numbered of the ser- wants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen well appointed: and pursued them to Dan. 15 And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night: and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hoba, which is on the left hand of Damascus. - * 16 And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother with his substance, the women also and the people. . . 17 And |. king of Sodom went out to meet him after he returned from the slaughter of Chodorlahn mor, and of the kings that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the king’s vale. - 18 But Melchisedech the king of Salem, bring ing forth bread and wine, for he was the Priest o the most high God, 19. Blessed him, and said: Blessed oe Abrain by the most high God, who created heaven and earth. -*-& sº-ºw * Of slime. Bituminis. This was a kind of pitch. which serve: for mortar in the building of Babel, Gen. xi. 3. and was used by Nics in pitching the ark Q V, CHAP. XV, XVI 20 And ol'ssed be the most high God, by whose protection, the enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons, and the rest take to thyself. 22 And he answered him : I lift up my hand to the Lord God the most high, the possessor of hea- ven and earth, 23 That from the very woof-thread unto the shoe atchet, I will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say: I have enriched Abram : 24 Except such things, as the young men have caten, and the shares of the men, that came with me, Aner, Escol and Mambre : these shall take their shares. CHAP. XV. God promiseth seed to Abram. His faith, sacrifice and vision. NOW when these things were done, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, say- ing: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great. 2 And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer. 3 And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant born in my house, shall be my heir. 4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: He shall not be thy heir : but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and number the stars if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be. 6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice. 7 And he said to him : I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees to give thee this land, and that thou mightest possess it. 8 But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it? 9 And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon. 10 And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the two pieces of each one against the other: but the birds he divided not. 11 And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him. 13 And it was said unto him: Know thou before- hand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with grea. substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a º old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time. 17 And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace, and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions. - 18 That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this land from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates. 19 The Cineans, and Cenezites, the Cedmonites, 20 And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also, 21 And the Amorrhites and the Chamanites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusitcs. CHAP. XVI. Abram marrieth Agar, who bring eth forth Ismael. OW, Sarai, the wife of Abram, had brought forth no children: but having a handmaid an Egyptian named Agar, --- 2. She said to her husband : Behold, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in unto my handmaid, it may be I may have children of her at least. And when he agreed to her request, 3. She took Agar, the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after they first dwelt in the land of Cha- naan, and gave her to her husband to wife.” 4 And he went in to her. But she perceiving that she was with child, despised her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram: Thou doest unjustly with me: I gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and she perceiving herself to be with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge between me and thee. 6 And Abram made answer and said to her Behold thy handmaid is in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away. 7 And the Angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the desert, 8 He said to her : Agar, handmaid of Sarai, . whence comest thou ? and whither goest thou? And she answered : I flee from the face of Sarai my mistress. 9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand. 10 And again he said: I will multiply thy seed ºingly, and it shall not be numbered for mul. titude. 11 And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and i. shalt bring forth a son : and thou shalt call his name Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man : his hand will be * To wife. Plurality of wives, though contrary to the primitive in- stitution of mărriage, Gen. ii. 24. was by divine dispensation allowed to the patriarch; which allowance seems to have continued during the time of the law of Moses. But Christ our Lord reduced marriage to its primitive institution. St. JMatt. xix. GENESIS. against all men, and all men's hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents over-against ail his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her: Thou the God who hast seen me. or she said: Verily here have I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me. 14. Therefore she called that well, the well of him that liveth and seeth me. The same is be- ween Cades and Barad. 15 And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his name Ismael. 16 Abram was fourscore and six years old when Agar brought him forth Ismael. CHAP. XVII. The covenant of circumcision. AN D after he began to be ninety and nine years *- old, the Lord appeared to him: and said unto him : I am the almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect. - 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 Abram fell flat on his face. & 4 And God said to him : I am, and my cove- nant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram : but thou shalt be called Abraham : * be- cause I have made thee a father of many nations. 6 And I will make thce increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give to thee, and to thy seed the land of thy sojournment, all the land of Chanaan for a º lossession, and I will be their God. 9 Again §d said to Abraham: And thou there- ſore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised: ll. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 An infant of eight days old shall be circum- cised among you, every man-child in your genera- tions: he that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant shall be circumcised, and whoso- rver is not of your stock: 13 And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual covenant. * 14 The male, whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant. wº-ºº º * -ībraham. Abram in the Hebrew, signifies a high father; but Abra- hain the father of the multitude : Sarai signifies my Lady, but Sara abso- , , 15 God said also to Abraham; Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call Sarai, but Sara. © 16 And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless, and he shall become nations, and kings of people shall spring from him. 17 Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, say ing in his heart: shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old P and shall Sara that is ninety years old, bring forth P 18 And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee. ge 19 And God said to Abraham : Sara thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant, and with his seed after him. s 20 And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year. . 22 And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. * . 23 And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house. and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forth- lº the very same day, as God had commanded III] . 24 Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision. r 26 The self same day was Abraham circumcisco and Ismael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the bought servants and strangers were circumcised with him. CHAP. XVIII. Angels are entertained by Abraham. They foretel the birth of Isaac. Abraham’s prayer for the men of Sodom. AN D the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day. 2 And when he had lifted up his eyes, there ap peared to him three men standing near him : and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. 3 And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant: 4. But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree. 5 And I will set a morsel of bread, and strength- en ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are ye come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken. 6 Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her: Make haste, temper together CHAP. XIX. ºneasures of flour, and make cakes upon the earth. - 7 And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf very tender and very good and gave it to a voung man: who made haste and boiled it. 8 He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree. 9 And when they had eaten, they said to him : Where is Sara thy wife P. He answered : Lo she is in the tent. - 10 And he said to him : I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent. 11 Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women. 12 And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old, and my Lord is an old man, shall l give myself to pleasure ? 13 And the Lord said to Abraham : Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed P 14 Is there any thing hard to God? according to appointment I § return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son. 15 Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said: Nay: but thou didst laugh. 16 And when the men rose up from thence, they turned, their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way. 17 And the Lord said: "Can I hide from Abra- ham what I am about to do: 18 Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed ? 19 For I know that he will command his chil- fren, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the }. may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him. 20 And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. 21 I will go down” and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know. 22 And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom ; but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord. 23 And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou de- stroy the just with the wicked P - 24. If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal P and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein P 25 Far be it from tº: to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the Just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not be seeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment. 26 And the Lord said to him : If I find in S6 dom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. 27 And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, when tº as I am dust and ashes. 28 What if there be five less than fifty just per sons: wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city ? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty. 29 And again he said to him : But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty. 30 Lord, saith he, be not angry I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord: What if twenty be found there? e said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. 32 I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more : What if ten shall hº found there P And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. 33 And the Lord departed, after he had leſ. speaking to Abraham : and Abraham returned to his place. CHAP. XIX. Lot entertaining angels in his house, is delivered from Sodom, which is destroyed: his wife for looking back is turned into a statue of salt. ND the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up and went to meet them : and worshipped prostrate to the ground, 2 And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but we will abide in the street. 3 He pressed them very much to turn in unto him : and when they were come into his house, he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate : 4. But before they went to bed, the men of the city beset the house both young and old, all the people together. 5 And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men that came in to thee at night? bring them out hither that we may know them : 6 Lot went out to them, and shut the door after him, and said: 7 Do not so, I beseech you, my brethuen, do not commit this evil. • & ºr * I will go deton, &c. The Lord here accommodates his discourse to the way of speaking and acting amongst men: for he knoweth all things, and needeth not to go any where for information. Note here, that two of the three angels went away immediately fo Sodom; whilst the third, who represented the Lord, remained with Abraham. —ºr - 21 GENESIS 8 I have two daughters who as yet have not known man: I will bring them out to you, and abuse you them as it shall please you, so that you ſlo no evil to these men, because they are come in under the shadow of my roof. 9 But they said: Get thee back thither. And again : Thou camest in, said they, as a stranger, was it to be a judge P therefore we will afflict thee more than them. And they pressed very violently II) on Lot: and they were even at the point of breaking open the doors. 10 And behold the men put out their hand, and drew in Lot unto them, and shut the door. | | And them, that were without, they struck with blindness from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door. - 12 And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine? Son-in-law, or sons, or daughters, all that are thine bring them out of this city: 13 For we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord, who hath sent us to destroy them. 14 So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law that were to have his daughters, and said: Arise: get you out of this place, because the Lord will destroy this city. And he seemed to them to speak as it were in Jest. 15 And when it was morning the angels pressed rim, saying: . Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters which thou hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city. 16 And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, be- cause the Lord spared him. .17 And they brought him forth, and set him without the city: and there they spoke to him, saying: Save thy life: look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed. [ º And Lot said to them: I beseech thee, my 10r(!, 19 Because thy servant hath found grace before thce, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, whic thou hast shown to me, in saving my life: and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil seize me, and I die. 20. There is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a little one, and my soul shall live? 21 And he said to him : Behold also in this, I have heard thy prayers, not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken. 22 Make haste, and be saved there: because I tannot do any thing till thou go in thither. There- jore the name of that city was called Segor.” 23 The sun was risen upon the earth and Lot entered into Segor. 24 And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Go- morrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. • *= h|this da 25 And he destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring from the earth. 26 And his wifef looking behind her, was turned into a statue of salt. 27 And Abraham got up early in the morning, and in the place where he had stood before wi the Lord, e 28 He looked towards Sodom and Comorrha, and the whole land of that country: and he saw the ashes rise up from the earth as the smoke of a furnace. 29 Now when God destroyed the cities of that country, remembering Abraham, he delivered Lot 3. # the destruction of the cities wherein he had Weſt. - 30 And Lot went up out of Segor, and abode in the mountain, and his two daughters with him (for he was afraid to stay in Segor) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him. 31 And the elder said to the younger: Our father is old, and there is no man left on the earth, to come in unto us after the manner of the whole earth. 32 Come, let us make him drunk with wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the elder went in, and lay with her father: but he perceived not, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up. • 34 And the next day the elder said to the younger: Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine also to night, and thou shalt lie with him, that we may save seed of our father. 35 They made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and lay with him : and neither then did he perceive when she lay down, nor when she rose up. 36 So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 And the elder bore a son, and she called his name Moab: he is the father of the Moabites unto 38 'ihe younger also bore a son, and she called his name Ammon, that is, the son of my people he is the father of the Ammonites unto this dav CHAP. XX. Abraham sojourneth in Gerara. Sara is taken into king Abime lech's house, but by God’s commandment is restored untouched. BRAHAM removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur. and Sojourned in Gerara. 2 And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister So Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her, 3 And Gnd came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman that thou hast taken: for she hath'a husband. 4. Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he God to proceed in virtue, and not to look back to vice or its allurements ... " * Segor That is, a little one. ł Mad Ms wife. As a standing memorial to the servants of 499 sºm & -uk ==> cº- >SJ º —- 5. *** CHAP. XXI said: Lord, wilt thou slay a nation that is ignorant and Just? º o 5 Did not he say to me: She is my sister: and she say: He is my brothel P. in the simplicity of my he art, and cleanness of my hands have I done this. 6 And God said to him : And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and therefore I with- held thee from sinning against me, and I suffered 'hec not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet; and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine. 8 And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were ex- ceedingly afraid. 9 And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him : What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin f thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do. 10 And again he expostulated with him, and said: What sawest thou, that thou hast done this? 11 Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wiſe: 12. Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sis-l ter, the daughter of my father, and not the daugh- ter of my mother, and I took her to wife. 13 And after God brought me out of my father’s house, I said to her : Thou shalt do me this kind- ness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother. 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and servants, and handmaids, and gave to Abraham : and restored to him Sara his wife, 15 And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it shall please thee. 16 And to Sara he said: Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver, this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken. 17 And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children : - 18 For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech on account of Sara, Abra- ham's wife. CHAP. XXI. Isaac is born. Agar and Ismael are cast forth. ND the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and ºlfilled what he had spoken. ‘2 And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.” 4. And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him, 5 When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his father, was Isaac born. 6 And Sara said: God hath made a laughter tor me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me. 7 And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave suck to a son. whom she bore to him in his old age P 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abra ham made a great feast on the day of his weaning 9 And when Sara had seen the son of Agar the Egyptian playing with Isaac her son, she said to Abraham; 10 Cast out this bond-woman, and her son: for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac. l l Abraham took this grievously for his son. 12 And God said to him: Let in is em grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy bonu- w Jman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 But I will make the son also of the bond Woman a great nation, because he is thy seed. 14 So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee. 15 And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees, that were there. 16 And she went her way, and sat over-against him a great way off as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over- against, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy: and an Angel of God called to Agar from lieaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not: for God hath º the voice of the boy, from the place wherein 162 IS. 18 Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand: for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink. 20 And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a young man an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt. 22 At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou doest. 23 Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my stock: but accord. ing to the kindness, that I have done to thee, tho. shalt do to me, and to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger. 24 And Abraham said: I will swear. 25 And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force. 26 And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell me, and * Issee. This word signifies laughter. i heard not of it till to-dº, GENESIS. 27 Then Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made u league. 28 And Abraham set apart seven ewe-lambs of the flock. - 29 And Abimelech said to him : What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thout last set apart? 30 But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewe-lambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dig this well. 31 Therefore that place was called Bersabee :* because there both of them did swear. 32 And they made a league for the well of oath. 33 And Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army arose and returned to the land of the Palestines. |But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal. 34 And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many days. CHAP. XXII. The faith and obedience of Abraham wº proved in his readiness to sacrifice his son Isaac. He is stayed from the act by an angel. Former promises are renewed to him. His brother Nachor’s issue. FTER these things, God tempted; Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. 2 He said to him: Take thy only-begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision: and there thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will show thee. 3 So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass: and took with him two young men, and isaac his son : and when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way to the place which God had commanded him. 4 And on the third day, liſting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off. º 5 And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass: I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you. 6 And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son : and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together. 7 Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered : What wilt thou, son P Behold, saith he, fire y wood: where is the victim for the holo- Call St 8 And Abraham said: God will provide himself * victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went bu together. 9 And they came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. 10 And he put, ſorth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. 11 And behold an Angel of the Lord firm hea- ven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. 12 And he said to him : Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him : now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for my sake. 13 Abraham liſted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son. * p 14 And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth. Whereupon even to this day it is said: In the mountain the Lord will see. 15 And the Angel of the Lord called to Abra- ham a second time from heaven, saying: 16 By my own self have f sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for my sake : 17 I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore: thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. tº 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to Bersabee together, and he dwelt there. 20 After these things, it was told Abraham that Melcha also had born children to Nachor his brother. 21 Hus the first-born, and Buz his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians, 22 And Cased, and Azau, and Pheldas, and Jedlaph, 23 And Bathuel of whom was born Rebecca : these eight did Melcha bear, to Nachor Abraham's brother. 24 And his concubine, named Roma, bore Ta- bee, and Gaham, and Tahas, and Maacha. CHAP. XXIII. Sara’s death and burial in the field bought of Ephron. ND Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years. 2 And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn, and weep for her. - 3 And after he rose up from the funeral obse- quies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying; ... 4 i'am". stranger and sojourner among you : #. me the right of a burying place with you, that may bury my dead. - 5 The children of Heth answered, saying: 6 My lord hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our principal sepul- çhres; and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre. * Bersabee, That is, the well of oath. * God tempted, &c. God tempteth no man to evil, James i. 13. But by trial and experiment maketh known to the world, and to ourselves, what we are, as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest. ***, +, ** rº > zººsºrº:***** - * . . . . . . . . .." . ." . . ." . - ‘. . . . . . . . . . tº F. :-- 9.1 CHAP. XXIV. 7 Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the rºople” of the land, to wit, the children of Heth. 8 And said to them : If it please your soul that ! should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor, That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the end of his field: for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me before you, for a possession of a burying place. 10 Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the chil- Jren of Heth. And Ephron made answer to Abra- ham in the hearing of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying: - 11 Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to what I say: º: field I deliver to thee and the cave that is therein, in the presence of the children of my people; bury thy dead. 12 Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I beseech thee to hear me: "I will give money for the field: take it, and so I will bury my dead in it. 14 And Ephron answered : 15 My lord, hear me: the ground which, thou desirest, is worth four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between me and thee: but what is this P bury thy dead. 16. And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money, that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred sicles of silver of common current money. - 17 And the field that before was Ephron’s, Wherein was the double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and all the trees thereof in all its limits round about, 18 Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his city. 19 And so Abraham buried Sara his wife, in the double cave of the field, that looked towards Mam- bre; this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan. - 20 And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth. CHAP. XXIV. Abraham’s servant sent by him into Mesopotamia, bringeth jrom thence Rebecca, who is married to Isaac. NOW Abraham was old, and advanced in age: and the Lord had blessed him in all things. 2 And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh, 3. That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chananites, among whom I dwell: * Bowed down to the people. Adoravit, literally adored. But this word here, as well as in many other places in the Latin scriptures, is used to signify only an inferior honour and reverence paid to men, express- ed by a bowing down of the body. 4. But that thou go to my own country and kin- dred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac. 5 The servant answered : If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy Son back again to the place, from whence thou camest out P 6 And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither. - 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me out ºf . father's house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: Tu thy seed will I give this land: he will send his Angel before thee,f and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son. 8 But if the woman will nou follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath: only bring not my son back thither again. 9 The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swore to him upon this word. 10 And he took ten camels of his master’s herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Meso- potamia to the city of Nachor. 11 And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a weil of water in the even- ing, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said: 12 O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me to-day, I beseech thee, and show kind- ness to my master Abraham. 13, Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of the city, will come out to draw water. 14 Now therefore the maid, to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink; and she shall answer: Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this I shall understand, that thou hast shown kindness to my master. 15 He had not yet ended these words within him- self, and behold, Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder : 16 An exceeding comely maid, and a most beau- tiful virgin, and not known to man : and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back. 17 à. the servant ran to meet her, and said; Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher. 18 And she answered : Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink. * - * 19 And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink. 20 And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water : and hay- ing drawn, she gave to all the camels. 21 But he, musing, beheld her with silence, * = *-as-a- # He will send his ſingel before thee. This shows that the He- brews believed that God gave them Guardian Angela for their |protection. { } ENESIS. desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous Or 110t. 22 And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden ear-rings, weighing two sicles, and as many bracelets of ten sicles weight. 23 And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father’s house o lodge P 24 And she answered: I am the daughter of 13 thuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor 25 And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store both of straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in. 26 The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord, 27 Saying : Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master’s brother. 28 Then the maid ran, and told in her mother’s house all that she had heard. 29 And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well. 30 And when he had seen the ear-rings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water, 31 And said to him : Come in, thou blessed of 'he Lord : why standeth thou without? I have pre- pared the house, and a place for the camels. 32 And he brought him in into his lodging: and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him. 33 And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him : Speak. 34 And he said: I am the servant of Abraham : 35 And the Lord hath blessed my master won- tlerfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep, and oxen, silver and gold, men-servants and women-servants, camels, and asses. 36 And Sara my master's wife hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had º - 37 And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Cha- namites, in whose land I dwell: 38 But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son: 39 But I answered my master: What if the wo- mun will not come with me? 10 The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, ill send his angel with thee, and will direct thy vily and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house. 4] But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee Gne. 42 And I came to-day to the well of water, and ** {, said: O Lord God of my master Abraham,. If thou hast prospered my way, wherein. I now walk, 43 Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher: - º 44 And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels let the same le he woman whom the Lord hath frepared for my master’s son. e 45 And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well, and drew water. And I said to her : Give me a little to drink. . 46. And she speedily let down, the pitcher from her shoulder, and said, to me: . Both, drink, thou and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels. 47 And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered : I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put ear-rings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands. - - 48 And falling down I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Wherefore if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left. 50 Then Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord : we cannot Speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure. 51 Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken. 52 Which when Abraham’s servant heard, falling down to the ground he adored the Lord. 53 And bringing forth vessels of silver, and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a pre- sent. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother. 54 And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morn- ing the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master. º 55 And her brother and mother answered. Let the maid stay at least ten days with us, and after- wards she shall depart. - 56 Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away that I may go to my master 57 And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.” 58 And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man * She said: I will go. * Let us call the maid, and ask her will. Not as to her marriage, as she had already consented, but of her quitting her parents and going to her husband. CHAP XXV. 59 So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his company: 60 Wishing prosperity to their sister, and say- Ing: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies. 61 So Rebecca and her maids being set upon -amels followed the man: who with speed returned o his master. 62 At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country: 63 And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent ; and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming aſar off. 64 Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted oſſ the camel, - 65 And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field F And he said to her: That man is my master. But she 'luickly took her cloak and covered herself. d 66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had Olle : - 67 Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife : and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was oc- casioned by his mother’s death. CHAP. XXV. Abraham’s children by Cetura ; his death, and that of Ismael. Isaac hath Esau and Jacob, twins. Esau selleth his first birth-right to Jacob. ND Abraham married another wife named Cetura: 2 Who bore him Zamran, and Jecsan, and Ma- dan, and Madian, and Jesboc, and Sue. 3 Jecsan clso begot Saba and Dadam. The chil- dren of Dadan were Assurim, and Latusim and Loomim. - 4. But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura. 5 And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac: 6 And to the children of the concubines” he gave gifts, and separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the east country. 7 And the days of Abraham’s life were a hun- dred and seventy-five years. 8 And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his people. 9 And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in he double cave, which was situated in the field of Fphron the son of Seor the Hethite, over-against Mamlore, - 10 Which he had bought of the children of Heth: here was he buried, and Sara his wife. ll And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named Of the living and seeing. 12 These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's ser- vant, bore unto him : 13 And these are the names of his children ac- cording to their calling and generations. The first-born of Ismael was Nabajcth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam, 14 And Masma, and Duma, and Massa, 15 Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Nalhis, and Cedma. * . *- 16 These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes. 17 And the years of Ismael’s life were a hun- dred and thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people. 18 And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go to- wards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren. 19 These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham : Abraham begot Isaac : 20 Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban. 21 And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife because she was barren : and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive. 22 But the children struggled in her womb: and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive F And she went to consult the Lord. 23 And he answering, said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger. 24 And when her time was come to be delivered, behold, twins were found in her womb. 25. He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Im- mediately the other coming forth, held his brother’s foot in his hand: and therefore he was called Jacob. 26 Isaac was threescore years old when the chil- dren were born unto him. 27 And when they were grown up, Esau became a skilful hunter, and a husbandman: but Jacob a plain man dwelt in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunt- ing: and Rebecca loved Jacob. - 29 And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field, 30 Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom. 31 And Jacob said to him : Sell me thy firs' birth-right. 32 He answered: Lo, l die; what will the-fil it birth-right avail me? 33 Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. swore to him, and sold his first birth-right Esau * Concubines Agar and Cetura are here called concubines (though they were lawful wives, and in other places are so called) because they were of an inferior degree; and such in scripture are usually called concubines. *S3 ===== == - ãºSC) -NSE<2* 27 GENESIS. 54 And so taking bread and the pottage of len- Ils, he ate, and drank, and went his Way: m .ittle account of having sold his first birth-right. CHAP. XXVI. Isaac sojourneth in Gerara, where God reneweth to him the promise made to Abraham. King Abimelech maketh league with him. ND when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara. 2 And the Lord appeared to him and said; Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee. 3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father. 4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. 5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws. 6 So Isaac abode in Gerara. 7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister, for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty. 8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines, looking out through a window, saw him playing with #dº his wife. 9 And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? he answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake, 10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying: 11 He that shall touch this man’s wife, shall surely be put to death. 12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found | same year a hundred-fold: and the Lord bless- CO. Il III] . 13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceed- ling great : 14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him, 15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth: 16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac : Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we. * =& º .V. Cº- IVº * Torrent That is, w channel where sometimes a torrent, or vio- ſent stream had run. 28 jº- *_ ! servants of his 17 So he departed, and came to the torrent" of aking|Gerara, to dwell there: iš Ānd he †. again other .." which the I ather Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Philistines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them. . . 19 And they digged in the torrent, and ſoun! living water: 20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our wa- ter. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny. 21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity. e ‘º 22 Going forward from thence he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore, he atitude.t saving : Now y J ey cº & = ~ *-ºs º dº º ºs º ºr called the name thereof, hath the Lord given us room, and made us to in- crease upon the earth. - 23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee, 24. Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father, do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, º multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's Sak62. 25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well. . 26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ocho zath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his sol diers came from Gerara, 27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me al mºn whom you hate, and have thrust out from you ! 28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant, 29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord. 30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk: 31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: . Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home. - 32 And behold, the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water. 33 Whereupon he called it, Abundance: and the * of the city was called Bersabee, even to this ay. 34 And Esau being forty years old married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, . Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place. 35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca. —-ºº: + Latitude. That is, wideness, or room. Fº *Nºf & © CHAP. XXVII. CHAP. XXVII. cob, by his mother’s counsel, obtaineth his ing, instead of Esau. And by her is advise uncle Laban. NOW Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, - V and he could not see : and he called Esau his elder son, and said to him : My son. And he answered : Here l am. 2 And his father said to him: Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death. 3 Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad : and when thou hast taken something by hunting, - 4 Mako me savoury meat thereof, as thou know- ast l like, and bring it that I may eat, and my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfil his father’s com- mandment, 6 She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him : 7 Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die. § Now therefore, my son, follow my counsel: 9 And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth : 10 Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die. 11 And he answered her : Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth: 12. If my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing. 13 And his mother said to him : Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said. 14. He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked. 15 And she put on him very good garments of ather’s bless- to fly to his Esau, which she had at home with her: 16 And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck. 17 And she gave him the savoury meat, and de- livered him bread that she had baked. 18 Which when he had carried in, he said: My father. But he answered. Thear. "Who art thou, my son * 19 And Jacob said: I am Esau thy first-born:* 1 have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son P. He answered: It was the will of God that what l sought came quickly in my way: 21 And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thon be my son Esau, or no. 22 He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob ; but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing him, 24. He said: Art thou my son Esau f He an: swered : I am. 25 Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offer- ed him wine also, which after he had drunk, 26 He said to him : Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son. 27 He came near, and kissed him. And imme- diately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his gar- ments, blessing him, he said: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed. 28 God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine 29 And let peoples serve thee, , and tribes wor- ship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother’s children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blessetli thce be filled with blessings. 30 Isaac had scarce ended his words, when Ja cob being now gone out abroad, Esau came, 31 And brought in to his father meats, made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son’s venison; that thy Soul may bless me. º 32 And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thout He answered: I am thy first-born son Esau. . 33 Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly; and wondering beyond what can be believed, said: Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of ail before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed. 34 Esau having heard his father's words, roared out with a great cry: and being in a consternation said: Bless me also, my father. o 35 And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing. tº tº ſº 36. But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob:f for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: my first birth-right he took away before, and now this second time i. hath stolen away my bless- ing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing: . . . . . 37 Isaac answered: I have appointed him tº lord, and have made all his brethren his servants : ] * I am Esau thy first-born. St. Augustine (L. Contra mendacium c. 0.) treating at large upon this place, excuseth Jacob from a lie, be- cause this whole passage was mysterious, as relating to the preference which was afterwards to be given to the Gentiles before the carnal Jews which Jacob by prophetic light might understand. So far || * --- K- is certain, that the first birth-right, both by divine election, and by Esau's free cession belonged to Jacob: so that ºf there were any lie in the case, it could be no more than an officious and ve- nial one. 4 Jacob. That ** "mi-re GENESIS. ºSs: lsº jº have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son f 38 And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father ? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry, 39 Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the carth, and in the dew of heaven from above, 40 Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword, and shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou shalt shake off, and loose his yoke from thy neck. łl Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the Jl, ssing where with his father had blessed him: and he said in his heart: The days will come of the º º for my father, and I will kill my brother Jº CO!). 42 These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob her son, and said to him: Be- hold, Esau thy brother threateneth to kill thee. Å3 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice, arise and flee to Laban my brother to Haran: 44 And thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath of thy brother be assuaged, 45 And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou hast done to him : afterwards I will send, and bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons in one day? 46 And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the stock of this land, I choose not to live. CHAP. XXVIII. Jacob's journey to Mesopotamia ; his vision and vow. ND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan: - 2. But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother's father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people. 4 And give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather. 5 And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother. - - 6 And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Sy- ria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the bles- sing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of êiah. 7 And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone tuto Syria: 8 Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan: 9 He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Is- mael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nabajoth. ---> *E=> 10 But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran. 11 And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sun-set, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head slept in the same place. -- 12 And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching hea ven: the Angels also of God ascending and descend ing by it. 13 And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him : I am the Lord God of Abraham thy fa- ther, and the God of Isaac : The land wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed. 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : and IN THEE and thy seed all the tribes of the earth SHAll BE R LESSED. - 15 And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: nei- ther will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said. - 16 And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 17 And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title,” pouring oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of the city Bethel,i which before was called Luza. 20 And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way, by which l walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to Dut On, 21 And I shall return prosperously to my father's house : the Lord shall be my God: 22 And, this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called The house of God: and of all º that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee. r CHAP. XXIX Jacob serveth Laban seven years for Rachel; but is deceived with Lia; he afterwards marrieth Rachel. Lia bears him jour sons. THEN Jacob went on in his journey, and canne into the east country. 2 And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great Stone. 3 And the custom was, when all the sheep were athered together, to roll away the stone, and afteſ the sheep were watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again. . 4 And he said to the shepherds: _Brethren, whence are you ? They answered: Of Harau. _- * A title. That is, a pillar, or monument. t Bethel. This name signifies the house of God. © CHAP XXX. 5 And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban the son of Nachor P 'They said: We know him. 6 He said: Is he in health P. He is in health, say they : and behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with his flock. 7 And Jacob said: There is yet much day re- maining, neither is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again : first give the sheep drink, and so ead them back to feed. 8 They answered : We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered together, and we remove the stone from the well's mouth, that we may water the flocks. 9 They were yet speaking, and behold, Rachel .im with her father’s sheep : for she fed the flock. 10 And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin german, and that they were the sheep of Laban his uncle, he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed. ll And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice wept: 12 And he told her that he was her father’s bro- ther, and the son of Rebecca : but she went in haste and told her father. - 13 Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister’s son was come, ran forth to meet him : and embra- cing him, and heartily kissing him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the causes of his journey, - 14. He answered : Thou art my bone and my desh. And after the days of one month were expired, 15 He said to him : Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages P Tell me what wages thou wilt have. - 16 Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia: and the younger was called Rachel. 17. But Lia was blear-eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance. . 18 And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me. 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed but a few days because of the great- ness of his love. 21 And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22 And he, having invited a great number of his friends to the feast, made the marriage. ; And at night he brought in Lia his daughter to him, 2) Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zel- pha. Now when Jacob had gone in to her accord- ing º custom, when morning was come, he saw it 9 (.S Lºla : 25 And he said to his father-in-law : What is it that thou didst mean to do P did not I serve thee for Rachel P why hast thou deceived me? 26 Laban answered: It is not the custom in this place, to give the younger in marriage first. 27 Make up the week of days of this match : and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years. 28 He yielded to his pleasure. and after the week was past, he married Rachel: 29 To whom her father gave Bala for her ser- Want. 80. And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the lattel before the former, and served with him other se ven years. 31 And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb ; but her sister remained barren. 32 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my afflic. tion : now my husband will love me. 33 And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me: and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived the third time, and bore another son: and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name Levi. 35 The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said: Now will I praise the Lord: and for this she called him Juda. And she left bearing. CHAP. XXX. Rachel being barren, delivereth her handmaid to Jacob: she beareth two sons. Lia ceasing to bear, giveth also her handmaid, and she beareth two more. Then Lia beareth two other sons and one daughter. Rachel beareth Joseph. Jacob desirous to return home, is hired to stay for a certain part of the stock’s increase, whereby he becometh eacceeding rich. ND Rachel, seeing herself without children. envied her sister, and said to her husband Give me children, otherwise I shall die. 2 And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb? 3 But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her. 4 And she gave him Bala in marriage: who, 5 When her husband had gone in unto her, con- ceived and bore a son. 6 And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son; and therefore she called his name Dan. 7 And again Bala conceived, and bore another, § For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali. 9 Lia perceiving that she had left off bearing gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband. 10 And when she had conceived and brongh. | forth a son, 11 She said : Happily. his name Gad. 12 Zelpha also bore another. 13 And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser. -> 14 And Ruben going out in the time of the what harvest into the }. found mandrakes : which he And therefore called -º- —º 2 GENESIS. tº aight to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give ine part of thy son's mandrakes. 15 She answered : Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son's mandrakes? Rachel said. He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son’s mandrakes. 16 And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son's mandrakes. And he slept with her that night. 17 And God heard her prayers: and she con- ceived, and bore the fifth son, 18 And said: God hath given me a reward, be- cause I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar. 19 And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth $on, - 20 And said : God hath endowed me with a good dowry: this turn also my husband will be with me, because l have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon. 21 After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina. 22 The Lord also remembering Rāghel, heard her, and opened her womb. 23 And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach. 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son. 25 And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father-in-law: Send me away that I may return into my country, and to my land. 26 Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee. 27 Laban said to him : Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake: 28 Appoint thy wages which l shall give thee 29 But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands. 30 Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable therefore that I should now provide also for my own house. 31 And Laban said: What shall I give thee P But he said: I require nothing: but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed and keep thy sheep again. 32 Go round through all thy flocks, and sepa- rate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled : and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep, as among the goats, shall be my wages. • 33 And my justice shall answer for me to-mor- row before thee when the time of the bargain shall come : and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft. 34 And Laban said: I like well what thou de- mandest. 35 And he separated the same day the she-goats, and the sheep, and the he-goats, and the rams o' divers colours, and jºi : and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, ho delivered into the hands of his sons. 36 And he set the space of three days journey betwixt himself and his son-in-law, who fed the rest of his flock. 37 And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and oil almond, and of plane-trees, and pilled them in par so when the bark was taken off, in the parts th;it were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but, the parts that were whole, remained green: and by this means the colour was divers. 38 And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out; that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive. 39 And it came to pass that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and Speckled. 36 And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams: and all the white and the black were Laban's: and the rest were Jacob's, when the flocks were sepa- rated one from the other. 41 So when the eves went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might con- ceive while they were looking upon them : 42 But when the later coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban's ; and they of the first time, Jacob’s. - 43 And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid-servants and men-ser- vants, camels and asses. CHAP. XXXI. Jacob’s departure: he is pursued and overtaken by Laban. They make a covenant. UT after that he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying: Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and being enriched by his substance is become great: 2 And perceiving also that Laban's countenance was not towards him as yesterday and the other day. 3 F.specially the Lord saying to him : Return into the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with º 4. He sent, and called Rachel and Lia into the field, where he fed the flocks, 5 And said to them : I see your father’s counte. nance is not towards me as yesterday and the other day: but the God of my father hath been with me. 6 And you know that I have served your father to the uttermost of my power. 7 Yea, your father also hath over-reached me, and hath changed my wages ten times: and yet God hath not suffered him to hurt me. 8 If at any time he said: The speckled shall be thy wages, all the sheep brought forth speckled but when he said on the contrarv: Thou shalt take CHAP XXXI. all the white ones for thy wages: all the flocks brought forth white ones. 9 And God hath taken your father’s substance, and given it to me. - 10. For after the time came of the ewes conceiv- ing, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in my sleep that the males which leaped upon the females were of divers colours, and spotted, and speckled. . 11 And the Angel of God said to me in my sleep: Jacob? A. I answered: Here I am. 12 And he said: Lift up thy eyes, and see that all the males leaping upon the females, are of divers colours, spotted and speckled. For I have seem all that Laban hath dome to thee. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the stone, and make a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and go out of this ſand, and return into thy native country. - - 14. And Rachel and Lia answered: Have we any thing left among the goods and inheritance of our father’s house P - 15 Hath he not counted us as strangers, and sold us, and eaten up the price of us? 16 But God hath taken our father’s riches, and delivered them to us, and to our children: where- fore do all that God hath commanded thee. © 17 Then Jacob rose up, and having set his chil- dren, and wives upon camels, went his way. - - 18 And he took all his substance, and flocks, and whatsoever he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and went forward to Isaac his father to the land of Chanaan. 19 At that time Laban was gone, to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole away her father's idols.” 20 And Jacob would not confess to his father- in-law that he was flying away. e 21 And when he was gone, together with all that belonged to him, and having passed the river, was going on towards mount Galaad, .. 22. It was told Laban on the third day, that Ja- cob fled. - e 23 And he took his brethren with him, and pur- sued after him seven days: and overtook him in the mount of Galaad. & © 24 And he saw in a dream God saying to him : }. heed thou speak not any thing harshly against &l COO. 25 Now Jacobhad pitched histent in the mountain: and when he with his brethren had oyertaken him, he pitched his tent in the same mount of Galaad. 26 And he said to Jacob: Why hast thou done thus, to carry away, without my knowledge, my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? 27 Why wouldst thou run away privately, and not acquaint me, that I might have brought thee, on the way with joy, and with songs, and with tim- brels, and with harps ? tº 28 Thou hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and daughters: thou hast done foolishly: and now indeed, º 29 It is in my power to return thee evil: but the a God of your father said to me yesterday : Take heed thou speak not any thing harshly against Jacob 30 Suppose, thou didst desire to go to thy friends, and hadst a longing after thy father’s house: why hast thou stolen away my gods? 31 Jacob answered: That I departed unknown to thee, it was for fear lest thou wouldst take away thy daughters by force. 2. But whereas thou chargest me with theft: with whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, let him he slain before our brethren. Search, and if thou find any of thy things with me, take them away. Now when he said this, he knew not that Rachel had stolen the idols. 33 So Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and of Lia, and of both the handmaids, and found them not. And when he was entered into Rachel's tent, 34. She in haste hid the idols under the camel's furniture, and sat upon them : and when he had searched all the tent, and found nothing, 35 She said: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee, because it has now hap- pened to me according to the custom of women. So his careful search was in vain. 36 And Jacob being angry, said in a chidin manner: For what fault of mine, and for what of. fence on my part hast thou so hotly pursued me, 37 And searched all my household-stuff? What hast thou found of all the substance of thy house * lay it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, and let them judge between me and thee. 38 Have I therefore been with thee twenty years? thy ewes and goats were not barren, the rams of thy flocks I did not eat. 39 Neither did I show thee that which the beast had torn, H made good all the damage: whatsoevel was lost by theft, thou didst exact it of me: 40 Day and night was I parched with heat, and with frost, and sleep departed from my eyes. 41 And in this manner have I served thee in thy house twenty years, fourteen for thy daughters, and six for thy flocks: thou hast changed also my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had stood by me, peradventure now thou hadst sent me away naked: God beheld my affliction, and the labour of my hands, and re- |buked thee yesterday. 43 Laban answered, him : The daughters are mine and the children, and thy flocks, and all things that thou Seest are mine: what can I do to my chil- dren, and grandchildren P 44 Come therefore, let us enter into a league; that it may be for a testimony between me and ther. e º And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for i. tltle : 46 And he said to his brethren: Bring hither stones. And they, gathering stones together, made a heap, and they ate upon it. 47 And Laban called it The witness heap: and * ther father's idols. By this it appears, that Laban was an idola- ter and some of the fathers are of opinion, that Rachel stole away these idols to withdraw him from idclatry, by removing the oc casion of his sin, 33 GENESIS. Jacob, The hillock of testimony: each of them ac- cording to the propriety of his language. 48 Å. Laban said: This heap shall be a witness between me and thce this day, and therefore the name thereof was called Galaad, that is, The wit- ness heap. 9 The Lord behold and judge between us when we shall be gone one from the other. 50 If thou afflict my daughters, and if thou bring n other wives over them : none is witness of our || speech but God, who is present and beholdeth. 5 i And he said again to Jacob: Behold this heap, . the stone which I have set up between me and thee, 52 Shall be a witness: this heap, I say, and the stone be they for a testimony, if either I shall pass beyond it going towards thee, or thou shalt pass beyond it, thinking harm to me. 53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. 54 And after he had offered sacrifices in the mountain, he called his brethren to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there : 55 But Laban arose in the night, and kissed his sons, and daughters, and blessed them, and returned to his place. CHAP. XXXII. Jacob's vision of Angels ; his message and presents to Esau : his wrestling with an Angel. ACOB also went on the journey he had begun: and the Angels of God met him. 2 And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps. 3 And he sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, to the country of Edom : 4 And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau : Thus saith thy bro- ñº., I have sojourned with Laban, and have been with him until this day. 5 I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and men- servants, and women-servants: and now I send a message to my lord, that I may find favour in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: We came to Esau thy brother, and behold, he cometh with speed to meet thee with four hundred men. 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid; and in his fear divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies, 8 Saying: if Esau cºme to one company, and de- stroy it, the other company that is left, shall escape. 9 And Jacob said: O God of my father Abra- tam, and God of my father Isaac : O Lord who saidst to me, Return to thy land, and to the place of thy birth and I will do well for thee. * A man, &c. This was an Angel in human shape, as we learn from Ösee, xii. 4. He is called God, v. 28. and 30. because he repre- tented the person of the Son of God. This wrestling, in which Jacob, assisted by God, was a match for an Angel, was so ordered (v. 28.) ! () I am not worthy of the least of all thy mer- cies, and of thy truth which thou hast fulfilled to thy servant. With my staff I passed over this Jor dan: and now I return with two companies. 1 ſ Deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him : lest perhaps he comi and kill the mother with the children. 12 Thou didst say that thou wouldst do well b me, and multiply my seed like the sand of the se. which cannot be numbered for multitude. 13 And when he had slept there that night, he set apart, of the things which he had, presents fo his brother Esau, w 14. Two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and twenty bulls, twenty she-asses, and ten of their foals. 16 And he sent them by the hands of his ser- vants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants: Go before me, and let there be a space between drove and drove. 17 And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest thou? or whose are these before thee P 18 Thou shalt answer: Thy servant Jacob's he hath sent them as a present to my lord Esau : and he cometh after us. 19 In like manner he commanded the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, say- ing: Speak ye the same words to Esau, when ye find him. . 20, And ye shall add: Thy servant Jacob himself also followeth afte, us; for he said: I will appease him with the presents that go before, and afterwards I will see him, perhaps he will be gracious to me. 21 So the presents went before him, but himsel: lodged that night in the camp. 22 And rising early he took his two wives, and his two handmaids, with his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of Jahoc. 23 And when all things were brought over that belonged to him, }'}}. remained alone: anu behold, a man” wres- tled with him till morning. 25 And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forth- with it shrank. - -> º 26 And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not let thee go, ex- cept thou bless me. - J 3.And he said: What is thy name? Heanswered, 3COO. 28 Bun lie said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel; for if thou hast been strong agains ºd, how much more shalt thou prevail against Inen - - 29 Jacob asked him: Tell me by what name that he might learn by this experiment of the divine assistance, that neither Esau, nor any other man, should have power to hurt bum. It was also spiritual, as appeareth by his earnest prayer, urging and at last obtaining the Angel’s blessing. CHAP. XXXlil, XXXIV. ait thou called 2 He answered: Why dost thou ask my name: And he blessed him in the same place. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Pha- nuel,” saying: I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved. - . . 31 And immediately the sun rose upon him, aſter he was past Phanuel; but he halted on his foot. e 32 Therefore the children of Israel, unto this lay, eat not the sinew, that shrank in Jacob's thigh.: because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank. - CHAP. XXXIII. Jacob and Esau meet: Jacob goeth to Salem, where he raiseth an altar. ND Jacob liſting up his eyes, saw Esau com- ing, and with him four hundred men: and he divided the children of Lia and of Rachel, and of the two handmaids: 2 And he put both the handmaids and their chil- dren foremost ; and Lia and her children in the second place : and Rachel, and Joseph last. 3 And he went forward and bowed down with his face to the ground seven times, until his brother calme near. 4 Then Esau ran to meet his brother, and em- braced him; and clasping him fast about the neck, and kissing him, Wept. 5 And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their children, and said: What mean these ? and do they belong to thee P He answered : They are the children which God hath given to me thy Servant. 6 Then the handmaids and their children came near, and bowed themselves. 7 Lia also with her children came near, and bowed down in like manner, and last of all Joseph and Rachel bowed down. 8 And Esau said. What are the droves that I met? He answered : That I might find favour be- fore my lord. - 9 But he said: I have what is thine for thyself. 10 And Jacob said: Do not so, I beseech thee, but if I have found favour in thy eyes, receive a little present at my hands: for I have seen thy face, as if I should have seen the countenance of God; be gracious to me, 11 And take the blessing, which I have brought thee, and which God hath given me, who giveth all .hings. He took it with much ado at his brother’s earnest pressing him, 12 And said: Let us go on together, and I will º thee in thy journey. 13 And Jacob said: My lord, thou knowest that I have with me tender children, and sheep, and kine with young; which if l should cause to be over- driven, in one day all the flocks will die. plenty, my brother, keep º * This word signifies the face of God, or, the sight, or, seeing of God. 3 14 May it please my lord to go before his ser- vant; and, I will follow softly after him, as I shall See my children to be able, until I come to my lord in Seir. 15 Esau answered: I beseech thee, that some of the people at least, who are with me, may stay to accompany thee in the way. And he said: "Titº is no necessity: I want nothing else but only to find favour, my lord, in thy sight. 16 So Esau returned, that day, the way that he came, to Seir. 17 And Jacob came to Socoth ; where having built a house, and pitched tents, he called the made of the place Socoth, that is, Tents. 18 And he passed over to Salem a city of the Sichemites, which is in the land of Chanaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria: and he dwelt by the town. - 19 And he bought that part of the field, in which he pitched his tents, of the children of Hemor, the father of Sichem, for a hundred lambs. 20 And raising an altar there, he invoked upon it the most mighty God of Israel. CHAP. X XXIV. Dina is ravished, for which the Sichemites are destroyed. ANP Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country. 2 And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hivite, the prince of that land, saw her, he was in love with her; and took her away, and lay with her, ravishing the virgin. 3 And his soul was fast knit unto her, and whereas she was sad, he comforted her with swee' words. 4 And going to Hemor his father, he said: Gel me this damsel to wife. 5 But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came back. 6 And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak to Jacob, 7 Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had passed, they were exceeding an gry, because he had done a foul thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing Jacob's daughter. 8 And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a longing for your daughter; give her him to wife. * 9 And let us contract marriages one with ano- ther; give us your daughters, and take you our daughters. 10. And dwell with us: the land is at your coni- mand, till, trade, and possess it. 11 Sichem also said to her father and to her bre- thren: Let me find favour in your sight and what- soever you shall appoint I will give ; 12 Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and . will gladly give what you shall demand ; only give une this damsel to wife. 13 The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his ( , ENESIS. father deceitfully,” being enraged at the deſlower- ing of their sister ; 14. We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; which with us is unlawful and abominable. 15 B it in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised; 16 Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and ours; and we will dwell with you, and will be one people: 17 But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart. 18 Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem his S()I] . 19 And the young man made no delay, but forth- with fulfilled what was required ; for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he was the greatest man in all his father’s house. 20 And going into the gate of the city, they spoke to the people: 21 These men are peaceable, and are willing to dwell with us: let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for wives, and we will give them ours. & 22 One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred : We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation. 23 And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours: only in this let us con- descend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people. # And they all agreed, and circumcised all the IIlal C.S. 25 And behold, the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city, and slew all the IQC Il 26 And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their sister Dina, out of Sichem’s house. 27 And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain ; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape. 28 And they took their sheep and their herds and their asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in the fields. , 29 And their children, and wives they took cap- {\Ve. - 30 And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me hateful to the Chananites, and Pherezites the inhabitants of this land. We are few : they will gather themsleves together and kill me; and both I, and my house shall be destroyed. 3] They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a strumpetf * * CHAP. XXXV. Jacob purgeth his family from idols: goeth by God’s command- ment to Bethel, and there buildeth an altar. God appearing again to Jacob blesseth him, and changeth his name into Is rael. Rachel dieth in child-birth. Isaac also dieth. N the mean time God said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau thy brother. - 2 And Jacob having called together all his he use hold, said: Cast away the strange gods that art among you, and be cleansed and change your gar II) entS. 3 Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God; who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompanied me in my journey. 4. So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the ear-rings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine-tree, that is behind the city of Sichem. - 5 And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away. 6 And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel; he and all the people that were with him. 7 And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother. 8. At the same time Debora the nurse of Rebecca died, and was buried at the foot of Bethel under an oak : and the name of that place was called. The oak of weeping. 9 And God appeared again to Jacob after he re- º from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed III), 10 Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.f - 11 And said to him : I am God Almighty, increase thou and be multiplied. Nations and º of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. 12 And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee. 13 And he departed from him. 14 But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him; pouring drink-offerings upon it, and pouring oil thereon ; 15 And calling the name of that place Bethel. 16 And going forth from thence, he came in the spring time to the land which leadeth to Ephrata ; wherein when Rachel was in travail, 17 By reason of her hard labour, she began to be in danger, and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this son also. 18, And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, The son of my pain; * Deceitfully. The sons of Jacob, on this occasion, were guilty wf a grievous sin, as well by falsely pretending religion, as by excess of their revenge. Though, otherwise their zeal against so foul a rumo was commendable. t Israel. This name signifieth one that prevalleth with God. 36 CHAP. XXXVI. but nis father called him Benjamin, that is, The son of he right hand. 19 So Rachel died, and was buried in the high- way that leadeth to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem. 20 And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre: this is the pillar of Rachel’s monument, to this day. 21 Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock tower. e 22 And when he dwelt in that country: Ruben went, and slept with Bala the concubine” of his father : which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Lia: Ruben the first-born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon. 24. The sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bala, Rachel's handmaid: fan and Nephtali, e 26. The sons of Zelpha, Lia's handmaid: Gad and Aser: these are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria. 27 And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of Arbee, this is Hebron: wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned. - 28 And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years. 29 Åi being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. CHAP. XXXVI. Esau with his wives and children parteth from Jacob. An account of his descendants, and of the first kings of Edom. ND these are the generations of Esau, the same is Edom. - 2 Esau took wives of the daughters of Chanaan: Adat the daughter of Elon the Hethite, and Ooli- bama the daughter of Sebeom the Hevite: 3 And Basemath, the daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabajoth. 4 And Ada bore Eliphaz : Basemath bore Rahuel : 5 Oolibama bore Jehus and Ihelon and Core. These are the sons of Esau, that were born to him in the lano ºf Chanaan. 6 And Es, u took his wives and his sons and daughters, and every soul of his house, and his sub- stance, and cattle, and all that he was able to ac- quire in the land of Chanaan: and went into another country, and departed from his brother Jacob. 7 For they were exceeding rich, and could not dwell together: neither was the land in which they sojourned, able to bear them, for the multitude of their flocks. 2 * 8 And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir: he is Edom. 9 And these are the generations of Esau the ‘ ther of Edom in Mount Seir. 10 And these the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Ada the wife of Esau; and Rahuel the son of Basemath his wife. 11 And Eliphaz had sons: Theman, Omar, Sepho, and Gatham and Cenez. tº 12 And Thamna was the concubine of Eliphaz the son of Esau : and she bore him Amalech. These are the sons of Ada the wife of Esau 13 And the sons of Rahuel: were Nahath and Zara, Samma and Meza. These were the sons of Basemath the wife of Esau. 14 And these were the sons of Oolibama, th: daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him, Jehus, and Ihelon and Core. - 15 These were dukes of the sons of Esau : the sons of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau; duke The man, duke Omar, duke Sepho, duke Cenez, 16 Duke Core, Duke Gatham, duke Amalech these are the sons of Eliphaz in the land of Edom and these the sons of Ada. 17 And these were the sons of Rahuel, the son of Esau : duke Nahath, duke Zara, duke Samma, duke Meza. And these are the dukes of Rahuel in the land of Edom : these the sons of Basemath the wife of Esau. 18 And these the sons of Oolibama the wife ol Esau: duke Jehus, duke Ihelon, duke Core. These are the dukes of Öolibama, the daughter of Ana, and wife of Esau. 19 These are the sons of Esau, and these the dukes of them: the same is Edom, 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horrite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Sohal, and Se- beon, and Ana, 21 And Dison, and Eser, and Disan. are dukes of the H land of Edom. 22 And Lotan had sons: Hori and Heman. And the sister of Lotan, was Thamna 23 And these the sons of Sobal: Alvan and Manahat, and Ebal, and Sepho, and Oman. 24 And these the sons of Sebeon: Aia and Ana. This is Ana that found the hot waters in the wilder- ness, when he fed the asses of Sebeon his father : 25 And he had a son Dison, and a daughter Oolibama. - 26. And these were the sons of Dison; Hamdan, and Eseban, and Jethram, and Charan. 27. These also were the sons of Ezer: Balaan, and Zavan, and Acan. 28 And Disan had sons: Hus and Aram. 29 These were dukes of the Horrites: duke Lotan, duke Sobal, duke Sebeon, duke Ana, 30 Duke Dison, duke Eser, duke Disan: these were dukes of the Horrites that ruled in the lard of Seir. 31 And the kings that ruled in the land of H.dcm before the children of Israel had a king, were these: 32 Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city Denaba. e 33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zara of Bosra reigned in his stead. o . These orrites, the sons of Seir in the * The concubins. She was his lawful wife; but according to the ſtyle of the Hebrews, is called concubine, because of her servile ex- traction. # Ada. These wives of Esau are called by other names, Gen. xxvi. But it was very common amongst the ancients for the same persºn, to have two names, as Esau hºr was also called Edom. (EENESIS. 34 And when Jobab was dead, Husam of the land of the Themanites reigned in his stead. 35 And after his death, Adad the son of Badad reigned in his stead, who defeated the Malianites in the country of Moab : and the name of his city was Avith 36 And when Adad was dead, there reigned in "is stead Semla of Masreca. 37 And he being dead, Saul of the river Roho- both, reigned in his stead. 38 And when he also was dead, Balanan the son of Achobor succeeded to the kingdom. 39 This man also being dead, Adar reigned in ais place, and the name of his city was Phau; and his wife was called Meetabel, the daughter of Ma- tred, daughter of Mezaab. 40 And these are the names of the dukes of Esau in their kindreds, and places, and callings: duke Thamna, duke Alva, duke Jetheth, 41 Duke Oolibama, duke Ela, duke Phinon, 42 Duke Cenez, duke Theman, duke Mabsar, 43 Duke Magdiel, duke Hiram: these are the dukes of Edom dwelling in the land of their govern- trient, the same is Esau the father of the Edomites. CHAP. XXXVII. Joseph’s dreams: he is sold by his brethren, and carried into Egypt. ND Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan, where- in his father soiourned. 2 And these are |. generations: Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being but a boy ; and he was with the sons of Bala and of Zelpha his father’s wives: and he accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age : and he made him a coat of divers colours. 4 And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream,” that he had dreamed ; which occasioned them to hate him the more. 6 And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed. 7 I thought we were binding sheaves in the field ; and my sheaf arose, as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about bowed down before my sheaf. 8 His brethren answered : Shalt thou be our king? or shall we be subject to thy dominion? There- fore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred. 3 He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worship- ping me. 10 And when he had told this to his father, and brethren, his father rehuked him, and said : What meaneth this dream that thou has dreamed * Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren worship f thee upon the earth. 11 His brethren the efore envied him: but his father considered the thing with himself. 12 And when his brethren abode in Sichem feeding their father's flocks, 13 Israel said to him : Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, ) wiſ! send thee to them And when he answered : 14 I am ready : he said to him: Go, and see if all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he caume to Sichem: 15 And a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked.what he sought. 16 But he answered: I seek my brethren, tell me where they feed the flocks. 17 And the man said to him : Thev are departed from this place ; for I heard them sav - Let us go to Dothain. And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain. 18 And when they saw him afar, off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him ; 19 And said one to another: Behold, the dream- er cometh. 20 Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit; and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him; and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him. w 21 And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of their hands, and said: 22 Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood; but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands harmless: now he said this being desirous to deliver him out of their hands. an to restore him to his father. 23 And as soon as he came to his brethren, they forthwith stripped him of his outside coat, that was of divers colours: . 24 And cast him into an old pit where there WaS Ilo Water. - 25 And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ismaelites on their way coming from Galaad, with their camels, carrying spices, and baln and myrrh to Egypt. - 26 And Juda said to his brethren: What will it profit us to kill our brother, and conceal his blood 7 27. It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that our hands be not defiled : for he is our bro- ther and our flesh. His brethren agreed to his words. - - 28 And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him out of the pit, and sold aim to the Ismaelites, for twenty pieces of silver: and they led him into Egypt. * A dream. These dreams of Joseph were prophetical, and sent from God; as were also those which he interpreted, Gen. xl. and xli. otherwise generally speaking, the observing of dreams is condemned In the scripture, as superstitious and sinful. See Deut. xviii. 10 and Feelesiasticus xxxiv. 2, 3 $8 _--- & Cº. z_>~~ §2. F-3s--> ās C C - S- “º # Worship. This word is not used here to signify disis.e wership, but an inferior veneration, expressed by the bowing of the body, and that according to the manner of the eastern nations, down to the ground. CHAP. XXXVIII. 29 And Ruben returning to the pit, found not the boy. 30 And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and said: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go P 31 And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed ; 32 Sending some to carry it to their father, and to say: This we have found; see whether it be thy son’s coat, or no. . 33 And the father acknowledging it, said : It is my son's coat, an evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured Joseph. 34 And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth, mourning for his son a long time. 35 And all his children being gathered together to comfort their father in his sorrow, he would not re- ceive comfort, but said: I will go down to my son into hell,” mourning. And whilst he continued weeping, 36 The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Puti- phar an eunuch f of Pharao, captain of the soldiers. CHAP. XXXVIII. The sons of Juda: the death of Her and Onan : the birth of Phares and Zara. - AT that time Juda went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Odollamite, named Hiras. 2 And he saw there the daughter of a man of Chanaan, called Sue ; and taking her to wife, he went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bore a son, and call- ed his name Her. 4 And conceiving again; she bore a son, and called him Oman. 5 She bore also a third ; whom she called Sela. After whose birth, she ceased to bear any more. 6 And Juda took a wife for Her his first-born, whose name was Thamar. 7 And Her the first-born of Juda, was wicked in the sight of the Lord ; and was slain by him. 8 Juda therefore said to Oman, his son : Go in to thy brother’s wife, and marry her, that thou mayest raise seed to thy brother. 9 He knowing that the children should not be his, when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spill- ed his seed upon the ground, lest children should he born in his brother’s name. ſº 10 And therefore the Lord slew him, because he did a detestable thing. 11 Wherefore Juda said to Thamar his daughter- ºn-law : Remain a widow in thy father’s house, till Sela my son grow up : for he was afraid lest he also might die, as his brethren did. She went her way and dwelt in her father’s house. 12 And after many days, were past; the daughter ef Sue the wife of Juda died : and when he had taken comfort after his mourning, he went up to * Into hell. That is, into limbo, the place where the souls of the just were received before the death of our Redeemer. For allowing that the word hell sometimes is taken for the grave, it cannot be so taken in this place; since Jacob did not believe his son to be in the grave, (whom he supposed to be devoured by a wild beast,) and there- | ====<=== Thamnas, to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hi- |ras the Odollamite the shepherd of his flock. 13 And it was told Thamar that her father-in- law was come up to Thammas to shear his sheep. 14 And she put off the garments of her widow- hood, and took a veil; and changing her dress, sat in the cross way, that leadeth to Thammas: because Sela was grown up, and she had not been married to him. 15 When Juda saw her, he thought she was a harlot: for she had covered her face, lest she shuuld be known. 16 And going to her, he said: Suffer me to lie with thee: for he knew her not to be his daughter in-law. And she answered ' What wilt thou give me to enjoy my company P 17 He said: I will send thee a kid out of the flock. And when she said again: I will suffer what thou wilt, if thou give me a pledge, till thou send what thou promisest. 18 Juda said: What wilt thou have for a pledge 2 She answered : Thy ring and bracelet, and the staff which thou holdest in thy hand. The woman there- fore at one copulation conceived. 19 And she arose and went her way: and putting off the apparel which she had taken, put on the gar: ments of her widowhood. 20 And Juda sent a kid by his shepherd, the Odollamite, that he might receive the pledge again, which he had given to the woman : but he, not finding her, 21 Asked the men of that place: Where is the woman that sat in the cross way P And when they all made answer: There was no harlot in this place, 22 He returned to Juda, and said to him : | have not found her, moreover the men of that place said to me, that there never sat a harlot there. 23 Juda said: Let her take it to herself, surel she cannot charge us with a lie, I sent the kid whic I promised ; and thou didst not find her. 24 And behold, after three months they told Juda saying: Thamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot, and she appeareth to have a big belly. And Juda said: Bring her out that she may be burnt. 25 But when she was led to execution, she sent to her father-in-law, saying: By the man, to whom these things belong, I am with child. See whose ring, and bracelet, and staff this is. 26 But he acknowledging the gifts, said: She is juster than I : because I did not give her to Sela my son. However he knew her no more. 27 And when she was ready to be brought to bed, there appeared twins in her womb; and in the very delivery of the infants, one put forth a hand, where on the midwife tied a scarlet thread, saying 28 This shall come forth the first. 29 But he drawing back his hand, the other came forth: and the woman said: Why is the partition fore could not mean to go down to him thither: but certainly meant the place of rest, where he believed his soul to be. # An eunuch. This word sometimes signifies a chamberlain, eswrºtes, or officer, of the king: and so it is taken in this place 39 GENESIS divided for thee P and therefore called his name Phares.” 30 Afterwards his brother came out, on whose %. was the scarlet thread: and she called him 3 Tâ. CHAP. XXXIX. Joseph hath charge of his master’s house: rejecteth his mistress’s solicitations : is falsely accused by her, and cast into prison, where he hath the charge of all the prisoners. AN D Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Puti- .*- phar, an eunuch of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of the Ismael- ites, by whom he was brought. 2 And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in all things: and he dwelt in his master’s house: _ _ _ _ _ _º - † : J 1 l -- - - - - - - ... --...!! : 1 --- 4 +1. - T. ----! ------ ~~~! -1- o WV no Knew very well lilai Lile iOjū Was Willii nim, and made all that he did, to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found favour in the sight of his | master, and ministered to him : and being set over all by him, he governed the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to him : 5 And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyp- tian for Joseph’s sake, and multiplied all his sub- stance, both at home, and in the fields. 6 Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful coun- tenance, and comely to behold. 7 And after many days his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me. 8 But he in no wise consenting to that wicked act, said to her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his own house: - 9 Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, “who art his wife: how then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God? . 10 With such words as these day by day, both the woman was importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery. ! l Now it happened on a certain day, that Joseph went into the house, and was doing some business without any man with him : 12 And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with me. ut he leaving the garment in her hand, fled, and went out. 13 And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and herself disregarded, 14 She called to her the men of her house, and said to them : See, he hath brought in a Hebrew to abuse us: he came in to me, to lie with me: and when I cried out, 15. And he heard my voice, he left the garment That l held, and got him out. 16 For a proof therefore of her fidelity,f she kept the garment, and showed it to her husband when he returned home : 17 And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought, came to me to abuse me: 18 And when he heard me cry, he leſt the gar- ment which I held, and fled out. 19 His master hearing these things, and giving too much credit to his wife’s words, was very angry, 20 And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king’s prisoners were kept, and he was there shut Jp 21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison : - 22 Who delivered into his hand all the prist meis that were º in custody: and whatsoever was dano varo e ind or him 23 Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him : for the ilord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper. Joseph interpreteth the dreams of two of Pharao's servants in prison: the event declareth the interpretations to be true, but Joseph is forgotten. AFTER this, it came to pass, that two eunuchs, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, offended their lord. 2 And Pharao being angry with them (now the one was chief butler, the other chief baker, 3 He sent them to the prison of the commander of the soldiers, in which Joseph also was prisoner, 4. But the keeper of the prison delivered them to Joseph, and he served them. Some little time passed, and they were kept in custody. 5 And they both dreamed a dream the same night, according to the interpretation agreeing to themselves: - 6 And when Joseph was come into them in the morning, and saw them sad, 7 He asked them, saying: Why is your counte- nance sadder to-day than usual 7 8 They answered : We have dreamed a dream, and there is nobody to interpret it to us. And Jo- seph said to them : Doth not interpretation belong to God ºf Tell me what you have dreamed : 9 The chief butler first told his dream : I saw before me a vine, t 10 On which were three branches, which by lit- tle and little sent out buds, and after the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes: 11 And the cup of Pharao was in my hand : and I took the grapes, and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave the cup to Pharao. 12 Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream: The three branches are yet three days. * Phsres. That is, a breach or division. T ºf proof of her fidelity: or, an argument to gain credit, argumentum fidei. | Doth not interpretation belong to God. When dreams are from God, as these were, the interpretation of them is a gift of God. But the generality of dreams are not of this sort; but either proceed from the natural complexions and dispositions of persons, or the roving of their imaginations in the day on such objects as they are much affected with, or from their mind being disturbed with cares and troubles, and oppressed with bodily infirmities: or they are suggested by evil spirits, to flatter, or to terrify weak minds; in order to gain belief, and so draw them into error or superstition; or at least to trouble them in their sleep, whom they cannot move when they are awake; so that the general rule, with regard to dreams, is not to observe them, nor to give any credit to them. * 40 - * ſº i …” = ** s: - s : & CHAP. XLI. yº. *— = --><= == * 13 After which Pharao will remember thy service, and will restore thee to thy former place: and thou shalt present him the cup according to thy office, as before thou wast wont to do. i4 Only remember me; when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness: to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this prison : 15 For 1 was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here without any fault was cast into the dungeon. . 16 The Chief baker seeing that he had wisely in- terpreted the dream, said: f also dreamed a dream, That I had three baskets of meal upon my head : 17 And that in one basket which was uppermost, I carried all meats that are made by the art of bak- ing, and that the birds ate out of it. 18 Joseph answered. This is the interpretation of the dream : The three baskets, are yet three days: 19 After which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang thee on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh. 20 The third day after this was the birth-day of Pharao: and he made a great feast for his servants, and at the banquet remembered the chief butler, and the chief baker. 21 And he restored the one to his place, to present him the cup: 22 The other he hanged on a gibbet, that the truth of the interpreter might be shown. 23 But the chief butler, when things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter. CHAP. XLI. - Joseph interpreteth the two dreams of Pharao: he is made ruler over all Egypt. AFTER two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river, 2 Out of which came up seven kine, very beau- tiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places. 3 Other seven also came up out of the river, ill- favoured, and lean fleshed : and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places: 4 And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke. 5 He slept again, and dreamed another dream: iºn ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and 311F : 6 Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted, 7 And devoured all, the beauty of the former. Pharaoh awaked after his rest: 8 And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one that could interpret it. 3 Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin: 10. The king being angry with his servants, com- manded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers: 11 Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come. 12 There was there a young man a Hebrew, ser vant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams. 13 And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged upon a gibbet. 14 Forthwith at the king’s command, Joseph was brought out of the prison, and, they shaved him and changing his apparel, brought him in to him. 15 And he said to him : I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them: Now º heard that thou art very wise at interpretin them. 16 Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer. 17 So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Me- thought I stood upon the bank of the river, 18 And seven kine came up out of the river, ex ceeding beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in a marshy pasture. 19 And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so very ill-favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt. 20 And they devoured and consumed the former 21 And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill-favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again, 22 And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn. grew up upon one stalk, full and very fair. 23 Other seven also, thin and blasted, sprung of the stalk: 24, And they devoured the beauty of the former I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it. 25 Joseph answered: The king’s dream is one God hath shown to Pharao what he is about to do 26 The seven beautiful kine, and the seven ful, ears are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream. 27 And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them, and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come : 28 Which shall be fulfilled in this order. 29 Benold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt: 30 After which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity, that all the abundance before shal be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land, 31 And the greatness of the scarcity, shall destroy the greatness of the plenty. 32 And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing: it is a tokei. of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled speedily. 33 Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt: 34. +ial he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven fruitful years. *mºm-dº sº º GENESIS. /º3. § 35 That snafi now presently ensue; and let, all he corn he laid up, under Pharao's hands, and be eserved in the cities. - o 3b And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Fºgypt, and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity. 37 The counsel pleased Pharao, and all his servants. 38 And he j' to them: Can we find such an- her man, that is full of the Spirit of God! . . 39 He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath enown thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto theef 40 Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee. . 41 And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt. 42 And he look his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand; and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold abºut his neck: , .13 And |. made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bºw their knee before him, and that they should knºw he was made governor over the Whi. land of Egypt. 44 And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao; without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45 And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the Saviour of the world.” . And he gave him to wife Aseneth the daughter of Puti- phare priest of Heliopolis. Then Joseph went out t the land of Egypt: 46 (Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao) and he went round all the ^ untries of Egypt. 47 And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the corn being bound up into sheaves was ga- thered together into the barns of Egypt. 48 And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city. 49 And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure. 50 And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born : whom Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis bore unto him. 51 And he called the name of the first-born Ma- masses,f saying: God, hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father’s house. 52 And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty. 53 Now when the seven years of the plenty that had been in Egypt were past: 54. The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had i retold, began to come: and the famine prevailed tº the whole world, but there was bread in all the and of Egypt. 55 And when there also they began to be famished, the people cried to Pharao,for food. Añd he said to then; Go to Joseph and do all tha: he shall sav to YOU!. e 56 And the famine increased daily in all the land, and Joseph opened all the trains, and sold to the Egyptians: for the famine had oppressed them aiso. r t 57 And all provinces game into Egypt, to cuy food and to seek some relief of their want. CHAP: XLII. Jacob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt Their treat ment by Joseph. - AND Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons: Why are ye careless? 2 I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt: Go ye down, and buy us necessaries, that we may live, and not be consumed with want. 3 So the ten brethren of Joseph went down, to buy corn in Fgypt: 4 W. Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob who said to his brethren: Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey. - 5 And they entered into the land of Egypt with others that went to buy. For the famine was in the land of Chanaan. 6 And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him, 7 And he knew them, he spoke as it were to strangers somewhat roughly, asking them: Whence came you? They answered: From the land of Cha- naam, to buy necessaries of life. 3 And though he knew his brethren, he was not known by them. 9 And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them: You are spies: you are come to view the weaker parts of the land. 10 But they said: It is not so, my lord, but thy servants are come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man: we are come as peaceable men, neither do thy servants go about any evil. 12 And he answered them : It is otherwise: you are come to consider the unfenced parts of this land. 13 But they said: We thy servants are twelve bre- thren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan: the youngest is with our father, the other is not living. 14. He saith, This is it that I said: You are spies. 15 I shall now presently try what you are: by the health of Pharao you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother come. . 16 Send one of you to fetch him: and you shal. be in prison, till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false: or else, by the health of Pharao, you are spies.| 17 So he put them in prison three days. 18 And the third day he brought them out of * The Saviour of the world. Zaphnath paaneah. JManasses. That is, oblivion, or forgetting. Ephraim. That is, fruitful, or growing. You ure spies. This he said by way of examining them, to see wb at they would answer. | Or else by the health of Pharao you are spies. That is, if hese things you say be proved false, you are to be held for spies for your lying, and shall be treated as such. Joseph dealt in this manner with his bre- thren, to bring them by the means of affliction to a sense of their former sin, and a sincere repentance for it. &P & F.” —2 sº *> º 2- —- -> CHAP. XLIll & prison, and said: Do as I have said, and you shall live: for I fear God. 19 If you be peaceable men, let one of your bre- 'hren pe bound in prison: and go ye your ways, and carry the corn that you have bought, unto your houses, 20 And bring your youngest brother to me, that i may find your words to be true, and you may not lie. They did as he had said. - 21 And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear: there- fore is this affliction come upon us. 22 And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say ſo you: Do not sin against the boy: and you would not hear me? Behold, his blood is required. 23 And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them by an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and returning he spoke to them. 25 And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man’s money again in their sacks, and to give them besides pro- visions for the way: and they did so. 26 But they having loaded their asses with the corn, went their way. - 27 And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack’s mouth. 28 And said to his brethren, My money is given me again, behold, it is in the sack. And they were astonished and troubled, and said to one another: "What is this that God hath done unto us? 29 And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Chanaan, and they told him all things that had befallen them, saying: - 30 The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and •ook us to be spies of the country. 31 And we answered him: "We are peaceable men, and we mean no plot. 32 We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan. 33 And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways 34 And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept in prison: and after- wards may have leave to buy what you will. 35 When they had told this, they poured out tileir corn, and every man found his money tied in ‘He mouth of his sack: and all being astonished ..ogether, 36 Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without children: Joseph is not living, Simeon .s kept in bonds, and Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are fallen upon me. * - ... 37 And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons if I bring him not again to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to thee. 38 But he said: My son shall not go down with you : his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befal him in the land to which you go, }. will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to €ll. CHAP. XLIII. The sons of Jacob go again into Egypt with Benjamin. They are entertained by Joseph. IN the mean time the famine was heavy upon all the land. 2 And when they had eaten up all the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons : Go again, and buy us a little food. 3 Juda answered : The man declared unto us with the attestation of an oath, saying: You shall not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you. 4. If therefore thou wilt send him with us, we will set out together, and will buy necessaries for thee. 5 But if thou wilt not, we will not go : for the man, as we have often said, declared unto us, say- ing: You shall not see my face without your young- est brother. - 6 Israel said to them : You have done this for my misery, in that you told him you had also ano- ther brother. 7 But they answered. The man asked us in order concerning our kindred : if our father lived : if we had a brother : and we answered him regu- larly, according to what he demanded : could we know that he would say: Bring hither your brothel with you ?, 8 And Juda said to his father : Send the boy with me, that we may set forward, and may live lest both we and our children perish. 9 I take the boy upon me, require him at my hand unless I bring him again, and restore him to thee, I will be guilty of sin against thee for ever. 10 If delay had not been made, we had been here again the second time. 11 Then Israel said to them, If it must needs be.so, do what you will : take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down presents to the man, a little balm, f and honey, id Storax, myrrh, turpentine, and almonds. 12 And take with you double money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done by mistake. 13 And take also your brother, and go to the man. 14 And may my almighty God make him favour. able to you : and send back with you your brºthel, whom he keepeth, and this Benjamin : and as ſoi me I shall be desolate without children. 15 So the men took the presents and double money, and Benjamin: and went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph. - 16 And when he had seen them, and Benjamin –- Yºr- 2-2T b * To hell. That is, to that place, where the souls then remained, as nhove, chap. xxxvii. ver. 35 balm º 43 - K- *> ge amº ºne-ºvºº ł Balm. Literally rosin, rosinae; but here by that name is meant —ºš GENESIS. vºth them, he commanded the steward of his house, saying: Bring in the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast: because they shall eat with me at noon. 17 He did as he was commanded, and brought the men into the house. 18 And they being much afraid, said there one to another : Because of the money, which we car- riod back the first time in our sacks, we are brought m; that he may bring upon us a false accusation, and by violence make slaves of us and our asses. 13 Wherefore going up to the steward of the 'louse, at the door, 20 They said: Sir, we desire thee to hear us. We came down once before to buy food : 21 And when we had bought, and were come to the inn, we opened our sacks, and found our money in the mouths of the sacks: which we have now brought again in the same weight. 22 And we have brought other money besides, to buy what we want: we cannot tell, who put it in our bags. 23 But he answered: Peace be with you, fear not : your God, and the God of your father hath given you treasure in your sacks: For the money, which you gave me, I have for good. And he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And having brought them into the house, he fetched water, and they washed their feet, and he gave provender to their asses. 25 But they made ready the presents, against Jo- seph came at noon : for they had heard that they should eat bread there. 26 Then Joseph came in to his house, and they offered him the presents,holding them in their hands, and they bowed down with their face to the ground. 27 But he courteously saluting them again, asked them, saying: Is the old man your father in health, of whom you told me? Is he yet living? 28 And they answered: Thy servant our father is in health, he is yet living. And bowing them- selves, they made obeisance to him. 29 And Joseph lifting up his eyes, saw Benja- min his brother, by the same mother, and said: Is this your young brother of whom you told me? And he said: God be gracious to thee, my son. 30 And he made haste because his heart was moved upon his brother, and tears gushed out: and going into his chamber he wept. 31 And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he refrained himself, and said; Set bread on the table. 32 And when it was set on, for Joseph a part, und for his brethren a part, for the Egyptians also that ate with him, a part, (for it is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, and they think such a feast profane :) - 33 They sat before him, the first-born according to his birth-right, and the youngest according to his age. And they wondered very much : : 34 Taking the messes which they received o him : and the greater mess came to Benjamin, sa that it exceeded by five parts. And they drank, and were merry with him. CHAP. XLIV. Joseph’s contrivance to stop his brethren. cation of Juda. The humule suppl. - AND Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying: Fili their sacks with corn, as much as they can hold: and put the money of every one in the top of his sack. 2 And in the mouth of the younger's sack put my silver cup, and the price which he gave for the wheat. And it was so done. 3 And when the morning arose, they were sent away with their asses. * -- 4 And when they were now departed out of the city, and had gone forward a little way : Joseph sending for the steward of his house, said: Arise, and pursue after the men: and when thou hast over- taken them, say to them : Why have you returned evil for good f - 5 The cup which you have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to di. vine :* you have done a very evil thing. 6 He did as he had commanded him. And having overtaken them, he spoke to them the same words. 7 And they answered: Why doth our lord speak so, as though thy servants had committed so heinous a fact? - - 8 The money, that we found in the top of our sacks, we brought back to thee from the land of Chanaan : how then should it be that we should steal out of thy lord’s house, gold or silver ? - With whomsoever of thy servants shall be found that which thou seekest, let him die, and we will be the bondmen of my lord. 10 And he said to them : Let it be according to your sentence: with whomsoever it shall be found, let him be my servant, and you shall be blameless. 11 Then they speedily took down their sacks to the ground, and every man opened his sack. 12 Which when he had searched, beginning at the eldest, and ending at the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. - 13 Then they rent their garments, and loading their asses again, returned into the town. 14 And Juda at the head of his brethren went in to Joseph (for he was not yet gone out of the place) and they all together fell down before him on the ground. - - 15 And he said to them : Why would you do so f know you not that there is no one like me in the science of divining.f 16 And Juda said to him : What shall we an swer my lord P or what shall we say, or be able justly to allege P God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are all bondmen to my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found. * To divinº. This was spoken by Joseph, to his steward in jest: alkading to the notion of the people, who took him to be a divine. * The seience of divining He speaks of himself according to what 44 tº _e-vº Zº —º º,”T he was esteemed in that kingdom. And indeed, he being truly * prophet, knew more without comparison than any of the Egyptian ; SOrCerſers C CHAP. XLV. Yºr- ====<=== 17 Joseph answered: God forbid that I should do so : he that stole the cup, he shall be my bond- man : and go you away free to your father. 18 Then Juda coming nearer, said boldly: l be- seech thee, my Lord, let thy servant speak a word in thy ears, and be not angry with thy servant: for after Pharao thou art 19 My lord. Thou didst ask thy servants the fist time : Have you a father or a brother P 20 And we answered thee, my lord: We have a father an old man, and a young boy, that was born in his old age : whose brother by the mother is dead ; and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him tenderly. 21 And thou saidst to thy servants: Bring him hither to me, and I will set my eyes on him. 22 We suggested to my lord: The boy cannot leave his father: for if he leave him, he will die. 23 And thou saidst to thy servants, Except your youngest brother come with you, you shall see my face no more. 24. Therefore when we were gone up to thy ser- vant our father, we told him all thatmylord had said. 25 And our father said: Go again, and buy us a little wheat. 26 And we said to him : We cannot go : if our woungest brother go down with us, we will set out together: otherwise, without him we dare not see the man’s face. 27 Whereunto he answered: You know that my wife bore me two. - 28 One went out, and you said: A beast de- voured him : and hitherto he appeareth not. 29 If you take this also, and any thing befall him in the way, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow unto hell. 30 Therefore if I shall go to thy servant our father, and the boy be wanting (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of him) 31 And he shall see that he is not with us, he will die, and thy servants shall bring down his gray hairs” with sorrow unto hell. 32 Let me be thy proper servant, who took him into my trust and promised, saying: If I bring him not again, I will be guilty of sin against my father for ever. 33 Therefore I thy servant will stay instead of the boy in the service of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brethren. 34 For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I be a witness of the calamity that will appress my father. CHAP. XLV. Jºseph make Ji himself known to his brethren: and sendeth for his father. J OSEPH could no longer refrain himself before *” many that stood by: whereupon he commanded that all should go out, and no stranger be present at their knowing one another 2 And he lifted up his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians, and all the house of Pharao heard. 3 And he said to his brethren: I am Joseph is my father yet living? His brethren could not hºwer him, being struck with exceeding great CaF. 4 And he said mildly to them: Come nearer to me. And when they were come near him, he said: #!" Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into gypt. - 5 Be not afraid, and let it not seem to you a hard case that you sold me into these countries: for God sent me before you into Egypt for your pre- Servation. 6 For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the land, and five years more remain, wherein there can be neither ploughing nor reaping. 7 And God sent me before, that you may be preserved upon the earth, and may have food to live. 8 Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God: who hath made me as it were a father to Pharao, and lord of his whole house, and governor in all the land of Egypt. 9 Make haste, and go ye up to my father, and say to him : Thus saith thy son Joseph : God hath made me lord of the whole land of Egypt : come down to me, linger not. 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen : and thou shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons’ sons, thy sheep, and thy herds, and all things that thou hast. 11 And there I will feed thee (for there are ye five years of famine remaining) lest both thou per- ish, and thy house, and all things that thou hast. 12 Behold, your eyes, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaketh to yOu. 13 You shall tell my father of all my glory, and all things that you have seen in Egypt: make haste and bring him to me. 14 And falling upon the neck of his brother Ben- jamin, he embraced him and wept: and Benjamin in like manner wept also on his neck. 15 And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept upon every one of them : after which they were em- boldened to speak to him. 16 And it was heard, and the fame was abroad in the king’s court : The brethren of Joseph are come and Pharao with all his family was glad. 17 And he spoke to Joseph that i. should give orders to his brethren, saying: Load your beasts, and go into the land of Chanaan, 18 And bring away from thence your father and kindred, and come to me: and I will give you alſ the good things of Egypt, that you may eat the marrow of the land. 19 Give orders also that they take waggons ºut of the land of Egypt, for the carriage of their children and their wives: and say: Take up your father and make haste to come with all speed : * His grey hairs. That is, his person, now far advanced in years. With sorrow unto hell: the Hebrew word for hell is here Sheol, the Greek Hades: it is not taken for the hell of the damned; but for that | place of souls below where the servants of God were kept before the coming of Christ. Which place, both in the scripture an in the creed, is named hell. £º 45 GENESIS. 20 And leave nothing of your household-stuff: for all the riches of Egypt shall be yours. 21 And the sons of Israel did as they were bid. And Joseph gave them waggons according to Pha- Tao's commandment: and provisions for the way. 22 He ordered also to be brought out for every one of them two robes: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver with five robes of the "Nº St : 23 Sending to his father as much money and rai- iſ ent, adding besides ten he-asses to carry off all the riches of Egypt, and as many she-asses, carrying wheat and bread for the journey. 24 So he sent away his brethren, and at their departing said to them: Be not angry in the way. 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chamaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, saying: Joseph thy son is living : and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt. Which when Jacob heard, he awaked as it were out of a deep sleep, yet did not believe them. 27 They on the other side told the whole order of the thing. And when he saw the waggons and ăil that he had sent, his spirit revived, 28 And he said: It is enough for me, if Joseph º be yet living: I will go, and see him before 162. CHAP. XLVI. vision from God, goeth down into Egypt with all his family. ND Israel taking his journey, with all that he wº had, came to the well of the oath,” and killing victims there to the God of his father Isaac, 2 He heard him by a vision in the night caling him, and saying to him: Jacob, Jacob. And he answered him : Lo, here I am. 3 God said to him : I am the most mighty God of thy father: fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there. 4 I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back again from thence ; Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes. 5 And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath : and his sons took him up, with their children and wives in the waggons, which Pharaoh had sent to carry the old man, 6 And all that he had in the land of Chanaan: and he came into Egypt with all his seed : 7 ||is sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring together. 8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, that entered into Egypt, he and his children. His first-born Ruben, 9 The sons of Ruben : Henoch and Phallu, and I lesron and Charmi. e 10. The sons of Simeon: Jamuel and Jamin and Ahod, and Jachin and Sohar, and Saul the son of a woman of Chanaan. Il The sons of Levi: Gerson and Caath and Israel, warranted by a © ſº Merari. * The well of the outh. Bersabee. lo 12 The sons of Juda: Her and Onan and Sela and Phares and Zara. And Her and Onan died in the land of Chanaan. And sons were born to Phares: Hesron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar: Thola and Phua and Job and Semron. 14 The sons of Zabulon : Jahelel. 15 These are the sons of Lia, whom she bor, in Mesopotamia of Syria with Dima his daughter. º the souls of her sons and daughters, thirty three. 16 The sons of Gad: Sephion and Haggi and Suni and Esebon and Heri and Arodi and Areli. 17 The sons of Aser: Jamne and Jesua and Jessur, and Beria, and Sara their sister. The sons of Beria: Heber and Melchiel. 18 These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia his daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls. 19. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife : Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And sons were born to Joseph, in the land of Egypt, whom Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis bore him : Manasses and phraim. 21 The sons of Benjamin : Bela and Bechor and Asbel and Gera and Naaman and Echi and Ros and Mophim and Ophim and Ared. - 22 These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob : all the souls, fourteen. 23 The sons of Dan: Husim. 24. The sons of Nephtali: Jaziel and Guni and Jeser and Sallem. - 25 These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter : and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls, seven. 26 All the souls, that went with Jacoo into Egypt, and that came out of his thigh, besides his sons wives, sixty-six. 27 And the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land of Egypt, two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, that entered into Egypt, were Seventy. 28 And he sent Juda before him to Joseph, to tell him ; and that he should meet him in Gessen. 29 And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet his father, in the same place: and seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and embracing him, wept. 30 And the father said to Jºseph . Now shall I die with joy, because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive. 31 And Joseph said to his brethren, and to al his father’s house: I will go up, and will tell Pharao and will say to him : My brethren, and my father's house, that were in the land of Chanaan, are come to nine : 32 And the men are shepherds, and their occu. pation is to feed cattle: their flocks, and herds, and all they have, they have brought with them. 33 And when he shall call you, and shall say What is your occupation? Sared and Elon and 2' CHAP. XLVII. 34 You shall answer: We thy servants are shep- herds, from our infancy until now, both we and Qur fathers. . And this you shall say, that you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the Egyptians have all shepherds in abomination. CHAP. XLVII. Jacob, and his sons are presented before Pharao ; he giveth them the land of Gessen. The famine forceth the Egyptians to sell all their possessions to the king. Y WHEN Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen. 2 Five men also the last” of his brethren, he pre- sented before the king : 3 And he asked them : What is your occupa- tion ? They answered: We thy servants are shep- herds, both we, and our fathers. 4. We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants imay be in the land of Gessen. 5 The king therefore said to Joseph : Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee. 6 The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if dº knowest that there are in- dustrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle. - 7 After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him : and he blessed him. 8 And being asked by him : How many are the days of the years of thy life P He answered : The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers. 10 And blessing the king, he went out. 11 But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren .# ypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded. iž'And he nourished them, and all his father's house, allowing food to every one. - 13 For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, more especially of Egypt and Chanaan. - 14 Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king's treasure. 15 And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why shºuld we die in thy presence, having now no imoney f - 16And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, &_ºf_*= and for them I will give you food, if you have no money. 17 And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep and oxen, and asses: and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle. 18 And they came the second year, and said to him : We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant, that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes P we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king’s servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness, 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the ſamine. And he broughtitinto Pharao's hands: 21 And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof, 22 Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king : to whom also a cer- tain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions. 23. Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao : take seed, and sow the fields, 24. That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children 25 And they ºf : Our life is in thy hand : only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king. e 26 From that time, unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the kings, and it is become as a law, except th. land of the priests. which was free from this covenant. . . 27 So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it : and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly. 28 And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty- seven years. 29 And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh ; and thou shalt show me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt: 30 But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying-place of my ancestors. An Jo seph answered him: I will do what thou hast comi- manded. 31 And he said: Swear then to me... And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed’s head.t *The last. Extremos. Some interpret this word of the chiefest, and most sightly; but Joseph seems rather to have chosen out such as had tº e meanest appearance, that Pharao might not think of employing them at court, with danger of their morals and religion. # To the bed's head. St. Paul, Heb. xi. 21. following the Greek translation of the Septuagint, reads adored the top of his rod. Where ote, that the same word in the Hebrew, according to the different pointing of it, signifies both a bed and a rod. , And to verify bºth these sentences, we must understand that Jacob leaning on Joseph's rod adored, turning towards the head of his bed; which adoration, inasmuch as it was referred to God, was an absolute, and sovereign worship; but inasmuch as it was referred to the rod of Joseph, as s figure of the sceptre, that is, of the royal dignity of Christ, was only an inferior and relative honour. A "7 sº GENESIS. * * * * S. º.º. s ºr ; c - so . ×5&= CHAP. XLVIII. ſoseph visiteth his father in his sickness, who adopteth his two sons Manasses and Ephraim, and blesseth them, pre- Jerring the younger before the elder. FTER these things, it was told Joseph that *- his father was sick: and he set out to go to him taking his two sons Manasses and Ephraim. 2 And it was told the old man: Behold, thy son f seph cometh to thee. And being strengthened, he sat on his bed. 3 And when Joseph was come in to him, he said: God Almighty appeared to me at Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan: and he blessed me, 4 And said: I will cause thee to increase and multiply, and I will make of thee a multitude of people: and I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5 So thy two sons who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came hither to thee, shall be mine. §. and Manasses shall be reputed to me as Ruben and Simeon. 6 But the rest whom thou shalt have after them, shall be thine, and shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions. 7. For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in the land of Chanaan in the very journey, and it was spring time: and I was going to || ". and I buried her near the way of Ephrata, which by another name is called Bethlehem. 8 Then seeing his sons he said to him: Who are these ? 9. He answered : They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said: Bring them to me, that I may bless them. 10 For Israel’s eyes were dim by reason of his great age, and he could not see clearly. And when |. were brought to him, he kissed and embraced them, 11 And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee: Moreover God hath shown me thy seed. 12 And when Joseph had taken them from his fa- ther's lap, he bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And he set Ephraim on his right hand, that is, towards the left hand of Israel: but Manasses on his left hand, to wit, towards his father’s right hand, and brought them near to him. 14 But he stretching forth his right hand, put it upon the head of Ephraim the younger brother: and the left upon the head of Manasses who was the elder, changing his hands. 15 And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said: God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God that ſeedeth me from my youth until this day: 16 The Angel that delivereth Ine from all evils, bless these boys: and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth. 17 And Joseph seeing that his father had put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, was much displeased : and taking his father’s hand he tried to lift it from Ephraim's head, and to remove it to the head of Manasses. 18 And he said to his father: It should not be so, my father; for this is the first-born : put thy right hand upon his head. 19 But he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know ; and this also shall become a people, and shall be multiplied: but his younger brother shall be greater than he and his seed shall grow into nations. . w 20 And he blessed them at that time, saying: In thee shall Israel be blessed ; and it shall be said: God do to thee as to Ephraim and as to Manasses. And he set Ephraim before Manasses. o 21 And he said to Joseph his son: Behold, I die, and God will be with you, and will bring you back into the land of your fathers. 22 I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorrhite with my sword and bow. CHAP. XLIX. Jacob’s prophetical blessings of his twelve sons: his death. ANP Jacob called his sons, and said to them : Gather yourselves together that I may tel! you the things that shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob: hearken to Israel your father: 3 Ruben, my first-born, thou art my strength” and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command. 4 Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not:f because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch. 5. Simeon and Levi brethren; vessels of iniquity wº Wà T. - & © .* Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, f and in their self-will they under- mined a wall. 7 Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will di. vide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel. 8. Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee. * * M: strength, &c. He calls him his strength, as being born whilst *** father was in his full strength and vigour: he calls him the begin- ning of his sorrow, because cares and sorrows usually come on with the cirth of children. Excelling in gifts, &c. because the first-born had a title to a deuble portion, and to have the command over his brethren, which Ruben forfeited by his sin; being poured out as water, that is, toilt and lost. Grow the not. This was not meant by way of a curse or impre- 19 cation; but by way of a prophecy, foretelling that the tribe of Ruten should not inherit the pre-eminences usually annexed to the first birth-right, viz. the double portion, the being prince or lord over the other brethren, and the priesthood: of which the double portion was given to Joseph, the princely office to Juda, and the priesthood to Levi. f Slew a man, viz. Sichem the son of Hemor with all his people, Gen. xxxiv, mystically and prophetically it alludes to Christ, whom their posterity, vis, the priests and the scribes, put to death. CHAP L. , 9 Juda is a lion's whelp:" to the prey, my son, ilou are gone up : resting thou hast couched as a tion, and as a liones , who shall rouse him P 10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Ju- da, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations. | ] Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O. my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape. . 12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. 13 Zabulon shall dwell on the sea-shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon. 14 Issacharshall be a strong ass lying down be- tween the borders. 15. He saw, rest that it was good; and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute. 16. Dan shall judget his people like another tribe in Israel. 17 Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, that his rider may fall backward. 18 I will look for thy salvation, O Lord. 19 Gad being girded, f shall fight before him : and he himself shall be girded backward. 20. Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings. 4 - .21 Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty. . e 22, Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and froš upon the wall. 23 But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him. 24 His bow rested upon the strong,| and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel. 25. The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep hat lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of thy father'ſ are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers; until the desire of the everlasting hills** should come; may be upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of the Nazariteft among his brethren. 27 Benjamin, a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil. 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them. and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings 29 And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people :ff bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite, 30 Over against Mambre in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in. 31 There they buried him, and Sara his wife there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried. 32 And when he had ended the commandments wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people. CHAP. L. The mourning for Jacob, and his interment. mess towards his brethren. His death. AND when Joseph saw this, he fell upon his father’s face, weeping and kissing him. 2 And he commanded his servants the physi- cians, to embalm his father. 3 And while they were fulfilling his commands, there passed forty days; for this was the manner with bodies that were embalmed: and Egypt mourn- ed for him seventy days. o . . 4 And the time of the mourning being expired, Jo- seph spoke to the family of Pharao: If I have found favour in your sight, speak in the ears of Pharao: 5 For my father made me swear to him, saying: Behold, I die: thou shalt bury me in my sepulchre which I have digged for myself in the land of Cha- naan. So I will go up and bury my father, and return 6 And Pharao said to him : Go up and bury thy father according as he made thee swear. 7 So he went up, and there went with him aſl Joseph’s kind * A lion's whelp, &c. This blessing of Juda fortelleth the strength of his tribe, the fertility of his inheritance; and principally that the sceptre and legislative power should not be utterly taken away from his race till about the time of the coming of Christ; as in effect it aever was: which is a demonstration against the modern Jews, that the Messiah is long since come; for the sceptre has long since been utterly taken away from Juda. f Dan shall judge, &c. This was verified in Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan, and began to deliver Israel, Judges xiii. 5. But as this deliverance was but temporal and very imperfect, the holy pa- triarch ºv. 18.) aspires after another kind of a deliverer, saying: I trill look for thy salvation, O Lord. f Gad being girded, &c. It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad, wnen after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad, they marched in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the conquest.of the land of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See Josue i. and xxii. - ! Run to and fro, &c. To behold his beauty: whilst his envious nrethren turned their darts against him, &c. " His bow rested upon the strong, &c. That is. upon God, who was his strength; who also loosed his bands, and brought him out of prison to be the pastor, that is, the feeder and ruler of Egypt, and the stone that is, the rock and support of Israel. . . . . T The blessings of thy father, &c. That is, thy father's blessings are made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard, by the additional strength they receive from his inheriting the blessings of his pro- genitors Abraham and Isaac. * The desire of the everlasting hills, &c. These blessings all lookcd forward towards Christ, called the desire of the everlasting hills, as being longed for, as it were, by the whole creation. Mystically the patri- archs and prophets are called the everlasting hills, by reason of th: eminence of their wisdom and holiness. # The Nazarite. This word eignifies one separated; and agrees to Joseph, as being separated from, and more, eminent than, his bre- thren. As the ancient Mazarites were so called from their being set aside for God, and vowed to him. • e i. To be gathered to my people. That is, I am going to die, and so to follow my ancestors that are gone before me, and to join their com pany in another world. 49 EX()|) U.S. because of the works: and their cry went up unto God from the works. - 24 And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 And the Lord looked upon the children of Israt i, and he knew them.” CHAP. III. God appeareth to Moses in a bush. And sendeth him to deliver Israel. OW Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father- in-law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 And the Lord appearedt to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush : and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt. 3 And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he went forward o see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am. - 5 And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground. 6 And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacoi). Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God. - 7 And the Lord said to him : I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt; and I have heard their cry, because of the rigour of them that are over the works: 8 And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chandnite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hewite, and Jebusite. 9 For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, where- with they are oppressed by the Egyptians. 10 But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. ll And Moses said to God: Who am ſ that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt P 12 And he said to him : I will be with thee: and this thou shalt have for a sign, that I have sent thee: When thou shall have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain. 13 Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them : The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they shall say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them. 14 God said to Moses: I AM who AM3. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE who is, hath sent me to you. - 15 And God said again to Moses: Thus shall thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God & Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me to you this is my name for ever, and this is my memoria unto all generations. 16 Go, and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : The Lord God of you! fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I have visited you : and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Eºi. 17 And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chamanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Phe- rezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with milk and honey. - 18 And they shall hearthy voice: and thou shall go in, thou and the ancients of Israel to the king of Egypt: and thou shalt say to him : The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us: we will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God. r 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand. 20 For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them : after these he will let you go. 21 And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty: - - 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbour and of her that is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoilº Egypt. CHAP. IV. Moses is empowered to confirm his mission with miracles: his brother Aaron is appointed to assist him. MOS; answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice: but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee. 2 Then he said to him : What is that thou hold- est in thy hand F He answered : A rod. 3 And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it. 4 And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take * Knew them ; that is, he had i espect to them, he cast a merciful eye upon them. # The Lord appeared. That is, an Angel representing God, and speaking in his name ! I am who arm. That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-existent, in- dependent, infinite; without beginning, end or change; and the source of all other beings. * Shall spoil, &c. That is, you shall strip, and take away the goods of the Egyptians. This was not authorizing theft or in- justice: but was a just disposal made by him, who is the great Lord and master of all things; in order to pay the children of Israel some part of what was due to them from the Egyptians for them labours. 5? CHAP. V it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod. 5. That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee. 6 And the Lord said again : Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow. 7 And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bo- sºm. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh. - 8 If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign. - 9 But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hearthy voice; take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou draw- est out of the river, shall be turned into blood. 10 Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before : and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue. Il The Lord said to him Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind P did not l P 12 Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth : and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak. 13 But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send. 14. The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother: I know that he is elo- quent: behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee shall be glad at heart. 15 Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will show you what you must do. 16. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth : but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God. 17 And take this rod in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do the signs. 18 Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him : I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him : Go in peace. 19 And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian : Go and return into Egypt: for they are all dead that sought thy life. 20 Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass: and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand. 21 And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall hard- en” his heart, and he will not let the people go. 22 And thou shalt say to him : Thus saith the Lord Israel is my son, my first-born. * I shall harden, &c. Not by being the efficient cause of his sin: but by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the dew of grace, that might have softened his heart; and so suffering him to grow harder and harder. * The Lord met him, and would have killed him. This was an Angel 23 I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go : behold, I will kill thy son thy first-born. 24 And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.t 25 Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touch. ed his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou tº Iłle. 26 And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision, 27 And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded. 29 And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people, - 31 And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction: and fall- ing down they adored. CHAP. V Pharao refuseth to let the people go. They are more oppressed. FTER these things Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharao: Thussaith the iord God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to me in the desert. 2 But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go f I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 3 And they said: The God of i. Hebrews hath called us, to go three days’ journey into the wilder- ness and to sacrifice to the Lord our God: lest a pestilence, or the Sword fall upon us. - 4. The king of Egypt said to them : Why do you Moses and Aaron draw off the people from their works f Get you gone to your burdens. 5 And Pharao said: The people of the land is numerous: you see that the multitude is increased: how much more if you give them rest from their works? 6 Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works and the task-mastels of the people, saying: 7 You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as before : but let them go and gathfi Stra W. 8 And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they did before, neither shall you diminish any thing thereof: for they are idle, and therefore they cry, saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our God. representing the Lord, who treated Moses in this manner, for having neglected the circumcision of his younger son: which his wife un derstanding, circumcised her child upon the spot, upon which the Angel let Moses go. 53 º E.XOIDU c. 9 Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them; that they may not regard lying words. 10 And the overseers of the works and the task- masters went out and said to the people: Thus saith i’harao: l allow you no Straw : | | Go, and gather it where you can find it: neither shall any thing of your work be dimi- nished. 12 And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather straw. 13 And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying: Fulfil your work every day as before you were wont to do, when straw was given you. 14 And they that were over the works of the children of Israel were scourged by Pharao's task- masters, saying : Why have you not made up the task of bricks both yesterday and to-day, as be- fore ? +--------45–Aid th and cried out to Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants f 16 Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before : behold, we thy servants are beaten with whips, and thy people is unjustly dealt withal. 17 And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. 18 Go therefore, and work: straw shall not be given you, and you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks. 19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in evil case, because it was said to them : There shall not a whit be diminished of the oricks for every day. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they came out from Pharao: 21 And they said to them : The Lord see and judge, because you have made our savour to stink |. Pharao and his servants, and you have given him a sword to kill us. 22 And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people f wherefore hast thou sent me f 23 For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy name, he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered them. CHAP. VI. God reneweth his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simeon, and Levi, down to Moses and Aaron. - A ND the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt 1 \ see what I will do to Pharao: for by a mighty land shall he let them go, and with a strong hand hall he cast them out of his land. 2 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am !!! (! Lord * * & A__ C, VJ RTL TV. T officers of the children of Israel came, 3 That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty: and my name ADoNAI* I did not show them. 4 And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan, the land of their pil- grimage wherein they were strangers. 5 f have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them : and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work- prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage; and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments. 7 And I will take you to myself for my people : I will be your God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians: 8 And brought you into the land, concerning which I liſted up my hand, to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give it vou to possess: I am the Lord. 9 And Moses told all this to the children of Israei: but they did not hearken to him, for an- guish of spirit, and most painful work. 10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 11 Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. 12 Moses answered before the Lord : Behold, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of un- circumcised lips fi 13 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of Egypt, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 14. These are the heads of their houses by their families. The sons of Ruben the first-born oi Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron and Charmi. 15 These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon, Jamuel, and Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the son of a Cha manitess: these are the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of the sons of Lev by their kindreds: Gerson and Caath and Merari And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven. 17 The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds. 18. The sons of Caath : Amram, and Isaar. and Hebron, and Oziel. And the years of Caath's life were a hundred and thirty-three. 19 The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi These are the kindreds of Levi by their families. 20 And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father’s side : and she bore him Aarou and * .\lu name.7domai. The name which is in the IHebrew text, is that Inost proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal self-eristent xing, Exod. iii. 14: which the Jews out of reverence never pro- nounce ; but iustead of it, wherever it occurs in the Bible, they road Adonii, which signifies the Lord ; and therefore they put the points or vowels which belong to the name 'llonai, to the four letters of that other ineffable name Jod, He, Wau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians: for this true pronunciation of the name, which it in the Hebrew text. by long disuse, is now quite lost. # Uncircumcised lips. So he calls the defect he had in his words w utterance. 54 CHAP. VII. Moses And the years of Amram’s life were a hun- drea and thirty-seven. - 2) The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and 2.echri. 22 ſhe sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri. 23 And Aaron took to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab, sister of Nahason, who bore him Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and Itha- Iſl: T. 24 The sons also of Core: Aser, and Elcana, and Abiasaph. These are the kindreds of the Corites. 25 But Eleazar the son of Aaron took a wife of the daughters of Phutiel : and she bore him Phi- nees. These are the heads of the Levitical families by their kindreds. 26 These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord commanded to bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies. 27 These are they that speak to Pharao king of Egypt, in order to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron, 28 In the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egpyt. - 29 And the fººd spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord : speak thou to Pharao king of Egypt, all that I say to thee. 30 And Moses said before the Lord : Lo, I am of uncircumcised lips : how will Pharao hear me * CHAP. VII. Moses and Aaron go in to Pharao ; they turm the rod into a serpent ; and the waters of Egypt into blood, which was the first plague. The magicians do the like ; and Pharao's heart is hardened. ND the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I have appointed thee the God of Pharao:* and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2 Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee: and he shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I shall harden f his heart, and shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 And he will not hear you : and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have stretched forth my hand upon Egypt and have brought forth the children of Israel Out of the midst of them. 6 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded : so did they. 7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharao. o And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron : 9 When Pharao shall say to you, Show signs : * * Thou shalt say to Aaron : Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a Serpent. 10. So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao and his servants; and it was turned into a serpent. * 11 And Pharao called the wise men and the ma- gicians:f, and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner. 12 And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron's rod devoured their rods. 13 And Pharao's heart was hardened: and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded. 14 And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao's heart is hardened: he will not let the people go. 15 Go to him in the morning; i. he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent. 16 And thou shalt say to him : The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17 Thus therefore saith the Lord : In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord : behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood. - 18. And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted : and the Egyp- tians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river. 19 The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone. 20 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded : and lifting up the rod, he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood. 21, And the fishes that were in the river, died , and the river corrupted ; and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and there was blood in all the land of Egypt. 22 And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner: and Pharao's heart was hardened ; neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded. 23 And he turned himself away, and went into º house; neither did he set his heart to it this time allSO. 24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink: for they could not drink of the water of the river. 25 And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river. * The God of Pharao: viz. to be his Judge; and to exercise a divine power as God's instrument, over him and his people * I shall harden, &c. Not by being the efficient cause of his hard- dess of heart but by permitting it, and by withdrawing grace from him, in punishment of his malice; which alone was the proper cause of his being hardened i Magicians. Jannes and JMumbres or Jambres, 2 Tim. ii. 8. º EXO1) l ; S. CHAP VIII The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the Israelites go, but breaks his promise. The third plague is of aciniphs. The fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to dismiss the people, but doth it not. ND the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him : Thus saith the ! ord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me. 2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold, I will strike all thy coasts with frogs. 3 And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which shall come up, and enter into thy house, and thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats: 4 And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and to all thy servants. 5 And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron : Stretch forth thy hand upon the streams and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt. 6 And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt: and the frogs came up, and cover- ed the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians also by their enchantments did in like manner: and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt. 8 But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them : Pray ye to the Lord” to take away the frogs from me and from my people: and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. - 9 And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy Ser- wants, and from thy people; and may remain only tn the river. 10 And he answered: To-morrow. But he said: I will do according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like to the Lord our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only in the river. 12 And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pha- rao: and Moses cried to the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao concerning the frogs. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields: 14 And they gathered them together into immense heaps. and the land was corrupted. 15 And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hard- ened his own heart,f and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded. 16 And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron Stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth: and may there be sciniphsſ in all the land of Egypt. 17 And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand, holding the rod : and he struck the dust of the earth, and there came sciniphs on men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth was turned into #sciniphs through all the land of Egypt. 18 And the magicians with their enchantments practised in like manner, to bring forth sciniplus. and they could not: and there were sciniphs as well 3.n men as on beasts. 19 And the magicians said to Pharao: This is the finger of God. And Pharao's heart was harden- ed., and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had commanded. 20 The Lord also said to Moses: Arise early and stand before Pharao : for he will go forth to the waters: and thou shalt say to him : Thus saith the Lord : Let my people go to sacrifice to me. 21 But if thou wilt not let them go, behold l will send in upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy houses all kind of flies: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with flies of divers kinds, and the whole land wherein they shall be. 22 And I will make the land of Gessen wonder- ful in that day, so that flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord in the midst o the earth. © 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people : to-morrow shall this sign be . 24 And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharau and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt : and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies. 25 And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them : Go, and sacrifice to your God in this land. 26 And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us. 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wil- derness : and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. 28 And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacri- fice to the Lord your God in the wilderness: but go no farther: pray for me. 29 And Moses said: I will go out from thee, and will pray to the Lord : and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people to-morrow : but do not deceive any more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. 30 So Moses went out from Phalao, and prayed to the Lord. * Pray ye to the Lord, &c. By this it appears, uhat though the magi- cians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they could not take them away: God being n!eased to abridge in this the power of satan, Sc we see they coul, lot afterwards, produce the lesser in- sects; and in this restraint of the power of the devil, were forced to acknowlexige the finger of God. * Pharao hardened his own heart By this we see that Pharao was himself the efficient cause of his heart being hardened, and not God. See the same repeated in ver. 32. Pharao hardened his heart at this times also : likewise chap. ix. 7, 35, and chap. xiii. 15. f Sciniphs, or Ciniſs, Hebrew Chinnim, sm ill flying insects, very troublesome both to men and beasts. } The abominations, &c. That is, the things they worship for gods oxen, rams, &c. It is the usual style of the sºriptures to call all idols and false gods abominations, to signify how much the people of Gud ought to detest and abhor them. :-- 66 CHAP. IX. 3! And tie did according to his word: and he took “way the flies from Pharao, and from his ser- wants, and hom his people: there was not left So much as one. 32 And Phalao's heart was hardened, so that neither this time would he let the people go. CHAP. IX. The fifth otague is a murrann among the cattle. The sixth, of biies in men and beasts. The seventh, of hail. Pharao pro- miseth again to let the people go, and breaketh his word. N D the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, CA. and speak to him : Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews. Let my people go to sacrifice to me. 2 But if thou refuse, and withhold them still: 3 Behold, my hand shall be upon thy fields: and a very grievous murrain upon thy horses, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep. 4 And the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the possessions of lsrael and the posses- sions of the Egyptians, that nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to the cnildren of Israel. 5 And the Lord appointed a time, saying: To- morrow will the Lord do this thing in the land. 6 The Lord therefore did this thing the next day: and all the beasts” of the Egyptians died: but of the beasts of the children of Israel there died not one. 7 And Pharao sent, to see: and there was not any thing dead of that which Israel possessed. And Pharao's heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go. 8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron : Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the chimney ; and let Mioses sprinkle it in the air in the presence of Pharao. 9 And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: ſor there shall be biles and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the whole land of Egypt. 10 And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao: and Moses sprinkled it in the air : and there came biles with swelling blains in men and beasts. il Neither could the magicians stand before Mo- ses for the biles that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt. 12 And the Lord hardenedi Pharao's heart, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 13 And the Lord said to Moses: A se in the norning, and stand before Pharao, and thou shalt say to him : Thus saith the Lord the God of the Hebrews : Let my people go to sacrifice to me. 14 For l will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people: that thou mayest know there is none like me in all the earth. 1 5 For now I will stretch out my hand to strike thee and thy people with pestilence. And thou shalt perish from the earth. 16 And therefore have I raised thee, that I may show my power in thee, and my name may be spoked of throughout all the earth. 17 Dost thou yet hold back my people, and wilt thou not let them go? 18 Behold, I will cause it to rain to-morrow at this same hour, an exceeding great hail; such as hath not been in Egypt from the day that it was founded, until this present time. 19 Send therefore now presently, and gather to ether thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field: or men and beasts, and all things that shall be ſound abroad, and not gathered together out of the fields which the hail shall fall upon, shall die. 20 He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao's servants, made his servants and his cattle flee into houses: 21 But he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants and his cattle in the fields. 22 And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand towards heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt, upon men, and upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightnings running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the . of Egypt. 24 And the hail, and fire mixt with it, drove on together: and it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of Egypt, since that nation was founded. 25 And the hail destroyed through all the land ol Egypt all things that were in the fields, both man and beast: and the hail smote every herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the country. 26 Only in the land of Gessen, where the chil dren of Israel were, the hail fell not. 27 And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them : I have sinned this time also: The Lord is just: I and my people are wicked. 28 Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the hail may cease: that I may let you go, and that ye may stay here no longer. 29 Moses said: As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will stretch forth my hands to the Lord ; and the thunders shall cease, and the hail shall be no . that thou mayest know that the earth is the _() i (l'S 30 But I know that neither thou, nor thy ser- vants do yet fear the Lord God. 31 The flax therefore, and the barley were hurt, . the barley was green, and the flax was now O! It” (1 . 32 But the wheat and other winter corn were not hurt, because they were lateward. 33 And when Moses was gone from Pharao, out of the city, he stretched forth his hands to the Lord : and the thunders and the hail ceased, neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth. 34 And Pharao seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, increased his sin: * All the beasts That is, many of all kinds. # Hardened, &c. See the annotations above, Chap. iv. 21. chap vu. 3. and chap. viii. 15 EXODUs. 35 And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants, and it was made exceeding hard: neither ſlid he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. CHAP. X. l'he eighth plague of the locusts. The ninth, of darkness. Pharao is still hardened. A NL) the Lord said to Moses : Go in to Pharao; (A for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may work these my signs in him 3 And thou mayest tell in the ears of thy Sons, and ºf thy grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord : 3 Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him : Thus saith the Lord God of the |lel rews: How long refusest thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me. 4. But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, be- mold, I will bring in to-morrow the locusts into thy 1:()aStS : 5 To cover the face of the carth, that nothing ſhereof may appear; but that which the hail hath loſt may be eaten : for they shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields. 6 And they shall ſill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a num- ber as thy fathers have not seen, nor thy grand- ſathers, from the time they were first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned him- self away, and went forth from Pharao. 7 And Pharao's servants said to him: How long shall we endure this scandal? let the men go to sa- crifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou not see ‘hat Egypt is undéne? 8 º they called back Moses and Aaron to Pharao: and he said to them : Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go? 9 Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the Lord our God. 10 And Pharao answered : So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you and your children go : who can doubt but that you iºd some great evilf 11 It shall not be so: but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the Lord : for this yourselves also de- sired. And immediately they were cast out from Pharao's presence. 12 And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it, and devour every herb that is left aſter the hail. 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the and of Egypt: and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day and night: and when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts. 14, And they came up over the whole land of Egypt: and rested in all the coasts of the Egyp- tians innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter. {58 15 And they covered the whole face of the earth wasting all things. And the grass of the earth was devoured. and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left: and there remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth in all Egypt. 16 Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 But now forgive me my sin this time also : and pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death. 18 And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the Lord : 19 Ånd he made a very strong wind to blow from the west : and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt. 20 And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go. 21 And the Lord said to Moses : Stretch out thy hand towards heaven : and may there be dark. ºpon the land of Egypt so thick that it may be felt. - 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was : but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light. 24 And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord : let your sheep only, and herds remain, let your children go with you. - 25 Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacri- fices and burnt-offerings, to the Lord our God. 26 All the flocks shall go with us: there shall not a hoof remain of them : for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God; especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place. 27 And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharao said to Moses : Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die. 29 Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken : I will not see thy face any more. & CHAP. XI. Pharao and his people are threatened with the death of ther- Jirst-born. ND the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go, and thrust you out. 2 Therefore thou shalt tell all the people, that every man ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver, and of gold. 3 And the Lord will give favour to 5. people * Darkness upon the lane of Egypt so thick that it may be felt. By means of the gross exhalations, which were to cause and accompany J the darknes: : . -- T. * : * ~ * we ---, - ...~ - ~ *:J. Tºº--s ---. - § - - -- - - - --------- - - - - - - ---ºr-º" " " - * *** *-* * * * * - - - - - - x- *:- - - ---- . - - -- 1-- ºis-2. - Tºx- &T - . T z- *—’’ sº ~~ - sº S. agº" CHAP. XI 1. in the sight of the Egyptians And Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharao's servants, and of all the people. 4 And he said: Thus saith the Lord : At mid- night I will enter into Egypt: 5 And every first-born in the land of the Egyp- tians shall die, from the first-born of Pharao who sit- teth on his throne, even to the first-born of the hand- naid that is atthe mill, and all the first-born of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry in all the land »f Egypt, such as neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter. 7 But with all the children of Israel there shall not a dog make the least noise, from man even to beast: that you may know how wonderful a dif- ference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians and Israel. 8 And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall worship me, saying: Go forth thou, and all the people that is under thee: after that we will go out. . 9 And he went out from Pharao exceeding angry. But the Lord said to Moses: Pharao will not hear you, that many signs may be done in the land of Egypt. 10 And Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written, before Pharao. And the Lord hardened” Pharao's heart; neither did he let the children of Israel go out of his land. CHAP. XII. Ihe manner of preparing, and eating the paschal lamh: the first-born of Egypt are all slain: the Israelites depart. ND the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt : 2 This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first in the months of the year. 3 Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. 4. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb. 5 And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year: according to which rite also you shall take a kid.t 6 And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month: and the whole multitude of the chil- dren of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. 7 Aud they shall take of the blood thereof, and 3ut it upon both the side-posts, and on the upper door-posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce. 9 You shall not eat thereof anything raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire: you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. 10. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until #".º. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your. reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet. holding staves in your hands; and you shall eat in haste: for it is the Phase (that is, the Passage) of the Lord. 12 And I will pass, through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every first-born in the land of º: both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will executejudgments: Ham the Lord. 13 And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be : and l shall sº the blood, and shall pass over you : and the plague shali not be upon you to destroy you, when I'shall strike the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be for a memorial to you: and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations with an everlasting observance. 15 Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day there, shall be no leaven in your houses: Whosoever shall eat any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall perish out of Israel. 16 The first day shall be holy and solemn; and the seventh day shall be kept with the like solem. mily: you shall do no work in them, except those things that belong to eating. 17, And you shall observe the feast of the unlea- vened bread: for in this same day I will bring forth yºur army, out of the land of Egypt; and you shai keep this day in your generations by a perpetual olv SEI Wall Ce. 18, The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unſeavenºd bread, f until the one and twentieth day of the month in the evening. 19 Seven days there shall not be found any lea- yen in your houses: he that shall eat leavened brºad his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israj. whether he be a stranger or born in the land. 20 You shall not eat any thing leavened; in alſ your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread. 21 And Moses called all the ancients of the chil- dren of Israel, and said to them : Go take a lami, by your families, and sacrifice the Phase. a 22 And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle & the transom of the door therewith, and both the door checks; let mom, of you go out of the door of his house till morning. , 23 For the Lord will pass through Striking the Egyptians; and when he shall see the blood". the y * The Lord hardened, &c. See the annotations above, chap. iv. 21. and chap. vii. 3. T.4 kid. The Phase inight be performed, either with a lamb or with • kid; and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be used with the one as with the other. 1 Unleavened bread. By this it appears, that our Saviour made use “ ºnleavened bread in the institution of the blessed sacrament, which was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at which time there was no leavened bread to be found in Israel. * Spinkle, &c., This sprinkling the doors of the Israelites with ... º lamb, º order to their being delivered º . Sword of the destroying angel, was a lively figure of º j 7 y ngure of our redeuption ~~ <> ~~ 59 EXOL) U.S. transom, and on hoth the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses, and to hurt you. 24 Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee aud thv children for ever. & 25 And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies. 26 And when your children shall say to you : What is the meaning of this service? 27 You shall say to them : It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses ºf the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyp- tians, and saving our houses. And the people bow- ing themselves, adored. tº ge 28 And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 29 And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the first-born of cattle. g 30 And Pharao arose in the night, and all his scr- wants, and all Egypt: and there arose a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead. tº 31 And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said: Arise, and go forth from among my people, you, and the children of Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord, as you say. & 32 Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded; and departing, bless me: 33 And the Egyptians pressed the people to go ‘orth out of the land ºl. saying: We shall all die. ſº 3]. The people therefore took dough before it was leavened : and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders. 35 And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded : and they asked of the Egyptians ves- sels of silver and gold, and very much raiment. . 36 And the Loro gave favour to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the Egyptians. 37 And the children of Israel set forward from Ramesse to Socoth, being about six hundred thou- sand men on foot, beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude without number went up also with them, sheep, and herds, and beasts of divers kinds, exceeding many. 39 And they baked the meal, which a little be- fore they had brought out of Egypt in dough : and they made hearth-cakes unleavened : for it could ilot be leavened, the Egyptians pressing them to depart and not suffering them to make any stay: neither did they think of preparing any meat. 40 And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty "(*: I S. y 41 Which being expired, the same day ill the army of the Lord went forthout of the land of Egypt. * Sanctify unto me every first-born. Sanctification in this place means •l, at the first-born males of the Hebrews should be deputed to the mi- 42 This is the observable night of the Lord when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: this night all the children of Israel must observe in their generations. - 43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This º service of the Phase : No foreigner shall eat Of it. 44 But every bought servant shall be circumcised and so shall eat. 45 The stranger and the hireling shall not eat thereof. 46 In one house shall it be eaten ; neither shall you carry forth of the flesh thereof out of the house, neither shall you break a bone thereof. 47 All the assembly of the children of Israel shall keep it. 48 And if any stranger be willing to dwell among you, and to keep the Phase of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised : and then shall he cele- brate it according to the manner: and he shall be as he that is born in the land: but if any man be uncircumcised, he shall not eat thereof. - 49 The same law shall be to him that is born in the land, and to the proselyte that sojourneth with yOu. 50 And all the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And the same day the Lord brought forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies. CHAP. XIII. The paschal solemnity is to be observed; and the first-born are to be consecrated to God. The people are conducted through #. desert by a pillar of fire in the night, and a cloud in the (17/. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Sanctify unto me every first-born” that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are all mine. 3 And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage ; for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place; that you eat no leavened bread. 4. This day you go forth in the month of new (*()} | 1. 5 And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chamanite and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hievite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shall celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month. 6 Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread 1. º the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Ol' Cl. 7 Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen anything leavened with thee. nor in all thy coasts. 8 And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: nistry in the divine worship ; and the first-born of beasts be given fos a sacrifice. (34) CHAP. X | V. This is what the Lord did to me when l came forth out of Egypt. 9 And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt. 10 Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days. 11 And when the Lord shall have brought thee .nto the land of the Chamanite, as he swore to thee and }} fathers, and shall give it thee: 12 Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb “or the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male Sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord. 13 The first-born of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every first-born of men thou shalt redeem with a price. 14 And when thy son shall ask thee to-morrow, saying : What is this P. Thou shalt answer him : with a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of man to the first-born of beasts : therefore I sacrifice to the "lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the first-born of my sons I redeem. 16 And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung between thy eyes, for a remembrance : because the Lord hath brought us forth out of Egypt oy a strong hand. 17 And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines which is near: thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt. 18 But he led them about by the way of the tlesert, which is by the Red Sea : and the chil- º of Israel went up armed out of the land of gypt. 19 And Moses took Joseph’s bones with him : because he had adjured the children of Israel, say- ing: God shall visit you, carry out my bones from hence with you. 20 And marching from Socoth they encamped in Etham in the utmost coasts of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be the guide of their journey at both times. 22 ºr. never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people. CHAP. XIV. Pharao pursueth the children of Israe. They murmur against Moses ; but are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea. Pharao and his army following them are drowned. AND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 4 * 2 Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp over against Phihahiroth, which - is between Magdal and the sea over against Beelse phon : you shall encamp before it upon the Sea. 3 And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are straitened in the land, the desert hath shul them in. 4 And I shall harden his heart, and he will pur. sue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army : and the Egyptians shall know that am the Lord. And they did so. 5 And it was told the king of the Egyptians, that the people was fled : and the heart of Pharac and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go from serving us f 6 So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him. 7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots that were in Egypt, and the captains of the whole army. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao king of Egypt; and he pursued the children of Is- rael: but they were gone forth in a mighty hand. 9 And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone before, they found them en- cºmped at the sea-side: all Pharao's horse and cha- riots, and the whole army were in Philhahiroth be- fore Beelsephon. 10 And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, saw the Egyptians be- hind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord : - 11 And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in F.gypt; therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness: why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt P 12 is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying: Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said to the people : Fear not: stand, and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day : for the Egyptians whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever. 14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. 15 And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it; that the chil- dren of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you : , and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen. 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them : and together with him the pillar of the cloud. leaving "the fore-part, | 20 Stood behind, between the Egyptians camp CHAP. XV an the camp of Israel; and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night,” so that they could not come at one another all the night. 21 And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground : and the water was divided. 22 And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up : for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursuing, went in after them, and all Pharao's horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea. 24. And now the morning watch was come : and |behold, the Loud looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host, - 25 And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel : for the Lord fighteth for them against us. 26 And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth tly hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen. 27 And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place : and as the Egyptians were ſleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves. 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pha- rao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so Inuch as one of them remain. 29 But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea upon dry land: and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left: 30 And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands of the Egyptians. 31 And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them : and the people feared the Lord; and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant. CHAP. XV. The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet. VIV li EN Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord : for he is gloriously magnified : the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea. 2 The lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God, and ! will glorify him ; the God of my father, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his [] I IIlê. 4 Pharao's chariots and his army he hath cast tnto the sea: his chosen captains are drowned in he Red Sea. * A dark cloud, and enlightening the night. It was a dark cloud to the Figyptians ; but enlightened the night to the Israelites, by giving them a great light. º a tº strength : thy right hand, O Lord, hath slain the | 5 The depths have covered them: they are sunk to the bottom like a stone. * 6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnificq in enemy. 7 And in the multit Ide of thy glory thou hast put down thy adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath which hath devoured them like stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy anger the water were gathered together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered together in the midst of the sea. 9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake I will divide the spoils ; my soul shall have its fill : I will draw my sword ; my hand shall slay them. 10 Thy wind blew, and the sea covered them they sunk as lead in the mighty waters. ! I Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord * who is like to thee, glorious in holiness, te" rible and praise-worthy, doing wonders ? 12 Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them. 13 In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed : and in thy strength thou hast carried them to thy holy habi tat]On. 14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the inhabitants of Philisthim. 15 Then were the princes of Edom troubled : trembling seized on the stout men of Moab; all the inhabitants of Chanaan became stiff. 16 Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy arm : let them become unmovea- ble as a stone, until thy people, O Lord, pass by : until this thy people pass by, which thou hast pos- sessed. 17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast made, O Lord; thy sanctuary, O Lord, whichthy hands have established 18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and horsemen into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof. 20 So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aarou, took a timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously mag- nified : the horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea. 22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. and they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And they came into Mara, and they could not drink, the waters of Mara, because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness. 24 And... the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall we drink P - CHAP. XV, 1. 25 But he cried to the Lord : and he showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. There he appointed # ordinances, and judgments, and there he proved lſil, 26 Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his pre- cepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer. 27 And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water, and se- wenty palm trees: and they encamped by the waters. CHAP. XVI. The people murmur for want of meat : God giveth them quails and manna. AN D they set forward from Elim : and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt. 2 And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full : why have you brought us into this desert,..that you might destroy all the multitude with famine? - 4 And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I will Iain bread from heaven for you : let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or no. 5 But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in ; and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day. 6 And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel: In the evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt: 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord : but as for us, what are we, that you ſnutter against us? 8 And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full : for he hath heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him : for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, ..ut against the Lord, 9 Moses also said to Aaron : Say to the whole —ongregation of the children of Israel: Come be- fore the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring. 10 And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness: and behold, the glory of the Lord ap- peared in a cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel say to them : In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your ſi'l of bread: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. 13 So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp : and in the morning a dew lay round about the camp. 14 And when it had covered the face of the earth it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar-frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: Manhu ! which signifieth. What is this for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them : This is the bread, which the Lord hath given you to eat. 16 This is the word, that the Lord hath com- manded : Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat : a gomor for every man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take of it. 17 And the children of Israel did so : and they gathered, one more, another less. 18 And they measured by the measure of a go- mor: neither had he more that had gathered more: nor did he find less that had provided less: but every one had gathered, hººd. to what they were able to eat. 19 And Moses said to them : Let no man leave thereof till the morning. 20 And they hearkened not to him ; but some of them left until the morning: and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified : and Moses was angry with them. 21 Now every one of them gathered in the morn- ing, as much as might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man : and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told Moses. 23 And he said to them : This is what the Lord hath spoken : To-morrow is the rest of the sabbath .#. to the Lord. Whatsoever work is to be done, do it: and the meats that are to be dressed, dress them : and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning. 24, And they did so as Moses had commanded and it did not putrify, neither was there worm found 1In li. 25 And Moses said: Eat it to-day, because it is the sabbath of the Lord : to-day it shall not be found in the field. 26 Gather it six days: but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord ; therefore it shall not be found. 27 And the seventh day came : and some of the people going forth to gather, found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments, and my law” 29 See that the Lord hath given you the sabbatn, and for this reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day. 30 And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day. ſº 63 EXOD U.S. 31 And the house of Israel called the name .hereoſ manna : * and it was like coriander seed white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey. 32 And Moses said: This is the word, which the I ord hath commanded : Fill a gonnor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come, hereafter: that they may know the bread, wherewith 1 fed you in the wilderuess, when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt. e 33 And Moses said to Aaron : Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold : and lay it up before the Lord to keep unto your generations, 34 As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan. 36 Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi. CHAP. XVII. The people murmur again for want of drink: the Lord giveth then water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome. TIEN all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the Lord, en- camped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 2 And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answer- ed them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? 3 So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us, and our children, and our beasts, with thirst? 4 And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me. 5 And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb: and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel: 7 And he called the name of that place Tempta- tion, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the lord amongst us or not? 8 And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim. 9 And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight against Amalec: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill having the rod of God in my hand. 10 Josue did as Moses had spoken; and he fought against Amalec: but Moses and Aaron and Hur went up upon the top of the hill. 11 And when Moses lſº up his hands,f Israel overcame : but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame. 12 And Moses’s hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him; and he sat on it: and Aaron and # ur stayed up his hands on both sides And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sun-set. 13 And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword. 14 And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue: for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name thereof, The Lord my exaltation, saying: 16 Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord, shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation. CHAP. XVIII. Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel ND when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kins- man of Moses, had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt: 2 He took Sephora the wife of Moses whom he had sent back, 3 And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam, his father saying: I have been a stranger in a foreign country; 4 And the other Eliezer : For the God of my father, said he, is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao. 5 And Jethro the kinsman of Moses came with his sons, and his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of God. 6 And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro thy kinsman come to thee, and thy wife, and thy . two sons with her. - 7 And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was come into the tent, 8 Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao and the Egyptians, in favour of Is- rael; and all the labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them. 9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians. 10 And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his people out of the hand of Egypt. 1 l Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods: because they dealt proudly against them. * Manna. This miraculous food, with which the children of Israel were nourished and supported during their sojourning in the wilder- ness, was a figure of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament, for the food and nourishment of our souls, during the time of out mortal pilgrimage, till we come to our cternal home, the true * * * land of promise; where we shall keep an everlasting sabbath, and have no further need of sacrainents. # Jind when JMoses lified up his hands. Here Moses was a figure of Christ on the Cross, by whose power and mediation we overcome oup spiritual enemies. 6.1 CH A l’ Xl X. 12 So Jethro the kinsman of Moses offered ho- iocausts and sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came to eat bread with him hefore God. sº 13 And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by Moses from morning until night. 14 And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it! that thou doest among the people f Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night f 15 And Moses answered him : The people come to me to seek the judgment of God. 16 And when any controversy falleth out amon them, they come to me to judge between them, j to show the precepts of God, and his laws. 17 But he said: The thing thou doest is not cood. 18 Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people that is with thee: the business is above thy strength ; thou alone camst not bear it. 19 But hear my words and counsels; and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him: 20 And to show the people the ceremonies and the manner of worshipping, and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do. 21 And provide out of all the people, able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thou- sands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens, 22 Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee; and let them judge the lesser mat- ters only : that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others. 23 if thou doest this, thou shalt fulfil the com- mandment of God, and shall be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace. . 24 And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him. 25 And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and UVer tellS. 26 And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only. 27 And he let his kinsman depart: and he re- turned and went into his own country. CHAP. XIX. They come to Sinai : the people are commanded to be sanctified. The Lord coming in thunder and lightning, speaketh with Moses. I N the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai: 2 For departing ºut of Raphidim, and coming to the desert . Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain. 3 And "Moses went up to God :” and the l or called unto him from the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 You have seen what I have done to the F.gyp- tians; how I have carried you upon the wings (!! eagles, and have taken you to myself. 5 If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep iny covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people : for all the earth is mine. 6 And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel. 7 Moses came: and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded. 8 And all the people answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people’s words to the Lord, 9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. 10 And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to-day, and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments. 11 And let them be ready against the third day: for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 12 And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the jeople round about, and thou shalt say to them: ake heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die. 13 No hands shall touch him; but he shall be stoned to death, or shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount. gº 14 And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments, 15 He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives, 16 And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold, thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud: and the people that was in the camp, feared. 17 And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount. 18 And all mount Sinai was on a smoke: be- cause the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a ſurnace: and all the mount was terrible. 19 And the sound of the trumpet grew by de- grees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a smºgºmºs * And Mases went up to God. Moses went up to Mount Sinai where God spoke to i::m. 65 EXODUS. reater length: Moses spoke, and God answered | II). 20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount: and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither, 21 He said unto him : Go down, and charge the limits to see the lord, and a very great multi- 'ude of them should perish 22 The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them. 23 And Moses said to the Lord : The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it. 24 And the Lord said to him : Go, get thee down : and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he iſ them. 25 And Moses went down to the people and told • * ~ ºn •, ll & E \-4 A ſº ſº lºº, O CHAP. XX. The ten commandinents. ND the Lord spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing” that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. . 5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them : I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: 6 And showing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guilt- less that shall take the name of the Lord his God in Wall 11. 8 Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy | works. 10 But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou, northy son, northy daughter, northy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, northy beast, nor the stran- ger that is within thy gates. ll For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou! the |...}". lest they should have a mind to pass' mayst be long lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant. nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. 18 And all the people saw the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking: and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off, - 19 Saying to Moses : Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die. 20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin. 21 And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was. 22 And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold. 24 You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace. offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee. 25 And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones: for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it shall be defiled. 26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar. lest thy nakedness be discovered. CHAP. XXI. Laws relating to justice. HESE are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee: in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. - 3 With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out : if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him. 4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and i. rs; the woman and he | children shall be her master's : but he himself shal! |go out with his raiment. | 5 And if the servant shall say: I love my maste |and my wife and children, I will not go out free : 6. His master shall bring him to the gods; and he shall be set to the door and the posts; and he very sanctuary, so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized 1.1 graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, &c. Aſ such images or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored by the word of God. See Exodus xxv. 15. &c. chap. xxxviii. 7 wºm. and served; according to that which intmediately follows, thou shatt; bers xxi. 8, 9. 1 Chronic. xxviii. 18, 19. 2 Chromºc. iii. 10. not adore them, not serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols || | | To the gods: Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates au- or image gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise im- thorized by God. - agºs, pictures, or representations, evºn the house of God, and in the z_- - - - CHAP. XXII. º SS —º shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever. 7 If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go outas bond-women are wont to go out. 8 If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go : but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he d 'spise her. 9 But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 And if he take another wife for him, he shall rovide her a marriage, and raiment: neither shall |. refuse the price of her chastity. 11 If he do not these three things, she shall go out free without money. 12 He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be put to death. 13 But he that did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands; I will appoint thee a place to which he must flee. 14 If a man kill his neighbour on set purpose, and by lying in wait for him ; thou shalt take him away from my altar, that he may die. 15 He that striketh his father or mother, shall be put to death. 16 He that sha'steal a man, and sell him, being convicted of the guilt, shall be put to death. 17 He that curseth his father, or mother, shall die the death. 18 1ſ men quarrel, and the one strike his neigh- bour with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: 19 If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff, he that struck him shall be quit, yet so that he make restitution for his work, and for his expenses upon the physicians. 20 He that striketh his bond-man or bond-woman with a rod, and they die under his hands, shall be guilty of the crime. 2] But if the party remain alive a day or two, he shall not be subject to the punishment, because it is his money. 22 If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child, and she miscarry indeed, but live herself; he shall be answerable for so much damage as the Wº's husband shall require, and as arbiters shall TWA TOl. 23 But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 26 If any man strike the eye of his man-servant or maid-servant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go free, for the eye which he put out. 27 Also if he strike out a tooth of his man-servant, º maid-servant, he shall in like manner make them T{*(2. 28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit. 29 But if the ox was wont to push with his horn O ~ -> yesterday and the day before, and they warned its master, and he did not shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman ; then the ox shall be stoned and his owner also shall be put to death. 30, And if they set a price upon him, he shall give for his life whatsoever is laid upon him. 31 If he have gored a son, or a daughter, he shall fall under the like sentence. 32 If he assault a bond-man or bond-woman, h : shall give thirty sicles of silver to their master, and the ox shall be stoned. 33 If a man open a pit, and dig one, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall into it, 34. The owner of the pit shall pay the price of the beasts: and that which is dead shall be his own. 35 If one man’s ox gore another man’s ox, and he die; they shall sell the live ox, and shall divide the price, and the carcass of that which died they shall part between them : 36 But if he knew that his ox was wont to push yesterday and the day before, and his master did not keep him in; he shall pay ox for ox, and shall take the whole carcass. CHAP. XXII. The 3-unishment of theft, and other trespasses. The lau, a lending without usury, of taking pledges, of reverences to superiors, and of paying tithes. F any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or se!" it; he shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep. 2 If a thief be found breaking open a house ol undermining it, and be wounded so as to die; he that slew him shall not be guilty of blood. 3 But if he did this when the sun is risen, he hath committed murder, and he shall die. If he have not wherewith to make restitution for the theft, h shall be sold. 4. If that which he stole be found with him, alive. either ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double 5 If any man hurt a field or a vineyard, and put in his beast to feed upon that which is other men's: he shall restore the best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard, according to the estimation of the damage. 6 If a fire breaking out light upon thorns, and catch stacks of corn, or corn standing in the fields he that kindled the fire shall make good the loss. 7 If a man deliver money, or any vessel unto his friend to keep, and they be stolen away from him that received them; if the thief be found, he shall restore double: 8 If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be brought to the gods, and shall sweal that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbour's goods. 9 To do any fraud, e der in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or raiment, or any thing that may bring da- mage; the cause of both parties shall come to the gods: and if they giye judgment, he shall restore double to his neighbour. 10 If a man deliver ass, ox, sheep, or any beast, to his neighbour’s custody, and it die, or be hurt, on be taken by enenues, and no man saw it: 67 YS- EXODUS, Iſ There shall be an oath between them, that he did not put forth his hand to his neighbour’sgoods: and the owner shall accept of the oath, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution. 12 But if it were taken away by stealth, he shall make the loss good to the owner. 13 If it were eaten by a beast, let him bring to him that which was slain, and he shall not make westitution. 14. If a man borrow of his neighbour any of these things, and it be hurt or die, the owner not being present, he shall be obliged to make restitution. 15 But iſ the owner be present, he shall not make restitution, especially if it were hired and came for the hire of his work. 16 If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with her; he shall endow her, and have her to wife. 17 if the maid’s father will not give her to him, he shall give money according to the dowry, which virgins are wont to receive. 18 Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live. 19 Whosoever copulateth with a beast, shall be put to death. 20 He that sacrificeth to gods, shall be put to death, save only to the Lord. 21 Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him : for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt: * 22 You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan. 23 If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and ! will hear their cry: 24. And my rage shall be enkindled ; and I will strike you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries. 26 If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sun-set. 27 For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body ; neither hath he any other to sleep in : if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate. 28 Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods: and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse. 29 Thou shalt not delay to pay thy tithes and ‘hy first-fruits : thou shalt give the first-born of thy S(\ll S to Ille. 30 Thou shalt do the same with the first-born of thy oxen also and sheep : seven days let it be with its dam, the eighth day thou shalt give it to me. 31 You shall be holy men to me: the flesh that beasts have tasted of before, you shall not eat, but shall cast it to the dogs. CHAP. XXIII. | atos for judges : the rest of the seventh year, and day: three principal feasts to be solemnized every year: the promise of an Angel to conduct and protect them: idols are to be destroyed. "TV IOU shalt not receive the voice of a lie : nei- ther shalt thou join thy hand to bear false wit- ness for a wicked person, 2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to stray from the truth. 3 Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judg- ment. 4. If thou meet thy enemy’s ox or ass going astray, bring it back to him. - 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath his burden, thou shalt not pass by, b shalt lift him up with him. 6 Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man's judgment. 7 Thou shalt fly lying, The innocent and jus. person thou shalt not put to death : because I abhor the wicked. 8 Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise, and pervert the words of the just. 9 Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt. 10 Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shal gather the corn thereof. ll But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left, let the beasts o the field eat it: so shalt thou do with thy vineyard and thy olive-yard. 12 Six days thou shalt work : the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. 13 Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard out of your mouth. e 14 Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of Fgypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me. 16 And the feast of the harvest of the first-fruits of thy work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field. 17. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear be- fore the Lord thy God. 18 Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my vic- tim upon leaven, neither shall the fat of my solem- nity remain until the morning. 19 Thou shalt carry the first-fruits of the corn of thy ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam. 20 Behold, I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. - 21 Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned : for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him. 22 But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do at that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. 23 And my Angel shall go before thee, and A. 68 CHAP. XXIV, XXV. shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite,and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, whom l will destroy. 24 Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt de- stroy them, and break their statues. 25 And you shall serve the Lord your God, that | may bless your bread, and your waters, and may ‘ake away sickness from the midst of thee. 26 "There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land: I will fill the number of thy days. 27 I will send my fear before thee, and will de- stroy all the people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all thy enemies before thee: 28 Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hewite, and the Chanaanite, and the He- thite, before thou come in. 29 I will not cast them out from thy face in one year: lest the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land. 31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Palestimes, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them out from be- fore you. 32 Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods. 33 Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods: which undoubtedly will be a scandal to thee. CHAP. XXIV. Moses writeth his law; and after offering sacrifices, sprinkleth the blood of the testament upon the people; then goeth up the mountain, which God covereth with a fiery cloud. A ND he said to Moses. Come up to the Lord, A thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel: and you shall adore afar off. 2 And Moses alone shall come up to the LoRD, but they shall not come nigh: neither shall the people come up with him. 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken. 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord : and rising in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles* according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Is- rael, and they offered holocausts,t and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord. 6 Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls: and the rest he poured upon the altar. 7 And taking the book of the covenant, he read * Titles. That is, pillars. - e e } Holocausts, whole burnt-offerings; in which the whole sacrifice was consumed with fire, upon the altar ; First fruits; offerings, of some of the best and choicest of their Wºze goods. lº - 22-2'- _-----> Tºss-cº à sº <> it in the hearing of the people : and they said. Ak things that the ilord hath spoken, we will do : we will be obedient. 8 And he took the blood, and sprinkled it upon the people: and he said: This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you cor cerning al these words. 9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, an seventy of the ancients of Israel went up : 10 And they saw the God of Israel: and unde. his feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and a the heaven when clear. ll Neither did he lay his hand upon those of the children of Israel, that retired afar off: and they saw God, and they did eat and drink. 12 And the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and l will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the command º which I have written; that thou mayst teach then]. 13 Moses rose up, and his minister Josue: And Moses going up into the mount of God, 14 Said to the ancients: Wait ye here till we re- turn to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise, you shall refer it to them. 15 And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount. gº 16 And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days: and the sevent}: day he called him out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of 1srael. 18 And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: And he was there forty days and forty mignts. CHAP. XXV. Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the candlestick, &c. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to i. children of Israel, that they bring first-fruits f to me: of every man that offer- eth of his own accord, you shall take them. 3 And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver, and brass, 4 Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goat’s hair, 5 And ram-skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim-wood; Ś 6 Oil to make lights; spices for ointment, al.d for sweet-smelling incense; 7 Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational; | 8 And they shall make me a sanctuary, and [. will dwell in the midst of them _s=- § Setim-wood. The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible. | The ephod and the rational. . The ephod was the high priest's upper vestment; and the rational his breast plate in which were twelve gems, &c 4- ºr m- 69 * EXO1) (J.S. !) According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will show thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it: 10 Frame an ark of setim-wood, the length where- of shall be of two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the height, likewise a cubit and a half. | ] And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold within and without: and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about: 12 And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other. 13 Thou shalt make bars also of setim-wood, and shalt overlay them with gold. 14 And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be car- zied on them: 15 And they shall be always in the rings; neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them. 16 And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee. 17 Thou shalt make also a propitiatory” of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half. 18 Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle. 19 Let the cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other. 20 Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle; and ſet them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory where with the ark is to be covered: 2] In which thou shalt put the testimony that l vill give thee. 22 Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee. 23 Thou shalt make a table f also of setim-wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a ubit and a half in height. 24 And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about, 25 And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four luches high; and over the same another little golden CrOWI). - 26 Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shall put them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot. 27. Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table ay be carried. 28 The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim-wood, and shalt overlay them with gold to bear up the table. 29 Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls censers, and cups, wherein the libations j are to be offered of the purest gold. 30 And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always. 31 Thou shalt make also a candlestick$ of beaten work of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it. 32 Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other. 33 Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily: and three cups like- wise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work ol the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft: 34 And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups #!". manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and || 162S. 35 Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six coming forth out of one shaft. 36 And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold. 37 Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light ovel against. 38. The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold. 39 The whole weight of the candlestick with all º inium thereof shall be a talent of the pures: £OI (1. 40 Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shown thee in the mount. CHAP. XXVI. The form of the tabernacle with its appurtenances. ND thou shalt make the tabernacle in this manner: Thou shalt make ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified with embroidery. 2 The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits: the breadth shall be four cubits. All the curtains shall be of one measure. 3 Five curtains shall be joined one to another: and the other five shall be coupled togetherin like manner. 4 Thou shalt make loops of violet in the sides and tops of the curtains, that they may be joined one to another. 5 Every curtain shall have fifty loops on both sides, so set on, that one loop may be against an other loop, and one may be fitted to the other. 6 Thou shalt make also fifty rings of gold, where. with the veils of the curtains are to be be joined that it may be made one tabernacle. 3 propitiatory a covering for the ark, called a propitiatory, or mercy •e it, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence showed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver, 18 and 20, because from thence, f : . . d gave his orders and his answers, * -1 table : on which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition; as they are called in the Hebrew the face-bread, because they were e 7ſh _------ - Te * * * * always to stand before the face of the Lord in nis temple; as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ Libations. That is, drink-offerings. # A candlestick. This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ. § {% CHAP. XXVII 7 Thou shalt make also eleven curtains of goats hair, to cover the top of the tabernacle. 8. The length of one hair-curtain shall be thirty 3ubits, and the breadth, four : the measure of all the curtains shall be equal. 9 Five of which thou shalt couple by themselves: and the six others thoushalt couple one to another, so as to double the sixth curtain in the front of the roof. 10 Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge b: one curtain, that it may be joined with the other; and fifty loops in the edge of the other curtain, that it may be coupled with its fellow. I l Thou shalt make also fifty buckles of brass, wherewith the loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering. 12 And that which shall remain of the curtains, that are prepared for the roof, to wit, one curtain that is over and above, with the half thereof thou shalt cover the back parts of the tabernacle. 13 And there shall hang down a cubit on the one side, and another on the other side, which is over and above in the length of the curtains, fencing both sides of the tabernacle. 14 Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof, of rams' skins dyed red ; and over that again another cover of violet-coloured skins. 15 Thou shalt make also the boards of the taber- nacle standing upright of Setim-wood. 16 Let every one of them be ten cubits in length, and in breadth one cubit and a half. 17 lm the sides of the boards, shall be made two mortises, whereby one board may be joined to an- other board: and after this manner shall all the bºards be prepared. 18 Of which twenty shall be in the south side southward. 19 For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of sil- ver, that under every board may be put two sockets at the two corners. 20 In the second side also of the tabernacle that looketh to the north, there shall be twenty boards, 21 Having forty sockets of silver, two sockets shali be put under each board. 22 But on the west side of the tabernacle thou slalt make six boards. 23 And again other two which shall be erected in the corners at the back of the tabernacle. 24 And they shall be joined together from be- neath unto the top, and one joint shall hold them all. The like joining shall be observed for the two boards also that are to be put in the corners. 25 And they shall be in all eight boards, and their silver sockets sixteen, reckoning two sockets for each board. 26 Thou shalt make also five bars of setim-wood, tº hold together the boards on one side of the ta- bernacle, 27 And five others on the other side, and as many at the west side : 28 And they shall be put along by the midst of the boards from one end to the other. 29 The boards also themselves thou shalt over- lay with gold, and shall cast rings of gold to be set upon them, for places for the bars to hold together the board-work: which bars thou shalt cover with plates of gold. 30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle accord ing to the pattern that was shown thee in the mount 31 Thou shalt make also a veil of violet, and pur ple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, wrought with embroidered work and goodly variety 32. And thou shalt hang it up before four pillais of Setim-wood, which themselves also shall be cver laid with gold, and shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver. 33 And the veil shall be hanged on with rings: and within it thou shalt put the ark of the testimo- ny ; and the sanctuary” and the holy of the holies shall be divided with tt. 34 And thou shalt set the propitiatory upon the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies, 35 And the table without the veil and over against the table the candlestick in the south side of the tabernacle : for the table shall stand in the north side. - 36 Thou shalt make also a hanging in the en- trance of the tabernacle of violet, and purple, and Scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen with em broidered work. 37 And thou shalt overlay with gold five pillars of Setim-wood, before which the hanging shall be drawn : their heads shall be of gold, and the sock ets of brass. CHAP. XXVI). The altar; and the court of the tabernacle with its hangings and pillars. Provision of oil for lamps. HOU shalt make also an altar of setim-wood, -*- which shall be five cubits long, and as many broad, that is four-square, and three cubits high. 2 And there shall be horns at the four corners of the same: and thou shalt cover it with brass. 3 And thou shalt make for the uses thereof pans to receive the ashes, and tongs, and flesh-hooks, and fire-pans: all its vessels thou shalt make of brass 4 And a grate of brass in manner of a net: at trie four corners of which shall be four rings of brass, 5 Which thou shalt put under the hearth of the altar: and the grate shall be even to the midst of the altar. 6 Thou shalt make also two bars for the altar of setim-wood, which thou shalt cover with plates r | brass : 7 And thou shalt draw them through rings, ºu,' they shall be on both sides of the altar to carry it. 8 Thou shalt not make it solid, but empty and hol. low in the inside, as it was shown thee in the mount. 9 Thou shalt make also the court of the taberna- * The sanctuary, &c. That part of the tabernacle, which was with- out the veil, into which the priests daily entered, is here called the sanc- tuary, or holy place; that part which was within the veil, into which no one but the high-priest ever went, and he but once a year, is call ed the holy of holies (literally, the san-tuaries of the sancturu." ºr being the most hoſy of all holy places. %| N EXOD U.S. cle, in the south side whereof southward there shall be hangings of fine, twisted linen of a hundred cu- bits jong for one side, 10 And twenty pillars with as many sockets of brass, the heads of which with their engraving shall be of silver. 11 In like manner also on the north side there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and as many sockets of brass, and their heads with their engraving of silver. 12 But in the breadth of the court, that looketh to the west, there shall be hangings of fifty cubits, and ten pillars, and as many sockets. 13 In that breadth also of the court, which look- eth to the east, there shall be fifty cubits : - 14. In which there shall be for one side hangings of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets. 15 And in the other side there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars and as many sockets. 16 And in the entrance of the court there shall be made a hanging of twenty cubits of violet and Murple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted inen, with embroidered work: it shall have four pillars, with as many sockets. 17 All the pillars of the court round about shall be garnished with plates of silver, silver heads, and sockets of brass. 18 lil length the court shall take up a hundred Cubits, in breadth fiſty; the height shall be of five cubits; and it shall be made of fine twisted linen, and shall have sockets of brass. 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle for all uses and ceremonies, and the pins both of it, and of the court, thou shalt make of brass. º 20 Command the children of Israel that they bring thee the purest oil of the olives, and beaten with a pestle; that a lamp may burn always 21 in the tabernacle of the testimony, without the veil that hangs before the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall order it, that it may give light before the Lord until the morning. It shall 'e a perpetual observance throughout their succes- Sions among the children of Israel. CHAP. XXVIII. The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons. TAKE unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2. And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's vestments, in which he being consecrated may minister to me. * The rational of judgment. This part of the high-priest's attire, which he wore at his breast, was called the rational of judgment; partly because iſ admonished both priest and people of their duty to God; by carrying the oa-tes of all their tribes in his presence ; and by the Urim” and *Q 4 And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunick and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priest hood unto me. 5 And they shall take gold, and violet, and pur- ple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine liner. 6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours. 7. It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together. 8 The very workmanship also and all the variety of the work, shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen. 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shal' grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 Six names on one stone, and the other six on the other, according to the order of their birth. 1 l With the work of an engraver and the grav- ing of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about : 12 And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance. 13 Thou shalt make also hooks of gold. 14 And two little chains of the purest gold linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks. 15 And thou shalt make the rational of judg- ment” with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, j. and purple, and Scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen. 16 lt shall be four-square and doubled : it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth. 17 And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones: In the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald. 18 In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and jasper: | 19. In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an ame- thyst : 20 In the fourth a chrysolite, an onvX and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows. 21 And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be en- graved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes. - 22 And thou shalt make on the rational chains linked one to another of the purest gold: 23 And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational. 24 And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof: Thummim, that is, doctrine and truth, which were written upon it: and partly because it gave divine answers and oracles, as if it were rational and endowed with judgment. -, CHAP. XXIX. 25 And the ends of the chains themselves thou shalt join together with two hooks on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational. 26 Thou shalt make also two rings of gold which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof. 27 Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod, 28 And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be foosed one from the other. g 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the chil- dren of Israel in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever. 30 And thou shalt put in the rational of judg- ment Doctrine and Fººt. which shall be on Aaron's breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of lsrael on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always. 31 And thou shalt make the tunick of the ephod all of violet; 32 In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of gar- ments, that it may not easily be broken. 33 And beneath at the feet of the same tunick, round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegra- nates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between : 34 So that there shall be a golden bell and a po- megranate, and again another golden bell and a po- megranate. - 35 And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die. 36 Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold; wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord. 37 And thou shalt tic it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre, 38 Hanging over the forehead of the high-priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanc- tified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well Lleased with them. 39 And thou shalt gird the tunick with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work. 40 Moreover for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunicks, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty: 41 And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy orother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me. 42 Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover # lºh of their nakedness from the reins to the thighs: 43 And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go in to the tabernacle of the testimony or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him. CHAP. XXIX. The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the insti. tution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the morning, the other at evening. AN D thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil : thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour. 3 And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them ; and the calf and the two rams. 4 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with Water, 5 Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments that is, with the linen garment and the tunick, and the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle. 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre : 7 And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head : and by this rite shall he be consecrated 8 Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the linen tunicks, and gird them with a girdle: 9 To wit, Aaron and his children ; and thou shalt put mitres upon them : and they shall he priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands, 10 Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head : | 1 And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 12 And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger : and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof. 13 Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shal offer a burnt-offering upon the altar: 14 But the flesh of the calf, and the hide, and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin. * Doctrine and Truth. Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words written on the rational, seem to signify –-- "Tºº- _------> --- —” jºs> and endowed with judgment, CHAP. XXIX. 25 And the ends of the chains themselves thou shalt join together with two hooks on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational. 26 Thou shalt make also two rings of gold which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof. 27 Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod, 28 And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be ioosed one from the other. - 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the chil- dren of Israel in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever. 30 And thou shalt put in the rational of judg- ment Doctrine and Fººt. which shall be on Aaron’s breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of lsrael on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always. 31 And thou shalt make the tunick of the ephod all of violet; 32 In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of gar- ments, that it may not easily be broken. 33 And beneath at the feet of the same tunick, round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegra- nates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between : 34. So that there shall be a golden bell and a po- megranate, and again another golden bell and a po- the granate. - 35 And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die. 36 Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold; wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord. 37 And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre, 38 Hanging over the forehead of the high-priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanc- tified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well Lleased with them. 39 And thou shalt gird the tunick with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work. 40 Moreover for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunicks, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty: - 41 And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy orother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me. 42 Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover | º of their nakedness from the reins to the thighs: 43 And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go in to the tabernacle of the testimony or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die, It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him. CHAP. XXIX. The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the insti- tution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the morning, the other at evening. AN D thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil : thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour. 3 And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them ; and the calf and the two rams. 4 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with Water, 5 Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments that is, with the linen garment and the tunick, an the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle. 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre : 7 And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head : and by this rite shall he be consecrated 8 Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the linen tunicks, and gird them with a girdle : 9 To wit, Aaron and his children; and thou shalt put mitres upon them : and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands, 10 Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head : 11 And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 12 And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger: and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof. 13 Thou shalt take also all the ſat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shal offer a burnt-offering upon the altar: 14. But the flesh of the calf, and, the hide, and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin. * Doctrine and Truth. Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach to him, F.XOL) U.S. 15 Thou shalt take also one ram, upon the head whereof Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands. 16 And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and pour round about the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces: and having washed his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is cut in pieces, and upon his head. 13 And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt- ffering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savour of the victim of the Lord. 19 Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands. 20 And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and foot: and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And when thou hast taken of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and their vestments are consecrated, 22 Thou shalt take the ſat of the ram, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the ſat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration : 23 And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with Jil, a wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight of the Lord : 24 And thou shall put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt sanctify them, tlevating before the Lord. 25 And thou shalt take all from their hands ; and shalt burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation. 26 Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, where with Aaron was consecrated : and elevating it, thou shalt sanctify it before the Lord ; and it shall fall to thy share. 27 And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram, 28 Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons: and they shall fall to Aaron's share and his sons by a perpetual right from the children of Israel: because tly are the choicest and the beginnings of their peace-victims which they offer to the Lord. 29 And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands consecrated in it. 30 He of his sons that shall be appointed high- rest in his stead, and that shall enter into the ta- 'ernacle of the testimony to minister in the sanc- uary, shall wear it seven days. 31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecra- tion, and shaltboil the flesh thereof in the holy place: 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also, that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony, 33 That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the 2.1. hands of the offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy. 34 And if there remain of the consecrated flesh, or of the bread till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: they shall not be eaten, be- cause they are sanctified. 35 All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron and his sons. Seven days shall thou consecrate their hands: 36 And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it: and it shall be most holy. Every one that shall touch it, shall be holy. 38 This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continualy. 39 One lamb in the morning, and another in the evening. 40 With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the same measure. 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, according to the rite of the morning obla. tion, and according to what we have said, for a sa- vour of sweetness : 42 It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto your generations, at the door ºf the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee. 43 And there will I command the children of İs. rael, and the altar shall be sanctified by my glory. 4... I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the tes- timony with the altar, and Aaron with his sons. to do the office of priesthood unto me. 45 And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God : 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abideamong them, I the Lord their à. CHAP. XXX. The altar of incense: money to be gathered for the rise of the tabernacle: the brazen laver: the holy oil of unction, and the composition of the perfume. HOU shalt make also an altar to burn incense,” of setim-wood. 2 It shall be a cubit in length, and another in breadth, that is, four square, and two in height. Horns shall go out of the same. 3 And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the grate thereof, as the walls round about and the horns. And thou shalt make to it a Crow a of gold round about, A. And two golden rings under the crown Cº. either side, that the bars may be put into them, anº the altar be carried. 5 And thou shalt make the bars also of Setim: wood, and shalt overlay them with gold. *-* * An altar to burn incºnse. This burning of incense was an emblei. of prayer, ascending to God from an inflamed heart See Psalºn exl. | 2 Apocalypse v. 8, and viii 4 *—III.--> S- Fºº Uh A.P. XXXI 6 And thou shalt set the altar over-against the veil that hangeth before the ark of the testimony before the propitiatory where with the testimony is sovered, where I will speak to thee. 7 And Aaron shall burn sweet-smelling incense upon it, in the morning. When he shall dress the ſamps, he shall burn it: * 8 And when he shall place them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord hroughout your generations. 9 #. shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor oblation, and victim : neither shall wou offer libations. 10 And Aaron shall pray upon the horns thereof Jnce a year, with the blood of that which was oſſer- ed for sin, and shall make atonement upon it in your generations. It shall be most holy to the Lord. ll And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel according to their number, every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord: and there shall be no scourge among them, when they shall be reckoned. 13 And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming, half a sicle” according to the standard of the temple. A sicle hath twenty obols. Half a sicle shall be offered to the Lord. 14. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price. 15. The rich man shall not add to half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing. 16 And the money received, which was contribu- ted by the children of Isrºel, thou shalt deliver unto the uses of the tabernatie of the testimony, that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may be merciful to their souls. 17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying : 18 Thou shalt make also a brazen laver with its foot, to wash in : and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And water being put into it, - 19 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it, 20 When they are going into the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they are to come to the al- lar, to offer on it incense to the Lord, Ql Lest perhaps they die. It shall be an ever- lasting law to him, and to his seed by successions. 22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, 23 Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so imuch, that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of cala- mus in like manner two hundred and fifty, 24 And of cassia five hundred sicles by the º of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the mea- 31 II’t: Il II] . 25 And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, |. ointment compounded after the art of the per- t inher . 26 And therewith thou shalt anoint the taber- nacle of the testimony, and the ark ºf the testa lment, 27, And the table with the vessels the reof, the candlestick and furniture thereof, the altars of in- cense, 28 And of holocaust, and all the furniture that belongeth to the service of them. 29 And thou shalt sanctify all ; and they shall be most holy : he that shall touch them shall be same tified. 30 Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and shalt Sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me. 31 And thou shalt say to the children of Israel: This oil of unction shall be holy unto me through- out your generations. 32 The flesh of man shall not be anointed there- with : and you shall make mone other of the same composition ; because it is sanctified, and shall be holy unto you. 33 What man soever shall compound such, and shall give thereof to a stranger, he shall be cut of from his people. 34 And the Lord said to Moses : Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet sa- vour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall be of equal weight. - 35 And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification. 36 And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where l will appear to thee. Most holy shall this incense be unto you. 37 You shall not make such a composition for your own uses ; because it is holy to the Lord. 38 What man soever shall make the like, to en- º the smell thereof, he shall perish out of his peo UIC. CHAP. XXXI. Beseleel and Ooliab are appointed by the Lord to make the ta- bernacle, and the things belonging thereto. The observation of the sabbath-day is again commanded. And the Lord de- livereth to Moses two tables written with the finger of God. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Behold, I have called by name Beselcel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work, 4. To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass, 5 Of marble, and precious stches, and variety of wood. 6 And I have given him for his companion Ooliºb the son of Achisamech of the tribe of 1)an. And I have put wisdom in the neart of every skilful inau, that they may make all things which I have con- manded thee, —-mm- .e- * * * Half a swle. A sicle or shekel of silver, (which was also called a stater) according to the standard or weight of the sanctuary, which was the most Just and exact, was half an ounce of silver, that is, about half a crown of English money. The ebol or gerah was about three halfpenoa TRS - ** 4 Lº" - sº A( ) [J U S. 7 The tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory, that is ove it, and a l the vessels of the tabernacle, 8 And the table and the vessels thereof, the most pure candlestick with the vessels thereof, and the altars of incense, 9 And of holocaust, and all their vessels, the layer with its foot, 10 The holy vestments in the ministry for Aaron he priest, and for his sons, that they may execute ..heir office, about the sacred things: | l The oil of unction, and the incense of spices in the sanctuary, all things which I have com- manded thee, shall they make. 12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 13 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : See that you keep my sabbath : because it is a sign between me and you in your generations; that you may know that I am the i. who sanctify you. 14 Keep you my sabbath ; for it is holy unto you: he that shall profane it, shall be put to death : me that shall do any work in it, his soul shall per- ish out of the midst of his people. 15 Six days shall you do work: in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. Every one that shall do any work on this day, shall die. 16 Let the children of Israel keep the sabbath, and celebrate it in their generations. It is an ever- lasting covenant 17 Between me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth: and in the seventh he ceased from work. 18 And the Lord, when he had ended these words in mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone- tables of testimony, written with the finger of God. CHAP. XXXII. The people fall into idolatry. Moses prayeth for them. He breaketh the tables ; (lstroyeth the idol; blameth Aaron ; and causeth many of the idolaters to be slain. AND the people seeing that Moses delayed to. come down from the mount, gathering toge- ther against Aaron, said : Arise, make us gods, that may go before us : For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him. 2 And Aaron, said to them : Take the golden ear-rings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me. 3 And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the ear-rings to Aaron. 4 And when he had received them, he fashion- ed them by founders’ work, and made of them a unolten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O !srael, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier's voice, saying: To-morrow is the solemnity of the Lord. 6 And rising in the morning, they offered holo- causts, and peace-victims: and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play. ' Yºº- - <-----> Tse- sº <--~ ... --- - , 7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying , t to. get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned. 8 They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst show them : and they have node to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it. and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy Gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. 9 And again the Lord said to Moses. I see that this people is stiff-necked : 10 Let me alone, that my wrath may be kin- dled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation. 11 But Moses besought the Lord his God, say ing: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand P 12 Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own seif, saying: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever. 14 And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people. 15 And Moses returned from the mount, carry- ing the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides, 16 And made by the work of God the writing also of God was graven in the tables 17 And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp. 18 But he answered : It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men com- pelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers. 19 And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount: r 20 And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink. - 21 And he said to Aaron : What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin f 22 And he answered him : Let not my lord be offended : for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil. 23 They said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us: for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him. 24 And I said to them : Which of you hath an gold P and they took and brought it to me: and { cast it into the fire, and this calf came out. ( , HAP. XXXI 11. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked" (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth,t and had set them naked . among their enemies) 26 Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord’s side, let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered them- selves together unto him : 27 And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh : go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his bro- ther, and friend, and neighbour. 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men. 29 And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to OUI. 30 And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime. 31 And returning to the Lord, he said : I be- seech thee; this people hath sinned a heinous sin ; and they have made to themselves gods of gold : either forgive them this trespass, 32 Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written. * 33 And the Lord answered him : He that hath sinned against ine, him will I strike out of my book: 34. But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my Angel shall go before thee. And | in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs. 35 The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made. CHAP. XXXIII. The people mourn for their sin. Moses pitcheth the tabernacle without the camp. He converseth familiarly with God: de- sireth to see his glory. AND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get s thee up from this place, thou and thy people which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, .nto the land concerning which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: To thy seed I will give it : 2 And I will send an Angel before thee, that I may cast out the Chanaanite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hewite, and the Jebusite, 3 That thou mayst enter into the land that flow- eth with milk and honey. For I will not go up with hee, because thou art a stiff-necked people: lest I destroy thee in the way. 4 And the people hearing these very bad tidings, | mourned : and no man put on his ornaments accord ing to custom. 5 And the Lord said to Moses: Say to the chil- dren of Israel: Thou art a stiff-necked people: once I shall come up in the midst of thee, and shall de- stroy thee. Now presently lay aside thy ornaments that I may know what to do to thee. 6 So the children of Israel laid aside their orna- ments by mount Horeb. 7 Moses also taking the tabernacle, pitched it without the camp afar off, and called the name thereof, The tabernacle of the covenant. And all the people, that had any question, went forth to the tabernacle of the covenant, without the camp. 8. And when Moses went forth to the tabernacle, all the people rose up, and every one stood in the door of his pavilion, and they beheld the back of Moses, till he went into the tabernacle. 9 And when he was gone into the tabernacle of the covenant, the pillar of the cloud came down, and stood at the door : and he spoke with Moses. 10 And all saw that the pillar of the cloud stood at the door of the tabernacie. And they stood, and worshipped at the doors cf their tents. I l And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face,; as a man is wont to speak to his friend. And when he returned into the camp, his servant Josue the son of N un, a young man, departed not from the taber. Ilºl C162. 12 And Moses said to the Lord. Thou com mandest me to lead forth this people: and thou dost not let me know whom thou wilt send with 1.lv, especially whereas thou hast said: I know thee by name,S and thou hast found favour in my sight. 13 lif therefore I have found favour in thy sight, show me thy face, that I may know thee, and may find grace before thy eyes: look upon thy people, this nation. 14 And the Lord said: My face shall go before thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And Moses said: If thou thyself dost not go before, bring us not out of this place. 16 For how shall we be able to know, I and thy people, that we have found grace in thy sight, un- less thou walk with us, that we may be glorified by all people that dwell upon the earth F 17 And the Lord said to Moses: This word also, which thou hast spoken, will I do: for thou hast found grace before me, and thee I have known by name. 18 And he said: Show me thy glory. 19 He answered: I will show thee all good, and I will proclaim in the name of the Lord before thee : and I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be merciſul to whom it shall please me. 20 And again he said: Thou canst not see my face : for man shall not see me, and live. tºº * Naked. Having lost not only their gold, and their honour, but what was worst of all, being stripped also of the grace of God, and having lost him. # The shame of the filth. That is, of the idol, which they had taken for their God. It is the usual phrase of the scripture to call idols filth, wad ahominations f Face to face. That is, in a most familiar manner. Though, as we learn from this very chapter, Moses could not see the face of the Lord. ! I know thee by name. In the language of the scriptures, God is said to know such as he approves and loves; and to know by name those whom he favours in a most singular manner, as he did his servant Moses. 77 |', X ( ) l y US 2, And again he said: Behold, there is a place | fe ſ' and cut down their groves: with me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. 22 And when my glory sinai pass, I will set thee in a hole of the rock, and protect thee with my right hand, till I pass : 23 And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts :” but my face thou caust In Of SCC CHAP. XXXIV. i'he tables are renewed: all society with the Chanaanites is for- hidden : some precepts concerning the first-born, the sabbath, and other feasts. After forty days’ fast, Moses returneth to the people with the commandments: and his face appearing horned with rays of light, he covereth it, whensoever he speak- eth to the people. A NI) after this he said: Hew thee two tables of 1 *- stone like unto the former : and l will write upon them the words which were in the tables, which thou brokest. 2 Be ready in the morning, that thou mayst forth- with go up into mount Sinai; and thou shalt stand with me upon the top of the mount. 3 Let no man go up with thee; and let not any man be seen throughout all the mount: neither let the oxen nor the sheep feed over against it. 4 Then he cut out two tables of stone, such as had ineen before : and rising very early, he went up ...to the mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying with him the tables. 5 And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord. tº And when he passed before hitn, he said: O the lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient, and of much compassion, and true: 7 Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin, and no man of himself is innocent before thee. Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grand-children unto the third and fourth generation. 8 And Moses making haste, bowed down pros- trate unto the earth, and adoring, 9 Said : If I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, I beseech thee that thou wilt go with us (for it is a stiff-necked, people) and take away our ini- quities and sin, and possess us. 10 The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all : I will do signs such as were never seen upon the earth, nor in any nations: that this people, in the midst of whom thºu art, may See the terrible work of the Lord which l will do. ll Qbserve all things which this day I command 'hee: I myself will drive out before thy face the A morrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hewite, and the Jebusite. 12. Bew are thou never join in friendship with the thabitants of that land, which may be thy ruin: 13 But destroy their altars, break their statues, 14 Adore not any strange God. The Lord his name is Jealous; he is a jealous God. se 15 Make no covenant with the men ºf those countries; lest, when they have committed fornica tion with their gods, and have adored their idols, some one call thee to eat of the things sacrificed. I6 Neither shalt thou take of their daughters a wife for thy son; lest after they themselves hate committed fornication, they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods. 17 Thou shalt not make to thyself any moltºn ods. § 18 Thou shalt keep the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time of the month of the new corn: for in the month of the spring time thou camest out from Egypt. 19 All of the male kind, that openeth the womp, shall be mine. Of all beasts, both of oxen and of sheep, it shall be mine. 20 The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep : but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem : neither shalt thou appear before me empty. 21 Six days shalt thou work; the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough, and to reap. 22 Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks with the first-fruits of the corn of thy wheat-harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are laid in. 23 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the sight of the Almighty Lord the God of Israel. - 24 For when I shall have taken away the nations from thy face, and shall have enlarged thy borders, no man shall lie in wait agai.st thy land when thou shalt go up, and appear in the sight of the Lord th: God thrice in a year. 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice upon leaven: neither shall there remain in the morning any thing of the victim of the solemnity of the Phase. 26 The first of the fruits of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy Č. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam. - 27 And the Lord said to Moses: Write thee these words by which I have made a covenant floth with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights: , he neither ate bread nor drank water: and he wrote upon the tables the ten words of the covenant. 29 And when Moses came dºwn from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony; and he knew not that his face was hornedt from the a-g zº ſº ; N, wº *- * See my back parts. The Lord, by his Angel, usually spoke to Moſes in the pillar of the cloud, so that he could not see the glory of him that spoke familiarly with him. In the vision here mentioned, he was allowed to see something of him, in an assumed corporeal form; 7 S conversation of the Lord. *mmº, e. not in the face, the rays of which were too bright for mortal ey bear, but to view him as it were behind, when his face was from him t Horned. That is, shining, and sending forth rays of lightli CHAP. XXXV, XXXVI. 30 And Aaron, and the children of Israel seeing the face of Moses horned, were afraid to come near. 31 And being called by him, they returned, both Aaron and the rulers of the congregation. And aſ- ter that he spoke to them : • 32 And all the children of Israel came to him : and he gave them in commandment all that he had heard .# the Lord in mount Sinai. 33 And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face. 34 But when he went in to the Lord, and spoke with him, he took it away until he came forth: and then he spoke to the children of Israel all things that had been commanded him. 35 And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned : but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them. CHAP. XXXV. Offerings for making the tabernacle. r and Ooliah are called to the work. ND all the multitude of the children of Israel being gathered together, he said to them : These are the things which the Lord hath com- manded to be done. 2 Six days you shall do work: the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath and the rest of the Lord : he that shall do any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire in any of your habi- :ations on the sabbath day. 4 And Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying: 5 Set aside with you first-fruits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord gold, and silver, and brass, 6 Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins, Setim-wood, 8 And oil to maintain lights, and to make oint- ment, and most sweet incense, - 9 Onyx stones, and precious stones, for the adorning of the ephod and the rational. 10 Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded : l I To wit, the tabernacle, and the roof thereof, and the cover, the rings, and the board-work with the bars, the pillars and the sockets: 12 The ark and the staves, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it: 1.3 The table with the bars, and the vessels, and the loaves of proposition : | 4 The Candlestick to bear up the lights, the ves- sels thereof and the lamps, and the oil for the nourishing of fires. 15 The altar of incense, and the bars, and the oil of unction and the incense of spices: the hang- ing at the door of the tabernacle: 16 The altar of holocaust, and its grate of brass, with the bars and yessels thereof: the laver and its foot. The Sabbath. Beseleel 17 The curtains of the court with the pillars and the sockets, the hanging in the doors of the entry. 18 The pins of the tabernacle and of the court with their little cords: 19 The vestments that are to be used in the mi. mistry of the sanctuary, the vesture of Aaron the high-priest, and of his sons, to do the office L. . . . si hood to me. 20 And all the multitude of the children of Is rael going out from the presence of Moses, 21 Offered first-fruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatsoever was me. cessary to the service and to the holy vestments, 22 Both men and women gave bracelets and ear rings, rings and tablets: every vessel of gold was set aside to be offered to the Lord. 23 If any nan had violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, red, and violet coloured skins, 24 Metal of silver and brass, they offered it tº the Lord, and setim-wood for divers uses. 25 The skilful women also gave such things as they had spun, violet, purple, and Scarlet, and fine linen, 26 And goats' hair, giving all of their own accord. 27 But the princes offered onyx stones, and pre- cious stones, for the ephod and the rational, 28 And spices and oil for the lights, and for the preparing of ointment, and to make the incense ol In OSt SW eet SaVOur. 29 All both men and women with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. All the children of Israel dedicated voluntary offer- ings to the Lord. 30 And Moses said to the children of Israel: Behold, the Lord hath called by name Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda. 31 And hath filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge and all learning, - 32 To devise and to work in gold and silver, and brass, 33 And in engraving stones, and in carpenter's work. Whatsoever can be devised artificially, 34. He hath given in his heart: Ooliab also, the son of Achisamech of the tribe of Dan : 35 Both of them hath he instructed with wisdom. to do carpenter’s work, and tapestry, and embroidery in blue and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and to weave all things, and to invent all new things. CHAP. XXXVI. The offerings are delivered to the workmen: the curtains, cover ings, boards, bars, veil, pillars, and hanging are made. BESELEEL therefore, and Ooliab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and understanding, to know how to work artificially made the things that are necessary for the uses o the sanctuary, and which the Lord commanded. 2 And when Moses had called them, and every skilful man, to whom the !ord had given wisdolu EXO1 J U S. and such as of their own accord had offered them- selves to the making of the work, 3 He delivered all the offerings of the children of Israel unto them. And while they were earnest about the work, the people daily in the morning offered their vows. 4. Whereupon the workmen being constrained to COII)6, 5 Said to Moses than is necessary. 6 Moses therefore commanded proclamation to be made by the crier's voice: Let neither man nor woman offer any more for the work of the sanctuary. And so they ceased from offering gifts : 7 Because the things that were offered did suf- tice, and were too mucil. 8 And all the men that were wise of heart, to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of twisted fine linen, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed with varied work, and the art of embroidering : 9. The length of one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth ſour: all the curtains were of the same size. 10 And he joined five curtains, one to another; and the other five he coupled one to another. I I He made also loops of violet in the edge of one curtain on both sides, and in the edge of the other curtain in like manner, 12 That the loops might meet one against ano- ther, and might be joined each with the other. 13 Whereupon also he cast fifty rings of gold that might catch the loops of the curtains, and they might be made one tabernacle. 14. He made also eleven curtains of goats’ hair to cover the roof of the tabernacle: 15 One curtain was thirty cubits long and four cubits broad : all the curtains were of one measure. 16 Five of which he joined apart, and the other six apart. 17. And he made fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, and fifty in the edge of another curtain, that they might be joined one to another: 18 And fifty buckles of brass wherewith the roof might be knit together, that of all the curtains there unight be made one covering. 19. He made also a cover for the tabernacle, of rams' skins dyed red; and another cover over that of violet skins. 20 He made also the boards of the tabernacle of Setim-wood standing. 21 The length of one board was ten cubits: and the breadth was one cubit and a half. 22There were two mortises throughout everyboard, Jhat one might be joined to the other. And in this manner he made or all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 Of which twenty were at the south side southward, 24 With forty sockets of silver. Two sockets were put under one board on the two sides of the corners, where the mortises of the sides end in the corners. 25 At that side also of the tabernacle, that look- rth towards the north, º made twenty boards, The people offereth more ſ 26 With forty sockets of silver, two sockets for every board. 27 But against the west, to wit, at that side of the tabernacle, which looketh to the sea, he made six boards, 28 And two others at each corner of the taber nacle behind : 29 Which were also joined from beneath unto the top, and went together into one joint. Thus he did on both sides at the corners: 30 So there were in all eight boards: and they had sixteen sockets of silver, to wit, two sockets under every board. 31 He made also bars ºf setim-wood, five to hold together the boards of oneside of the tabernacle. 32 And five others to join together the boards of the other side : and besides these, five other bars at the west side of the tabernacle towards the sea. 33 He made also another bar, that might come by the midst of the Loards from corner to corner. 34 And the board-work itself he overlaid with. gold. And their rings he made of gold, through which the bars might be drawn; and he covered the bars themselves with plates of gold. 35 He made also a veil of violet, and purple, Scarlet, and fine twisted linen, varied and distin guished with embroidery; 36 And four pillars of setim-wood, which with their heads he overlaid with gold, casting for them sockets of silver. 37 He made also a hanging in the entry of the tabernacle, of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twist ed linen, with the work of an embroiderer. 38 And five pillars with their heads, which he covered with gold, and their sockets he cast of brass CHAP. XXXVII. Beseleel maketh the ark, the propitiatory, and cherubims, the table, the candlestick, the lamps, and the altar of incense, and compoundeth the incense. º ND Beseleel made also, the ark of setim-wood. it was two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth: and the height was of one cubit and a half: and he overlaid it with the purest gold within and without. 2 And he made to it a crown of gold round about 3 Casting four rings of gold at the four corners thereof: two rings in one side, and two in the other. 4 And he made bars of setim-wood, which he overlaid with gold : - 5 And he put them into the rings that were at the sides of the ark to carry it. - 6 He made also the propitiatory, that is, the ora- cle, of the purest gold, two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth. 7. Two cherubims also of beaten gold, which he set on the two sides of the propitiatory: 8 One cherub in the top of one side, and the other cherub in the top of the other side : two cherubims at the two ends of the propitiatory, 9 Spreading their wings, and covering the pro- pitiatory, and looking one towards the other and towards it - C | | A P. XXXVIII 10 He made also the table of setim-wood, in length two cubits, and in breadth one cubit, and in height it was a cubit and a half. 1 l And he overlaid it with the finest gold ; and he made to it a golden ledge round about. 12 And to the ledge itself he made a polished crown of goid of four fingers’ breadth, and upon the saine another golden crown. 13 And he cast four rings of gold, which he put in the four cºrners at each foot of the table 14. Over against the crown ; and he put the bars into them, that the table might be carried. 15 And the bars also themselves he made of se- Lim-wood, and overlaid them with gold. 16 And the vessels for the divers uses of the table, dishes, bowls, and cups, and censers of pure gold, wherein the libations are to be offered. 17 He made also the candlestick of beaten work of the finest gold. From , he shaft whereof its branches, its cups, and bowls, and lilies came out : 18 Six on the two sides : three branches on one side, and three on the other. 19 Three cups in manner of a nut on each branch, and bowls withal and iilies: and three cups of the fashion of a nut in another branch, and bowls withal and lilies. The work of the six branches, that went out from the shaft of the candlestick, was equal. 20 And in the shaft itself were four cups after the manner of a nut, and bowls withal at every one, and lilies : . 21 And bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six branches going out from one shaft. 22 So both the bowls and the branches were of the same, all beaten work of the purest gold. 23. He made also the seven lamps with their snuffers, and the vessels where the snuffings were to be put out, of the purest gold. 24. The candlestick with all the vessels thereof weighed a talent of gold. 25 He made also the altar of incense of setim- wood, being a cubit on every side, four-square, and in height two cubuts : from the corners of which went out horns. 26 And he overlaid it with the purest gold, with its grate and the sides and the horns. 27 And he made to it a crown of gold round about, and two golden rings under the crown at each side, that the bars might be put into them, and the altar be carried. 28 And the bars themselves he made also of Setim-wood, and overlaid them with plates of gold. 29 He compounded also the oil for the ointment of sanctification, and incense of the purest spices according to the work of a perfumet CHAP. XXXVIII. He maketh the altar of holocaust, the brazen laver, the court with its pillars a va hangings. The sum of what the people offered. I E made also the altar of holocaust of setim- -* wood, five cubits square, and three in height: | 2 The horns wilereof went out from the torners; and he overlaid it with plates of brass. 3 And for the uses thereof he prepared divers vessels of brass, cauldrons, tongs, flesh-hooks, pol hooks, and fire-pans. 4 And he made the grate thereof of brass in manner of a net, and under it in the midst of the altar a hearth, 5 Casting four rings at the four ends of the nºt at the top, to put in bars to carry it : 6 And ile made the bars of set m- wood, and over- laid them with plates of brass : 7 And he drew them through the rings that stood out in the sides of the altar. And the altar itself was not solid, but hollow, of boards, and empty within. 8 He made also the laver of brass, with the foot thereof, of the mirrors of the women that watched at the door of the tabernacle. - 9. He made also the court, in the south side whereof were hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits, 10 Twenty pillars of brass with their sockets. the heads of the pillars, and the whole graving of the work, of silver. 1 In like manner at the north side the hangings, the pillars, and the sockets, and heads of the pillars, were of the same measure, and work, and metal. 12 But on that side that looketh to the west, there were hangings of fifty cubits, ten pillars of brass with their sockets, and the heads of the pillars, and all the graving of the work, of silver. 13 Moreover towards the east he prepared hang- ings of fifty cubits : 14 Fifteen cubits of which were on one side with three pillars, and their sockets : 15 Aud on the other side (for between the two he made the entry of the tabernacle) there were hangings equally of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets. 16 All the hangings of the court were woven with twisted linen. 17 The sockets of the pillars were of brass, and their heads with all their gravings of silver: and he overlaid the pillars of the court also with silver. 18 And he made in the entry thereof an em- broidered hanging of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted limen that was twenty cubits long, and five cubits high, according to the measure of all the hangings of the court. 19 And the pillars in the entry were four with sockets of brass, and their heads and gravings of silver. 20 The pins also of the tabernacle and of the court round about he made of brass. 21 These are the instruments of the tabernacle of the testimony, which were counted according to the commandment of Moses, in the ceremonies of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest: 22 Which Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda, had made, as the Loyd commanded by Moses, EXOH) US 23 Having for his companion Ooliab the son of Achisanech of the tribe of Dan: who also was an ex- cellent artificer in wood, and worker in tapestry and embroidery in violet, purple, Scarlet, and fine linen. 24 All the gold that was spent in the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts, was nine and twenty talents, and seven hundred and thirty sicles according to the standard of the sanctuary. 25 And it was offered by them that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, of six hundrea and three thousand five hundred and fifty men able to bear arms. 26 There were moreover a hundred talents of silver, whereoſ were cast the sockets of the sanc- cuary, and of the entry where the veil hangeth. 27 A hundred sockets were made of a hundred talents, one talent being reckoned for every socket. 28 And of the thousanid seven hundred and se- venty-five he made the heads of the pillars, which also he overlaid with silver. 29 And there were offered of brass also seventy- two thousand talents, and four hundred sicles be- sides : 30 Of which were cast the sockets in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony, and the altar of brass with the grate thereof, and all the vessels that belong to the use thereof, 31 And the sockets of the court as well round about as in the entry thereof, and the pins of the talernacle and of the court round about. CHAP. XXXIX. All the ornaments of Aaron and his sons are made. whole work of the tabernacle is finished. N1) he made, of violet and purple, scarlet and ** fine linen, the vestments for Aaron to wear when he minister, d in the holy places, as the Lord commanded Moses. 2 So he made an ephod of gold, violet, and pur- "Ne, and Scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, 3 With embroidered work: and he cut thin plates of gold, and drew them small into threads, that they might be twisted with the woof of the foresaid colours : 4 And two borders coupled one to the other in the top on either side, 5 And a girdle of the same colours, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 6 He prepared also two onyx stones, fast set and tlosed in gold, and graven, by the art of a lapidary, with the names of the children of Israel: 7 And he set them in the sides of the enhod for a memorial of the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 8 He made also a rational with embroidered work, according to the work of the ephod, of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen : & 9. Four-square, double, of the measure of a span. 10 And he set four rows of precious stones in it. In the first row was a sardius, a topaz, an emerald; l l lil the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a Jús DCT . And the 12 In the third, a ligurius, an agate, and an ame thyst : 13. In the fourth a chrysolitc, an onyx, and a beryl, set and enclosed in gold by their rows. 14 And the twelve stones were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, each one with its several name. 15 They made also in the rational little chains linked one to another of the purest gold, 16 And two hooks, and as many rings of gold And they set the rings on either side of the rational 17 On which rings the two golden chains should hang, which they put into the hooks that stood out in the corners of the ephod. - 18 These both before and behind so answered one another, that the ephod and the rational were bound together, 19 Being fastened to the girdle and strongly coupled with rings, which a violet fillet joined, lest they should flag loose, and be moved one from the other, as the Lord commanded Moses. 20 They made also the tunick of the ephod all of violet, 21 And a hole for the head in the upper part at the middle, and a woven border round about the hole : 22 And beneath at the feet pomegranates of vio- let, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen : 23 And little bells of the purest gold, which they put between the pomegranates at the bottom of the tunick round about : 24. To wit, a bell of gold, and a pomegranate, wherewith the high-priest went adorned, when be |discharged his ministry, as the Lord had command- ed Moses. 25 They made also fine linen tunicks with woven work for Aaron and his sons, 26 And mitres with their little crowns of fine linen, 27 And linen brecches of fine linen, 28 And a girdle of fine twisted linen, violet, pur- ple, and scarlet twice dyed, of embroidery-work. as the Lord had commanded Moses. 29 They made also the plate of sacred venera- tion of the purest gold : and they wrote on it with the engraving of a lapidary: The Holy of the Lord. 30 And they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 31 So all the work of the tabernacle, and of the roof of the testimony was finished: and the chil- dren of Israel did all things which the Lord had commanded Moses. 32 And they offered the tabernacle, and the root and the whole furniture, the rings, the boards, the bars, the pillars and their sockets; 33 The cover of rams' skins dyed red, and the other cover of violet skins; 34. The veil, the ark, the bars, the propitiatory. 35 The table with the vessels thereof, and i. loaves of proposition ; 36 The candlestick, the lamps, ald the ſurnitur of them with the oil ; 37 The altar of gold, and the ointment, and the Incense of spices 82 CHAP. XL. : And the hanging in the entry of the taber- WeigCl6 . & 39 The altar of brass, the grate, the bars, and all the vessels thereof; the laver with the foot thereof; the hangings of the court, and the pillars with their sockets; 40 The hanging in the entry of the court, and he little cords, and the pins thereof. Nothing was wanting of the vessels, that were commanded to be made fºr the ministry of the tabernacle, and for the roof of the covenant. 4] The vestments also, which the priests, to wit, Aaron and his sons, use in the sanctuary, 42 The children of Israel offered, as the Lord had commanded. 43 And when Moses saw all things finished, he blessed them. CHAP. XL. The tabernacle if commanded to be set up and anointed. God jilleth it with his majesty. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 2 The first month, the first day of the month, thou shalt set up the tabernacle of the testimony; 3 And shalt put the ark in it, and shalt let down the veil before it: 4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set upon it the things that are commanded according to the rite. The candlestick shall stand with its lamps, 5 And the altar of gold whereon the incense is burnt, before the ark of the testimony. Thou shalt put the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle, 6 And before it the altar of holocaust: 7 The laver between the altar and the taberna- cle: and thou shalt fill it with water. 8 And thou shalt encompass the court with hangings, and the entry thereof. 9 And thou shalt take the oil of unction, and anoint the tabernacle with its vessels, that they may be sanctified : 10 The altar of holocaust and all its vessels: 11 The laver with its foot : thou shalt conse- crate all with the oil of unction, that they may be most holy. - 12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to time door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and having washed them with water, 13. Thou shalt put on them the holy vestments, that they may minister to me, and that the unction of them may prosper to an everlasting priesthood. 14 And M; did all that the Lord had com- manded. 15 So in the first month of the second year, the 61st day of the month, the tabel acle was set up. 16. And . Moses reared it up, and placed the boards, and the sockets, and the bars, and set up the pillars, g 17 And spread the roof over the tabernal”, putting over it a cover, as the Lord had com. manded. 18 And he put the testimony in the ark, ihrust. ing bars underneath, and the oracle above. 19 And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it, to fulfil the commandment of the Lord. 20 And he set the table in the tabernacle of the testimony at the north side without the veil, 21 Setting there in order the loaves of proposi- tion, as the #. had commanded Moses. 22 He set the candlestick also in the tabernacle º testimony over against the table on the south S1(16, 23 Placing the lamps in order, according to the precept of the Lord. . 24. He set also the altar of gold under the roof of the testimony over against the veil, 25 And burnt upon it the incense of spices, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 And he put also the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony, 27 And the altar of holocaust of the entry of the testimony, offering the holocaust, and the sacrifices upon it as the Lord had commanded. 28 And he set the laver between the tabernacle & of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water. 29 And Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and feet, 30 When they went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and went to the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 31 He set up also the court round about the ta- bernacle and the altar, drawing the hanging in the entry thereof. After all things were perfected, 32 The cloud covered the tabernacle of the tes- timony: and the glory of the Lord filled it. 33 Neither could Moses go into the tabernacle of the covenant, the cloud covering all things, and the majesty of the Lord shining; for the cloud had covered all. - 34. If at any time the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went forward by their troops: i. If it hung over, they remained in the same place. 36 For the cloud of the Lord hung over the ta bernacle by day, and a fire by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel throughout all their man sions. CŞ | THE BOOK OF LEVITICU.S. Twis book is called Lºviticus, because it treats of the affices, ministries, rites, and ceremonies, of the priests and Levites. The Hebrews call it v AicrA, frºm the word with which it begins, CHAP. I. Of holocausts, or burnt-offerings. AND the Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of the testimony, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man among you that shall offer to the Lord a sacrifice of the cattle, that is, offer- ing victims of oxen and sheep, 3 If his offering be a holocaust,” and of the nerd, he shall offer a male without blemish, at the door of the testimony, to make the Lord favoura- ble to him : 4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim: and it shall be acceptable, and help to its expiation. 5 And he shall immolate the calf before the Lord : and the priests the sons of Aaron shall offer the blood thereof, pouring it round about the altar, which is before the door of the tabernacle, - 6. And when they have flayed the victim, they shall cut the joints into pieces, 7 And shall put fire on the altar, having before laid in order a pile of wood : 8 And they shall lay the parts that are cut out in order thereupon, to wit, the head, and all things that cleave to the liver, 9 The entrails and feet being washed with wa- ter: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, and a sweet savour to the Lord. 10 And if the offering be of the flocks, a holo- caust of sheep or of goats, he shall offer a male without blemish : Il And he shall immolate it at the side of the altar that looketh to the north, before the Lord : but the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof upon the altar round about: 12 And they shall divide the joints, the head, and all that cleave to the liver: and shall lay them upon the wood, under which the fire is to be put: 13 But the entrails and the feet they shall was a with water. And the priest shall offer it all, and burn it all upon the altar for a holocaust, and most sweet savour to the Lord. 14 But if the oblation of a holocaust to the Lord be of birds, of turtles, or of young pigeons, 15 The priest shall offer it at the altar: and the wound, he shall make the blood run down upon the brim of the altar. 16 But the crop of the throat, and the feathers he shall cast beside the altar at the east side, in the place where the ashes are wont to be po.ured out : 17 And he shall break the pinions thereof, and shall not cut, nor divide it with a knife, and shall burn it upon the altar, putting fire under the wood. It is a holocaust and oblation of most sweet savour to the Lord. * CHAP. II. Of offerings of flour, and first-fruits. W HEN any one shall offer an oblation of sacri- fice to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense, 2 And shall bring it to the sons of Aaron the priests : and one of them shall take a handful of the flour and oil, and all the frankincense; and shall put it a memorial upon the altar for a most sweet savour to the Lord. 3 And the remnant of the sacrifice shall be Aaron's, and his sons, holy of holiest of the offer ings of the Lord. 4. But when thou offerest a sacrifice baked in the oven, of flour, to wit, loaves without leaven, ten- pered with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil: - 5 If thy oblation be from the frying-pan, of flour tempered with oil, and without leaven, 6 Thou shalt divide it into little pieces, and shalt pour oil upon it. . 7 And if the sacrifice be from the gridiron, in like manner the flour shall be tempered with oil: 8 And when thou offerest it to the Lord, thou shalt deliver it to the hands of the priest. twisting back the neck, and breaking the place of * A kolvcaust, that is, a whole burnt-offering &Aokavkºv, so called, be- oause the whole victim was consumed with fire: and given in such manner to God as wholly to evaporate, as it were, for his honour and glory; without having any part of it reserved for the use of man. The other sacrifices of the Old Testament were either offerings for rin, or peace-ºfferings; and these latter again were either offered in thanksgiving for blessings received; or by way of prayer for new fa- vours ºr graces. So that sacrifices were then offered to God for four diſſereat ends or intentions, answerable to the different obligations which man as to God 1. By way of adoration, homage, praise, and R4 glory, due to his Divine Majesty. 2. By way of thanksgiving for iſ: benefits received from him. 3. By way of confessing and craving pardon for sins. .4. By way of prayer and petition for grace and re- lief in all necessities. In the New Law we have but one sacrifice, viz. that of the body and blood of Christ: but this one sacrifice of the New Testament perfectly answers all these four ends; and both priest and people, as often as it is celebrated, ought to join in offer- ing it up for these four ends. f Holy of holies, that is most holy; as being dedicated to God, and set aside by his ordinance for the use of his priesta --~~- --> Cº º - g E=- ==<>== 2-s YS- Yºº- CHAP. III. IV. 9 AI,” when he hath offered it, he shall take a memorial out of the sacrifice, and burnit upon the altar for a sweet savour to the Lord. 10 And whatsoever is left, shall be Aaron's and his sons, holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord. ll Every oblation that is offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven; neither shallany leaven or honey” be burnt in the sacrifice to the Lord. 12 You shall offer only the first-fruits of them and gifts: but they shall not be put upon the altar, for a savour of Sweetness. 13 Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou shalt season it with salt:f neither shalt thou take away the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy sacri- fice. In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt. 1 | But if thou offer a gift of the first-fruits of thy corn to the Lord, of the ears yet green, thou shalt dry it at the fire, and break it small like meal: and so shalt thou offer thy first-fruits to the Lord, 15 Pouring oil upon it, and putting on frankin- cense, because it is the oblation of the Lord 16 Whereof the priest shall burn for a memorial of the gift, part of the corn broken small, and of the oil. and all the frankincense. CHAP. III. Of peace-offerings. AND if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace-offer- ings, and he will offer of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer them without blemish before the Lord. - 2 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his victim, which shall be slain in the entry of the ta- Wernacle of the testimony: and the sons of Aaron the priests shall pour the blood round about upon the altar. 3 And they shall offer of the sacrifice of peace- offerings, for an oblation to the Lord, the fat that vovereth the entrails, and all the fat that is within. 4. The two kidneys, with the fat wherewith the hanks are covered, and the caul of the liver with the two iittle kidneys. 5 And they shall burn them upon the altar, for a holocaust, putting fire under the wood ; for an oblation of most sweet savour to the Lord. 6 But if his oblation, and the sacrifice of peace- offering be of the flock, whether he offer male or female, they shall be without blemish. 7 If he offer a lamb before the Lord, o He shall put his hand upon the head of his victim and it shall be slain in the entry of the taber- nacle of testimony: and the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof round about upon the altar. -*-ass=v- i , 9 And they shall offer of the victim of peace-offel ings a sacrifice to the Lord; the fat and the whole rump, 10 With the kidneys, and the fat that covereth the belly, and all the vitals and both the little kid- neys, with the fat that is about the flanks, and the caul of the liver with the little kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar, for the food of the fire, and of the oblation of the Lord L . If his offering be a goat, and he offer it to the Or(1, 13. He shall put his hand upon the head thereof; and shall immolate it in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony. And the sons of Aaron shall potu the blood thereof round about upon the altar. 14 And they shall take of it for the food of the Lord’s fire, the fat that covereth the belly, and that covereth all the vital parts: 15 The two little kidneys with the caul that is upon them which is by the flanks, and the fat of the liver with the little kidneys: 16 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar, for the food of the fire, and of a most sweet savour All the fat shall be the Lord’s, 17 By a perpetual law for your generations, and in all your habitations neither blood nor fats shall CHAP. IV. Of offerings for sins of ignorance. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 2 Say to the children of Israel: The soul that sinneth through ignorance, and doeth anything concerning any of the commandments of the Lord. which he commanded not to be done: 3 If the priest that is anointed shall sin, making the people to offend, he shall offer to the Lord for his sin, a calf without blemish. 4 And he shall bring it to the door of the testi- mony before the Lord, and shall put his hand upon the head thereof; and shall sacrifice it to the Lord. 5 He shall take also of the blood” of the calf, and carry it into the tabernacle of the testimony: 6 And having dipped his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle with it seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary. 7 And he shall put some of the same blood upon the horns of the altar of the sweet incense most ac- ceptable to the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the testimony. And he shall pour all the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar of holocaust in the entry of the tabernacle. 8 And he shall take off the fat of the calf for the sin-offering, as well that which covereth the ent tails as all the inwards: |you eat at all. * Without leaven or honey. No leaven nor honey was to be used in the sacrifice offered to God; to signify that we are to exclude from the pure worship of the gospel, all double-dealing and affection to carnal leasures. p # Salt. In every sacrifice salt was to be used, which is an emblem of wisdom and disoretion, without which none of our performances are agreeable to God. - i Peace-offerings. Peace, in the scripture language, signifies hap- piness, welfare or prosperity; in a word, all kind of blessings. Such sacrifices therefore as were offered either on occasion of blessings received, or to obtain new favours were called pacific or peace-offerings. In these some part of the victim was consumed with fire on the alta of God; other parts were eaten by the priests, and by the persons fo whom the sacrifice was offered. # Fat. It is meant of the fat, which by the prescription of the law was to be offered on God's altar; not of the fat of meat, such as we commonly eat. gº tº | Ignorance. To be ignorant of what we are bound to know is sinfui and for such culpable ignorance, these sacrifices prescribed in this and the following chapter, were appointed. g * The blood. As th: agure of the blood of Christ shed ſo the re mission of our sins, ane carried by him into the sanctuary of heaven 95 LEVITICUS : The two little kidneys, and the caul that is upon them which is by the flanks, and the fat of the liver with the little kidneys, 1() As it is taken off from the calf of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, and he shall burn them upon the altar of holocaust. | ] But the skin and all the flesh, with the head tnd the feet and the bowels and the dung, 12 And the rest of the body, he shall carry forth without the camp into a clean place, where the ashes are wont to be poured out: and he shall burn them upon a pile of wood: they shall be burnt in the place where the ashes are poured out. 13 And if all the multitude of Israel shall be ig- norant, and through ignorance shall do that which is against the commandment of the Lord, 14 And afterwards shall understand their sin, they shall offer for their sin a calf, and shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle, 15 And the ancients of the people shall put their hands upon the head thereof before the Lord. And the calf being immolated in the sight of the Lord, 16 The priest that is anointed, shall carry of the olood into the tabernacle of the testimony, 17 And shall dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it seven times before the veil. 18 And he shall put of the same blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, in the ta- bernacle of the testimony: and the rest of the blood he shall pour at the foot of the altar of holocaust, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 19 And all the fat thereof he shall take off, and shall burn it upon the altar: 20 Doing so with this calf, as he did also with that before: and the priest praying for them, the Lord will be merciful unto them. 21 But the calf itself he shall carry forth without the camp, and shall burn it as he did the former calf: because it is for the sin of the multitude. 22 If a prince shaki sin, and through ignorance do any one of the things that the law of the Lord forbiddeth, 23 And afterwards shall come to know his sin; he shall offer a buck-goat without blemish, a sacri- fice to the Lord. 24 And he shall put his hand upon the head thereof: and when he hath immolated it in the place where the holocaust is wont to be slain before the Lord, because it is for sin, 25 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of tne victim }. sin, touching therewith the horns of the altar of holocaust, and pouring out the rest at the foot thereof. 26 But the fat he shall burn upon it, as is wont to be done with the victims of peace-offerings: and the º shall pray for him and for his sin: and it shall be forgiven him. 27 And if any one of the people of the land shall sin through ignorance, doing any of those things that by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and offending, 28 And shall come to know his sin, he shall offer a she-goat without blemish. 29 And he shall put his hand upon the head of] the victim that is for sin, and shall immolate it in the place of the holocaust. _* 30 And the priest shall take of the blood with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of ho- locaust, and shall pour out the rest at the foot thereof. 31 But taking off all the fat, as is wont to be taken away of the victims of peace-offerings, he shall burn it upon the altar, for a sweet savour to the Lord : and he shall pray for him;and it shall he forgiven him. 32 But if he offer of the flock a victim fo, his sin, to wit, an ewe without blemish ; 33. He shall put his hand upon the head thereoi, and shall immolate it in the place where the victims of holocausts are wont to be slain. 34 And the priest shall take of the blood thereoſ with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of holocaust, and the rest he shall pour out at the foot thereof. 35 All the fat also he shall take off, as the ſat of the ram that is offered for peace-offerings is wont to be taken away ; and shall burn it upon the altar, for a burnt-sacrifice of the Lord: and he shall pray for him and for his sin; and it shall be forgiven him. CHAP. V. Of other sacrifices for suns. IF any one sin, and hear the voice of one swear ing, and is a witness either because he himself hath seen, or is privy to it; if he do not utter it, he shall bear his iniquity. 2 Whosoever toucheth any unclean thing, either that which has been killed by a beast, or died of itself, or any other creeping thing; and forgetteth his uncleanness, he is guilty, and hath offended: 3 And if he touch any thing of the uncleanness of man, according to any uncleanness wherewith he is wont to be defiled, and having forgotten it, come flºards to know it, he shall he guilty of an of CIIC6. - 4. The person that sweareth, and uttereth with his lips, that he would do either evil or good, and bindeth the same with an oath, and his word, and having forgotten it, afterwards understandeth his offence, 5 Let him do penance for his sin, 6 And offer of the flocks an ewe-lamb, or a she goat, and the priest shall pray for him, and for his SłIl 7 But if he be not able to offer a beast, let him offer two turtles, or two young pigeons to the Lord, one for sin, and the other for a holocaust. 8 And he shall give them to the priest; who shall offer the first for sin, and twist back the head of it to the little pinions, so that it stick to the neck, und be not altogether broken off. 9 And of its blood he shall sprinkle the side of the altar: and whatsoever is left, he shall let it drop at the bottom thereof; because it is for sin. 10 And the other he shall burn for a holocaust, as is wont to be done: and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin: and it shall be forgiven him. 11 And if his hand be not able to offer two CHAP. VI furtles, or two young pigeons, he shall offer for his sin the tenth part of an ephi of flour. He shall not put oil upon it, nor put any frankincense there- on, because it is for sin: 12 And he shall deliver it to the priest; who shall take a handful thereof, and shall burn it upon Jhe altar for a memorial of him that offered it, 13 Praying for him and making atonement: but the part that is left, he himself shall have for a gift. 14 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 15. If any one shall sin through mistake, trans- gressing the ceremonies in those things that are sa- crificed to the Lord, he shall offer for his offence a ram without blemish out of the flocks, that may be bought for two sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuarv: - 16. And he shall make good the damage itself which he hath done, and shall add the fifth part be- sides, delivering it to the priest, who shal) pray for him, offering the ram, and it shall be forgiven him. 17 if any one sin through ignorance, and do one of those things which by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and being guilty of sin, understand his \ll 10ulty, .18 fe shall offer of the flocks a ram without ble- mish to the priest, according to the measure, and estimation of the sin: and the priest shall pray for him, because he did it ignorantly; and it shall be forgiven him ; l . Because by mistake he trespassed against the AOT © CHAP. VI. Oblation for sins of injustice: ordinances concerning the holo- causts and the perpetual fire, the sacrifices of the priests, and the sin-offerings. THE Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Whosoever shall sin, and despising the Lord, shall deny to his neighbour the thing deliver- ed to his keeping, which was committed to his trust; or shall by force extort any thing, or commit oppression; 3 Or shall find a thing lost, and denying it, shall also swear falsely, or shall do any other of the many things, wherein men are wont to sin, 4 Being convicted of the offence.he shall restore 5 All that he would have gotten by fraud, in the principal, and the fifth part besides to the owner, whom he wronged 6 Moreover for his sin he shall offer a ram with- out blemish out of the flock, and shall give it to the priest, according to the estimation and measure of the offence 7 And he shall pray for him before the Lord : and he shall have forgiveness for every thing in doing of which he hath sinned. 8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 9 Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law aſ a ho! caust: lt shall be burnt upon the altar all night until morning: the fire shall be of the same altar. 10 The priest shall be vested with the tunick and ƺ-sº- the linen breeches: and he shall take up the ashes of that which the devouring fire hath burnt, and -putting them beside the altar, Il Shall put off his former vestments, and being clothed with others, shall carry them forth without the camp, and shall cause them to be consumed tº dust in a very clean place. 12, And the fire on the altar shall always burn and the priest shall feed it, putting wood on it every day...in the morning, and laying on the holocaust shall, burn thereupon the ſat of the peace-offerings 13 This is the perpetual fire” which shall never go out on the altar. 14. This is the law of the sacrifice and libations, which the children of Aaron shall offer before the Lord, and before the altar. 15 The priest shall take a handful of the flour that is tempered with oil, and all the frankincense tnat is put upon the flour: and he shall burn it on | |a. for a memoria' of most sweet odour to the OTO. , 16 And the part of the flour that is leſt, Aaron and his sons shall eat, without leaven: and he shall eat it in the holy place of the court of the tabernacle. 17 And therefore it shall not be leavened, be- cause part thereof is offered for the burnt-sacrifice of the Lord. It shall be most holy, as that which is offered for sin and for trespass. 18 The males only of the race of Aeron shal eat it. . It shall be an ordinance everlasting in your generations, concerning the sacrifices of the Lord: #. one that toucheth them shall be sanctified. 19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying : 20 This is the oblation of Aaron, and of his sons, which they must offer to the Lord, in the day of their anointing: They shall offer the tenth part of an ephi of flour, for a perpetual sacrifice, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening: 21 It shall be tempered with oil, and shall be fried in a frying-pan. 22 And the priest that rightfully succeedeth his father, shall offer it hot, for a most sweet odour to the Lord : and it shall be wholly burnt on the altar. 23 For every sacrifice of the priest shall be con- sumed with fire; neither shall any man eat thereof 24 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 25 Say to Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the victim for sin: In the place where the holo- caust is offered, it shall be immolated before the Lord. It is holy of holies. 26 The priest that offereth it, shall eat it in a noſy place, in the court of the tabernacle. 27. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof, shall be sanctified. If a garment be sprinkled with the blood thereof, it shall be washed in a holy place. 28 And the earthen vessel wherein it was sold den, shall be broken: but if the vessel be of brass, it shall be scoured, and wasned with water. 29 Every male of the priestly race, shall eat of the flesh thereof, because it is holy of holies. tire of divine love. which ought to be always burning in the heart of * The perpetual fire. This fire came from heaven, (infra chap. ix. 24.) and was always kept burning on the altar, as a figure of the heavenly _-r-s: & 2. e- ==<== = christian =#N 5 à 87 LEVITICUS. §• $ 30 For the victim that is slain for sin, the blood pf which is carried into the tabernacle of the testi- mony to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall not he eaten, bu: shall be burnt with fire. CHAP. VII. Of sacrifices for trespasses and thanks-offerings. blood is to be eaten. T HIS also is the law of the sacrifice for a tres- L pass:* It is most holy : 2 And where the holocaust is immolated, the victim also for a trespass shall be slain: the blood thereof shall be poured round about the altar. 3 They shall offer thereof the rump and the fat 'hat covereth the entrails: 4. The two little kidneys, and the fat which is by tne flanks, and the caul of the liver with the little kidneys. 5 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar : it is the burnt-sacrifice of the Lord for a trespass. No fat nor 6 Every male of the priestly race, shall eat this flesh in a holy place, because it is most holy. 7 As the sacrifice for sin is offered, so is also that for a trespass: the same shall be the law of both these sacrifices: it shall belong to the priest that offereth it. 8 The priest that offereth the victim of holo- caust, shall have the skin thereof. 9 And every sacrifice of flour that is baked in the oven, and whatsoever is dressed on the gridiron, or in the frying-pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it: 10 Whether they be tempered with oil, or dry, all the sons of Aaron shall have one as much as another. 11 This is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offer- As that is offered to the Lord. 12. If the oblation be for thanksgiving, they shall ºffer loaves without leaven tempered with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour fried, and cakes tempered and mingled with oil: 13 Moreover loaves of leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanks, which is offered for peace of ferings: 14 Of which one shall be offered to the Lord for first-fruits, and shall be the priest’s that shall pour out the blood of the victim. 15 And the flesh of it shall be eaten the same day, neither shall any of it remain until the morning. 16 If any man by vow, or of his own accord offer a sacrifice, it shall in like manner be eaten the same day: and if any of it remain until the mor- row, it is lawful to eat it: 17 But whatsoever shall be found on the third day shall be consumed with fire. 18 lif any man eat of the flesh of the victim of ſº on the third day, the oblation shall be of no effect, neither shall it profit the offerer: yea rather whatsoever soul shall defile itself with such meat, shall be guilty of transgression. 19 The flesh that i. touched any unclean thing, shall not be eaten, but shall be burnt with fire he that is clean shall eat of it. 20 If any one that is defiled shall eat of the ſlesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which is offered to the Lord, he shall be cut off from his people. 21 And he that hath touched the uncleanness ol man, or of beast, or of any thing that can defile, and shall eat of such kind of flesh, shall he cut of frote his people. - 22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying 23 Say to the children of Israel: The fat of a sheep, and of an ox, and of a goat, you shall not eat. The fat of a carcass that hath died of itself, and of a beast that was caught by another beast, you shall have for divers uses. 25 If any man eat the fat that should be offered for the burnt-sacrifice of the Lord, he shall perish out of his people. 26 Moreover you shall not eat the blood of any creature whatsoever, whether of birds or beasts." hat ºn tºth hland shall navick, ſ.a.r. - Or/ s + tº rºle ºn Trº \ A. W. L. v U1 y U 11 O LIICLU U Clu.V., LI I *Juvuu 3 Sº I Cº. Ll Hºvi 1 NCI I I I W J iſ I, * r * * * * * are ºrº Zºº among the people. e 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 29 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: He that offereth a victim of peace-offerings to the Lord, lot h; no offer thorov writk, a sacrifice also that is tha Ji \ , i. 1 || 1 || | | | | TV VIII U. Il 1 \,, 1 \, WW II V, i Lºl, ÜNLV-2. A ll ſº \le \º *a*** 9 via as a libations thereof. 30 He shall hold in his hands the fat of the vic. tim, and the breast: and when he hath offered and consecrated both to the Lord, he shall deliver them to the priest, 31 Who shall burn the fat upon the altar: hut. the breast shall be Aaron’s, and his sons’. 32 The right shoulder also of the victims of peace-offerings shall fall to the priest for first-fruits, 33. He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood, and the fat, he shall have the right shoul. der also for his portion. 34 For the breast that is elevated and the shoul- der that is separated have taken of the children of Israel, from off their victims of peace-offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest, and to his sons, by a law for ever, from all the people of Israel. 35 This is the anointing of Aaron and his sons, in the ceremonies of the Lord, in the day when Moses offered them, that they might do the office of priesthood, 36 And the things that the Lord commanded to be given them by the children of Israel, by a per petual observance in their generations. 37 This is the law of holocaust, and of the sa crifice for sin, and for trespass, and for consecra. tion, and the victims of peace-offerings: 38 Which the Lord appointed to Moses in mount Sinai, when he commanded the children of Israel, that they should offer their oblations to the Lord iri the desert of Sinai. CHAP. VIII. * Moses consecrateth Aaron and his sons. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Take Aaron with his sons, their vestments and the oil of unction, a calf for sin, twº rans. : basket with unleavened bread: * - 5 - a a - * Trespass. Trespasses for which these offerings were to be made, were icºser offences than those for which the sin offerings were ap: pointed fºre— - - C 88 CHAP. IX. *s 3 And thou shalt gather together all the congre- | gation to the door of the tabernacle. 4 And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And all the multitude being gathered together before the door of the tabernacle, 5 He said: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded to be done. - 6 And immediately he offered Aaron and his sons: and when he had washed them, 7. He vested the high-priest with the strait linen garment, girding him with the girdle, and putting on him the violet tunick, and over it he put the ephod, 8 And binding it with the girdle, he fitted it to the rational, on which was Doctrine and Truth. 9 He put also the mitre upon his head : and upon the mitre over the forehead, he put the plate of gold consecrated with sanctification, as the Lord had commanded him. 10 He took also the oil of unction, with which he anointed the tabernacle, with all the furniture thereof. 11 And when he had sanctified and sprinkled the altar seven times, he anointed it, and all the vessels thereof; and the laver with the foot thereof he sanc- tified with the oil. 12 And he poured it upon Aaron’s head: and he anointed, and consecrated him : 13 And after he had offered his sons, he vested them with linen tunicks, and girded them with gir- dles, and put mitres on them, as the Lord had com- manded. 14. He offered also the calf for sin: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon the head thereof, * 15 He immolated it; and took the blood, and || altar round about. Which being expiated, and sanc- tified, he poured the rest of the blood at the bottom 16 But the fat that was upon the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two little kidneys, with 17 And the calf with the skin, and the flesh the dung, he burnt without the camp, as the 18 He offered also a ram, for a holocaust; and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon 19 He immolated it; and poured the blood thereof tound about upon the altar. of, and the joints, and the fat, he burnt in the fire, 21 Having first washed the entrails, and the feet: because it was a holocaust of most sweet odour to the Lord, as he had commanded him. cration of priests: and Aaron and his sons put their hands upon the head thereof." of the blood thereof, and touched the tip of Aaron's rightear, and the thumb of his right hand, and in like dipping his finger in it, he touched the horns of the thereof. their fat, he burnt upon the altar: and ilord had commanded. its head 20 And cutting the ram into pieces, the head there- and the whole ram together he burnt upon the altar; 22 He offered also the second ram, in the conse- 23 And when Moses had immolated it, he took manner also the great toe of his right foot. ====<==> = 24. He offered also the sons of Aaron ; and wheu with the blood of the ram that was imm slated, he had touched the tip of the right ear of every one of them, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the great toes of their right feet, the rest he poured on the altar round about: 25 But the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caui of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and with the light shoulder, he separated. . 26 And taking out of the basket of unleavened bread, which was before the Lord, a loaf without leaven, and a cake tempered with oil, and a wafer, he put them upon the fat, and the right shoulder, 27 Delivering all to Aaron, and to his sons: who having lifted them up before the Lord, 28 He took them again from their hands, and burnt them upon the altar of holocaust; because it was the oblation of consecration, for a sweet odour of sacrifice to the Lord. . 29 And he took of the ram of consecration, the breast for his portion, elevating it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him. 30 And taking the ointment, and the blood that was upon the altar, he sprinkled Aaron, and his vest- ments, and his sons, and their vestments with it. 31 And when he had sanctified them in their vestments, he commanded them, saying: Boil the flesh before the door of the tabernacle, and there , eat it. Eat ye also the loaves of consecration, that are laid in the basket, as the Lord commanded me, saying: Aaron and his sons shall eat them : 32 And whatsoever shall be left of the flesh and the loaves, shall be consumed with fire. 33 And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired. For in seven days the consecration is finished: 34. As at this present it hath been done, that the rite of the sacrifice might be accomplished. 35 Day and night shall you remain in the taber- nacle, observing the watches of the Lord, lest you die: for so it hath been commanded me. 36 And Aaron and his sons did all things which |the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses. CHAP. IX. Aaron offereth sacrifice for himself and the people. Fine cometh from the Lord upon the altar. AND when the eighth day was come, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the ancients of Israel; and said to Aaron : 2 Take of the herd a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust, both without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. - 3 And to the children of Israel thou shalt say: Take ye a he-goat for sin, and a calf, and a lamh, both of a year old, and without blemish, for a holocaust, 4. Also a bullock and a ram for peace-offerings : and immolate them before the Lord, offering for the sacrifice of every one of them flour tempered with oil; for to-day the Lord will appear to you. 5 They brought therefore all things that Moses =&ºmmº-l. ...sº %|R DEVITICUS. had commanded before tile door of the tabernacle: where when all the multitude stood. 6 Moses said: This is the word, which the Lordhath commanded: do it, and his glory will appear to you. 7 And he said to Aaron : º to the altar, and offer sacrifice for thy sin: offer the holocaust, and pray for thyself and for the people: and when *nou hast slain the people's victim, pray for them, as the Lord hath commanded. . 8 And forthwith Aaron approaching to the altar, mmolated the calf for his sin: 9 And his sons brought him the blood of it: and he dipped his finger therein, and touched the horns of the altar, and poured the rest at the foot thereof. 10 And the fl. and the little kidneys, and the caul of the liver, which are for sin, he burnt upon the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses: | | But the flesh and skin thereof he burnt with fire without the camp. 12 He immolated also the victim of holocaust: and his sons brought him the blood thereof, which he poured round about on the altar. 13 And the victim being cut into pieces, they brought to him the head and all the members ; all which he burnt with fire upon the altar, 14 Having first washed the entrails and the feet with water. 15 Then offering for the sin of the people, he slew the he-goat: and expiating the altar, 16 He offered the holocaust: 17 Adding in the sacrifice the libations, which are offered withal, and burning them upon the altar, besides the ceremonies of the morning holocaust. 18 He immolated also the bullock and the ram, the peace-offerings of the people: and his sons prought him the blood, which he poured upon the altar round about. 19 The fat also of the bullock, and the rump of the ram, and the two little kidneys, with their fat, and the caul of the liver, 20 They put upon the breasts. And after the fat was burnt upon the altar, 21 Aaron separated their breasts shoulders, elevating them before the i. nad commanded. 22 And stretching forth his hands to the people, he blessed them. And so the victims for sin, and the holocausts, and the peace-offerings, being finish- ed, he came down. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the taberna- cle of the testimony, and afterwards came forth and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord ap- (eared to all the multitude: 24 And behold, a fire coming forth from the Lord, 'evoured the holocaust, and the fat that was upon the altar' which when the multitude saw, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces. CHAP. X. Nadab and Abiu for offering strange fire, are burnt by fire. Priests are forbidden to drink wine, when they enter into the tabernacle. The law of eating the holy things. AN D Nadab and Abiu, the sons of Aaron, taking '" their censers, put fire therein, and incense on and the right ord, as Moses 9 it, offering before the Lord strange fire; which was not commanded them. 2 And fire coming out from the Lord destroyed them : and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron : This is what the Lord hath spoken : I will be sanctified in them that approach to me; and I will be glorified in the sight of all the people. And when Aaron heard this, he held his peace. 4 And Moses called Misael and Elisaphan, the sons of Oziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them : Go, and take away your brethren from before the sanctuary, and carry them without the camp. 5 And they went forthwith, and took them as they lay, vested with linen tunicks, and cast them forth, as had been commanded them. 6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazer and Ithamar, his sons: Uncover not your heads, and rend not your garments, lest perhaps you die, and indignation come upon all the congregation. Let your brethren, and all the house º Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled : 7 But you shall not go out of the door of the ta- bernacle ; otherwise you shall perish: for the oil of the holy unction is on you. And they did all things according to the precept of Moses. - 8 The Lord also said to Aaron: 9 You shall not drink wine nor any thing that may make drunk, thou northy sons, when you enter into the tabernacle of the testimony, lest you die: because it is an everlasting precept through your generations: 10 And that you may have knowledge to discern betweenholy and unholy, between unclean and clean: 11 And may teach the children of Israel all my ordinances which the Lord hath spoken to them by the hand of Moses. 12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleaza, and Ithamar, his sons, that were left: Take the sacrifice that is remaining of the oblation of the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar, because it is holy of holies. 13 And you shall eat it in a holy place: whicn is given to thee and thy sons of the oblations of the Lord, as it hath been commanded me. 14. The breast also that is offered, and the shoul- der that is separated, you shall eat in a most clean place, thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee. For they are set aside for thee and thy chil- dren, of the victims of peace-offerings of the chil- dren of Israel: 15 Because they have elevated before the Lord the shoulder and the breast, and the fat that is buriu on the altar. and they belong to thee and to thy sons by a perpetual law, as the Lord hath commanded. 16 While these things were a doing, when Moses sought for the buck-goat, that had been offered for sin, he found it burnt: and being angry with Eleazal and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron that were left, he said: 17. Why did you not eat in the holy place the sacrifice for sin, which is most holy, and given to you, that you may bear the iniquity of the people, and may pray for them in the sight of the Lord. CHAP. XI. 18 Especially whereas none of the blood thereof hath been carried within the holy places, and you ought to have eaten it in the sanctuarv, as was com- manded me P 19 Aaron answered: This day hath been offered the victim for sin. and the holocaust before the Lord: and to me what thou seest has happened : how could I eat it, or please the Lord in the cere- menies, having a sorrowful heart? f jº Which when Moses had heard he was satis- ICOl. CHAP. XI. The distinction of clean and unclean animals. A ND the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 Say to the children of Israel: These are the animals which you are to eat” of all the living things of the earth. 3.Whatsoever hath the hoof divided, and chew- eth the cudt among the beasts, you shall eat. 4. But whatsoever cheweth indeed the cud, and hath a hoof, but divideth it not, as the camel, and others, that you shall not eat; but shall reckon it among the unclean. 5 #. cherogrillust which cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof, is unclean. 6The hare also: for that too cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof. 7 And the swine, which, though it divideth the hoof, cheweth not the cud. 8 The flesh of these you shall not eat; nor shall you touch their carcasses: because they are unclean to you. * 9 These are the things that breed in the waters, and which it is lawful to eat. All that hath fins, and scales, as well in the sea, as in the rivers, and the pools, you shall eat. 10 But whatsoever hath not fins and scales, of those things that move and live in the waters, shall be an abomination unto you, 11 And detestable: Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall avoid. 12 All that have not fins and scales, in the wa- ters, shall be unclean. 13 Of birds, these are they which you must not eat, and which are to be avoided by you : The eagle, and the griffon, Š and the osprey, 14 And the kite, and the vulture, according to their kind. 15 And all that is of the raven kind, according to their likeness. 16 The ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind. hiº The screech-owl, and the cornuorant, and the li)1S, 18 And the Swan, and the bittern, and the nor- phyrion, 19 The heron. and the charadrion according to its kind, the houp also, and the bat. 20. Of things that fly, whatsoever eoeth upon four feet, shall be abominable to you. 21 But whatsoever walketh upon four feet, but hath the legs behind longer, wherewith it hoppeth upon the earth, 22 That you shall eat: as the bruchus in its kind, the attacus, and the ophiomachus, and the lot ust. every one according to their kind. 23 But of flying things whatsoever hath four feet only, shall be an abomination to you. And whosoever shall touch the carcasses of them shall be defiled, and shall be unclean until the evening: 25 And if it be necessary that he cal. any of these things when they are dead, he shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until the sun set. 26 Every beast that hath a hoof, but divideth it not, nor cheweth the cud, shall be unclean : and he that toucheth it shall be defiled. 27 That which walketh upon hands, of all ani- mals which go on all four, shall be unclean he that shall touch their carcasses, shall be defiled until evening. 28 And he that shall carry such carcasses, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until evening because all these things are unclean to you. 29. These also shall be reckoned among unclear. things, of all that move upon the earth; the weasel and the mouse, and the crocodile, every one accord ing to their kind : 30 The shrew, and the chaineleon, and the stello and the lizard, and the mole: 31 All these are unclean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening. 32 And upon what thing soever any of their car. casses shall fall, it shall be defiled, whether it be a vessel of wood, or a garment, or skins, or hair- cloths; or any thing in which work is done: they shall be dipped in water, and shall be unclean until the evening, and so afterwards shall be clean. 33 But an earthen vessel, into which any of these shall fall, shall be defiled, and therefore is to be broken. 34 Any meat which you eat, if water from such a vessel be poured upon it, shall be unclean ; and every liquor that is drunk out of any such vessel, shall be unclean. *. * jºš 2." * Animals which you are to eat, &c. The prohibition of so many kinds of beasts, birds and fishes in the law, was ordered, 1st, to exercise the people in obedience, and temperance; 2dly, to restrain them from the vices of which these animals were symbols; 3dly, because the things nere forbidden were for the most part unwholesome, and not proper to be eaten; 4thly, that the people of God by being obliged to abstain from things corporally unclean, might be trained up to seek a spiritual cleanness. # Hoof divided, and cheveth the cud. Dividing the hoof, and chewing the cud, signify discretion between good and evil, and meditating on #he tºw of God; and where either of these is wanting, a man is un- vie.n. In like manner fishes were reputed unclean that had not fins and scales; that is, souls that did not raise themselves up by prayer, and cover themselves with the scales of virtues. The cherogrillus. Some suppose it to be the rabbit, others the hedge hog: St. Jerome intimates that it is another kind of animal common in Palestine, which lives in the holes of rocks or in the earth We choose here, as also in the names of several other creatures that follow (which are httle known in this part of the world,) to keep the Greek or Latin names. & & # The griffon. Not the monster which the painters represent; which hath no being upon earth, but a bird of the eagle kind, larger than the common. *—a *—A. *—- LEVITICUS 35 And upon whatsoever thing any of these dead be asts shall fall, it shall be unclean : whether it be oven or pots with feet, they shall be destroyed and shall be unclean. 36 But fountains and cisterns, and all gatherings together of waters shall be clean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be defiled. 37 If it fall upon seed corn, it shall not defile it. 3% But if any man pour water upon the seed, and afterwards it be touched by the carcasses, it shall be forth with defiled. 39 If any beast die, of which it is lawful for you to eat, he that toucheth the carcass thereof, shall be unclean until the evening. 40 And he that eateth or carrieth any thing there- of, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until 1 he evening. |l All that creepeth upon the earth shall be abo- minable, neither shall it be taken for meat. 42 Whatsoever goeth upon the breast on four ſect, or hath many feet, or traileth on the earth, you shall not eat, because it is abominable. 43 Do not defile your souls, nor touch aught thereof, lest you be unclean. 14 For I am the Lord your God: be holy, be- tause I am holy. Defile not your souls by any creeping thing, that moveth upon the earth. 45 For I am the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. 46 You shall be holy, because l am holy. This is the law of beasts and fowls, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and creepeth on the earth. - 47 That you may know the differences of the clean, and unclean, and know what you ought to eat, and what to refuse. CHAP. XII. The purification of women after child-birth. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to . children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : If a woman having received seed shall bear a man-child, she shall be unclean seven days, according to the days of the separation of her flowers. 3 And on the eighth day the infant shall be cir- cumcised : 4. But she shall remain three and thirty days in the blood of her purification. She shall touch no holy thing, neither shall she enter into the sanctua- ry, until the days of her purification be fulfilled. 5 But if she shall bear a maid-child, she shall be unclean two weeks, according to the custom of her monthly courses: and she shall remain in the blood of her purification sixty-six days. 6 And when the days of her purification are ex- pired, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, a lamb of a year old for a holocaust, and a young pigeon or a turtle for sin; and shall deliver them to the priest : 7 Who shall offer them before the Lord, and shall pray for her and so she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that beareth a man-child or a maid-child. 8 And if her hand find not sufficiency, and she is not able to offer a lamb, she shall take tw 5 tur- tles, or two young pigeons, one for a holocaust, and another for sin : and the priest shall pray for he: and so she shall be cleansed. CHAP. XIII. The law concerning leprosy in men, and in gurncrats AN D the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, say- Il)g : 2 The man, in whose skin or flesh shall arise a different colour or a blister, or as it were something shining, that is, the stroke of the leprosy,” shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or any one of his sons. 3 And if he see the leprosy in his skin, and the hair turned white, and the place where the leprosy appears lower than the skin and the rest of the flesh: it is the stroke of the leprosy; and upon his judg- ment he shall be separated. -> 4. But if there be a shining whiteness in the skin, and not lower than the other flesh, and the hair be of the former colour, the priest shall shut him up seven days. 5 A. the seventh day he shall look on him : and if the leprosy be grown no farther, and hath not spread itself in the skin, he shali shut him up again other seven days. 6 And on the seventh day he shall look on him : if the leprosy be somewhat obscure, and not spread in the skin, he shall declare him clean, because it is but a scab; and the man shall wash his clothes, and shall be clean. 7 But if the leprosy grow again, after he was seen by the priest and restored to cleanness, he shall be brought to him, - 8 And shall be condemned of uncleanness. 9 |f the stroke of the leprosy be in a man, he shall be brought to the priest, 10 And he shall view him. And when there shall be a white colour in the skin, and it shall have changed the look of the hair, and the living flesh itself shall appear: - 11. It shall be judged an inveterate leprosy, and grown into the skin. The priest therefore shall de- clare him unclean, and shall not shut him up, be- cause he is evidently unclean. •. 12 But if the leprosy spring out running about in the skin, and cover all the skin from the head to the feet, whatsoever falleth under the sight of the eyes, 13. The priest shall view him, and shall judge that the leprosy which he has is very clean: because it is all turned into whiteness, and therefore the man shall be clean. 14 But when the live flesh shall appear in him, 15 Then by the judgment of the priest he shall be * @ * Leprosy. The leprosy was a figure of sin; and the observances prescribed in his and the following chapter, intimate what ought spi- ritually to be done, in order to be delivered from so great an evil or preserved from it 9? CHAP. XIll. lefiled, and shall be reckoned among the unclean : for live flesh, if it be spotted with leprosy, is unclean. 16 And if again it be turned into whiteness, and cover all the man, - 17 The priest shall view him, and shall judge him to be clean. 18 When also there has been an ulcer in the flesh and the skin, and it has been healed, 19 And in the place of the ulcer, there appeareth a white scar, or somewhat red, the man shall be brought to the priest : 20 And when he shall see the place of the leprosy lower than the other flesh, and the hair turned white, he shall declare him unclean : for the plague of le- orosy is broken out in the ulcer. 21 But if the hair be of the former colour, and the scar somewhat obscure, and be not lower than º flesh that is near it, he shall shut him up seven a WS- e - 22 And if it spread, he shall judge him to have the leprosy : 23 But if it stay in its place, it is but the scar of an ulcer, and the man shall be clean. 24. The flesh also and skin that hath been burnt, and after it is healed hath a white or a red scar, 25 The priest shall view it: and if he see it turn- ed white, and the place thereof is lower than the other skin: he shall declare him unclean, because \ the evil of leprosy is broken out in the scar. 26 But if the colour of the hair be not changed, nor the blemish lower than the other flesh, and the appearance of the leprosy be somewhat obscure, he shall shut him up seven days: 27 And on the seventh day he shall view him : if the leprosy be grown farther in the skin, he shall declare him unclean. - 28 But if the whiteness stay in its place, and be not very clear, it is the sore of a burning: and there- fore he shall be cleansed, because it is only the scar of a burning. - 29 If the leprosy break out in the head or the weard of a man or a woman, the priest shal see them. 30 And if the place be lower than the other flesh, and the hair yellow, and thinner than usual ; he shall declare them unclean, because it is the leprosy of the head and the beard. . 31 But if he perceive the place of the spot is equal with the flesh that is near it, and the hair olack; he shall shut him up seven days: 32 And on the seventh day he shall look upon it. if the spot be not grown, and the hair keep its colour, * place of the blemish be even with the other €SIM - 33 The man shall be shaven all but the place of the spot: and he shall be shut up other seven days. 34. If on the seventh day the evil seem to have staid in its place, and not lower than the other flesh, ae shall cleanse him; and his clothes being washed ..le shall be clean. 35 But if after his cleansing, the spot spread again in the skin, 36 He shall seek no more whether the hair be turned yellow, because he is evidently unclean. 37 But if the spot be staid, and the hair be black let him know that the man is healed, and let him confidently pronounce him clean. 38 If a whiteness appear in the skin of a man or a Woman, 39 The priest shall view them. If he find that a darkish whiteness shineth in the skin, let him know that it is not the leprosy, but a white blemish, and that the man is clean. 40 The man whose hair falleth off from his head, he is bald and clean : 41, And if the hair fall from his forehead, he is bald before and clean. 42 But iſ in the bald head or in the bald forehead there be risen a white or reddish colour, 43 And the priest perceive this, he shall condemn him undoubtedly of leprosy, which is risen in the bald part. 44 Now whosoever shall be defiled with the le prosy, and is separated by the judgment of the pries 45 Shall have his clothes inanging loose, his i. bare, his mouth covered with a cloth, and he shall cry out that he is defiled and unclean. 46 All the time that he is a leper and unclean, he shall dwell alone without the camp. 47 A woollen or linen garment that shall have the leprosy.” 48 In the warp, and the woof, or a skin, or what- soever is made of a skin, 49 lſ it be infected with a white or red spot, it shall be accounted the leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest. 50 And he shall look upon it, and shall shut it up seven days: 51 And on the seventh day, when he looketh on it again, if he find that it is grown, it is a fixed le- prosy : he shall judge the garment unclean, and every thing wherein it shall be found : . 52 And therefore it shall be burnt with fire 53 But if he see that it is not grown, 54. He shall give orders, and they shall wash tha: part wherein the leprosy is, and he shall shut it up other seven days. 55 And when he shall see that the former colour is not returned, nor yet the leprosy spread, he shall judge it unclean, and shall burn it with fire; for the leprosy has taken hold of the outside of the garment, or through the whole. 56 But if the place of the leprosy be somewhat dark, after the garment is washed, he shall tear it off, and divide it from that which is sound. 57 And if after this there appear in those places that before were without spot, a flying and wander ing leprosy ; it must be burnt with fire. 58 If it cease, he shall wash with water the parts that are pure, the second time, and they shall be clº 59. This is the law touching the l prosy of any woollen or linen garment either in the warp or woo or any thing of skins, how it ought to be cleansed or pronounced unclean. * Garment that shall have the leprosy. These prescriptions, with rela- tion to garments and houses infected with the leprosy, are to teach ut to fly all such company and places as are ap' to be the occasion of ein —Z- Né 93 zº CHAP. XIV. The rites or sacrifices in cleansing the leprosy. Leprosy in houses. NI) the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 This is the rite of a leper, when he is to be cleansed He shall be brought to the priest : 3 Who going out of the camp, when he shall find that the leprosy is cleansed, 4. Shall command him, that is to be purified, to &ffel for himself two living sparrows, which it is law- ſul to eat, and cedar-wood, and scarlet and hyssop. 5 And he shall command one of the sparrows to be immolated in an earthen vessel over living wa- fºr; : * 6 But the other that is alive he shall dip, with the cedar wood, and the scarlet and the hyssop, in the blood of the sparrow that is immolated : 7 Where with he shall sprinkle him that is to be cleansed seven times, that he may be rightly puri- fied: and ine shall let go the living sparrow, that it may fly into the field. 8 And when the man hath washed his clothes, he shall shave all the hair of his body, and shall be washed with water: and being purified he shall en- ter into the camp, yet so that he tarry without his own tent seven days: 9 And on the seventh day he shall shave the hair of his head, and his beard, and his eye-brows, and the hair of all his body. And having washed again his clothes, and his body, 10 On the eighth day he shall take two lambs without blemish, and an ewe of a year old without blemish, and three tenths of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice, and a sextaryt of oil apart. 1 | And when the priest that purifieth the man, hath presented him, and all these things before the i.ord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, 12. He shall take a lamb, and offer it for a tres- pass-offering with the sextary of oil: and having offered all before the Lord, 13. He shall immolate the lamb, where the vic- tim for sin is wont to be immolated, and the holo- caust, that is, in the holy place : for as that which is for sin, so also the victim for a trespass-offering, pertaineth to the priest: it is holy of holies. 14 And the priest taking of the bloodſ of the victim that was immolated for trespass, shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot : 15 And he shall pour of the sextary of oil into his own left hand, 1,EV1 T (, U.S. 16 And shall dip his right finger in it, and spriſ kle it before the Lord seven times. - 17 And the rest of the oil in his left hand, he shail pour upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot, and upon the blood that was shed for trespass, 18 And upon his head. 19 And he shall pray for him before the Lori, and shall offer the sacrifice for sin : then shall he immolate the holocaust, 20 And put it on the altar with the libations thereof, and the man shall be rightly cleansed. 21 But if he be poor, and his hand cannot find the things aforesaid, he shall take a lamb for an offering for trespass, that the priest may pray for him, and a tenth part of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice, and a sextary of oil, 22 And two turtles or two young pigeons, of which one may be for sin, and the other for a holo- CauSt: 23 And he shall offer them on the eighth day of his purification to the priest, at the door of the ta- bernacle of the testimony before the ilord. * 24 And the priest receiving the lamb for trespass, and the sextary of oil, shall elevate them together. 25 And the lamb being immolated, he shall put of the blood thereof upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot: 26 But he shall pour part of the oil into his own left hand, 27 And dipping the finger of his right hand in it, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord: 28 And he shall touch the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot, in the place of the blood that was shed for trespass. 29 And the other part of the oil that is in his left hand, he shall pour upon the head of the puri- fied person, that he may appease the Lord for him. 30 And he shall offer a turtle, or young pigeon, 31 One for trespass, and the other for a holo caust, with their libations. 32 This is the sacrifice of a leper, that is not able to have all things that appertain to his cleansing. 33 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Saying : 34. When, you shall be come into the land of Chanaan, which I will give you for a possession, if there be the plague of leprosy in a house, 35 He whose house it is, shall go and tell the ſº a. * Living waters. That is, waters taken from a spring, brook, or rl Wer. # A sextary, Hebr. log: a measure of liquids, which was the twelfth part of a hin; and held about as much as six eggs. * Taking of the blood, &c. These ceremonies, used in the cleansing of a leper, were mysterious and very significative. The sprinkling seven times with the blood of the little bird, the washing himself and his clothes, the shaving his hair and his beard, signify the means which are to be used in the reconciliation of a sinner, and the steps by which he is to return to God, viz. by the repeated application of the blood of Christ; the washing his constrence with the waters of com- punction; and retrenching all vanities and superfluities, by employ- ing all that is over and above what is necessary in alms-deeds. The sin-offering and the holocaust or burnt-offering, which he was tº offer at his cleansing, signify the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, and that of adoration in spirit and truth, with gratitude and thankfulness, for the forgiveness of sins, with which we are even to appear before the Almighty. The touching the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, first with the blood of the victim, and then with the remainder of the oil which had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord, signify the application of the blood of Christ, and the unction of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost to the sinner's right ear, that he may duly hearken to and obey the law of God; and to his right hand and foot, that the works of his hands, and all the steps or affections of his soul. signified by the feet, may be rightly directed to God 9.4 CHAP. XV triest, saying . It seemeth to me, that there is the] plague of leprosy in my house. 36 And he shall command, that they carry forth all things out of the house, before he go into it, and see whether it have the leprosy, lest all things be-l. come unclean that are in the house. And afterwards he shall go in to view the leprosy of the house. 37 And if he see in the walls thereof as it were ittle dints, disfigured with paleness or redness, and ower than all the rest, 38 He shall go out of the door of the house, and forthwith shut it up seven days. 39 And returning on the seventh day, he shall look upon it. If he find that the leprosy is spread, 40 He shall command, that the stones wherein the leprosy is, be taken out, and cast without the city into an unclean place 41 And that the house i e scraped on the inside round about, and the dust of the scraping be scat- tered without the city into an unclean place: 42 And that other stones be laid in the place of them that were taken away, and the house be plas- tered with other mortar. 43 But if, after the stones be taken out, and the dust scraped off, and it be plastered with other earth, 44. The priest going in perceive that the leprosy is returned, and the walls full of spots, it is a last- ing leprosy, and the house is unclean : 45 And they shall destroy it forthwith, and shall cast the stones and timber thereof, and all the dust, without the town, into an unclean place. 46 He that entereth into the house when it is shut, shall be unclean until evening. 47 And he that sleepeth in it, and eateth any thing, shall wash his clothes. 48 But if the priest going in perceive that the leprosy is not spread in the house, after it was plas- tered again, he shall purify it, it being cured. 49 And for the purification thereof he shall take two sparrows, and cedar-wood, and scarlet and hyssop : 50 And having immolated one sparrow in an earthen vessel over living waters, 51 He shall take the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living sparrow, and shall dip all in the blood of the sparrow that is immo- lated, and in the living water, and he shall sprinkle the house seven times: 52 And shall purify it as well with the blood of the sparrow, as with the living water, and with the living sparrow, and with the cedar-wood and the hyssop and the scarlet. 5.2 And when he hath let go the sparrow to fly freely away into the field, he shall pray for the house ; and it shall be rightly diºd. : This is the law of every kind of leprosy and 'roke : 55 Of the leprosy of arments and houses: 56 Oſ a scar and of j isters breaking out; of a shining spot, and when the colours are diversely changed: . 57. That i may be known when a thing is clean, CHAP. XV. Other legal uncleannesses. ND the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, say III & I. 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them : The man that hath an issue of seed, shal be unclean.* 3 And then shall he be judged subject to this evil, when a filthy humour, at every moment, cleav - eth to his flesh, and gathereth there. 4. Every bed on which he sleepeth, shall be un- clean, and every place on, which he sitteth. 5"if any man touch his bed, he shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening. 6 If a man sit where that man hath sitten, he also shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening. 7. He that toucheth his flesh, shall ...is clothes and being himself washed with water, shall be un- clean until the evening. 8 If such a man cast his spittle upon him that is clean, he shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening. 9 The saddle on which he hath sitten shall be unclean : 10 And whatsoever has been under him that hath the issue of seed, shall be unclean until the evening. He that carrieth any of these things, shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening. 11 Every person whom such a one shall touch, not having washed his hands before, shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be un clean until the evening. 12 1 f he touch a vessel of earth, it shall be bro- ken; but if a vessel of wood, it shall be washed with water. 13 If he who suffereth this disease be healed, he shall number seven days after his cleansing, and having washed his clothes, and all his body in living water, he shall be clean. 14 And on the eighth day he shall take two tur- tles, or two young pigeons; and he shall come be- fore the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and shall give them to the priest: 15 Who shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust: and he shall pray for him before the º that he may be cleansed of the issue of his SCCCR. 16 The man from whom the seed of copulation goeth out, shall wash all his body with water: and he shall be unclean until the evening. 17 The garment or skin that he weareth, he shall |wash with water; and it shall be unclean until the evening. 18 The woman, with whom he copulateth, shall be washed with water, and shall be unclean until the evening. * * * *-* *- or uncleau * Issue of seed shall be unclean. These legal uncleannesses were in- stituted in order to give the people a horror of carnal impuritiew wº-s Q5 LEVIT ICU.S. #9 The woman, who at the return of the month hah her issue of blood, shall be separated seven da S. g à Every one that toucheth her, shall be unclean until the evening. 21 And every thing that she sleepeth on, or that she sitteth on, in the days of her separation, shall be defiled. º 22 He that toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes; and being himself washed with water, shall be un- clean until the evening. e 23 Whosoever .# touch any vessel on which she sitteth, shall wash his clothes: and himself being washed with water, shall be defiled until the ('W (*ll II) ºx, 2}. ff a man copulateth with her in the time of her flowers, he shall be unclean seven days: and every bed, on which he shall sleep, shall be defiled. § The woman that hath an issue of blood many days out of her ordinary time, or that ceaseth not to ſlow after the monthly courses, as long as she is subject to this disease, shall be unclean, in the same lmanner as is if she were in her flowers. 26 Every bed on which she sleepeth, and every vessel on which she sitteth, shall be defiled. 27 Whosoever toucheth them shall wash his rlothes: and himself being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening. 28 If the blood stop and cease to run, she shall itiatory, with which the ark is covered, lest he die §: I will appear in a cloud over the oracle) 3 Unless he first do these things: He shall offel a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust. 4. He shall be vested with a linen tunick. he shall cover his nakedness with linen breeches: he shall be girded with a linen girdle; and he shall put a linen mitre upon his head: for these are holy vestments; all which he shall put on, after he is washed. - 5 And he shall receive from the whole multi- tude of the children of Israel two buck-goats for sin, and one ram for a holocaust. 6 And when he hath offered the calf, and prayed for himself, and for his own house, 7 He shall make the two buck-goats to stand be- fore the Lord in the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: 8 And casting lots upon them both, one to be offered to the Lord, and the other to be the emis- sary-goat:t 9 #. whose lot fell to be offered to the Lord, he shall offer for sin: goat, he shall present alive before the Lord, that he may pour out prayers upon him, and let him go into the wilderness. * * 11 After these things are duly celebrated, he shall offer the calf; .# praying for himself and for his own house, he shall immolate it : count seven days of her purification: 29 And on |. eighth day she shall offer for her- self to the priest, two turtles, or two young pigeons, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: 30 And he shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust: and he shall pray for her before the Lord, and for the issue of her uncleanness. 31 You shall teach therefore the children of Is- rael, to take heed of uncleanness, that they may not die in their filth, when they shall have defiled my tabernacie that is among them. 32 This is the law of him that hath the issue of seed, and that is defiled by copulation; 33 Ånd of the woman that is separated in her 12 And taking the censer, which he hath filled with the burning coals of the altar, and taking up with his hand the compounded perfume for incense, he shall go in within the veil into the holy place : 13. That when the perfumes are put upon the fire, the cloudſ and vapour thereof may cover the oracle, which is over the testimony, and he may not die. 14. He shall take also of the bloody of the calf. and sprinkle with his finger seven times towards the propitiatory to the east. 15. And when he hath killed the buck-goat for thereof within the veil, as he was commanded to monthly times, or that hath a continual issue of blood, and of the man that sleepeth with her. CHAP. XVI. When and how the high-priest must enter into the sanctuary. The feast of eacpiation. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they were slain upon their offering strange fire: 2 And he commanded him, saying: Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he enter not* at all into the sanctuary, which is within the veil before the pro- Enter not. Nº one but the high-priest, and he but once a year, ! do with the blood of the calf, that he may sprinkle | it over-against the oracle, 16 And may expiate the sanctuary from the un- cleanness of §e children of Israel, and from their transgressions, and all their sins. According to this rite shall he do to the tabernacle of the testimony, which is fixed among them in the midst of the filth of their habitation. | 17 Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high-priest goeth into the sanctuary, to pray for himself and his house, and for the whole congre gation of 1srael, until he come out. § ºyº- º * …, º •. - *º- *E=- Fº , ºr * * could enter into the sanctuary: to signify that no one could enter into the sanctuary of heaven till Christ our high-priest opened it by his passion. Heb. x 8. | Tº “missary-goat ºper emissarius, in Greek a'reregrates; in Hebrew 4zar'; the goat to g; ºff, or, as some translate it, the scapegoat. This goat, oil whose head the high-priest was ordered to pour forth pray- ers, and to make a general confession of the sins of the people, lay- into the wilderness, to be devoured by wild beasts, was a figure ol our Saviour, charged with all our sins, in his passion. t The cloud, The blood, &c. This is to teach us, that if we would go into the sanctuary of God, we must take with us the incense of prayer, and the blood, that is, the passion of Christ. Where also note, that the high-priest, before he went into the Holy of Holies, was to wash his whole body, and then to put on white linen garments; ing them all as it were, on his head; and after that to send him away Q8 ºnly the purity and chastity with which we are to approach tº 10 But that whose lot was to be the emissary- the sin of the people, he shall carry in the blood CHAP. XVII. 18 And when he is come out to the altar that is before the Lord, let him pray for himself; and tak- ing the blood of the calf, and of the buck-goat, let him pour it upon the horns thereof round about: 19. And sprinkling with his finger seven times, let him expiate, and sanctify it from the unclean- ness of the children of Israel. 20 After he hath cleansed the sanctuary, and the abernacle, and the altar, then let him offer the liv- Ing goat : 21 And putting both hands upon his head, let him confess all the iniquities of the children of IS- rael, and all their offences and sins: and praying that they may light on his head, he shall turn him out by a man, ready for it, into the desert, 22 And when the goat hath carried all their ini- quities into an uninhabited land, and shall be let go into the desert, 23 Aaron shall return into the tabernacle of the testimony, and putting off the vestments, which he had on him before when he entered into the sanc- tuary, and leaving them there, - 24. He shall wash his flesh in the holy place, and shall put on his own garments. And after that he is come out, and hath offered his own holocaust, and that of the people, he shall pray both for himself, and for the people: - - 25 And the fat that is offered for sins, he shall burn upon the altar. 26 But he that hath et go the emissary-goat, shall wash his clothes, and i. body with water, and so shall enter into the camp. 27 But the calf and the buck-goat, that were Sa- crificed for sin, and whose blood was carried into the sanctuary, to accomplish the atonement, they shali carry forth without the camp, and shall burn with fire, their skins and their flesh, and their dung: 28 And whosoever burneth them shall wash his clothes and flesh with water, and so shall enter into The camp. 29 And this shall be to you an everlasting ordi- nance: The seventh month, the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no work, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you. 30 Upon this day shall be the expiation for you, and the cleansing from all your sins: you shall be cleansed before the Lord. 31 For it is a sabbath of rest; and you shall afflict your souls by a perpetual religion. 32 And the priest that is anointed, and whose tlands are consecrated to do the office of the priest- hood in his father’s stead, shall make atonement : and he shall be vested with the linen robe and the holy vestments: 33 And he shall expiate the sanctuary, and the tubernacle of the testimony, and the altar, the priests aiso, and all the people. 34 And this shall be an ordinance for ever, that you pray for the children of Israel, and for all their sins once in a year. He did therefore as the Lord had commanded Moses. CHAP. XVII. No sacrifices to be offered but at the door of the tabernacle s - prohibitwº of blood. AND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, saying to them : This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded, saying: 3 Any man whosoever of the house of Israel, it he kill” an ox, or a sheep, or a goat, in the camp or without the camp, 4 And offer it not at the door of the tabernacle an oblation to the Lord, shall be guilty of blood : as if he had shed blood, so shall he perish from the midst of his people. 5 Therefore the children of Israel shall bring to the priest their victims, which they kill in the field, that they may be sanctified to the Lord before the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they . sacrifice them for peace-offerings to the OTOl. 6 And the priest shall pour the blood upon the altar of the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and shall burn the fat for a sweet odour to the Lord. 7 And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornica- uion. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity. 8 And thou shalt say to them : The man of the house of Israel, and of the strangers who sojourn among you, that offereth a holocaust or a victim, 9 And bringeth it not to the door of the taberna- cle of the testimony, that it may be offered to the Lord, shall perish from among his people. 10 If any man whosoever of the house of lsrael, and of the strangers that sojourn among them, eat blood,t I will set my face against his soul, and will cut him off from among his people: 11 Because the life of the flesh is in the biood and I have given it to you, that you may make atonement with it upon the altar for your souls, and the blood may be for an expiation of the soul. 12 Therefore I have said to the children of Is- rael: No soul of you, nor of the strangers that so- journ among you, shall eat blood. 13 Any man whosoever of the children of Israel, and of the strangers that sojourn among you, if by hunting or fowling, he take a wild beast or a i. which is lawful to eat, let him pour out its blood, and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of all flesh is in the blood therefore I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh at all; because the AP ***m * If he kill, &c. That is, in order to sacrifice. The law of God forbids sacrifices to be offered in any other place but at the taberna- sle or temple of the Lord ; to signify that no sacrifice would be ac- ceptable to God, out of his true temple, the one, holy, catholic, apos- tolic church. # Eat blood. To eat blood was forbidden in the law ; partly be. cause God reserved it to himself, to be offered in sacrifices on the altar, as to the Lord of life and death; and as a figure of the blood of Christ : and partly to give men a horror of shedding blood. Gen. ix. 4, 5, 6. 97 Z% LEVITICUS. 4b. §) * * *- life of the flesh is in the blood, and whosoever eat- eth it, shall be cut off. ſº e 15. The soul that eateth that which died of itself, or has been caught by a beast, whether, he be one of your own country or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and himself with water, and shall be defiled until the evening: and in this manner he shall be made clean. Q 16 But if he do not wash his clothes, and his body he shall bear his iniquity. CHAP. XVIII. Marriuge is prohibited in certain degrees of kindred; and all unnatural lusts. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: - 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt: neither shall you act according to the manner of the coun- try of Chanaan, into which I will bring you, nor shall you walk in their ordinances. 4 You shall do my judgments, and shall observe my precepts, and shall walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my laws and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. am the Lord. 6 No man shall approach to her that is near of º º him, to uncover her nakedness. I am the AOTOl. 7 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother : she is thy mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife : for it is the nakedness of thy father. 9 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy sister by father or by mother, whether born at home or abroad. 10 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy son's daughter, or thy daughter’s daughter: because it is thy own nakedness. 11 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife's daughter, whom she bore to thy fa- ther, and who is thy sister. 12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy ºlºr's sister: because she is the fiesh of thy fa- ther. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister : because she is thy mother's flesh. 14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother: neither shalt thou approach to his wife, who is joined to thee by affinity. 15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: because she is thy son's wife; neither shalt thou discover her shame. 16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: because it is the nakedness of thy brother 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy wife, and her daughter. Thou shalt not take her son's daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to dis- cover her shame: because they are her flesh, and such copulation *s incestºs 18 Thou shalt not take thy wife's sister for a harlot, to rival her; neither shalt thou discover her nakedness, while she is yet living. 19 Thou shalt notapproach to a woman having her flowers, neither shalt thou uncover her nakedness. 20’ſhou shalt not lie with thy neighbour's wife. nor be defiled with mingling of seed. 21 Thou shalt not give any of thy seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, nor defile the nam of thy God: I am the Lord. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with wo- mankind, because it is an abomination. 23 Thou shalt not copulate with any beast, nei- ther shalt thou be defiled with it. A woman shall not lie down to a beast, nor copulate with it: be. cause it is a heinous crime.* 24 Defile not yourselves with any of these things with which all the nations have been defiled, which I will cast out before you, 25 And with which the land is defiled : the abo minations of which I will visit, that it may vomit out its inhabitants. 26. Keep ye my ordinances and my judgments, and do not any of these abominations: neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. 27 For all these detestable things, the inhabitants of the land have done that were before you, and have defiled it. 28 Beware then lest in like manner, it vomit you also out, if you do the like things, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29. Every soul that shall commit any of these abominations, shall perish from the midst of his people. 30. Keep my commandments. Do not the things which they have done, that have been before you and be not defiled therein. I am the Lord your God. - CHAP. XIX. Divers ordinances, partly moral, partly ceremonial or judicial THE Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to all the congregation of the chil dren of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : Beye holy, because i the Lord your God am holy. __ 3 Let every one fear his father, and his mother Keep my sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. 4 Turn ye not to idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord your God. 5 If ye offer in sacrifice a peace-offering to the Lord, that he may be favourable, 6 You shall eat it on the same day it was offered, and the next day: and whatsoever shall be left until the third day, you shall burn with fire. 7 If after two days any man eat thereof, he shal be profane and guilty of impiety: 8 And shall bear his iniquity; because he hath defiled the holy thing of the Lord: and that soul shall perish from among his people. –º-e Teºs *— : === * Because it is a heinous crime. In Hebrew this word heinous crime is expressed by the word confusion, signifying the shamefulness and baseness of this abominable sin. (YHAP XX 9. When thou reapest the corn of thy land, thou shalt not cut down all that is on the face of the earth to the very ground: nor shalt thou gather the ears that remain. 10 Neither shalt thou gather the bunches and grapes that fall down in thy vineyard, but shalt leave them to the poor and the strangers to take. I am the Lord your God. | | You shall not steal. You shall not lie: neither shall any man deceive his neighbour. 12 Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profiume the name of thy God. I am the Lord. 13 Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, nor oppress him by violence. The wages of him that hath been hired by thee shall not abide with (hee until the morning. 14 Thou shalt not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind : but thou shalt ſear the Lord thy God, because l and the Lord. 15 Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, mor Judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor, nor honour the countenance of the mighty. But judge thy neighbour according to justice. 16 Thou shalt not be a detracter nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour. i am the ilord. 17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but reprove him openly, lest thou incursin through him. 18 Seek iot revenge, nor be mindful of the in- jury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyselſ. I am the Lord. 19 Keep ye my laws. Thou shalt not make thy cattle to gender with beasts of any other kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with different seeds.” Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of two sorts. 20 If a man carnally lie with a woman that is a bond-servant and marriageable, and yet not redeem- ed with a price, nor made free, they both shall be scourged: and they shall not be put to death,because she was not a free woman. 21 And for his trespass he shall offer a ram to the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: 22 And the priest shall pray for him and for his sin before the Lord ; and he shall have mercy on him, and the sin shall be forgiven. 23 When you shall be come into the land, and || shall have planted in it fruit-trees, you shall take away the first-fruits of them : the fruit that comes forth shall be unclean to you, neither shall you eat of them. 24. But in the fourth year, all their fruit shall be sanctified, to the praise of the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you shall eat the fruits thereof, gathering the increase thereof. I am the Lord your God. 26 You shall not eat with blood. You shall not finine nor observe dreams. - 27 Nor shall you cut your hairſ roundwise, no shave your ... 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead; neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord. 29 Make not thy daughter a common strumpet, lest the land be defiled, and filled with wickedness, 30 Keep ye my sabbaths, and reverence my Sanctuary. I am the Lord. 31 Go not aside after wizards, neither ask any thing of soothsayers, to be defiled by them : I am the Lord your God. 32 Rise up before the hoary head; and honour the person of the aged man ; and fear the Lord thy God. I am the Lord. 33 If a stranger dwell in your land, and abide among you, do not upbraid him : 34 But let him be among you as one of the same country; and you shall love him as yourselves: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. - 35 Do not any unjust thing in judgment, in rule, in weight, or in measure. 36 Let the balance be just, and the weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal. I am the Lord t your God, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Keep all my precepts, and all my judgments. and do them. I am the Lord. CHAP. XX. Divers crimes to be punished with death. A ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Thus shalt thou say to the children of Is- rael: If any man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers, that dwell in Israel, give of his seed to the idol, Moloch, dying let him die the people of the land shall stone him. 3 And I will set my face against him : and I wil. cut him off from the midst of his people: because he hath given of his seed to Moloch, and hath de- filed my sanctuary, and profaned my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land neglecting, and as it were little regarding my commandment, let alone the man that hath given of his seed to Mo- loch, and will not kill him : 5 I will set my face against that man, and his kindred, and will cut off both him, and all that con- sented with him, to commit fornication with Mo- loch, out of the midst of their people. 6 The soul that shall go aside after magicians, and soothsayers, and shall commit fornication with them, I will set my face against that soul, and de- stroy it out of the midst of its people. 7 Sanctify yourseives and be ye holy, because am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my precepts, and do them. Lord that sanctify you. *-_ I am this - **º-sumº * Differ 2nt seeds, &c. . This law tends to recommend simplicity and Iain-dealing in all things; and to teach the people not to join any §. worship or heresy with the worship of the true God 1 The first-fruits. Praeputia, literally their fore skins: it alludes to circumcision, and signifies that for the first three years the trees were to be as uncircumcised, and their fruit unclean ; tıll in the fourth = ~E~< º 3ºDE- year their increase was sanctified and given to the Lord, that is, to the priests. - - e f Cut your hair, &c. This, and other, such fike things, of them- selves indifferent, were forbidden by God, that they might not imitate the Egyptians or other infidels, who practised these things out of su- perstition, in honour of their flºcities Ežº I, H.V "I'l CUS. 9 He that curseth his father, or mother, dying ſet him die: he hath cursed his father and mother, !ct his blood he upon him. I () if any man commit adultery with the wife of another, and defile his neighbour’s wife, let them be out to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress. | | If a man lie with his stepmother, and dis- ~ y ºr the nakedness of his father, let them both be it to death : their blood be upon them. | 2 | f any man lie with his daughter-in-law, let tº th die, because they have done a heinous crime: ti,eir blood be upon them. 13 If any one lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination; let them be put to death : their blood be upon them. 14 If any man after marrying the daughter, mar- — — - - - - ! - * - - - - - - -- - - - - - - 1. . . . 1. . . . . . . . .] -- - - -- - - --- 1: . . . . . . . ~~ * * * * * * * * * * - * * * - ry ner mov 11t: i , 1 tº it, 11, utoire a 11t:11101 S. C. 11110 × 1 it shall be burnt alive with them : neither shall so great an abomination remain in the midst of you. 15 lie that shall copulate with any beast or cat- tle, dying let him die : the beast also ye shall kill.” 16. The woman that shall lie under any beast, shall be killed together with the same: their blood be upon them. 17 if any man take his sister the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother, and see her nakedness, and she behold her brother's shame; they have committed a crime: they shall be slain, in the sight of their people, because they have discovered one another’s nakedness; and they shall bear their iniquity. | 8 Î any man lie with a woman in her flowers, and uncover her nakedness, and she open the foun- tain of her blood, both shall be destroyed out of the midst of their people. o 19 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy aunt by thy mother, and of thy aunt by thy father: 'he that doeth this, hath uncovered the shame of his own flesh ; both shall bear their iniquity. 20 If any man lie with the wife of his uncle by the father, or of his uncle by the mother, and un- cover the shame of his near akin, both shall bear their sin : they shall die without children. 21 |le that marrieth his brother’s wife, doeth an unlawful thing ; he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness : they shall be without children. 22 Keep my laws, and my judgments, and do chem; lest the land into which you are to enter to dwell therein, vomit you also out. 23 Walk not after the laws of the nations which ! will cast out before you. For they have done all these things: and therefore I abhorred them. 24. But to you ! say: Possess their land, which ! will give you for an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from other people. 25 Therefore do you also separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the clean fowl from the unclean: defile not your souls with beasts, or birds, - or any things that move on the earth, and which l have shown you to be unclean. 26 You shall be holy unto me, because ! the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be mine. 27 A man, or woman, in whom there is thonical or divining spirit, dying let them die, shall stone them : their blood be upon them. CHAP. XXI. Ordinances relating to the priests. HE Lord said also to Moºs : Speak to th: priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt sa” ..., them: Let not a priest incur an uncleanness t the death of his citizens. 2. But only for his kin, such as are near in blood, : py- They 4-1- -- * ‘. . . * ~ _^* g a ºn 7 £-- l, ..., fºr t le ... ." . . . . . ; £2, .. ! . . . . ~~~~ * !--> - . . . . . . . . i 11, it is LU Sº y; i v ºn 1 i IS 1 at 11º 1 cli i u : U : 11 IS 11, U 1 in c1, r1 11t I for his son, and for his daughter, for his brother also, 3 And for a maiden sister, who hath had no hus- band: 4. But not even for the prince of his people shall he do any thing that may make him unclean. 5 Neither shall they shave their head, nor their beard, nor make in .sions in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane his name: for they offer the burnt-offering of the Lord, and the bread of their God, and there- fore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take to wife a harlot or a vile rostitute, nor one that has been put away from he usband: because they are consecrated to their God. 8 And offer the loaves of proposition. Let then, therefore he holy, because I also am holy, the Lord, who sanctify them. 9 If the daughter of a priest be taken in whore- dom, and dishonour the name of her father, she shall be burnt with fire. 10 The high-priest, that is to say, the priest that is the greatest among his brethren, upon whose head the oil of unction hath been poured, and whose hands have been consecrated for the priesthood, and who hath been vested with the holy vestments, shall not uncover his head, he shall not rend his garments: 1 l Nor shall he go in at all to any dead person: not even for his father or his mother shall he be defiled. - 12 Neither shall he go out of the holy places, lest he defile the sanctuary of the Lord, because the oil of the holy unction of his God is upon him I am the Lord. 13. He shall take a virgin unto his wife : 14 But a widow or one that is divorced, or de. filed, or a harlot, he shall not take ; but a maid of his own people: 15 He shall not mingle the stock of his kindled with the common pedple of his nation : for I am the Lord who sanctify him. 16 And the Lord spoke tº Moses, saying: 17 Say to Aaron : W nosoever of thy seed, * The beast also we shall kill. The killing the beast was for the greater horror of the crime, and to prevent the remembrance of such aboinination. --~~~~ | -> t.An uneletºness, viz. such as was contracted in laying out the dead body, or touching it; or in going into the house, or assisting at the fu- neral, &c. 00 CHAP. XXII. throughout their families, hath a blemish,” he shall not offer bread to his God: 18 Neither shall he approach to minister to him : if he be blind, if he be lame, if he have a little, or a great, or a crooked nose, wº 19 |f his foot, or if his hand be broken, 20 If he be crook-backed, or blear-eyed, or have a nearl in his eye, or a continual scab, or a dry scurf in his body, or a rupture: 21. Whosoever of the seed of Aaron the priest hath a blemish, he shall not approach to offer sacri- fices to the Lord, nor bread to his God. 22 He shall eat nevertheless of the loaves, that are offered in the sanctuary, 23 Yet so that he enter not within the veil, nor approach to the altar, because he hath a blemish, and he must not defile my sanctuary. I am the Lord who sanctify them. 24 Moses therefore spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all Israel, all the things that had been commanded him. - CHAP. XXII. Who may eat the holy things ; and what things may be offered. A ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying : - 2 Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they beware of those things that are consecrated of the children of Israel, and defile not the name of the º sanctified to me, which they offer. I am the OI’Ol. 3 Say to them, and to their posterity : Every man of your race, that approachethf to those things that are consecrated, and which the children of Is- ra il have offered to the Lord, in whom there is un- * shall perish before the Lord. I am the OT (1. 4 The man of the seed of Aaron, that is a leper, on that suffereth a running of the seed, shall not eat of those things that are sanctified to me, until he be healed. He that toucheth any thing unclean by oc- casion of the dead, and he whose seed goeth from him as in generation, 5 And he that toucheth a creeping thing, or any unclean thing, the touching of which is defiling, 6 Shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat those things that are sanctified: but when he hath washed his flesh with water, 7. And the sun is down, then, being purified, he shall eat of the sanctified things, because it is his Kněat. 8 That which dieth of itself, and that which was taken by a beast, they shall not eat, nor be de- filed therewith. I am the Lord. 9 Let them keep my precepts, that they may not fall into sin, and die in the sanctuary, when they º have defiled it. I am the Lord who sanctify them. 10 No stranger shall eat of the sanctified things: a sojourner of the priests, or a hired servant, shat! not eat of them. ll But he whom the priest hath bought, and he that is his servant, born in his house, these shall eal of them. 12 If the daughter of a priest be married to any of the people, she shall not eat of those things that are sanctified, nor of the first-fruits 13 But if she be a widow, or divorced, and hav- ing no children return to her father’s house, she shall eat of her father’s meats, as she was wont to do when she was a maid: no stranger hath leave to eat of them. 14 He that eateth of the sanctified things through ignorance, shall add the fifth part with that which he ate, and shall give it to the priest into the sanctuary. 15 And they shall not profane the sanctified things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord: 16 Lest perhaps they bear the iniquity of their trespass, when they shall have eaten the sanctified things. I am the Lord who sanctify them. 17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : The man of the house of Israel, and of the stran- gers who dwell with you, that offereth his oblation, either paying his vows, or offering of his own ac- cord, whatsoever it be which he presenteth for a holocaust of the Lord, 19 To be offered by you, it shall be a male with- out blemishſ of the beeves, or of the sheep, or o' the goats. 20 If it have a blemish, you shall not offer it, neither shall it be acceptable. 21. The man that offereth a victim of peace offerings to the Lord, either paying his vows, or offering of his own accord, whether of beeves or of sheep, shall offer it without blemish, that it may be acceptable: there shall be no blemish in it. 22 If it be blind, or broken, or have a scar, or blisters, or a scab, or a dry scurf; you shall not offer them to the Lord, nor burn anything of them upon the Lord’s altar. 23 An ox or a sheep, that hath the ear and the tail cut off, thou mayest offer voluntarily: but a vow may not be paid with them. 24 You shall not offer to the Lord any beast that hath the testicles bruised, or crushed, or cut and taken away : neither shall you do any such thing in your land. 25 You shall not offer bread to your God, from the hand of a stranger, nor any other thing that he would give: because they are all corruptcd and ſle filed : you shall not receive them. 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saving : 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, they shall be seven days under the * A blemish. These corporeal defects or deformities, which dis- qualified the priests from officiating in the Old Law, were figures of the vices which priests are to beware of in the New Law. St. Grego- ry, Cura pastorum. t.Approacheth, &c. This is to give us to understand, with what pu- rity of soul we are to approach to the blessed sacrament, of which these meats that had been offered in sacrifice were a figure. f Without blemish. To teach us to aim at perfection in all our offer ings and performances. LEVITICU'S. thenecſorth they may be offered to the Lord. 28 Whether it be a cow, or a sheep, they shall dot he sacrificed the same day with their young {}}}("S. 29 Iſ you immolate a victim for thanksgiving to the Lord, that he may be favourable, 30 You shall eat it the same day: there shall not any of it remain until the morning of the next day. I am the Lord. 31 Keep my commandments, and do them. I am the Lord. 32 Profane not my holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I aim the Lord who sanctify you, 33 And who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God: I am the Lord. CHA P. XX||l. Holy-days to be kept. A NI) the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : These are the feasts of the 1,0rd, which you shall call holy. 3 Six days shall ye do work; the seventh day, because it is the rest of the sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day: it is the sabhath of the Lord in all your habitations 4. These also are the holy-days of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their seasons. 5 The first month, the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is the phase of the Lord : 6 And the fifteenth day of the same month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread. 7 The first day shall be most solemn unto you, and holy : you shall do no servile work therein : 8 But you shall offer sacrifice in fire to the Lord seven days. And the seventh day shall be more solemn, and more holy ; and you shall do no servile work therein. 9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. ! () Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, and shall reap your corn, you shall bring sheaves of ears, the first- fruits of your harvest, to the priest : ll Who shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, the next day after the sabbath, that it may be ac- ceptable for you, and shall sanctify it. 12 And on the same day that the sheaf is conse- trated, a lamb without blemish of the first year, shall be killed for a holocaust of the Lord. 13 And the libations shall be offered with it, two tenths of flour tempered with oil, for a burnt-offer- ing of the Lord, and a most sweet odour: libations also of wine, the fourth part of a him. ! | You shall not eat either bread, or parched corn, or frumenty of the harvest, until the d. that yo't shall offer thereoſ to your God. It is a pre- cept for ever throughout your generations, and all you twellings. 15 You slall count thºſore from the morrow udder of their dam: but the eighth day, and after the sabbath, wherein you offered the sheaf of the first-fruits, seven full weeks, 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh week be expired, that is to say, fifty days, and so you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord. 17 Out of all your dwellings, two loaves of the first-fruits, of two tenths of flour leavened, whis h you shall bake for the first-fruits of the I.ord. 18 And you shall offer with the loaves sever lambs without blemish of the first year, and on calf from the herd, and two rams: and they shall be for a holocaust with their libations, for a mos sweet odour to the Lord. 19 You shall offer also a buck-goat for sin, and two lambs of the first year for sacrifices of peace- offerings. - 20 And when the priest hath lifted them up with the loaves of the first-fruits before the lord. they shall fall to his use. 21 And you shall call this day most solemn, and most holy You shall do no servile work thereiu It shall be an everlasting ordinance in all you, dwellings and generations. 22 And when you reap the corn of your land you shall not cut it to the very ground: neither shall you gather the ears that remain: but you shall leave them for the poor and for the strangers. I am the Lord your God. 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 24 Say to the children of Israel : The seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall keep a sabbath, a memorial, with the sound of trumpets, and it shall be called holy. 25 You shall do no servile work therein, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord. 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 Upon the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement: it shall be most so- lemm, and shall be called holy: and you shall afflict your souls on that day, and shall offer a holocaust to the Lord. 28 You shall do no servile work in the time of this day: because it is a day of propitiation, that the Lord your God may be merciful unto you. 29 Every soul that is not afflicted on this day, shall perish from among his people: 30 And every soul that shall do any work, the same will I destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no work therefore on that day it shall be an everlasting ordinance unto you in all your generations, and dwellings. 32 It is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls beginning on the ninth day of the month: from evening until evening you shall celebrate you sabbaths. 33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying : 34 Say to the children of Israel: From the fit. teenth day of this same Seventh month, shall be kept the feast of tabernacles seven days to the Lord. 35 The first day shall be called most solemn and most holy: you shall do no servile work there- in. And seven days you shall offer holocausts te —s- the Lord. CHAP. XXIV, XXV º --- 36 The eighth day also shall be most solemn and n, 1st holy, and you shall offer holocausts to the ! .ord : for it is the day of assembly and congrega- tim: you shall do no scrvile work therein. 37. These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call most solemn and most holy, and shall pffer on them oblations to the Lord, holocausts and liliations ac, ording to the rite or every day. 38 Besides the sabbaths of the Lord, and vour Liſts, and those things that you shall offer by vow, *r which you shall give to the Lord voluntarily. 39 So from the fifteenth day of the seventh nºnth, when you shall have gathered in all the ruits of your land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days: on the first day and the eighth shall be a sabbath, that is, a day of rest. 40 And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. 41 And you shall keep the solemnity thereof seven days in the year. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. In the seventh month shall you celebrate this feast: 42 And you shall dwell in bowers seven days: every one that is of the race of Israel, shall dwell in tabernacles: 43 That your posterity may know, that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles, when | brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. - 44 And Moses spoke concerning the feasts of the Lord to the children of Israel. CHAP. XXIV. The loaves of proposition. - ment of blasphemy. \ ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: - 2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee the finest and clearest oil of olives, to furnish the lamps continually, 3 Without the veil of the testimony in the taber- nacle of the covenant. And Aaron shall set them from evening until morning before the Lord, by a perpetual service and rite in your generations. 4. They shall be set upon the most pure candle- stick before the Lord continually. - 5 Thou shalt take also fine flour, and shalt bake twelve loaves thereof; two tenths shall be in every loaf : 6 And thou shalt set them six and six one against another upon the most clean table before the Lord : 7 And thou shalt put upon them the clearest flankincense, that the bread may be for a memorial $f the oblation of the Lord. 8. Every sabbath they shall be changed before the Lord, being received of the children of Israel toy an everlasting covenant ; 9 And they shall be Aaron’s and his sons, that tney may eat them in the holy place: because it is most holv of the sacrifices of the Lord by a perpe- tual right. The oil for the lamps. The punish- ſ 10 And behold, there went out the soil of a woman of Israel, whom she had of an Egyptian, among the children of Israel, and fell at words in the camp with a man of Israel. 11 And when he had blasphemed the Name, and had cursed it, he was brought to Moses: (now his mother was called Salumith, the daughter of Dabri of the tribe of Dan :) 12 And they F. him into prison, till they migh know what the Lord would command 13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, 14 Saying: Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp ; and let them that heard him, put thei * upon his head; and let all the people ston IIll. 15 And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel The man that curseth his God, shall bear his sin: 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die: all the multitude shall stone him, whether he be a native or a stranger. He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die. 17. He that striketh, and killeth a man, dying let him die. 18 He that killeth a beast, shall make it good, that is to say, shall give beast for beast. 19 He that giveth a blemish to any of his neigh- bours; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him : 20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, shall he restore. What blemish he gave, the like shall he be compelled to suffer. 21 He that striketh a beast, shall render another. He that striketh a man, shall be punished. 22 Let there be equal judgment among you, whether he be a stranger, or a native that offends: because I am the Lord your God. 23 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and they brought forth him that had blasphemed, without the camp, and they stoned him. And the º of Israel did as the Lord had commanded OSCS, CHAP. XXV. The law of the seventh and of the fiftieth year of jubilee. ND the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt ga- ther the fruits thereof: 4. But in the seventh year there shall be a sab. bath to the land, of the resting of the Lord : thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. 5 What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes of the first-fruits as a vintage : for it is a year of rest to the land : 6 But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy man-servant, to thy maid-servant and thy hireling, and to the stranºs that sojourn with thea LEVITICU.S. '? All things that grow shall be meat to thy oeasts and to thy cattle. 8 Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years, that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years: 9 And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the ime of the expiation in all your land. 10 And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission” to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family: I l Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the first-fruits of the vines, 12 Because of the sanctification of the jubilee: but as they grow you shall presently eat them. 13 In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions. 1.% When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neigh- bour, or shalt buy of him, grieve not thy brother : but thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee. r 15 And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits. 16 The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits. 17 Do not aſſlict your countrymen, but let every one fear his God: because I am the Lord your God 18 Do my precepts, and keep my judgments, and fulfil them : that you may dwell in the land without any fear, 19 And the ground may yield you its fruits, of which you may eat your fill, fearing no man’s invasion. 20 But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits f 21 I will give you my blessing the sixth year, and it shall yield the fruits of three years. 22 And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year : till new grow up, you shall eat the old store. 23 |h. land also shall not be sold for ever: be- cause it is mine, and you are strangers and so- iourners with me. 24 For which cause all the country of your pos- Session shall be under the condition of redemption. 25 If thy brother being impoverished sell his little possession, and his kinsman will, he may re- deem what he had sold. 26 But if he have no kinsman, and he himself can find the price to redeem it: 27 The value of the fruits shall be counted from that time when he sold it : and the overplus he shall restore to the buyer, and so shall receive his pos- session again. * *-> * * Remission. That is, a general release and discharge from debts sud bºndage, and a reinstating of every man in his former posses- sipins l () ) - --~~~ - -, - . ! s ==~~ == 2- ~ --> > ~—**º-º: ~1jºs> T *- *—-> wº- 28 But if his hands find not the means to repay the price, the buyer shall haye what he bought, un- til the year of the jubilee. For in that year all that is sold shall return to the owner, and to the ancient possessor. e - © 29 He that selleth a house within the walls of a city, shall have the liberty to redeem it, until one year be expired: 30 If he redeem it not, and the whole year be fully out, the buyer shall possess it, and his poste- rity for ever ; and it cannot be redcemed, not even in the jubilee. 31 But if the house be in a village, that hath no walls, it shall be sold according to the same law as the fields: If it be not redeemed before, in the jubi- lee it shall return to the owner. º 32 The houses of Levites, which are in cities, may always be redeemed : 33 If they be not redeemed, in the jubilee they shall all return to the owners; because the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possessions among the children of Israel. 34. Butlet not their suburbs be sold, because it is a perpetual possession. º 35. If thy brother be impoverished, and weak of hand, and thou receive him as a stranger and so- journer, and he live with thee, 36 Take not usury of him, nor more than thou ºt: fear thy God, that thy brother may live with the e. - - 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor exact of him any increase of fruits. 38 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might give you the land of Chanaan, and might be your God. 39 If thy brother constrained by poverty, sell himself to thee, thou shalt not oppress him with the service of bond-servants: 40 But he shall be as a hireling, and a so- journer : he shall work with thee until the year of the jubilee. 41 And afterwards he shall go out with his children, and shall return to his kindred and to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, and I brought them out of the land of Egypt; let them not be sold as bond-men : 43 Afflict him not by might, but fear thy God. 44 Let your bond-men, and your bond-women, be of the nations that are round about you. 45 And of the strangers that sojourn among you, or that were born of them in your land, these you shall have for servants: 46 And by right of inheritance shall leave them to your posterity, and shall possess them for ever. But oppress not your brethren the children of Israel by might. 47 If the hand of a stranger or a sojourner grow strong among you, and thy brother being impover- ished sell himself to him, or to any of his race; 48 After the sale he may be redeemed. He that will of his brethren shall redeem him; 49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, or his sº CHAP. XXVI. £2–º kinsiman, by blood, or by affinity. But if he him- self be able also, he shall redeem himself, 50 Counting only the years from the time of his selling unto the year of the jubilee : and counting the money, that he was sold for, according to the number of the years and the reckoning of a hired Servalht. 51 If there be many years that remain until the jubilee, a cording to them shall he also repay the r1Ce. 9 52 If few he shall make the reckoning with him according to the number of the years, and shall re- pay to the buyer of what remaineth of the years, 53 His wages being allowed for which he served º he shall not afflict him violently in thy Slght 54 And if by these means he cannot be redeem- ed, in the year of the jubilee he shall go out with his children. 55 For the children of Israel are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. CHAP. XXVI. God’s promises to them that keep his commandments. And the many punishments with which he threatens transgressors. AM the Lord your God: you shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven thing, neither shall you erect pillars, nor set up a remarkable stone º ºur land, to adore it: for I am the Lord your J. D(l. 2 Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanc- taary: I am the Lord. 3. If you walk in my precepts, and keep my commandments, and do them, I will give you rain in due seasons: 4. And the ground shall bring forth its increase, and the trees shall be filled with fruit. 5 The threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing-time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear. 6 I will give peace in your coasts : you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. l will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. - 7. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shali fall before you. 8 Five of you shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten thousand : your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 I will look on you, and make you increase : you shall be multiplied, and I will establish my covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the oldest of the old store, and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old. 1 l l will set my tabernacle in the midst of you; and my soul shall not cast you off. 12 i will walk among you, and will be your God; and you shall be my people. 13 l am the Lord your God, who have brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, that you should not serve them, and who have broken the chains of your necks, that you might go upright. | into the cities, 14 But if you will not hear me, nor do all my commandments, 15 If you despise my laws, and contemn my judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by me, and to make void my covenant: 16, I also will do these things to you : I will quickly visit you with poverty, and burning heat, which shall, waste your eyes, and consume your lives. You shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies. 17. I will set my face against you ; and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you : you shall flee when no man pursueth you. 18 But if you will not yet for all this obey me, I will chastise you seven times more for your sins: 19 And I will break the pride of your stubborn- |ness; and I will make to you the heaven above as iron, and the earth as brass: 20 Your labour shall be spent in vain: the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees yield their fruit. 21 If you walk contrary to me, and will not hearken to me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you for your sins: 22 And I will send in upon you the beasts of the field, to destroy you and your cattle, and make you few in number, and that your highways may be desolate. 23 And if even so you will not amend, but will walk contrary to me : 24 I also will walk contrary to you, and will strike you seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring in upon you the sword that shall avenge my covenant. And when you shall flee {j send the pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies, 26 After I shall have broken the staff of your bread: so that ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and give it out by weight: and you shall eat, and shall not be filled. 27 But if you will not for all this hearken to me, but will walk against me : 28 I will also go against you with opposite fury; and l will chastise you with seven plagues for your S111S, - 29 So that you shall eat the flesh of your sons and of your daughters. 30 f will destroy your high places, and break your idols. You shall fall among the ruins of your idols; and my soul shall abhor you, 31 Insomuch that I will bring your cities to be a wilderness, and I will make your sanctuaries deso- late, and will receive no more your sweet odours. 32 And I will destroy your land, and your ene- mies shall be astonished at it, when they shall be" the inhabitants thereof. 33 And I will scatter you among the gentiles, and I will draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be desert, and your cities destroyed. 34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths all the days of her desolation: when you shall be 35 In the enemies’ lººd, she shall keep a sub- _----e. =~:=~~ -ºf- - - - ( \ *=== º ſº LEV1'i'ICU.S. oath, and rest in the sabbaths of her desolation, be- cause she did not rest in your sabbaths when you dwelt therein. 36 And as to them that shall remain of you, I will send fear in their hearts in the countries of their enemies: the sound of a flying leaf shall terrify them; and they shall flee as it were from the sword: they shall fall, when no man pursueth them : 37 And they shall every one ſall upon their bre- thren as fleeing from wars: none of you shall dare to resist your enemies. 38 Yo I shall perish among the gentiles, and an enemy's land shall consume you. 39 And if of them also some remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities, in the land of their enemies, and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own : 40 Until they confess their iniquities and the iniquities of their ancestors, whereby they have transgressed against me, and walked contrary unto Ill (?. 4| Therefore I also will walk against them, and bring them into their enemies’ land, until their un- circumcised mind be ashamed : then shall they pray for their sins. 42 And I will remember my covenant, that I made with Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham. I will vemember also the land, 43 Which when she shall be left by them, shall 2njoy her sabbaths, being desolate for them. But they shall pray for their sins, because they rejected my judgments, and despised my laws. 44 And yet for all that when they were in the land of their enemies, I did not cast them off alto- gether; neither did I so despise them that they should be quite consumed, and I should make void my covenant with them. For I am the Lord their God. 45 And I will remember my former covenant, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of the gentiles, to be their God. I am the Lord. These are the judgments, and precepts, and laws, which the Lord gave between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. CHAP. XXVII. Of vows and tithes. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man that shall have made a vow, and promised his soul to God, shall give the Urice according to estimation. 8 If it be a man from twenty years old unto sixty eaſ old, he shall give fifty sicles of silver, after the weight of the sanctuary : 4. If a woman, thirty. 5 But from the fifth year until the twentieth, a ma. shall give twenty sicles; a woman, ten. 6. From one month until the fifth year, for a male hall be given five sicles; for a female, three. 7. A man that is sixty years old or upwards, shall give fifteen sicles: a woman, ten. 106 __--------> … 8 If he be poor, and not able to pay the estima- tion, he shall stand before the priest: and as much as he shall value him at, and see him able to pay, so much shall he give. 9 But a beast, that may be sacrificed to the Lord, if any one shall vow, shall be holy, 10 And cannot be changed, that is to say, neither a better for a worse, nor a worse for a better. And if he shall change it, both that which was changed. and that for which it was changed, shall be conse- crated to the Lord. I 1 An unclean beast, which cannot be sacrificed to the Lord, if any man shall vow, shall be brough' before the priest : e 12 Who judging whether it be good or bad, shall set the price : 13 Which if he that offereth it will give, he shall add above the estimation the fifth part. 14. If a man shall vow his house, and sanctify it to the Lord, the priest shall consider it, whether it be good or bad, and it shall be sold according to the price, which he shall appoint. 15 But if he that vowed, will redeem it, he shall give the fifth part of the estimation over and above and shall have the house. 16 And if he vow the field of his possession, and consecrate it to the Lord, the price shall be rated according to the measure of the seed. If the ground be sowed with thirty bushels of barley, let it be sold for fifty sicles of silver. - - 17 ºf he vow his field immediately from the year of jubilee that is beginning, as much as it may be worth, at so much it shall be rated. 18 But if some time after, the priest shall reckon the money according to the number of years that re- main until the jubilee, and the price shall be abated, 19 And if he that had vowed, will redeem nis field, he shall add the fifth part of the money of the estimation, and shall possess it. 20 And if he will not redeem it, but it be sold to any other man, he that vowed it, may not redeem it any more: 21 For when the day of jubilee cometh, it shall be sanctified to the Lord, and as a possession coil- secrated pertaineth to the right of the priests. 22 If a field that was bought, and not of a man’s ancestors’ possession, be sanctified to the Lord, 23 The priest shall reckon the price according to the number of years unto the jubilee: and he that had vowed, shall give that to the Lord. 24. But in the jubilee, it shall return to the for mer owner, who had sold it, and had it in the lot of his possession. 25 All estimation shall be made according to the sicle of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty ohols. 26 The first-born, which belong to the Lord, no man may sanctify and vow : whether it be bullock or sheep, they are the Lord’s. 27 And if it be an unclean beast, he that offer eth it shall redeem it, according to thy estimation and shall add the fifth part of the price. If he wi not redeem it, it shall be sold to another for how much Soever it was estimated by thee. - - - - - - - -------------------S" :=<>= = –- g *~~~S + - `-- * Æl x <--> Sº- sº-º- ( ; H A l’. 1. 28 Any thing that is devoted to the Lord, whether it be man, or beast, or field, shall not be sold, neither may it be redeemed. Whatsoever is once consecrated shall be holy of holies to the Lord. 29 A:ld any consecration that is offered by man, shall uot be redeemed, but dying shall die. 30 All tithes of the land, whether of corn, or of º fruits of trees, are the Lord's, and are sanctified ; Il I ºl. 31 And if any man will redeem his tithes, he small add the fifth part of them. ſ | 32 Of all the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and goats, that pass under the shepherd's rod, every tenth that cometh shall be sanctified to the Lord. 33 It shall not be chosen neither good nor bad, neither shall it be changed for another. If any man change it: both that which was changed, and that for which it was changed, shall be sanctified to the Lord, and shall not be redeemed. 34, These are the precepts which the Lord com- gººd Moses for the children of Israel in mount 1Ilall. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 77 is fourth book of Moses is called NUMBERs, because it begins m with the numbering of the people. The Hebrews from its first words call it WAIEDA BBER. It contains the transactions of the Israelites from the second month of the second year after their going out of Egypt, until the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, that is, a history almost of thirty-nine years. CHAP. I. The children of Israel are numbered ; the Levites are designed to serve the tabernacle. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the covenant, the first day of the second month, the second year of their going out of Egypt, saying: 2 Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israe. by their families, and houses, and the names of every one, as many as are of the anale sex, 3. From twenty years old and upwards, of all the men of Israel fit for war, and you shall number them by their troops, thou and Aaron. 4 And there shall be with you the princes of the Łribes, and of the houses in their kindreds, 5 Whose names are these : Of Ruben, Elisur the son of Sedeur. 6 Of Simeon, Salamiel the son of Surisaddai. 7 Of Juda, Nahasson the son of Aminadab. 8 Of Issachar, Nathanael the son of Suar. 9 Of Zabulon, Eliab the son of Helon. 10 And of the sons of Joseph : of Ephraim, Eli- sama the son of Ammiud : of Manasses, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. | 1 Of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gedeon. 12 Of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai. 13 Of Aser, Phegiel the son of Ochran. 14. Of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Duel. 15 Of Nephtali, Ahira the son of Enan. 16 These are the most noble princes of the multitude by their tribes and kindreds, and the chiefs of the army of Israel: 17 Whom Moses and Aaron took with all the multitude of the common people: 13 And assembled them on the first day of the second month, reckoning them up by the kindreds and houses, and families, and heads, and names o every one from twenty years old and upward, 19. As the Lord had commanded Moses. And they were numbered in the desert of Sinai. % Of Ruben the eldest son of Israel, by their generations and families and houses, and names of every head, all that were of the male sex, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go forth to war, 21 Were forty-six thousand five hundred. 22 Of the sons of Simeon by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names and heads of every one, all that were of the male sex, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go forth to war, 23 Fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 24. Of the sons of Gad, by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, were reckon- ed up by the names of every one from twent years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to War, 25 Forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 26 Of the sons of Juda, by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war, 27 Were reckoned up seventy-four thousand six hundred. 28 Of the sons of Issachar, by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, by the names of every one from twenty years old and up- ward, all that could go forth to war, 29 Were reckoned up fifty-four thousand four hundred. 30 Of the sons of Zabulon, by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twen- ty-years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war. 31 Fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 32 Of the sons of Joseph, namely of the sons of Ephraim, by the geneſſions and families, and NUM [3H, H.S. houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war, 33 Forty thousand five hundred. 3. Moreover of the sons of Manasses, by the (enerations and families and houses of their kin- i. were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that could go ſo th to war, 35 Thirty-two thousand two hundred. 36 Of the sons of Benjamin, by their genera- tions and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to ro forth to war, 37 Thirty-five thousand four hundred. 38 Of the sons of Dan, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twen- ty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war, 39 Sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 40 Of the sons of Aser, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war, 41 Forty-one thousand five hundred. 42 Of the sons of Nephtali, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twen- ty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war, 43 Fifty-three thousand four hundred. 4.1. These are they who were numbered by Moses aud Aaron, and the twelve princes of Israel, every o,ie by the houses of their kindreds. }5 And the whole number of the children of Is- rael by their houses and families, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go to war, 46 Were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men. 47 But the Levites in the tribes of their families were not numbered with them. 48 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying : 49 Number not the tribe of Levi: neither shalt thou prut down the sum of them with the children of Israel: 50 But appoint them over the tabernacle of the testimony, and all the vessels thereof, and whatso- ever pertaineth to the ceremonies. They shall carry the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof: and they shall minister, and shall encamp round a')out the tabernacle. 51 When you are to go forward, the Levites shall ake down the tabernacle: when you are to camp, hey shall set it up. What stranger soever cometh o it, shall be slain. 52 And the children of Israel shall camp every an by his troops and bands and army. • 53 But the Levites shall pitch their tents round about the tabernacle, lest there come indignation upon the multitude of the children of Israel: and they shall keep watch, and guard the tabernacle of the testimony ! ()8 " * -m-- tº -----> ~e?’ ~~~}} <> - * ºn N- 5%. And the children of Israel did according to all things which the Lord had commanded Moses. CHAP. H. The order of the tribes in their camp. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, say. Ing: º 2 All the children of Israel shall camp by their troops, ensigns, and standards, and the houses ºf their kindreds, round about the tabernacle of the 1 covenant. 3. On the east Juda shall pitch his tents by the bands of his army: and the prince of his sons shall be Nahasson the son of Aminadab. 4 And the whole sum of the fighting men of his stock, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. 5 Next unto him they of the tribe of Issachar gººd whose prince was Nathanael, the son of Ulºt T. 6 And the whole number of his fighting men were fifty-four thousand four hundred. 7 In the tribe of Zabulon the prince was Eliah the son of Helon. 8 And all the army of fighting men of his stock were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9 All that were numbered in the camp of Juda were a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hun- dred : and they by their troops shall march first. 10 In the camp of the sons of Ruben, on the south side, the prince shall be Elisur the son of Seeleur: 11 And the whole army of his fighting men, that º numbered, were forty-six thousand five hun- Cll'C (i. 12 Beside him camped they of the tribe of S1- meon: whose prince was Salamiel the son of Su- risaddai. 13 And the whole army of his fighting men, that j numbered, were fifty-nine thousand three hun- l'601. 14. In the tribe of Gad the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel. 15 And the whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty-five thousand six hun- dred and fifty. 16 All that were reckoned up in the camp of Ruben, were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, by their troops: they shall march in the second place. 17 And the tabernacle of the testimony shall be carried by the officers of the Levites and their troops. As it shall be set up, so shall it be taken down. Every one shall march according to their places, and ranks. g 18 On the west side shall be the camp of the sons of Ephraim, whose prince was Elisama the son of Ammiud. 19 The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty thousand five hundree 20 And with them the tribe of the sons of Ma masses, whose prince was Gamaliel the son of Pha- dassur. 21 And the whole army of his fighting men, that CHAP. III. were numbered, were thirty-two thousand two hundred. 22 In the tribe of the sons of Benjamin the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon. 23 And the whole army of his fighting men that were reckoned up, were thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 All that were numbered in the camp of Ephraim, were a hundred and eight thousand one fundred by their troops: they shall march in the third place. 25 On the north side camped the sons of Dan : whose prince was Ahiezar the son of Ammisaddai. 26 The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 27 Beside him they of the tribe of Aser pitched their tents: whose prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran. 28 The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty-one thousand five hundred. 29 Of the tribe of the sons of Nephtali the prince was Ahira the son of Enan. 30 The whole army of his fighting men were fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 All that were numbered in the camp of Dan, were a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hun- dred : and they shall march last. 32 This is the number of the children of Israel, of their army divided according to the houses of their kindreds and their troops, six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. e 33 And the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel: for so the Lord had com- inanded Moses. 34 And the children of Israel did according to all things that the Lord had commanded. They camped by their troops, and marched by the fami- ies and houses of their fathers. - CHAP. III. The Levites are numbered, and their offices distinguished. They 7re taken in the place of the first-born of the children of Israel. T HESE are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in monnt Sinai. 2 And these the names of the sons of Aaron : his first-born Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and lthamar. 3 These the names of the sons of Aaron the | riests that were anointed, and whose hands were |: and consecrated, to do the functions of priest- l{}O(1. 4. Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar per- f), med the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father. 5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch, 7 And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony: 8 And let them keep the vessels of the taberna cle, serving in the ministry thereof. 9 And thou shalt give the Levites for a gif 10 To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they an delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shal, appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to mi nister, shall be put to death. * 11 And the º spoke to Moses, saying. 12 I have taken the Levites from the children of 's rael, for every first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine, 13 For every first-born is mine ; since I struck the first-born in the land of Egypt: I have sancti- fied to myself whatsoever is first-born in Israel both of man and beast; they are mine: I am the Lord. 14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying: 15 Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward. ſº 16 Moses numbered them as the Lord had com. manded. 17 And there were ſound sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath and Merari. i8. The sons of Gerson: frºm and Semei. 19 The sons of Caath : Amram and Jesaar, He- bron and Oziel : 20 The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. 21 Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites: 22 Of which were numbered, people of the . male sex from one month and ºpward, seven thou. sand five hundred. 23 These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant: 26 The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever be- longeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the ta- bernacle, and all the furniture thereof. 27 Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Heblouires and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names: 28 All of the male sex from one month and up ward, eight thousand six hundred : they shall have the guard of the sanctuary, 29 And shall camp on the south side. 30 And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel : 31. And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind. 32 And the prince ofºe princes of the Levitet. º NUMBE |{S. Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary. 33 And of Merari are the families of the Moho- lites and Musites, reckoned up by their names: 31. All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred. . . . . 35 Their prince Suriel the son of Abiimaiel: they shall camp on the north side. 36 Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars, and their sockets. and all things that pertain to this kind of S(; , VI ( (2 . 37 And the pillars of the court round about with their sockets, and the pins with their cords. 38 Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that s to say, on the east side, shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanc- tuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death. 39 All the Levites, that Moses and Aaron num- bered according to the precept of the Lord, by their families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand. 40 And the Lord said to Moses: Number the first-born of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one ponth and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them. 41 And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the first-born of the children of Israel: I am the | lord: and their cattle for all the first-born of the :attle of the children of Israel: 42 Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had com- manded, the first-born of the children of Israel: 43 And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 4.1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: .15 Take the Levites for the first-born of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord. 46 But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the first-born of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites, 47 Thou shalt take five sicles for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols. 48 And thou shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above. 49 Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the levites 50 For the first-born of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, ccording to the weight of the sanctuary, 5| And gave it to Aaron and his sons, accord- ng to the word that the Lord had commanded him. CHAP IV The age and tume of the Lºiſ. service; their offices and bur- (???.S. A ND the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, say- ing - 2 Take the sum of the sons of Caath from the midst of the Levites, by their houses and families. 3. From thirty years old and upward, to fifty years old, of all that go in to stand and to ministe. in the tabernacle of the covenant. 4. This is the service of the sons of Caath : 5 When the camp is to set forward, Aaron and his sons shall go into the tabernacle of the cove nant, and the holy of hoſies; and shall take down, the veil that hangeth before the door, and shall wrap up the ark of the testimony in it; 6 And shall cover it again with a cover of violet skins, and shall spread over it a cloth all of violet, and shall put in the bars. 7 They shall wrap up also the table of proposi- tion in a cloth of violet, and shall put with it the censers and little mortars, the cups and bowls -o pour out the libations: the loaves shall be always Ol] lt: 8 And they shall spread over it a cloth of scar let, which again they shall cover with a covering of violet skins, and shall put in the bars. 9 They shall take also a cloth of violet where- with they shall cover the candlestick with the lamps and tongs thereof, and the snuffers, and all the oil vessels, which are necessary for the dress- ing of the lamps: 10 And over all they shall put a cover of violet skins, and put in the bars. - 11 And they shall wrap up the golden altar also in a cloth of violet, and shall spread over it a cover of violet skins, and put in the bars. 12 All the vessels wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, they shall wrap up in a cloth of vio- let, and shall spread over it a cover of violet skins, and put in the bars. - 13 They shall cleanse the altar also from the ashes, and shall wrap it up in a purple cloth, 14 And shall put it with all the vessels that they use in the ministry thereof, that is to say, fire-pans, flesh-hooks and forks, pot-hooks and shovels. They shall cover all the vessels of the altar together º a covering of violet skins, and shall put in the al’S. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have wrapped up the sanctuary and the vessels thereof at the re- moving of the camp, then shall the sons of Caath enter in to carry the things wrapped up: and they shall not touch the vessels of the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens of the sons of Caath : in the tabernacle of the covenant: 16 And over them shall be Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, to whose charge pertaineth the oil, to dress the lamps, and the sweet incense, and the sacrifice, that is always offered, and the oil of unction, and whatsoever pertaineth to the service o the tabernacle, and of all the vessels that are in the Sanctuary. 17 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying. 18 Destroy not the people of Caath from the midst of the iºs : 19 But do this to them, that they may live, and TS- —sº | || 0 CHAP V. Aaron not die, by touching the holies of holies. and his sons shall go in, and they shall appoint every man his work, and shall divide the burdens that every man is to carry. 20 Let not others by any curiosity see the things that are in the sanctuary before they be wrapped up ; otherwise they shall die. 21 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: - 22 Take the sum of the sons of Gerson also y their houses and families and kindreds, 23 From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old. Number them all that go in and minis- ter in the tabernacle of the covenant. 24. This is the office of the family of the Ger- Somites: - 25 To carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the roof of the covenant the other covering, and the violet covering over all, and the hanging that hangeth in the entry of the tabernacle of the cove- Ilallt, 26 The curtains of the court, and the veil in the entry that is before the tabernacle. All things that pertain to the altar, the cords, and the vessels of the ministry, 27. The sons ºf Gerson shall carry, by the com- mandment of A iron and his sons: and each man shall know to what burden he must be assigned. 28 This is the service of the family of the Ger- sonitºs in the tabernacle of the covenant: and they shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29. Thou shalt reckon up the sons of Merari also by the families and houses of their fathers, 30 From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to the office of their minis- try, and to the service of the covenant of the testi- in 101ly. 31. These are their burdens: They shall carry the boards of the tabernacle and the bars thereof, the pillars and their sockets, 32 The pillars also of the court round about, with their sockets and pins and cords. They shall receive by account all the vessels and furniture, and so shall carry them. 33 This is the office of the family of the Mera- rites, and their ministry in the tabernacle of the covenal,t: and they shall be under the hand of Itha- mar the son of Aaron the priest. 34 So Moses and Aaron and the princes of the synagogue reckoned up the sons of 8. by their kindreds and the houses of their fathers, • 35 From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty wears old, all that go in to the ministry of the taber- nº cle of the covenant: 36 And they were found two thousand seven undred and fifty. 57 This is the number of the people of Caath that go in to the tabernacle of the covenant: these did Moses and Aaron number according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. 38. The sons of Gerson also were numbered by the kindreds and houses of their fathers, 39 From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to minister in the taberna cle of the covenant : 40 And they were found two thousand six hun dred and thirty. 41 This is the people of the Gersonites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the wºrd of the Lord. - 42 The sons of Merari also were numbered 1 v the kindreds and houses of their fathers, 43 From thirty years old and upward, into fify years old, all that go in to fulfil the rites of the tº bernacle of the covenant: 44 And they were found three thousand two hundred. 45 This is the number of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron reckoned up according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand ol Moses. 46 All that were reckoned up of the Levites, and whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Is: rael took by name, by the kindreds and houses of their fathers, 47 From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, that go in to the ministry of the taberna- cle, and to carry the burdens, 48 Were in all eight thousand five hundred and eighty. 49 Moses reckoned them up according to the word of the Lord, every one according to their office and burdens, as the Lord had commanded him. CHAP. V. The unclean are removed out of the camp: confession of sing and satisfaction : first-fruits and oblations belong to the priests : trial of jealousy. AND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 2 Command the children of Israel, that they cast out of the camp every leper, and whosoever hath an issue of seed, or is defiled by the dead : 3 Whether it be man or woman, cast ye them out of the camp, lest they defile it when I shal: dwell with you. 4 And the children of Israel did so : and they cast them forth without the camp, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Say to the children of Israel: When a man or woman shall have committed any of all the sins that men are wont to commit, and by negligence shall have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and offended, 7 They shall confess their sin,” ar d restore the principal itself, and the fiſth part over and above, to him against whom they have sinned. 8 But if there be no one to receive it, they shall give it to the Lord : and it shall be the priest's, besides the ram that is offered for expiation, to be an atoming sacrifice. 9 All the first-fruits also, which the children on Israel offer, belong to the priest: *me mºsº * Shall confess, &c. This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the Old Law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance. 1 J NUMBERS. 7 - , “Q : º ; 10 And whatsoever is offered into the sanctuary by every one, and is delivered into the hands of the priest, it shall be his. Q I 1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 Speak to the children of Israel, and thoti shalt say to them : The man whose wife shall have gºne astray, and contemming her husband, (3 Shall have slept with another man, and her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is se- clet, and cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not found in the adultery: 14 [f the spirit of jealousy" stir up the husband against his wife, who either is defiled, or is charged with falsº suspicion, | 5 |le shall bril;g her to the priest, and shall offer an ol,lation for her, the tenth part of a mea- sure of barley meal: he shall not pour oil thereon, uor put frankincense upon it : because it is a sacri- fice of jealousy, and an oblation searching out adultery. 16 The priest therefore shall offer it, and set it before the Lord. 17 And he shall take holy water in an earthen vessel ; and he shall cast a little earth of the pave- ment of the tabernacle into it. 18 And when the woman shall stand before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and shall put on her hands the sacrifice of remembrance, and the oblation of jealousy ; and he himself shall hold the most bitter waters, whereon he hath heaped curses with execration. 19 Aud he shall adjure her, and shall say: If another man hath not slept with thee, and if thou he not defiled by forsaking thy husband's bed, these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt thee. 20 But if thou hast gone aside from thy hus- band, and art defiled, and hast lain with another (1): lll . - 2! These curses shall light upon thee: The Lord make thee a curse, and an example for all among his people: may he make thy thigh to rot, and may thy belly swell and burst asunder. 22 Let the cursed waters enter into thy belly: and may thy womb swell and thy thigh rot. And the woman shall answer, Amen, amen. 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall wash them out with the most bitter waters, upon which he hath heaped the curses, 24 And he shall give them her to drink. And when she hath drunk them up, 25 The priest shall take from her hand the sa- zrifice of jealousy, and shall elevate it before the Lord, and shall put it upon the altar: yet so as first, 26 To take a handful of the sacrifice of that which is offered, and burn it upon the altar ; and so give the most bitter waters to the woman to drink 27 And when she hatn drunk them, if she be defiled, and having despised her husband be guilty * The spirit of jealousy, &c. This ordinance was designed to clear the innocent, and to prevent Jealous husbands from doing mischief to l of adultery, the malediction shall go through he and her belly swelling, her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse, and an example to all the jeople. | % But if she be not defiled, hurt, and shall bear children. 29 This is the law of jealousy. If a won itſ hath gone aside from her husband, and be defiled, 30 And the husband stirred up by the spirit ºf jealously bring her before the Lord, and the Priest do to her according to all things that are here written : 31 The husband shall be blameless; and she shall bear her iniquity. she shall not he CHAP. VI. The law of the Nazirites: the form of blessing the people AND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of 1srael, and thou shalt say to them: When a man, or woman, shall make a vow to be sanctified, and will consecrate themselves to the Lord : 3 They shall abstain from wine, and from every thing that may make a man dru, k. They shall not drink vinegar of wine, or of any other drink, nor any thing that is pressed out of the grape : nor shall they eat grapes either fresh or dried. - 4 All the days that they are consecrated to the Lord by vow: they shall eat nothing that cometh of the vineyard, from the raisin even to the kernel. 5 All the time of his separation no razor shall pass over his head until the day be fulfilled of his consecration to the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow. 6 All the time of his consecration he shall not go in to any dead; - 7 Neither shall he make himself unclean, even for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother or for his sister, when they die; because the conse- cration of his God is upon his head. 8 All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Plord. 9 But if any man die suddenly before him, the head of his consecration shall be defiled : and he shall shave it forthwith on the same day of his pu- rification, and again the seventh day. 10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two tur- tles, or two young pigeons to the priest in the entry of the covenant of the testimony: 11 And the priest shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust, and shall pray for him, for that he hath simmed by the dead: and he shall sanc. tify his head that day; 12 And shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, offering a lamb of one year for sin; yet so that the former days be made void, because his sanctification was profaned. 13 This is the law of consecration. When the days which he had determined by vow shall be ex- their wives; as likewise to give all a horror of adultery, by punishing it in so remarkable a manner S- *çº CHAP. V | 1. pired, he shall bring him to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, { 14 And shall offer his oblation to the Lord : one he-lamb of a year old without blemish for a holo- caust, and one ewe-lamb of a year old without ble- mish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for a victim of peace-offering. 15 A basket also of unleavened bread, tempered with oil, and wafers without leaven anointed with oil, and the libations of each : 16 And the priest shall present them before the Lord, and shall offer both the sin-offering and the holocaust. 17 But the ram he shall immolate for a sacrifice of peace-offering to the Lord, offering at the same time the basket of unleavened bread, and the liba- tions that are due by custom. 18 Then shall the hair of the consecration of the Nazarite, be shaved off before the door of the taber- nacle of the covenant: and he shall take his hair, and lay it upon the fire, which is under the sacrifice of the peace-offerings; 19 And shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer ; and he shall deliver them into the hands of the Nazarite, after his head is shaven. 20 And receiving them again from him, he shall elevate them in the sight of the Lord: and they be- ing sanctified shall belong to the priest, as the breast, which was commanded to be separated, and the shoulder. After this the Nazarite may drink wine. 21 This is the law of the Nazarite, when he hath vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, besides those things which his hand shal, find : according to that which he had vowed in his mind, so shall he do for the fulfilling of his sanctification. 22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Say to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you |. the children of Israel, and you shall say to * Ilê in . 24. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. 25 The Lord show his face to thee, and have mercy on thee. 26 The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. CHAP. VII. The afferings of the princes at the dedication of the tabernacle. God speaketh to Moses from the propitiatory. ND it came to pass in the day that Moses had ** finished the tabernacle, and set it up, and had anointed and sanctified it with all its vessels, the altar likewise and all the vessels thereof, 2 The princes of Israel and the heads of the families, in every tribe, who were the rulers of them who had been numbered, offered 3 Their gifts before the Lord, six wagons covered, and twelve oxen. Two princes offered one wagon, and each one an ox; and they offered thcm before the tabern cle. 4 And the Lord said to Moses 5 Receive them from them to serve in the min 's- try of the tabernacle : and thou shalt deliver then, to the Levites according to the order of their ministry. 6 Moses therefore receiving the wagons and the oxen, delivered them to the Levites. 7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gerson, according to their necessity. 8. The other four wagons, and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their offices and Service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Caath he gave no wagons or oxen : because they serve in the sanctuary, and carry their burdens upon their own shoulders. 10 And the princes offered for the dedication of the altar on the day when it was ancinted, ti.eir oblation before the altar. 11 And the Lord said to Moses : Let each of time princes one day after another offer their giſts for the dedication of the altar. 12 The first day Nahasson the son of Aminadab of the tribe of Judai offered his offering: 13 And his offering was a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice : 14 A little mortar of ten sicles of gold full of incense : 15 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 16 And a buck-goat for sin : 17 And for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Nahasson the son of Aminadab. . 18 The second day Nathanael the son of Suar, prince of the tribe of Issachar, made his offering, 19 A silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice ; 20 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicle full of incense : 21 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb c a year old for a holocaust: 22 And a buck-goat for sin : 23 And for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, twu oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Nathanael the son of Suar. 24. The third day the prince of the sons of Zabu- lon, Eliab the son of Helon, 25 Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tem pered with oil for a sacrifice: 26 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense: 27 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 28 And a buck-goat for sin : 29 And for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two NUMBE |&S. oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This is the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon. 30 The fourth day the prince of the sons of Ru- ben, Elisur the son of Sedeur, 31 Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice: 32 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense: 33 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old, for a holocaust: - 34 And a buck-goat for sin . 35 And for victims of peace-offerings two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Elisur the son of Sedeur. 36 The fiſh day the prince of the sons of Simeon, Salamiel the son of Surisaddai, 37 Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles after the wº of the sanctuary, both full of flour tem- pered with oil for a sacrifice: 38 . A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense : 39 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust : 40 And a buck-goat for sin 41 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Salamiel the son of Suri- saddai. 42 The sixth day the prince of the sons of Gad, Eliasaph the son of l)uel, 43 Off red a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice: 44. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense : 45 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 46 And a buck-goat for sin: 47 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, ſiye rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Duel. 48 The seventh day the prince of the sons of Ephraim, Elisama the son of Ammiud, 49 Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour teampered with oil for a sacrifice: 50 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense : 51 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 52 And a buck-goat for sin : , 53 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Elisama the son of Åmmiud. 54. The eighth day the prince of the sons of Ma- masses, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur, 55 Oſtered a silver dish weighing a hundred and * 14 thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles accord ing to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice : 56 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense : 57 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb or a year old for a holocaust: 58 And a buck-goat for sin : 59 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old Thiswas the offering of Gamaliel theson of Phadassur 60 The ninth day the prince of the sons of Ben- jamin, Abidan the son of Gedeon, 61 Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sic] is by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice: 62. A little mortar of gold weighing ter sicles full of incense : 63 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 64 And a buck-goat for sin : * 65 And for sacrifices of peace-offer.ngs, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Abidan the sou of Gedeon. 66 The tenth day the prince of the sons of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai, 67 Oſſered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, accord- ing to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice : . 68 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense : 69. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 70 And a buck-goat for sin : 71 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai. 72 The eleventh day the prince of the sons of Aser, Phegiel the son of Ochran. 73 Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles accord- ing to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice: 74. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles ſull of incense : - - 75 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust: 76 And a buck-goat for sin : 77 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old, This was the offering of Phegiel the son of Ochran. 78 The twelfth day the prince of the sons of Nephtali, Ahira the son of Enan, 79 Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of ſlour tempered with oil for a sacrifice: 80 A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full ~~~~ ==T-> º - –) 31||RS 3-- of incense : CHAf”. /III 81 An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust : 82 And a buck-goat for sin : - 83 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck-goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Eman. 84 These were the offerings made by the princes of Israel in the dedication of the altar, in the day wherein it was consecrated. Twelve dishes of . twelve silver bowls; twelve little mortars of OU! : § 85 Each dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles of silver, and each bowl seventy sicles: that is, putting all the vessels of silver together, two thousand four hundred sicles, by the weight of the sanctuary. 86 Twelve littie mortars of gold full of incense, weighing ten sicles apiece by the weight of the sanctuary: that is, in all a hundred and twenty sicles of gold. 87 Twelve oxen out of the herd for a holocaust, twelve rams, twelve lambs of a year old, and their libations: twelve buck-goats for sin. 88 And for sacrifices of peace-offerings, oxen twenty-four, rams sixty, buck-goats sixty, lambs of a year old sixty. These things were offered in the dedication of the altar, when it was anointed. 89 And when Moses entered into the taberna- cle of the covenant to consult the oracle, he heard the voice of one speaking to him from the propi- tiatory that was over the ark between the two che- rubims, and from this place he spoke to him. CHAP. VIII. The seven lamps are placed on the golden candlestick, to shine towards the leaves of proposition ; the ordination of the Le- vites: and at what age they shall serve in the tabernacle. AN D the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him: When thou shalt place the seven lamps, let the candlestick be set up on the south side. Give or- ders therefore that the lamps look over against the north, towards the table of the loaves of proposi- tion ; over against that part shall they give #. towards which the candlestick looketh. 3 And Aaron did so, and he put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4. Now this was the work of the candlestick: it was of beaten gold, both the shaft in the middle, and all that came out of both sides of the branches: according to the pattern which the Lord had shown to Moses, so he made the candlestick. 5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Take the Levites out of the midst of the chil- dren of Israel, and thou shalt purify them, 7 According to this rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification,” and let them shave all the hairs of their flesh. And when they shall have washed their garments, and are cleansed, ſ 8 They shall take an ox of the herd, and for the offering thereof fine flour tempered with oil : ano thou shalt take another ox . the herd for a sia- offering : 9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all thr multitude of the children of Israel: 10 And when the Levites are before the ſold #: children of Israel shall put their hands upo then] : 1 l And Aaron shall offer the Levites, as a gift in the sight of the Lord from the children of Israel that they may serve in his ministry. 12 The Levites also shall put their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which thou shalt sacri- fice one for sin, and the other for a holocaust of the Lord, to pray for them. 13 And thou shalt set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt consecrate them being offered to the Lord ; 14 And shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine. - 15 And afterward they shall enter into the ta- bernacle of the covenant, to serve me. And thus shalt thou purify and consecrate them for an obla- tion to the Lord : for as a gift they were given me by the children of Israel. 16 I have taken them instead of the first-born: that open every womb in Israel, 17 For all the first-born of the children of Is- rael, both of men and of beasts, are mine. From the day that I slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, have I sanctified them to myself: 18 And I have taken the Levites for all the first born of the children of lsrael: 19 And I have delivered them for a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the people, to serve me for Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there should be a piague among the people, if they should presume to ap- proach unto my sanctuary. 20 And Moses and Aaron and all the multitude of the children of Israel did with the Levites all that the Lord had commanded Moses: 21 And they were purified, and washed their garments. And Aaron liſted them up in the sight of the Lord, and prayed for them, 22 That being purified they might go into the tabernacle of the covenant to do their services before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had com: ºed Moses touching the Levites, so was it OI!62. 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 24. This is the law of the Levites. From twen ty-five years old and upwards, they shall go n t minister in the tabernacle of the covenant. 25 And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve 26 And they shall be the ministers of their bre- thren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the * Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification. This was the holy water mixed with the ashes of the red cow, Mumb. xix. appoint- ed for purifying all that were unclean. It was a figure of the blood of Christ applied to our souls by his holy Sacraments. 1 16 - 8 fºr- ====<= = º NUMBERS. things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works. Thus shalt thou order the Levites, touching their charge. CHAP. IX. The precept of the pasch is renewed: the unclean and travellers are to observe it the second month : the camp is guided by the millar of the cloud. r I v H E Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Si- - nai, the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: 2 Let the children of Israel make the phase” in its due time, 3 The fourteenth day of this month in the even- ing, according to all the ceremonies and justifica- tions thereof. 4. And Moses commanded the children of Israel that they should make the phase. - 5 And they made it in its proper time: the four- teenth day of the month at evening, in mount Sinai. The children of 1srael did according to all things that the Lord had commanded Moses. 6 But behold, some who were unclean by occa- sion of the soul of a man,t who could not make the phase on that day, coming to Moses and Aaron, 7 Said to them: We are unclean by occasion of the soul of a man. Why are we kept back that we may not offer in its season the offering to the Lord among the children of Israel ? 8 And Moses answered them : Stay that I may consult the Lord what he will ordain concerning yOll. 9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 10 Say to the children of Israel: The man that shall be unclean by occasion of one that is dead, or shall be in a journey afar off in your nation, let him make the phase to the Lord 11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce : 12 They shall not leave any thing thereof until morning, nor break a bone thereof; they shall ob- serve all the ceremonies of the phase. 13 But if any man is clean, and was not on a ‘ourney, and did not make the phase, that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he offered not sacrifice to the Lord in due season: he shall bear his sin. 14. The sojourner also, and the stranger if they be among you, shall make the phase to the Lord according to the ceremonies and justifications there- of. The same ordinance shall be with you both 'or º stranger, and for him that was born in the lºl l (; . 15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was feared up, a cloud covered it. But from the even- ing there was over the tabernacle as it were the 17 And when the cloud that covered the talk 1. nacle was taken up, then the children of Israel marched forward: and in the place where the cloud stood still, there they camped. 18 At the commandment of the Lord they marched, and at his commandment they pitched the tabernacle. All the days that the cloud abode ovcı the tabernacle, they remained in the same place : 19 And if it was so that it continued over it a long time, the children of Israel kept the watches of the Lord, and matched not, 20 For as many days soever as the cloud staid over the tabernacle. At the commandment of the Lord they pitched their tents, and at his command- ment they took them down. 21 If the cloud tarried from evening until morn- ing, and immediately at break of day left the ta- bernacle, they marched forward: and if it departed after a day and a night, they took down their tents 22 But if it remained over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a longer time, the children of Israel remained in the same place, and marched not : but immediately as soon as it departed, they removed the camp. 23 By the word of the Lord they pitched their tents, and by his word they marched : and kept the watches of the Lord according to his com mandment by the hand of Moses. CHAP. X. The silver trumpets and their use. They march from Stnań. ANſ, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: se 2 Make thee two trumpets of beaten silver, wherewith thou mayst call together the multitude when the camp is to be removed. 3 And when thou shalt sound the trumpets, all the multitude shall gather unto thee to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant. 4 If thou sound but once, the princes and the heads of the multitude of Israel shall come to thee. 5 But if the sound of the trumpets be longer and with interruptions, they that are on the east side, shall first go forward. 6 And at the second sounding and like noise of the trumpet, they who lie on the south side shall take up their tents. And after this manner shall the rest do, when the trumpets shall sound for a march. 7 But when the people is to be gathered to- gether, the sound of the trumpets shall be plain, and they shall not make a broken sound. 8 And the sons of Aaron the priests shall sound the trumpets: and this shall be an ordinance for ever in your generations. 9 If you go forth to war out of your land against the enemies that fight against you, you shall sound aloud with the trumpets, and there shall be a re. aplºrance of fire until the morning. membrance of you before the Lor, l, that ... 16 So it was always: by day the cloud covered|you may be delivered out of th your it, and by night as it were the appearance of fire. || enemies. * Make the phase. That is, lºcep the paschal solemnity, and eat the That is, by having touched or corne near a de f which, schal lanb. ehold, some who were unclean by occasion of the soul ºf a man, &c. the soul was departed. | 16 CHAP A1. fºr- Iū If at any time you shall have a banquet, and on your festival days, and on the first days of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over the ho- locausas, and the sacrifices of peace-offerings, that they may be to you for a remembrance of your (iod. I am the Lord your God. 11 The second year, in the second month, the twentiett, day of the month, the cloud was taken ip from the tabernacle of the covenant. 13 And the children of Israel marched by their troops ſiom the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan. 13 And the first went forward according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. 14. The sons of Juda by their troops : whose prince was Nahasson the son of Aminadab. 15 In the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince was Nathanael the son of Suar. 16 In the tribe of Zabulon, the prince was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 Aod the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gerson and Merari set forward, bearing it. 18 And the sons of Ruben also marched, by their troops and ranks, whose prince was Elisur the son of Sedeur. 19 And in the tribe of Simeon, the prince was Salamiel the son of Surisaddai. 20 And in the tribe of Gad, the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel. 21. Then the Caathites also marched carrying he sanctuary. So long was the tabernacle carried, till they came to the place of setting it up. 22 The sons of Ephraim also moved their camp by their troops, in whose army the prince was Eli- sama the son of Ammiud. - 23 And in the tribe of the sons of Manasses, the prince was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. 24 And in the tribe of Benjamin, the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon. 25 The last of all the camp marched the sons of Dam by their troops, in whose army the prince was Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai. 26 And in the tribe of the sons of Aser, the prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran. 2 : And in the tribe of the sons of Nephtali, the prince was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of the camps and marches of the children of Israel by their troops, when they set forward. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Raguel the Madianite, his kinsman : We are going towards the place which the Lord will give us: come with us, that we may do thee good : for the Lord hath promised, good things to Israel. 30 But he answered him : I will not go with dºee but I will return to my country, wherein I *W HS ſyOTIl. - 31 And he said: Do not leave us: for thou knowest in what places we should encamp in the wilderness, and thou shalt be our guide. 32 And if thou comest with us, we will give thee what is the best of the riches, which the lord shall deliver to us. 33 So they marched from the mount of the L \l J three days’ journey, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them, for three days providins a place for the camp. 34. The cloud also of the Lord was over then by day when they marched. 35 And when the ark was lifted up, Moses said Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered and let them that hate thee, ſlee from before thy face. 36 And when it was set down, he said: Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the host of Israel CHAP. XI. The people murmur, and are punished with fire. God appoint eth seventy ancients for assistants to Moses. They prophesy The people have their fill of flesh, but forthwith many die of the plague. N the mean time there arose a murmuring of the * people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And when the Lord heard it he was angry. And the fire of the Lord being, kindled against them, devoured them that were at the utter- most part of the camp. 2 And when the people cried to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was swallowed up 3 And he called the name of that place, The burning:* for that the fire of the Lord had been kindled against them. 4. For a mixt multitudet of people, that came up with them, burned with desire, sitting and weeping, the children of Israel also being joined with them, and said: Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish that we ate in Fgypt free- cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. 6 Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna. tº O * 7 Now the manna was like coriander-seed of the colour of bqellium.f 8 And the people went about, and gathering it, ground it in a mill, or beat it in a mortar, and boil ed it in a pot, and made cakes thereof of the taste of bread tempered with oil. w 9 And when the dew, fell in the night upon the camp, the manna also fell with it. 10' Now Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the door of his tent And the wrath of the Lord was exceedingly en kindled : to Moses also the thing seemed insur portable. - 11 And he said to the Lord : Why has thin afflicted thy servant P wherefore do I not find favou, before thee P and why hast thou laid the weight o all this people upon me? * The burning. #.4 mirt multitude. Egypt, who were not of the race of Israel: who, by their murmuring, drew also the children of Israel to murmur: this should teach us the Hebrew, Taberah. These were people that came with them out of danger of associating ourselves with the children of Egypt, that is with the lovers and admirers of this wicked world. Bdellium. Bilellium, according to Pliny, l. 21. c. 9 was of the ciº of a man's nail, white and bºt l ºr T **=- S- @S. NUMBERS. 12 Have I conceived all this multitude, or be- otten them, that thou shouldst say to me: Carry hº in thy bosom as the nurse is wont to carry the little infant, and bear them into the land, for which thou hast sworn to their fathers ? 13 Whence should I have flesh to give to so great a multitude P they weep against me, saying: Give us flesh that we may eat. 14 I am not able alone to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me. 15 But if it seem unto thee otherwise, I beseech thce to kill me, and let me find grace in thy eyes, that I be not aſſlicted with so great evils. 16 And the Lord said to Moses: Gather unto me seventy men” of the ancients of Israel, whom thou knowest to be ancients and masters of the people and thou shalt bring them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and shalt make them stand there with thee, 17 That I may come down and speak with thee: and I will take of thy spirit, and will give to them, that they may bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou mayst not be burdened alone. 18 And thou shalt say to the people: Beye sanc- tified : to-morrow you shall eat ºft. for I have heard you say: Who will give us flesh to eat P it was well with us in Egypt. That the Lord may give you flesh, and you may eat: 19 Not for one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, no nor for twenty. 20 But even for a month of days, till it come out at your nostrils, and become iº. to you, be- cause you have cast off the Lord, who is in the midst of you, and have wept before him, saying: Why came we out of Egypt 2 21 And Moses said: There are six hundred .nousand footmen of this people, and sayest thou : I will give them flesh to eat a whole month P 22 Shall then a multitude of sheep and oxen be killed, that it may suffice for their food 2 or shall the fishes of the sea be gathered together to fill them P 23 And the Lord answered him: Is the hand of the Lord unable f Thou shalt presently see whether my word shall come to pass or no. 24 Moses therefore came, and told the people the words of the Lord ; and assembled sewenty men of the ancients of Israel, and made them to stand about the tabernacle. . 25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and $ºoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the Spirit had rested on them, they prophe- Sied, nor did they cease afterward. 26 Now there remained in the camp two of the Blen, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested : for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle. 27 And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp. 28 Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses, forbid them. 35 But he said: Why hast thou emulation fºr me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit P 30 And Moses returned with the ancients ol Israel, into the camp. 31 And a wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea, brought them, and cast them into the camp for the space of one slay's jour- ney, on every side of the camp round about ; and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground. 32 The people therefore rising up all that day, and night, and the next day, gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores: and they dried them round about the camp. - 33 As yet the flesh was between their teeth, neither had that kind of meat failed : when behold, the wrath of the Lord being provoked against the people, struck them with an exceeding great plague. 34 And that place was called The graves of lust:f for there they buried the people that haſ lusted. And departing from The graves of lust, they came unto Haseroth, and abode there. CHAP. XII. Mary and Aaron murmur against Moses, whom God praise/* above other prophets. Mary being struck with leprosy, Aaron confesseth his fault. Moses prayeth for her, and after seven days separation from the camp, she is restored. AN D Mary and Aaron spoke against Moses, be- - cause of his wife the Ethiopian, f 2 And they said: Hath the Lord spoken by Moses only f hath he not also spoken to us in like manner P And when the Lord heard this, 3 (For Moses was a man exceeding meekº above all men that dwelt upon earth) 4 Immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Mary: Come out you three only to the taberna- cle of the covenant. And when they were come Otlt, 5 The Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the entry of the tabernacle, calling to Aaron and Mary. And when they were come, 6 He said to them : Hear my words: If the e he among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a lº. 7 But it is not so with my servant Moses, who is most faithful in all my house : * . -* * * * * Sevents men. This was the first institution of the council or senate, oalled the Sanhedrim, consisting of seventy or seventy-two senators or Counsellot's. tº # The grapes of lust; or the sepulchres of concupiscence: so called floºn their irregular desire of flesh. In Hebrew, Kibroth Hattaavah. ! Ethiopian. Sephora the wife of Moses was of Madian, which bor- dered upon the land of Chus or Ethiopia; and therefore she is called Kx. an Ethiopian : where note, that the Ethiopia here spoken of is not tha. of Africa, but that of Arabia. . # Erceeding meek. Moses being the meekest of men, would no: contend for himself; therefore God inspired him to write here his own defence: and the Holy Spirit, whose dictate he wrote obliged him to declare the truth, though it was so much to hu | own praise CHAP. XIII. 8 For I speak to him mouth to mouth : and plainly, and not by riddles and figures, doth he see the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak ill of my servant Moses? 9 And being angry with them he went away : 10 The cloud also that was over the tabernacle departed: and behold, Mary appeared, white, as snow with a leprosy. And when Aaron had looked on her, and saw her all covered with leprosy, 11 He said to Moses: I beseech thee, my lord, lay not upon us this sin, which we have foolishly committed: 12 Let her not be as one dead, and as an abor- tive that is cast forth from the mother’s womb. Lo, now one half of her flesh is consumed with the cprosy. 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: O God, I beseech thee, heal her. 14 And the Lord answered him : If her father had spitten upon her face, ought she not to have been ashamed for seven days at least P Let her be separated sever days without the camp ; and after- ward she shall oe called again. - 15 Mary therefore was put out of the camp seven days: and the people moved not from that place until Mary was called again. CHAP. XIII. The twelve spies are sent to view the land. The relation they make of it. ANº the people marched from Haseroth, and pitched their tents in the desert of Pharan. 2 And there the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 3 Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers. 4 Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending from the desert of Pharan, principal men, whose names are these : 5 Of the tribe of Ruben, Sammua the son of Zechur. -- 6 Of the tribe of Simeon, Saphat the son of Huri. 7 Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone. 8 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 9 Jſ the tribe of Ephraim, Osee the son of Nun. R } Of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti the son of aphu. it Of the tribe of Zabulon, Geddiel the son of Sodi. 12 Of the tribe of Joseph, of the sceptre of Ma- nasses, Gaddi the son of Susi. |; Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Ge- Mląll!. 14 Of the tribe of Aser, Sthur the son of Michael. 15 Of the tribe of Nephtali, Nahabi the son of Wapsi. 16 ()f the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi. 17 These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to view the land: and he called Osee the son of Nun, Josue. 18 And Moses sent them to view the land of Chanaan, and said to them : Go you up by the south side. And when you shall come to the mountains. 19 View the land, of what sort it is ; and the people that are the inhabitants thereof, whether they be strong or weak; few in number or many: 20 The land itself, whether it be good or bad : what manner of cities, walled or without walls : 21 The ground, fat or barren, woody or without trees. Be of good courage, and bring us of the fruits of the land. Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes are fit to be eaten. 22 And when they were gone up, they whew e . the land from the desert of Sin, unto Rohob as you enter into Emath. 23 And they went up at the south side, and came to Hebron, where were Achiman and Sisai and Tholmai the sons of Enac. For Hebron was built seven years before Tanis the city of Egypt. 24 And going forward as far as the torrent of the cluster of grapes, they cut off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a lever. They took also of the pomegranates and of the figs of that place : 25 Which was called Nehelescol, that is to say, The torrent of the cluster of grapes, because from thence the children of lsrael had carried a cluster of grapes. 26 And they that went to spy out the land re- turned after forty days, having gone round all the country, & 27 And cante to Moses and Aaron and to all the assembly of the children of 1srael, to the desert of Pharan, which is in Cades. And speaking to them and to all the multitude, they showed them the fruits of the land : 28 And they related and said: We came into the land to which thou sentest us, which in very deed floweth with milk and honey, as may be known by these fruits: 29 But it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled. We saw there the race of Enac. 30 Amalec dwelleth in the south : the Hethite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite in the moun- tains, but the Čhanaanite abideth by the sea, and near the streams of the Jordan. 31 In the mean time Caleb, to still the murmur- ing of the people that rose against Moses, said: Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it. 32 But the others, that had been with him, said. No, we are not able to go up to this people, because they are stronger than we. 33 And they spoke ill” of the land, which they had viewed, before the children of Israel, saving: The land, which we have viewed, devoureth its inhabitants: the people, that we beheld, are of a tall stature. * Spoke ill, &e. These men, who by their misrepresentations of the 'an' of promise, discouraged the Israelites from attempting the con- Quest of it, were a figure of worldlings, who, by decrying or misre- presenting true devotion, discourage Christians from seeking in earnest and acquiring so great a good, and thereby securing to theumselves a happy eternity. 119 NUMBERS. 31. There we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac, of the giant-kind: in comparison of whom we seemed like locusts. CHAP. XIV. The people murmur. God threateneth, to destroy them. He is appeased by Moses, yet so as tº eacclude the murmurtº from ºffering the promised land. The authors of the seditiºn ar? stºck ſiend." The rest, going to fight against the will of God, are beaten. 1 TV HEREFORE the whole multitude crying wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: 3 Would God that we had died in Egypt: and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and inal the Lord may not bring us into this land, Jest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children he led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt f A. And they said one to another: Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 5"And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they ſell down flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel. - 6. But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone, who themselves also had viewed the land, rent their garments, 7 'And said to all the multitude of the children of Israel: The land which we have gone round is very good: § If the Lord be favourable, he will bring us into it, and give us a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Be not rebellious against the Lord: and fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them: the Lord is with us; fear ye not. 10 And when all the multitude cried out, and would have stoned them, the glory of the Lord ap- peared over the tabernacle of the covenant to all the children of Israel. 11 And the Lord said to Moses: How long will this people detract me f how long will they not be- lieve me for all the signs that I have wrought before them P 12 I will strike them therefore with pestilence, and will consume them : but thee I will make a ruler over a great nation, and a mightier than this is. 13 And Moses said to the Lord : That the Egyptians, from the midst of whom thou hast brought forth this people, 14. And the inhabitants of this land, (who have heard that thou, O Lord, art among this people, and art seen face to face, and thy cloud protecteth them, and thon goest before them in a pillar of a cloud ty day, and in a pillar of fire by night,) " 15 May hear that thou hast killed so great a multitude as it were one man, and may say: 16 He could not bring the people into the land for which he had sworn; therefore did he kill them in the wilderness. 17 Let then the strength of the Lord be imag nified, as thou hast sworn, saying: 18 The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving nº man clear,” who visitest the sins of the fathers uſion the children unto the third and fourth generation. 19 Forgive, I beseech thee, the sins of this pen- ple, according to the greatness of thy mercy. as thou hast been merciful to them from their gºing out of Egypt unto this place. 20 And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word. 21. As I live : and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 But yet all the men that have seem my ma jesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, '*. 23 Shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers: neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me, behold it. 24 My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall pos- SeSS it. 25 For the Amalecite and the Chanaanite dwell in the valleys. To-morrow remove the camp, and gº." into the wilderness by the way of the Red {23. 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Saying: º 27 How long doth this wicked multitude mur- imur against me f I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. 28 Say therefore to them : As I live, saith the Lord : According as you have spoken in my hear. ing, so will I do to you. - 29 In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and have murmured against me, ... 30 Shall not enter into the land, over which 1 lifted up my hand to make you dwell therein, ex- cept Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun. 31 But your children, of whom you said, that they should be a prey to the enemies, will I bring in ; that they may see the land which you have de spised. 32 Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness. 33 Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication,t until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed in the desert, 34. According to the number of the forty days wherein you viewed the land: a year shall be counted for a day. And forty years you shall re ceive your iniquities, and shall know my revenge: 35 For as I have spoken, so will I do to all this wicked multitude, that hath risen up together against me: in this wilderness shall it faint away * Clear, i. e. who deserves punishment. * Shall Sear your fornication. That is, shall bear the punishment of and die. your disloyalty to God, which in the scripture language is here called a fornication, in a spiritual scnse. 120 CHAP. XV. 86 Therefore all the men, whom Moses had sent to view the land, an who at their return had made the whole multitude to murmur against him, speak- ing ill of the land, that it was naught, I º Died, and were struck in the sight of the 4OTOl. 38 But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone lived, of all of them that had gone to view the land. 39 And Moses spoke all these words to all the childrcu of Israel; and the people mourned exceed- ingly. 40 And behold, rising up very early in the morn- ing, they went up to the top of the mountain, and said: We are ready to go up to the place of which the Lord hath spoken: for we have sinned. 41 And Moses said to them: Why transgress you the word of the Lord, which shall not succeed prosperously with you ? 42 Go not up, for the Lord is not with you : lest you fall before your enemies. 43 The Amalecite and the Chanaanite are be- fore you; and by their sword you shall fall; because you would not consent to the Lord : neither will he Lord be with you. 44 But they being blinded, went up to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord and Moses departed not from the camp. 45 And the Amalecite came down, and the Chanaanite that dwelt in the mountain: and smiting and slaying them, pursued them as far as Horma. CHAP. XV. Certain laws concerning sacrifices. Sabbath-breaking is pun- ished with death. The law of fringes on their garments. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall be come into the land of your habitation, which I will give you, 3 And shall make an offering to the Lord for a ho- .ocaust, or a victim, paying your vows, or volunta- rily offering gifts, or in your solemnities burning a sweet savour unto the Lord, of oxen or of sheep: 4 Whosoever immolateth the victim, shall offer a sacrifice of fine flour, the tenth part of an ephi, tempered with the fourth part of a hin of oil : 5 And he shall give the same measure of wine to pour out in libations for the holocaust or for the vic- tim. For every lamb, * 6 And for every ram there shall be a sacrifice of ſlour of two tenths, which shall be tempered with a third part of a him of oil: 7 And he shall offer the third part of the same measure of wine for the libation, for a sweet savour tº the Lord. - 8 But when thou offerest a holocaust or sacrifice If oxen, to fulfil thy vow, or for victims of peace- offerings, 9 Thou shalt give for every ox three tenths of flour tempered with half a hin of oil, 10 And wine for libations of the same measure, for an offering of most sweet savour to the Lord. 11 Thus shalt thou do: 12 For every ox and ram and lamb and kid 13 Both they that are born in the land, and he Strangers, 14 Shall offer sacrifices after the same rite. 15 There shall be all one law and judgmen, i. for you and for then who are strangers in the &ll! 16 And the Lord spoke tc Moses, saying 17 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou sha Say to them - 18 When you are come into the and which . will give you, 19. And shal eat of the bread of that country you shall separate first-fruits to the lord, 20. Of the things you eat. As you separate first-fruits of your barn-floors: 21 So also shall you give first-fruits of your dough to the Lord. - 22 And if through ignorance you omit any of these things, which the Lord hath spoken to Moses 23 And by him hath commanded you, from the day that he began to command and thence forward, 24 And the multitude have forgotten to do it, they shall offer a calf out of the herd, a holocaust for a most sweet savour to the Lord, and the sa- crifice and libations thereof, as the ceremonies re- quire, and a buck-goat for sin: 25 And the priest shall pray for all the multitude of the children of Israel: and it shall be forgiven them, because they sinned ignorantly, offering not- withstanding a burnt-offering to the Lord for them- selves and for their sin and their ignorance: . . 26 And it shall be forgiven all the people of the children of Israel, and the strangers that sojourn among them: because it is the fault of all the peo- ple through ignorance. 27 But if one soul shall sin ignorantly, he shall offer a she-goat of a year old for his sin: 28 And the priest shall pray for him, because he sinned ignorantly before the Lord : and he shall obtain his pardon, and it shall be forgiven him. 29 The same law shall be for all that sin by ig- norance, whether they be natives or strangers. 30 But the soul that committeth any thing through pride, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, (because he hath been rebellious against the Lord) shall be cut off from among his people: 31 For he hath contemned the wººd of the Lord, and made void his precept: therefore shall he be destroyed, and shall bear his iniquity. 32 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and had found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath-day, 33 That they brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude. 34 And they put him into prison, not knowing what they should do with him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses: Let that man die: let all the multitude stone him without the Cann)). 36 And when they had brought him out, they stoned him; and he died as the Lord had com- manded. 121 NUMBERS. 37 The Lord a so said to Moses: 38 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shaft tell them, to make to themselves fringes” in the corners of their garments, putting in them rihands of blue: 39 That when they shall see them, they may re- member all the commandments of the Lord, and uot follow their own thoughts and eyes going astray after divers things, g 40 But rather being mindful of the precepts of the Lord, may do them, and be holy to their God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you but of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. CHAP. XVI. The schism of Core and his adherents: their punishment. ANP behold, Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abi- ion the sons of Eliab, and Hon the son of Pheleth, of the children of Ruben, 2 Rose upt against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the synagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name. - 3 And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said: Let it be enough for you, that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: why lift you up your- selves above the people of the Lord? ſ 4. When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his ŽlCC . 5 And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to nimself: and whom he shall choose, they shall ap- proach to him. 6 Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company. 7 And putting fire in them to-morrow, put in- cense upon it before the Lord : and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take .oo much upon you, ye sons of Levi. L 8. And he said again to Core: Hear, ye sons of CVI 9 Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him : 10 Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him, that you should challenge to yourselves the priest- hood also, 11 And that all thy company should stand against the Lord f for what is Aaron that you murmur against him P | 12 Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not COII) e. 13 Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us? 14 Thou hast brought us indeed into a land that ſloweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards ; wilt thou also pull out our eyes F We will not come. 15 Moses therefore being very angry, f said to the Lord: Respect not their sacrifices: thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time, nor have injured any of them. 16 And he said to Core: Do thou and thy con- gregation stand apart before the Lord to-morrow, and Aaron apart. 17 Take every one of you censers, and put in cense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: Let Aaron also hold his censer. 18 When they had done this, Moses and Aaron standing, 19 And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all. 20 And the Lordspeaking to Moses and Aaron,said 21 Separate yourselves from among this congre- gation, that I may presently destroy them. 22 They fell flat on their face, and said: O most mighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh, for one man's sin shall thy wrath rage against all 3 23 And the Lord said to Moses: 24 Command the whole people to separate them- selves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron. 25 And Moses arose, and went to Dathan and Abiron : and the ancients of Israel following him, 26 He said to the multitude: Depart from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be involved in their sins. 27 And when they were departed from their tents round about, Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children, and all the people. 28 And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see. and that I have not forged them of my own head: 29 If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, where with others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me: 30 But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and aſ things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blas- phemed the Lord. . * Fringes. The Pharisees enlarged these fringes through hypo- crisy, Matt. xxiii. v. to appear more zealous than other men for the law of God. - f Rose up. The crime of these men, which was punished in so re- markable a manner, was that of schism, and of rebellion against the authority established by God in the church; and their pretending to the priesthood without being lawfully called and sent: the same is the case of all modern sectaries. i Very angry. This anger was a zeal against sin; and an indignation at the affront offered to God; like that which the same holy prophet conceived upon the sight of the golden calf, Ered. xxxii. 19. 122 CHAP. VIII 31 And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the earth broke asunder under their feet : 32 And opening her mouth, devoured them with heir tents and all their substance. 33 And they went down alive into hell, the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people. 34. But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing, saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also. 35 And a fire coming out from the †. destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense. 36 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 37 Command Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers that lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire of one side and the other: because they are sanctified 38 In the deaths of the sinners: and let him beat them into plates, and fasten them to the altar, be- cause incense hath been offered in them to the Lord, and they are sanctified, that the children of Israel may see them for a sign and a memorial. 39 Then Eleazar the priest took the brazen cen- sers, wherein they had offered, whom the burning fire had devoured, and beat them into plates, fasten- ing them to the altar: 40 'That the children of Israel might have for the time to come wherewith they should be admonished, that no stranger or any one that is not of the seed of Aaron should come near to offer incense to the Lord; lest he should suffer as Core suffered, and all his congregation, according as the Lord spoke to Moses. 41 The following day all the multitude of the chil- dren of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: You have killed the people of the Lord. 42 And when there arose a sedition, and the tu- mult increased, 43 Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were gone into it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 44 And the Lord said to Moses: - 45 Get you out from the midst of this multitude : this moment will I destroy them. And as they were lying on the ground, 46 Moses said to Aaron : Take the censer, and putting fire in it from the altar, put incense upon it, and go quickly to the people to pray for them : for already wrath is gone out from the Lord, and the plague rageth. - 47 When Aaron had done this, and had run to the midst of the multitude which the burning fire was now destroying, he offered the incense : 48 And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people; and the plague ceased. 49 And the number of them that were slain was fourteen thousand and seven hundred men, besides them that had perished in the sedition of Core. 50 Ano Aaron returned to Moses to the door of e exº gººmsº • The rod of Maren for the house of Levi, was budded, &c. This rod of Aaron which thus miraculously brought forth fruit, was a figure of the blessed virgin conceiving and bringing forth her Son without any prejudice to her virginity. - the tabernacle of the covenal t after the destructiou WaS OWer. CHAP. XVII. The priesthood is confirmed to Aaron by the miracle of the blooming of his rod, which is kept for a monument in the tabernacle. ANP the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod by their kindreds, of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of every man upon his rod. 3 And the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi; and one rod shall contain all their families: 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to thee. 5 Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom ; and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, where- with they murmur against you. 6 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron. 7 And when Moses had laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony: 8 He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded:* and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds. 9 Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw and every one received their rods. 10 And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebel- lious children of ''. and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die. il And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. 12 And the children of Israel said to Moses: Be- hold, we are consumed, we all perish. 13 Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. utterly destroyed P CHAP. XVIII. The charge of the priests, and of the Levites, and their portion ND the Lord said to Aaron : Thou, and th sons, and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary :t and thou and i. * with thee shall bear the sins of your priest- 1000l. 2 And take with thee thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, and the sceptre of thy father ; and let them be ready at hand, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony. 3 And the Levites shall watch to do thy com- # Thou and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the esne tuary. That is, you shall be punished, if, through negligence or want of due attention, you err in the discharge of the sacred functions for which you were ordained. 123 Are we all to a man to be º % % § Nly M13 ERS. nauds, and about all the works of the tabernacle : only they shall not come high the vessels of the sanc.uary, nor the altar, lest both they die, and you also perish with them. 4. But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you. 5 Watch ye in the charge of the sanctuary, and in the ministry of the altar: lest indignation rise upon the children of Israel. 6 ſ have given you your brethren the Levites from among the iſiºn of Israel ; and have de- livered them for a gift to the Lord, to serve in the ministries of the tabernacle. 7 But thou and thy sons look ye to the priest- hood: and all things that pertain to the service of the altar, and that are within the veil, shall be exc- cuted by the priests. If any stranger shall approach, he shall be slain. 8 And the Lord said to Aaron : Behold, I have given thee the charge of my first-fruits. All things that are sanctified by the children of Israel, I have delivered to thee and to t.y sons for the priestly office, by everlasting ordin.incre. 9 These therefore shalt thou take of the things that are sanctified, and are offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatsoever is ren- dered to me for sin and for trespass, and becometh holy of holies, shall be for thee and thy sons. i0 Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary : the males º shall eat thereof, because it is a consecrated ūllll ºſ. 11 But the first-fruits, which the children of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters, by a perpetual law. Ile that is clean in thy house, shall eat them. . 12 Al the best of the oil, and of the wine, and Df the corn, whatsoever first-fruits they offer to the lord, I have given them to thee. 13 All the first ripe of the fruits, that the ground bringeth forth, and which are brought to the Lord, shall be for thy use: he that is clean in thy house, shall eat them. - 14. Every thing that the children of Israel shall give by vow, shall be thine. 15 Whatsoever is first-born of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the first-born of man thou shalt take a price; and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed : 16 And the redemption of it shall be after one month, for five sicles of silver, by the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols. 17 But the firstling of a cow, and of a sheep, and of a goat, thou shalt not cause to be redeemed, be- tause they are sanctified to the Lord. Their blood mnly thou shalt pour upon the altar: and their fat thou shalt burn for a most sweet odour to the Lord. 18 But the flesh shall fall to thy Jse, as the con- secrated breast, and the right shoulder, shall be thine. 19 All the first-fruits of the sanctuary which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and daughters, by a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt” for ever before the Lord, to thee and to thy sons. 20 And the Lord said to Aaron : You shall pcs- sess nothing in their land; neither shall you have a portion among them : I am thy portion and inherit- ance in the midst of the children of Israel. tithes of Israel for a possession, for the ministry wherewith they serve me in the tabernacle of the COV ("nant : 22 That the children of Israel may not approach any more to the tabernacle, nor commit ... sin.i 23 But only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle, and bear the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your genera- tions. They shall not possess any other thing. 24. But be content with the oblation or tithes, which I have separated for their uses and necessities. 25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 26 Command the i.evites, and declare unto them : When you shall receive of the children of Israel the tithes, which I have given you, offer the first-fruits of them to the Lord, that is to say, the tenth part of the tenth : - ----- - - - - - - - , , tion of first-fruits, as well of the barn-floors as of the wine presses : 28 And of all the things of which you receive tithes, offer the first-fruits to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest. 29 All the things that you shall offer of the tithes, and shall separate for the gifts of the Lord, shall be the best and choicest things. 30 And thou shalt say to them: If you offer all the goodly and the better things of the tithes, it shall be reckoned to you as if you had given the first- fruits of the barn-floor ld the wine press: 31 And you shall eat them in all your places, both you and your families: because it is your re- ward for the ministry, wherewith you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony. 32 And you shall not sin in this point, by re- Serving the choicest and fat things to yourselves; lest you profane the oblations of the children ºf Is. rael, and die. CHAP. XIX. The law of the sacrifice of the red cow, and the water of rs plation. AND the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 This is the observance of the victim, which the Lold hath ordained. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee a red cow f of * A cotenant of salt. . It is a proverbial expression, signifying a cove- nant not to be altered or corrupted ; as salt is used to keep things from corruption: a covenant perpetual, like that by which it was ap- pinnted that salt should be used in every sacrifice. Levit. ii. # Deadly sin. That is sin which will bring death after it. 1 A red cow, &c. This red cow, offered in sacrifice for sin, and con- sumed with fire without the camp, with the ashes of which, mingled with water, the unclean were to be expiated and purified; was a figure of the W. of Christ, by whose precious blood, applied to our souls in the holy sagraments we are cleansed from our sins. 21 And I have given to the sons of Levi all the 27 That it may be reckoned to you as an obla- (& 124 CHAP. XX full age, in which there is no blemish, and which hath not carried the yoke : 3 And you shall deliver her to Eleazar the priest who shall bring her forth without the camp, an shall immolate her in the sight of all : -- 4 And dipping his finger in her blood, shall sprinkle it over-against the door of the tabernacle seven times: 5 And shall burn her in the sight of all, deliver- "g up to the fire her skin, and her flesh, and her olood, and her dung. 6. The priest shall also take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet twice dyed, and cast it into the flame, with which the cow is consumed. 7 And then after washing his garments and body, he shall enter into the camp, and shall be unclean until the evening. 8 He also that hath burned her, shall wash his garments and his body, and shall be unclean until The evening. - 9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and shall pour them forth with- out the camp in a most clean place, that they may be reserved for the multitude of the children of Is- rael, and for a water of aspersion: because the cow was burnt for sin. 10 And when he that carried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garments, he shall be unclead antil the evening. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwell among them, shall observe this for a holy thing by a perpetual ordinance. I He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days, 12 Shall be sprinkled with this water on the chirò day, and on the seventh, and so shall be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled on the third day, he cannot be cleansed on the seventh. 13 Every one that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is not sprinkled with this mixture, shall profane the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall perish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the wa- ter of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his un- cleanness shall remain upon him. 14. This is the law of a man that dieth in a tent: All that go into his tent, and all the vessels that are there, shall be unclean seven days. 15. The vessel that hath no cover, nor binding over it, shall be unclean. 16 if any man in the field touch the corpse of a man that was slain, or that died of himself, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be uncleanseven days. 17 And they shall take of the ashes of the burn- ing and of the sin-offering, and shall pour living waters upon them into a vessel. - 18 And a man that is clean shall dip hyssop in them, and shall sprinkle therewith all the tent, and all lic furniture, and the men that are defiled with touching any such thing: 19 And in this manner he that is clean shall pu- rify the unclean on the third and on the seventh jay. And being expiated the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and be unclean until the evening. ºf T = -º-º-º: - K- 20 If any man be not expiated aſter this rite, his soul shall perish out of the midst of the church. because he hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and was not sprinkled with the water of ou rification. - 21 This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkleth the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall tough the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening. 22 Whatsoever a person toucheth who is unclean he shall make it unclean: and the person that toucheth any of these things, shall be unclean until the evening. CHAP. XX. The death of Mary the sister of Moses. The people murmur jor want of water: God giveth it them from the rock. The death of Aaron. ND the children of Israel, and all the multi- tude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place. 2 And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron : 3 And making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord. 4. Why have you brought out the church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die P 5 Why have you made us come up out of Eg"pı, and have brought us into this wretched place, which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink? 6 And Moses and Aaron, leaving the multitude went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fºil flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure a fountain of living wa- ter, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. 7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. 8 Take the rod, and assemble the people to- gether, thou and Aaron thy brother; and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink. 9 Moses therefore took the rod which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him, 10 And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebel- lious and incredulous : Can we bring you forth wa ter out of this rock 8 11 And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock” twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, Sc that the people and their cattle drank. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Be cause you have not believedt me, to sanctify nie * The rock. This rock was a figure of Christ, and the water that is- sued out from the rock, of his precious blood, the source of all ourgeoo. # You have not believed, &c. Tº ful of Moses and Aaron ax ſhu º ~ *- gº N{}M BERS. before the children of Israel, you shall not bring ..hese people into the land which I will give them. 13 "This is the Water of contradiction,” where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them. 14. In the mean time, Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus raith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the la- trouſ that hath come upon us: - 15 In what manner our fathers went down into Égypt, and there, we dwelt a long time, and the Egyptians aſſlicted us, and our fathers: 16 And how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an angel, who hath brought us out of Fgypt. Lo, we are now in the city of Cades, which is in the uttermost of thy borders: 17 And we beseech thee that we may have leave to pass through thy country. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards; we will not drink the waters of thy wells; but we will go by the common highway, neither turning aside to the right hand, nor to the left, till we are past thy borders. 18 And Edom answered them: Thou shalt not pass by me: if thou dost, I willcome out armed against thee. 19 And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just : there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily. 20 But he answered: Thou shalt not pass. And immediately he came forth to meet them with an 'nfinite º, and a strong hand: 21 Neither would he condescend to their desire to grant them passage through his borders. Where- fore Israel turned another way from him. 22 And when they had removed the camp from Cades, they came to mount Hor, which is in the borders of the land of Edom : 23 Where the Lord spoke to Moses; 24 Let Aaron, saith he, go to his people: for he shall not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because he was incredulous to my words, at the waters of contradiction 25 Take Aaron and his son with him, and bring them up into mount Hor: e 26 And when thou hast stripped the father of liis vesture, thou shalt vest therewith Eleazar his son : Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and die there, * * * 27 Moses did as the Lord had commanded: and they went up into mount Hor, before all the multitude. % And when he had stript Aaron of his vest- ments, he vested Eleazar his son with them. 29 And Aaron being dead in the top of the mountain, he came down with Eleazar. 30 And all the multitude seeing that Aaron was dead, mourned for him thirty days throughout all their families. CHAP. XXI. King Arad is overcome. The people murmur, and are pun- ished with fiery serpents; they are healed by the brazen ser- pent. They conquer the kings Sehon and Og. ND when king Arad the Chanaanite, whº dwelt toward the south, had heard this, to wit, that Israel was come by the way of the spies, he ſought against them, and overcoming them car-- ried off their spoils. 2. But Israel binding himself by vow to the Lord, said: Iſ thou wilt deliver this people into my hand I will utterly destroy their cities. . 3 And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and delivered up the Chanaanite: and they cut them off. and destroyed their cities: and they called the name of that place Horma, that is to say, Anathema.f 4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leadeth to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour: 5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness f There is no bread, nor have we º our soul now loatheth this very light OO(1. - 6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people i. serpents,' which bit them, and killed many ot thein. 7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said; We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people: 8 And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live. - 9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, an set it up for a sign : which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed. - 10 And the children of Israel setting forwards camped in Oboth. • 11 And departing thence, they pitched their tents in Jeabarim, in the wilderness, that faceth Moab toward the east. - 12 And removing from thence, they came to the torrent Zared : 13 Which they left and encamped over against Arnon, which is in the desert, and standeth out in the borders of the Amorrhite. For Arnon is the border of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorrhites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars? * occasion was a certain diffidence and weakness of faith; not doubting of God's power or veracity; but apprehending the unworthiness of that rebellious and incredulous people, and therefore speaking with some ambiguity. * The Water of contradiction, or strife. Hebrew, Jºſeribah. .Maathema. That is, a thing devoted to utter destruction. Very light food. So they called the heavenly manna; thus, world- Jings loath the things of heaven, for which they have no relish. * Fiery serpents. They are so called, because they that were bitten by them were burnt with a violent heat. |-? brazen serpent. This was a figure of Christ crucified, and of the efficacy of a lively faith in him, against the bites of the hellish serpent John iii. 14. The hook of the wars, &c. An ancient book, which, like several others quoted in scripture, has been lost. § 98 CHAP. XXII. of the Lord As he did in the Red Sea, so will he tio in the streams of Arnon. - 15 The rocks of the torrents were bowed down hat they might rest in Ar, and lie down in the bor- ders of the Moabites. 16 When they went from that place, the well ap- peared, whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 17 Then Israel sung this song: Let the well spring up, They sung thereto : - 18 The well, wij, the princes dug, and the chiefs of the people prepared by the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staves. And they marched from the wilderness to Mathana. 19 From Mathana unto Nahaliel; from Naha- liel unto Bamoth. 20 From Bamoth is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looketh towards the desert. 21 And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying: - 22 I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields er the vineyards; we will not drink waters of the wells: we will go the king’s highway, till we be past thy borders. 23. And he would not grant that Israel should pass by his borders: but rather gathering an army, went forth to meet them in the desert, and came to !asa, and fought against them. 24 And he was slain by them with the edge of the sword: and they possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jeboc, and to the confines of the children of Ammon : for the borders of the Ammon- ites were kept with a strong garrison. - 25 So Israel took all his cities, and dwelt in the cities of the Amorrhite, to wit, in Hesebon, and in the villages thereof. 26 Hesebon was the city of Sehon, the king of the Amorrhites, who fought against the king of Moab, and took all the land, that had been of his dominions, as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore it is said in the proverb: Come into Hésebon ; let the city of Sehon be built and Set lil) : 2} A fire is gone out of Hesebon, a flame from the city of Sehon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the high places of the Arnon. - 29 Wo to thee, Moab : thou art undone, O peo- ple of Chamos. He hath given his sons to flight, and his daughters into captivity to Sehon the king| of the Amorrhites. 30 Their yoke is perished from Hesebon unto l)ibon : they came weary to Nophe, and unto Medaba. ºr 31 So Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorrhite. 32 And Moses sent some to take a view of Ja- zer and they took the villages of it, and conquered the inhabitants. - 33 And they turned themselves, and went up by the way of 13asan : and Og the king of Basan, came against them with all his people, to figh’ in Edrai. 2 º'T 34 And the Lord said to Moses: Fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people, and his country into thy hand : and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, the inhabitant of Hesebon. . 35 So they slew him also with his sons, and all his people, not letting any one escape: and they possessed his land. CHAP. XXII. Balac king of Moab, sendeth twice for Balaam to curse Israel. In his way Balaam is rebuked by an angel. ND they went forward, and encamped in the plains of Moab, over against where Jericho is situate beyond the Jordan. 2 And Balac the son of Sephor seeing all that Israel had done to the Amorrhite, 3 And that the Moabites were in great fear as him, and were not able to sustain his assault. 4 He said to the elders of Madian: So will this people destroy all that dwell in our borders, as the ox is wont to eat the grass to the very roots. Now he was at that time king in Moab. 5 He sent therefore messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, a soothsayer, who dwelt by the river of the land of the children of Ammon, to call him, and to say: Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, that hath covered the face of the earth, sitting over against me. 6 Come therefore, and curse this people, because it is mightier than I; if by any means I may beat them and drive them out of my land: for I know, that he whom thou shalt bless is blessed ; and he whom thou shalt curse is cursed. .." 7 And the ancients of Moab, and the elders of Madian went with the price of divination in their hands. And when they were come to Balaam, and had told him all the words of Balac : 8 He answered : Tarry here this night, and I will answer whatsoever the Lord shall say to me. And while they stayed with Balaam, God came and said to him : 9 What mean these men that are with thee P 10 He answered : Balac the son of Sephor king of the Moabites hath sent to me, ll Saying: Behold, a people that is come out of Fgypt, bath covered the face of the land : come and curse them, if by any means l may fight with them and drive them away. 12 And God said to Balaam : Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people because it is blessed. 13 And he rose in the morning, and said to the princes: Go into your country, because the Lord hath forbid me to come with you. #4. The princes returning, said to Balac: Balaan. would not come with us. 15 Then he sent many more and more noble than he had sent before : .6 Who, when they were come to Balaam, said Tnus saith Balac the son of Sephor: Delay not to C Ohle (O II, G : 17 For I am ready tº honour thee, and will give sº _----Tº zº C- =~T=> º wº- = ~Bºº-ºº--> ā LL-L-L-L- —º C Tº. NUMBERS. thee whatsoever thou wilt: come and curse this people. 18 Balaam answered : If Balac would give me || his house full of silver and gold, I cannot alter the word of the Lord my God, to speak either more or iess. 19 I pray you to stay” here this night also, that ( may know what the Lord will answer me once §II Ol 2. 20 God therefore came to Balaam in the night, and said to him : If these men be come to call thee, arise and go with them : yet so, that thou do what I shall command thee. 21 Balaam arose in the morning; and saddling his ass, went with them. 22 And God was angry. And an Angel of the Lord stood in the way against Balaam, who sat on che ass, and had two servants with him. 23 The ass seeing the Angel standing in the way, with a drawn sword, turned herself out of the way, and went into the field. And when Balaam beat her, and had a mind to bring her again to the way, 24. The Angel stood in a narrow place between two walls, where with the vineyards were enclosed. 25 And the ass seeing him, thrust herself close to the wall, and bruised the ſoot of the rider. But he beat her again : * 26 And nevertheless the Angel going on to a narrow place, where there was no way to turn aside either to the right hand or to the left, stood to meet him. 27 And when the ass saw the Angel standing, she fell under the ſect of the rider; who being angry, beat her sides more vehemently with a staff. 28 And the Lord opened the mouthf of the ass; and she said: What have l done to thee P why strikest thou me, lo, now this third time P 29 Balaam answered: Because thou hast deser- ved it, and hast served me ill: I would I had a sword that I might kill thee. 30. The ass said: Am not I thy beast, on which thou hast been always accustomed to ride until this present day tell me if I ever did the like thing to thee. But he said: Never. 31 Forthwith the Lord opened the eyes of Ba- laam ; and he saw the Angel standing in the way with a drawn sword; and he worshipped him, fall- ing flat on the ground. 32 And the Angel said to him : Why beatest thou Ji y ass these three times? I am come to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse, f and contrary to ille : 33 And unless the ass had turned out of the way, giving place to me who stood against thee, I had slain thee, and she should have lived. 34 Balaam said: I have sinned, not knowing that |thou dist stand against me: and now if it displease thee that I go, I will return. 35 The Angel said: Go with these men, and see thou speak no other thing than what I shall com mand thee. He went therefore with the princes. 36 And when Balac heard it, he came forth to meet him in a town of the Moabites, that is situate in the uttermost borders of Arnon. . 37 And he said to Balaam : ] sent messengers to call thee, why didst thou not come immediately to me P was it because I am not able to reward th: coming 2 38 He answered him : Lo, here I am : shall i have power to speak any other thing but that which God shall put in my mouth P • 39 So they went on together, and came into a city, that was in the uttermost borders of his kingdom. 40 And when Balac had killed oxen and sheep, he sent presents to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. 41 And when morning was come, he brought him to the high places of Baal : and he beheld the uttermost part of the people. CHAP. XXIII. Balaam instead of cursing Israel, is obliged to bless them, and prophesy good things of them. . ND Balaam said to Balac: Build me here seveu altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams. 2 And when he had dome according to the word of Balaam, they laid together a calf and a ram upon every altar. 3 And Balaam said to Balac : Stand a while by thy burnt-offering, until I go, to see iſ perhaps the Lord will meet me; and whatsoever he shall cony mand, I will speak to thee. 4 And when he was gone with speed, God met him. And Balaam speaking to him, said: I have erected seven altars, and have laid on every one a calſ and a ram. 5 And the Lord put the word in his mouth, and, said : Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak. 6 Returning he found Balac standing by his burnt- offering, with all the princes of the Moabites: 7 And taking up his parable, he said : Balac king of the Moabites hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, said he, and curse Jacob: make haste and detest Israel. - 8 How shall I curse him, whom God hath not cursed ? By what means should I detest him, whom the Lord detesteth not * - 9 I shall see him from the tops of the rocks. and shall consider him from the hills. This people small dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned aumong the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and know * To stay. IIis desiring them to stay, after he had been fully in- formed already that it was not God's will he should go, came from the inclination he trad to gratify Balac for the sake of worldly gain. And his per verse disposition God punished by permitting him to go (though not to curse the people as he would willingly have done) and suffer- ing him to fall still deeper and deeper into sin, till he came at last to give that aborninable counsel against the people of God, which ended in his own destruction. So sad a thing it is to indulge a passion for money. - # Opened the mouth, &c. The Angel moved the tongue of the ass, ts utter these speeches, to rebuke, by the mouth of a brute beast, the brutal fury and folly of Balaam. t Perverse. Because thy inclinations are wicked, in being willing for the sake of gain to curse the people of whom I am the guardian. *. 198 ‘CHAP. XXIV. the number of the stock of Israel P L *t my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them. | 1 And Balac said to Balaam: What is that thou doest ? I sent for thee to curse my enemies: and thout contrariwise blessest them. 12 He answered him : Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth P 13 Baiac therefore said: Come with me to an- other place from whence thou mayest see part of Israel, and camst not see them all : curse them from thence. l! And when he had brought him to a high place, upon the top of mount Phasga, Balaam built seven altars, and laying on every one a calf and a ram, 15 He said to Balac: Stand here by thy burnt- offering while I go to meet him. t 16 And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him. 17 Returning he found him standing by his burnt- sacrifice, and the princes of the Moabites with him. And Balac said to him: What hath the Lord spoken P 18 But he taking up his parable, said: Stand, O Balac, and give ear: hear, thou son of Sephor: 19 God is not as a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said then, and will he not do? hath he spoken, and will he not fulfil P 20 I was brought to bless; the blessing I am not able to hinder. 2] There is no idol in Jacob, neither is there an image-god to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him ; and the sound of the victory of , he king in him. 22 God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros. 23 There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divina- tion in 1srael. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought. 24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a lioness, and shall liſt itself up as a lion: it shall not lie down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 25 And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him - - 26 And he said: Did I not tell thee, that what- soever God should command me, that I would do? 27 And Balac said to him : Come, and I will tring thee to another place; if peradventure it please God that thou mayest curse them from thence. 28 And when he had brought him upon the top of mount Phogor, which looketh towards the wilderness, 29 Balaam said to him: Build me here seven altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rains. 30 Balac did as Balaam had said: and he laid on every altar, a calf and a ram. CHAP. xxiv. Balaam still continues to prophesy good things in favour of Israel. NH) when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord that he should bless israel, he went not as he sº face towards the desert, © tº 2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel º rushing upon him, 3 He took up his parable, and said: Balaam the eye is stopped up : 4 The hearer of the words of God hath said, he falleth, and so his eyes are opened: 5 How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, 6 As woody valleys, as watered gardens near the rivers, as tabernacles which the Lord hath pitched, 7, Water shall flow out of his bucket, and his seed shall be into many waters. For Agag shall his a Way. . 8 God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose vour the nations that are his enemies, and break their bones, and pierce them with arrows. lioness, whom none snai dare to rouse. . He tha blesseth thee, shall also himself be blessed: he that 10. And Balac being angry against Balaam, clap ped his hands together, and said: I called thee to blessed them three times. tº * º 11 Return to thy place. I had determined indeed thee of the honour designed for thee. © 12 Balaam made answer to Balac: Did I not 13 If Balac would give me his house full of sil- ver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the either good or evil; but whatsoever the Lord shall say, that I will speak f counsel, what thy people shall do to this people in the latter days. said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man whose eye is stopped up, hath said : who knoweth the doctrine of the Highest, and seeth the visions of the Almighty, who falling hath his 17 f shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jiu- shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth. of Seir shall come to their enemies: but Israel shall do manfully. and shall destroy the remains of the city. - 20 And when he saw Amalec, he took up his had gone before, to seek divination: but setting his in their tents by their tribes: and the spirit of G son of Beor hath said: The man hath said, whose that hath beheld the vision of the Almighty, he that and thy tents, O Israel! as cedars by the water-side. king be removed, and his kingdom shall be taken strength is like to the rhinoceros. They shall de- 9 Lying down he hath slept as a lion, and as a curseth thee, shall be reckoned accursed. curse my enemies; and thou on the contrary hast greatly to honour thee, but the Lord hath deprived say to thy messengers, whom thou sentest to me: Lord my God, to utter any thing of my own head, 14 But yet going to my people, I will give thee 15 Therefore taking up his parable, again he 16 The hearer of the words of God hath said, eyes "". : cob, and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and 18 And he shall possess Idumea: the inheritance 19 Out of Jacob shall he come that shall rule, 129 NUMBERS. parable, and said. Amalec the beginning of nations, whose latter ends shall be destroyed. 21 He saw also the Cinite, and took up his pa- rable, and said: Thy habitation indeed is strong: but though thou build thy nest in a rock, 22 And thou be chosen of the stock of Cin, how long shalt thou be able to continue? For Assur shall take thee captive. 23 And taking up his parable again, he said: A las, who shall live when God shall do these things? 24. They shall come in galleys from Italy; they sh ill overcome the Assyrians, and shall waste the lºws: and at the last they themselves also shall perism. 25 And Balaam rose, and returned to his place : Bilac also returned the way that he came. CHAP. XXV. The people,fall into fornication and idolatry; for which twenty- Jour ſhousand are slain. The zeal of Phinees. \Nº Israel at that time abode in Settim : and /\"the people committed fornication with the daughters of Moab, - $2 Who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate of them, and adored their gods. 3 And Israel, was initiated to Beelphegor:* upon which the Lord being angry, 4 Said to Moses : Take all the princes of the people, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun : that Iny fury may be turned away from Israel. 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel: Let every man kill his neighbours, that have been initia- ted to l8eelphegor. 6 And behold, one of the children of Israel went in before his brethren to a harlot of Madian, in the sight of Moses, and of all the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle. 7 And when Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest saw it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude; and taking a dagger, 8 Went in after the Israelite into the brothel- house, and thrust both of them through together, to wit the man and the woman in the genital parts. And the scourge ceased from the children of Israel. 9 And there were slain four and twenty thousand [N] (*I). 10 And the Lord said to Moses: l I Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel: because he was moved with my zeal against them, that I myself might not destroy the children of Israel in my zeal. 12 Therefore say to him : Behold, I give him the peace of my covenant: 13 And the covenant of the priesthood for ever shall be both to him and his º ; because he hath been zealous for his God, and hath made atonement for the wickedness of the children of Israel. 14 And the name of the Israelite, that was slain * Initiated to Belphegor. That is, they took to the worship of Beel- Phegor, an obscene idol of the Moabites, and were consecrated, as it were 10 him. 3. 130 ----------> –2 ==== <= with the woman of Madian, was Zambri the son of Salu, a prince of the kindred and tribe of Simeon, 15 And the Madianite woman, that was slain with him was called Cozbi the daughter of Sur, a most noble prince among the Madianites. 16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 17 Let the Madianites find you their enemies, and slay you them : 18 Because they also have acted like enemies against you, and have guilefully deceived you by the idol Phogor, and Cozbi their sister a daughter of a prince of Madian, who was slain in the ãay of the plague for the sacrilege of Phogor. - CHAP. XXVI. The people are again numbered by their tribes and families. FTER the blood of the guilty was shed, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest: 2. Number the whole sum of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their houses and kindreds, all that are able to go forth to war. 3 Moses therefore and Eleazar the priest, being in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan over against Jericho, spoke to them that were - 4. From twenty years old and upward, as the Lord had commanded: and this is the number of them: 5 Ruben the first-born of Israel. His sons were Henoch, of whom is the family of the Henochites: and Phallu, of whom is the family of the Phalluites. 6 And Hesron, of whom is the family of the Hes- ronites: and Charmi, of whom is the family of the Charmites. 7 These are the families of the stock of Ruben : whose number was found to be forty-three thousand, Seven hundred and thirty. 8 The son of Phallu was Eliab. 9 His sons, were Namuel and Dathan and Abi. rom. These are Dathan and Abiron the princes of the people, that rose against Moses and Aaron in the sedition of Core, when they rebelled against the Lord: 10 And the earth opening her mouth swallowed up Core, many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred and fifty men. And, there was a great miracle wrought, ! I That when Core perished, his sons did not perish. 12 The sons of Simeon by their kindreds: Na- muel, of him is the family of the Namuelites: Ja- min, of him is the family of the Jaminites: Jachin, of him is the family of the Jachimites: 13 Zare, of him is the family of the Zarites Saul, of him is the family of the Saulites. 14 These are the families of the stock of Simeon of which the whole number was twenty-two thou sand two hundred. 15 The sons of Gad by their kindreds: Sephan of him is the family of the Sephonites: Aggi, of him, is the family of the Aggites; Suni, of him is the family of the Sunites: 16 Ozni, of him is the family of the Oznites Her, of him is the family of the Herites: 17 Arod, of him is the family of the Arodites Ariel, of him is the family of the Arielites. - CHAP. XXVI. 18 These are the families of Gad, of which the whole number was forty thousand five hundred. 19 The sons of Juda, Her, and Onan, who both died in the land of Chanaan. 20 And the sons of Juda by their kindreds were: Sela, of whom is the family of the Selaites: Phares, of whom is the family of the Pharesites: Zare, of whom is the family of the Zarites. 21 Moreover, the sons of Phares were: Hesron, if whom is the family of the Hesronites; and Ha- inul, of whom is the family of the Hamulites. 22 These are the families of Juda, of which the * number was seventy-six thousand five hun- dred. 23 The sons of Issachar, by their kindreds: Thola, of whom is the family of the Tholaites: Phua, of whom is the family of the Phuaites: 24 Jasub, of whom is the family of the Jasub- ites: Semran, of whom is the family of the Sem- ranites. 25 These are the kindreds of Issachar, whose number was sixty-four thousand three hundred. 26 The sons of Zabulon by their kindreds : Sa- red, of whom is the family of the Saredites: Elon, of whom is the family of the Elonites : Jalel, of whom is the family of the Jalelites. 27 These are the kindreds of Zabulon, whose number was sixty thousand five hundred. 28 The sons of Joseph by their kindreds, Ma- nasses and Ephraim. 29 Of Manasses was born Machir, of whom is the family of Machirites. Machir begot Galaad, of whom is the family of the Galaadites. 30 Galaad had sons: Jezer, of whom is the family of the Jezerites: and Helec, of whom is the family of the Helecites: • 31 And Asriel, of whom is the family of the As- relites: and Sechem, of whom is the family of the Sechemites: 32 And Semida, of whom is the family of the Semidaites: and Hepher, of whom is the family of the Hepherites. - 33 And Hepher was the father of Salphaad, who had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Maala, and Noa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Thersa. 34. These are the families of Manasses, and the number of them fifty-two thousand seven hundred. 35 And the sons of Ephraim by their kindreds were these : Suthala, of whom is the family of the Suthalaites: Becher, of whom is the family of the Becherites: Thehen, of whom is the family of the Thehenites. 36 Now the son of Suthala was Heran, of whom is the family of the Heranites. 37 These are the kindreds of the sons of Ephraim: whose number was thirty-two thousand five hundred. 38 These are the sons of Joseph by their families. The sons of Benjamin in their kindreds : Bela, of whom is the family of the Belaites: Asbel, of whom is the family of the Asbelites: Ahiram, of whom is the family of the Ahiramites: ge 39 suplºn. of whom is the family of the Supham- —f 2-2T - - S-> ites: Hupham, of whom is the family of the Hu. phamites. 40 The sons of Bela : Hered, and Noeman. Of Hered, is the family of the Heredites: of Noeman, the family of the Noemanites. 4! These are the sons of Benjamin by their kin- dreds, whose number was forty-five thcusand six hundred. 42 The sons of Dan by their kindreds : Suhan, of whom is the family of the Suhamites: these are the kindreds of Dan by their families. 43 All were Suhamites, whose number was sixty- four thousand four hundred. 44. The sons of Aser by their kindreds: Jenna, of whom is the family of the Jemmaites: Jessui, of whom is the family of the Jessuites: Brie, of whom is the family of the Brieites. 45 The sons of Brie : Heber, of whom is the family of the Heberites: and Melchiel, of whom is the family of the Melchielites. S 46 And the name of the daughter of Aser, was all ºl. 47 These are the kindreds of the sons of Aser, and their number fifty-three thousand four hundred. 48 The sons of Nephtali by their kindreds : Je- siel, of whom is the family of the Jesielites: Guni, of whom is the family of the Gunites: 49 Jeser, of whom is the family of the Jeserites: Sellem, of whom is the family of the Sellemites. 50 These are the kindreds of the sons of Nephtali by their families: whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred. 51 This is the sum of the children of Israel, that were reckoned up, six hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and thirty. 52 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 53 To these shall the land be divided for their possessions according to the number of names. 54. To the greater number thou shalt give a greater portion, and to the fewer a less: to every one, as they have now been reckoned up, shall a possession be delivered: 55 Yet so that by lot the land be divided to the tribes and families. 56 Whatsoever shall fall by lot, that shall be taken by the more, or the fewer. 57 This also is the number of the sons of Levi by their families: Gerson, of whom is the family of the Gersonites: Caath, of whom is the family of the Caathites: Merari, of whom is the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of Levi: The family of Lobni, the family of Hebroni, the family of Mo- holi, the family of Musi, the family of Core. Now Caath begot Amram : 59 Who had to wife Jochabed the daughter ot Levi, who was born to him in Egypt. She bore to her husband Amram sons, Aaron and Moses, and Mary their sister. 60 Of Aaron were born Nadab and Abiu, and Eleazar and Ithamar: 61 Of whom Nadab and Abiu died, wher they had offered the strangº, fire before the Lord. 13 l NUMBERS. 62 And all that were numbered, were twenty- three thousand males from one month old and up- ward : for they were not reckoned up among the children of Israel, neither was a possession given to them with the rest. 63. This is the number of the children of Israel, that were enrolled by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan over against ſericho. 64 Among whom there was not one of them that were numbered before by Moses and Aaron in the desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had foretold that they should all die in the wilderness. And none remained of them, but Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun. CHAP. XXVII. The law of inheritance. Josue is appointed to succeed Moses. THEN came the daughters of Salphaad, the son of Hepher, the son of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses, who was the son of Joseph; and their names are, Maala, and Noa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Thersa. 2 And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the people at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and said: 3 Our father died in the desert, and was not in the sedition, that was raised against the Lord under Core; but he died in his own sin: and he had no male children. Why is his name taken away out of his family, because he had no son? Give us a possession among the kinsmen of our father. 4 And Moses referred their cause to the judg- ment of the Lord. 5 And the Lord said to him : 6 The daughters of Salphaad demand a just thing: give them a possession among their father’s kindred, and let them succeed him in his inheritance. 7 And to the children of Israel thou shalt speak these things: 8 When a man dieth without a son, his inheri- tance shall pass to his daughter. 9 If he have no daughter, his brethren shall suc- ceed him. 10 And if he have no brethren, you shall give the inheritance to his father’s brethren. Il But if he have no uncles by the father, the inheritance shall be given to them that are the next akin. And this shall he to the children of Israel sacred by a perpetual law, as the Lord hath com- manded Moses. 12 The Lord also said to Moses: Go up into this mountain Abarim, and view from thence the land which I will give to the children of Israel. 13 And when thou shalt have seen it, thou also shalt go to thy people, as thy brother Aaron is gone : 11. Because you offended me in the desert of Sin in the contradiction of the multitude, neither would you sanctify me before them at the waters. These are the waters of contradiction in Cades of the de- sert of Sin. 15 And Moses answered him: 16 May the Lord the God of the spirive of all flesh provide a man, that may be over this multitude: 17 And may go out and in before them, and may lead them out, or bring them in : lest the people ol the Lord be as sheep without a shepherd. 18 And the Lord said to him: ń. Josue he son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and pit thy hand upon him. 19 And he shall stand before Eleazar the pries and all the multitude : 20 And thou shalt give him precepts in the sigh of all, and part of thy glory, that all the congrega tion of the children of i. may hear him. 21 if any thing be to be done, Eleazar the priest shall consult the Lord for him. He and all the children of Israel with him, and the rest of the multitude shall go out and go in at his word. 22 Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And when he had taken Josue, he set him before Elea- zar the priest, and all the assembly of the people. 23 And laying his hands on his head, he repeated all things that the Lord had commanded. CHAP. XXVIII. Sacrifices are appointed as well for every day as for Sabbaths, and other festivals. HE Lord also said to Moses: 2 Command the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : Offer ye my oblation and my bread, and burnt-sacrifice of most sweet odour, in their due seasons. 3 These are the sacrifices which you shall offer: Two launbs of a year old without blennish every day for the perpetual holocaust : 4. One you shall offer in the morning, and the other in the evening : 5 And the tenth part of an ephi of flour, which shall be tempered with the purest oil, of the measure of the fourth part of a him. - 6 It is the continual holocaust which you offered in mount Sinai for a most sweet odour of a sacri- fice by fire to the Lord. - 7 And for a libation you shall offer of wine the fourth part of a him for every lamb in the sanctuary of the }. 8 And you shall offer the other lamb in like manner in the evening according to all the rites of the morning sacrifice, and of the libations thereof an oblation of most sweet Jolour to the Lord. 9 And on the sabbath-day, you shall offer two lambs of a year old without blemish, and two tº nths of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice, and the liba- tions - 10 Which regularly are poured out every sab- bath for the perpetual holocaust. ll And on the first day of the month you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs, of a year old, without blemish, 12. And three tenths of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice for every calf: and two tenths of flour tem pered with oil for every ram : 1 *@ CHAP. XXIX. 13 And the tenth of a tenth of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice for every lamb. It is a holo- caust of most sweet odour and an offering by fire to the Lord. º 14 And these shall be the libations of wine that are to be poured out for every victim: Half a hin for every calf, a third for a ram, and a fourth for a lamb. This shall be the holocaust for every month, as they succee' one another in the course of the year. 15 A buck-goat also shal. he offered to the Lord for a sin-offering, over and above the perpetual ho- locaust with its libations. 16 And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month shall be the phase of the Lord, 17 And on the fifteenth day the solemn feast: seven days shall they eat unleavened bread. 18 And the first day of them shall be venerable and holy: you shall not do any servile work therein. 19 And you shall offer a burnt-sacrifice a holo- caust to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, seven lambs of a year old, without blemish : 20 And for the sacrifices of every one three tenths of flour which shall be tempered with oil, to every calf, and two tenths to every ram, 21 And the tenth of a tenth to every lamb; that is to say, to all the seven lambs: 22 And one buck-goat for sin, to make atone- ment for you, tº - 23 Besides the morning holocaust which you shall always offer. 24. So shall you do every day of the seven days for the food of the fire, and for a most sweet odour to the Lord, which shall rise from the holocaust, and from the libations of each. 25 The seventh day also shall be most solemn and holy unto you : you shall do no servile work therein. - 26 The day also of first-fruits, when after the weeks are accomplished, you shall offer new fruits to the Lord, shall be venerable and holy: you shall do no servile work therein. 27 And you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blennish : 28 And in the sacrifices of them three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, two to every Tºllll 29 The tenth of a tenth to every lamb, which in all are seven lambs : a goat also 30 Which is slain for expiation: beside the per- petual holocaust and the libations thereof. 31 You shall offer them all without blemish with their iibations. CHAP. XXIX. Sacrifices for the festivals of the seventh month. "[V HE first day also of the seventh month shall be venerable and holy unto you ; you shall do no servile work therein, because it is the day of the sounding and of trumpets. 2 And you shall offer a holocaust for a most = ~E~<> <> sweet odour to the Lord, one calf of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish: 3 And for their sacrifices, three tenths of flour tem. pered with oil to every calf, two tenths to a ram: 4. One tenth to a lamb, which in all are seven lambs: 5 And a buck-goat for sin, which is offer, d for the expiation of the people, 6 Besides the holocaust of the first day of the month with the sacrifices thereof, and the perpetual holocaust with the accustomed libations. With the same ceremonies you shall offer a burnt sacrifice for a most sweet odour to the Lord. 7 The tenth day also of this seventh month shall be holy and venerable unto you, and you shall afflict your Souls: you shall do no servile work therein. 8 And you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord for a most sweet odour, one calf of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish : 9 And for their sacrifices, three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, two tenths to a ram, 10 The tenth of a tenth to every lamb, which are in all seven lambs: 11 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the things that are wont to be offered for sin, for expiation, and for the perpetual holocaust, with their sacrifice and libations. 12 And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. which shall be unto you holy and venerable, you shall do no servile work, but shall celebrate a so- lemnity to the Lord seven days. 13 And you shall offer a holocaust for a most Sweet odour to the Lord, thirteen calves of the herd, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, with- out blennish : º 14 And for their libations three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, being in all thirteen calves: and two tenths to each ram, being two rams, 15 And the tenth of a tenth to every lamb, being in all fourteen lambs: 16 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpe- tual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 17 On the second day you shall offer twelve calves cf the herd, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish: 18 And the sacrifices and the libations for every one, for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall duly celebrate : - 19 And a buck-goat for a sin-offering besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 20 The third day you shall offer eleven calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, with- out blemish : 21 And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall offer according to the rite : 22 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 23 The fourth day you shall offer ten calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish 133 Hººs NUMBERS. 2) And the sacrifices and the libations of every| one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate in right manner: - 25 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual he locaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 26 The fifth day you shall offer nine calves, two rains, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish: 27 And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the ambs you shall celebrate according to the rite: 28 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 29 The sixth day you shall offer eight calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, with- ut blemish: 30 And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite: 31 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 32 The seventh day you shall offer seven calves, and two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish : 33 And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite: 34 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 35. On the eighth day, which is most solemn, you shall do no servile work: 36 But you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, one calf, one ram, and Seven lambs of a year old, without blemish: 37. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the Calves and for the rans and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite: 38 And a buck-goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof. 39 These things shall you offer to the Lord in vour solemnities: besides your vows and voluntary oblations for holocaust, for sacrifice, for libation, and for victims of peace-offerings. CHAP. X XX. Of vows and oaths; and their obligation. M ND Moses told the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him: 2 And he said to the princes of the tribes of the children of Israel: This is the word that the Lord imath commanded : 3 If any man make a vow to the Lord, or bind himself by an oath, he shall not make his word void; but shall ſulfil all that he promised. * If a woman vow any tiling, and bind herself with an ºath, being in her father's house, and but ‘et a girl in age: if he, father knew the vow that she hath promised, and the oath where with she hath bound her soul, and held his peace, she shall he bound by the vow : 5.Whatsoever she promised and swore, she shall fulfil in deed. heard it, gainsaid it, both her vows and her oaths shall be void; neither shall she be bound to whi" she promised, because her father hath gainsaid it. 7 If she have a husband, and shall vow any thing, and the word once going out of her mouth shall bind her soul by an oath: 8 The day that her husband shall hear it, and not gainsay it, she shall be bound to the vow, and shall give whatsoever she promised. 9 But if as soon as he heareth he gainsay it, and make her promises and the words where with she had bound her soul of no effect; the Lord will for- give her. - 10 The widow, and she that is divorced, shall ſulfil whatsoever they vow. ll if the wife in the house of her husband, hall, bound herself by vow and by oath, 12 If her husband hear, and hold his peace, and doth not disallow the promise, she shall accomplish whatsoever she hath promised. • 13 But if forthwith he gainsay it, she shall not be bound by the promise: because her husband gainsaid it, and the Lord will be merciful to her. 14 | f she vow and bind herself by oath, to afflict her soul by ſasting, or abstinence from other things. it shall depend on the will of her husband, whethel she shall do it, or not do it. 15 But if the husband hearing it hold his peace, and defer the declaring his mind till another day. whatsoever she had vowed and promised, she shal' fulfil: because immediately as he heard it, he held his peace. 16 But if he gainsay it aſter that he knew it, he shall bear her iniquity. - 17 These are the laws, which the Lord appointed to Moses between the husband and the wife, be- tween the father and the daughter that is as yet bul a girl in age, or that abideth in her father's house. CHAP XXXI. The Madianites are slain for having drawn the people of 1srael into sin. The dividing of the booty. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Revenge first the children of Israel on the Madianites, and so thou shalt be gathered to hy people. 3 And Moses forthwith said: Arm of you m en to fight, who may take the revenge of the Lord on the Madianites. - - 4 Let a thousand men be chosen out of every tribe of Israel to be sent to the war. 5 And they gave a thousand of every tribe, that is to say, twelve thousand men well appointed for battle: 6 And Moses sent them with Phinees the sºn of Eleazar the priest: and he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound 7 And when they had fought against the Ma dianites, and had overcome them, they slew all the ll) {*I]. 8 And their kings Evi, and Recem, and Sur, and Hur, and Rei.e. ive princes of the nation: Balaam, 6 But if her father, immediately as soon as he also the son of Beor they killed with the sword. liº 134 Ž| CHAP. 9 And they took their women, and their children captives, and all their cattle, and all their goods: and all their possessions they plundered: 10 And all their cities, and their villages, and castles, they burned. 11 And they carried away the booty, and all that they had taken, both of men and of beasts. 12 And they brought them to Moses, and Eleazar tºit, priest, and to all the multitude of the children of Israel. But the rest of the things for use they earried tº the camp on the plains .# Moab, beside the Jordan over against Jericho. 13 And Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the prinčes of the synagogue went forth to meet them without the camp. 14, And Moses being angry with the chief officers of the army, the tribunes, and the centurions that were come from the battle, 15 Said: Why have you saved the women? l6 Are not these they, that deceived the chil- dren of Israel by the counsel of Balaam, and made you transgress against the Lord by the sin of Pho- gor,” for which also the people was punished P 17 Therefore kill all that are of the male sex, even of the children:t and put to death the women, that have carnally known men. 18 But the girls, and all the women that are vir- gins, save for yourselves: 19 And stay without the camp seven days. He that hath killed a man, or touched one that is killed, shall be purified the third day and the seventh day. 20 And of all the spoil, every garment, or vessel, or any thing made for use, of the skins, or hair of goats, or ºf wood, shall be purified. 21 Eleazar also the priest spoke to the men (f the army, that had fought in this mainer: This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord hath coun- manded Moses: 22 Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, 23 And all that may pass through the fire, shall be purified by fire: but whatsoever cannot abide the fire, shall be sanctified with the water of expiation: 24. And you shall wash ..". garments the se- venth day; and being purified, you shall afterwards euter into the camp. 25 And the Lord said to Moses: 26 Take the sum of the things that were taken both of man and beast, thou and Eleazar the priest and the princes of the multitude. 27 And thou shalt divide the spoil equally, be- tween them that fought and went out to the war, ard between the rest of the multitude. 28 And thou shalt separate a portion to the Lord from them that fought and were in the battle, one soul of five hundred as well of persons as of oxen and asses and sheep, 29 And thou shalt give it to Eleazar the priest, because they are the first-fruits of the Lord. XXXI. 30 Out of the moiety also of the children of Is- rael thou shalt take the fiftieth head of persons, and of oxen, and asses, and sheep, and pf all beasts: and thou shalt give them to the Levites that watch in the charge of the tabel nacle of the Lord. 31 And Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord had commanded. 32 And the spoil which the army had taken, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 Seventy-two thousand oxen, 34 Sixty-one thousand asses: * 35 And thirty-two thousand persons of the fe- male sex, that had not known men. 36 And one half was given to them that had been in the battle, to wit, three hundred thirty-se- ven thousand five hundred sheep: 37 Out of which, for the portion of the Lord, were reckoned six hundred seventy-five sheep. 38 And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen, se- venty-two oxen: 39 Out of the thirty thousand asses, sixty-one a SS62S 40 Out of the sixteen thousand persons, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls. 41 And Moses delivered the number of the first- fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, as had been commanded him, 42 Out of the half of the children of Israel, which he had separated for them that had been in the battle. 43 But out of the half that fell to the rest of the multitude, that is to say, out of the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen, 45 And out of the thirty thousand five hundred aSSes, - 46 And out of the sixteen thousand persons, 47 Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites that watched in the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded. 48 And when the commanders of the army, and the tribunes, and centurions were come to Moses, they said: 49 We thy servants have reckoned up the num- ber of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and not so much as one was wanting. 50 Therefore we offer as gifts to the Lord what gold every one of us could find in the booty, in gar- ters and tablets, rings and bracelets, and chains, that thou mayst pray to the Lord for us. 51 And Moses and Eleazar the riest received all the gold in divers kinds, 52 In weight sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty sicles, from the tribunes and from the centurions. booty, was his own. 54 And that which was received they brought into the tabernacle of the testimony, for a memorial * The sin of Phogor. The sin committed in the worship of Beel- + of children. Women and children ordinarily speaking, were not to be killed in war. Dest. xx. 14. But the great Lord of life and of the children of Israel before the ilord. death was pleased to order it otherwise in the present case, in detesta. tion of the wickedness of this people, who, by the counsel of Balaair, had sent their women among the Israelites on purpose to draw than from God. 53 For that which every one had taken ºn the 1 ſº NUMBERS. CHAP. XXXII. The tribes of Ruben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Ma- masses, receive their inheritance on the east side of Jordan, upon conditions approved of by Moses. ANP the sons of Ruben and Gad had many flocks of cattle, and their substance in beasts was infinite. And when they saw the lands of Jazer and Galaad fit for feeding cattle, ſº 2 They came to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and the princes of the multitude and said: 3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nemra, Hesebon, and Eleale, and Saban, and Nebo, and Beon Å"The land, which the Lord hath conquered in the sight of the children of Israel, is a very fertile soil for the feeding of beasts: and we thy servants have very much cattle: - 5 And we pray thee, if we have found favour in thy sight, that thou give it to ys thy servants in possession, and make us not pass over the Jordan. 6 And Moses answered them: What, shall your brethren go to fight, and will you sit here f 7 Why do ye overturn the minds of the children of Israel, that they may not dare to pass into the place which the Lord hath given them f 8 Was it not thus your fathers did, when I sent from Cadesbarne to view the land P 9 And when they were come as far as the val- ley of the cluster, having viewed all the country, they overturned the hearts of the children of Israel, that they should not enter into the coasts, which the Lord gave them. 10 And he swore in his anger, saying: 11 If these men, that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land, which l promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: because they would not follow me, 12 Except Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenez- ite, and Josue the son of Nun: these have fulfilled my will. 13 And the Lord being angry against Israel, led them about through the desert forty years, until the whole generation, that had done evil in his sight, was consumed. 14 And behold, said he, you are risen up instead Î of your fathers, the increase and offspring of sinful men, to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel. 15 For if you will not follow him, he will leave the people in the wilderness, and you shall be the cause of the destruction of all. 16 But they coming near, said: We will make sheep-folds, and stalls for our cattle, and strong cities for our children: - 17 And we ourselves will go armed and ready for battle before the children of Israel, until we bring thein in unto their places. Our little ones and all we have, shall be in walled cities, for fear of the ambushes of the inhabitants. 18 We will not return into our houses, until the children of Israel possess their inheritance: 19 Neither will we seek any thing beyond the Joidan, because we have already our possession on the east side thereof. 20 And Moses said to them: If you do what you promise, go on well appointed for war before the Lord: 21 And let every fighting man pass over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrow his enemies, 22 And all the land be brought under him : then shall you be blameless before the Lord and before Israel, and you shall obtain the countries that you desire, before the Lord. 23 But if you do not what you say, no man can doubt but you sin against God: and know ye that your sin shall overtake you. - 24 Build therefore cities for your children, and folds and stalls for your sheep and beasts: "and ac- complish what you have promised. 25 And the children of Gad and Ruben said to Moses: We are thy servants: we will do what my lord commandeth. 26 We will leave our children, and our wives, and sheep, and cattle, in the cities of Galaad: 27 And we thy servants all well appointed will march on to the war, as thou my lord speakest. 28 Moses therefore commanded Eleazar the and the princes priest, and Josue the son of Nun © f Israel, and said of the families of all the tribes o to them : * 29 If the children of Gad, and the children of Ruben pass with you over the Jordan all armed for war before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you ; give them Galaad in possession. 30 But if they will not pass armed with you into the land of Chamaan, let them receive places to dwell in among you. 31 And the children of Gad, and the children of Ruben answered: As the Lord hath spoken to his servants, so will we do: 32"We will go armed before the Lord into the land of Chanaan; and we confess that we have al- ready received our possession beyond the Jordan. 33 Moses therefore gave to the children of Gad and of Ruben, and to the half tribe of Manasses the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, and the kingdom of Og king of Basan, and their land and the cities thereof round about. 34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35 And Etroth, and Sophan, and Jazer, and |Jegbaa, 36 And Bethnemra, and Betharan, fenced cities, and folds for their cattle. 37. But the children of Ruben built Hesebon, and Eleale, and Cariathaim, 38 And Nabo, and Baalmeon (their names being changed) and Sabama; giving names to the cities which they had built. 39 Moreover the children of Machir, the son of Manasses, went into Galaad, and wasted it, cutting off the Amorrhites the inhabitants thereof. 40 And Moses gave the land of Galaad to Ma- chir the son of Manasses; and he dwelt in it. 41 And Jair the son of Manasses went, and took the villages thereof: and he called them Havoth Jair, that is to sav, the villages of Jair. 136 CHAP. XXXIII. 12 Nebe also went, and took Canath with the vil- hges thereof: and he called it by his own name Nobe. CHAP. XXX| || The mansions or journeys of the children of Israel towards the land of promise. HESE are the mansions” of the children of Is- rael, who went out of Egypt by their troops under the conduct of Moses and Aaron, 2. Which Moses wrote down according to the places of their encamping, which they changed by the commandment of the Lord. 3 Now the children of Israel departed from Ra- messes the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the phase, with a mighty hand, in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4. Who were burying their first-born, whom the Lord had slain (upon their gods also he had executed vengeance,) 5 And they camped in Soccoth. 6 And from Soccoth they came into Etham, which is in the uttermost borders of the wilderness. 7 Departing from thence they came over-against Phihahiroth, which looketh towards Beelsephon, and they camped before Magdalum. 8 And departing from Philhahiroth, they passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness : and having marched three days through the desert of Etham, they camped in Mara. 9 And departing from Mara, they came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of waters, and seventy palm trees: and there they camped. 10 }} departing from thence also, they pitched their tents by the Red Sea. And departing from the Red Sea, | 1 They camped in the desert of Sin. 12 And they removed from thence, and came to Daph.ca. * - Al 13 And departing from Daphca, they camped in U.S. 14 And departing from Alus, they pitched their ants in Raphidim, where the people wanted water ..o drink. e 15 And departing from Raphidim, they camped in the desert of Sinai. 16 But departing also from the desert of Sinai, they came to The graves of lust. 17 And departing from The graves of lust, they camped in Haseroth. 18 And from Haseroth they came to Rethma. 19 And departing from Rethma, they camped in Remmomphares. 20 And they departed from thence, and came to Lebna. 21 Removing from Lebna, they camped in Ressa. 22 And departing from Ressa, they came to Ceelatha. 23 And they removed from thence, and camped in the mountain Sepher. 24 Departing from the mountain Sepher, they came to Arada. 25 From thence they went and camped in Maceloth. 26 And departing from Maceloth, they came to Thahath. 27 Removing from Thahath, they camped in Thare 28 And they departed from thence, and pitched their tents in Methca. 29 And removing from Methca, they camped in Hesmona. 30 And departing from Hesmona, they came to Moseroth. 31 And removing from Moseroth, they camped in Benejaacan. 32 And departing from Benejaacan, they came to mount Gadgad. b ; From thence they went and camped in Jete <ha. 34 And from Jetebatha, they came to Hebrona. 35 And departing from Hebrona, they camped in Asiongaber. 36 They removed from thence, and came into the desert of Sin, which is Cades. 37 And departing from Cades, they camped in mount Hor, in the uttermost borders of the land of Edom. - 38 And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord: and there he died in the ſortieth year of the coming forth of the children of Israel out of Egypt, the fifth month, the first day of the month, 39 When he was a hundred and twenty-three years old. 40 And king Arad the Chanaanite, who dwelt towards the south, heard that the children of Israel were come to the land of Chanaan. 41 And they departed from mount Hor, and camped in Salmona. 42 From whence they removed, and came to Phunon. 43. And departing from Phunon, they camped in Oboth. 44 And from Oboth they came to Ijeabarim which is in the borders of the Moabites. 45 And departing from Ijeabarim, they pitched their tents in Dibongab. 46 From thence they went, and camped in Hel- mondeblathaim. 47 And departing from Helmondeblathaim, they came to the mountains of Abarim over-against Nabo. 48 And departing from the mountains of Abarim, they passed to the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, over-against Jericho. 49 And there they camped from Bethsimoth even to Abelsatim, in the plains of the Moabites, 50 Where the Lord said to Moses : 51 Command the children of Israel, and say to them : When you shall have passed over the Jordan," entering into the land of Chanaan, 52 Destroy all the inhabitants of that land, beat down their pillars, and break in pieces their statues, and waste all their high places, * The Mansions. These mansions, or journeys of the children of ſsrael from Egypt to the land of promise, were figures, according to the fathers, of the steps art. degrees oy which christians leaving sin are to advance from yurtue to virtue, till they come tº the heavenly mansions, after this life, to see and enjoy God. ׺s 137. NUMBERS. 53 Cleansing the land, and dwelling in it. For I have given it you for a possession. 54 And you shall divide it among you by lot. To the more you shall give a larger part, and to the fewer a lesser. To every one as the lot shall fall, so shall the inheritance be given. The possession shall be divided by the tribes and the families. 55 But if you will not kill the inhabitants of the and, they that remain shall be unto you as nails in your eyes, and spears in your sides: and they shall e your adversaries in the land of your habitation. 56 And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you. CHAP. XXXIV. The limits of Chanaan ; with the names of the men that shall make the division of it. ND the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Command the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you are entered into the land of Chanaan, and it shall be fallen unto your possession by lot, it shall be bounded by these limits: 3 The south-side shall begin from the wilderness of Sin, which is by Edom, and shall have the most salt sea” for its furthest limits eastward : - 4. Which limits shall go round on the south side by the ascent of the Scorpion,f and so into Senna, and reach toward the south as far as Cadesbarne, from whence the frontiers shall go out to the town called Adar, and shall reach as far as Asemona. 5 And the limits shall fetch a compass from Ase- moua to the torrent of Egypt, and shall end in the shore of the great sea.f 6*And the west side shall begin from the great sca; and the same shall be the end thereof. 7 But toward the north side the borders shall begin from the great sea, reaching to the most hill mountain,S 8 From which they shall come to Emath, as far as the borders of Sedada : 9 And the limits shall go as far as Zephrona, and the village of Eman. These shall be the borders on the north side. 0 From thence they shall mark out the bounds towards the east side from the village of Enan unto Sephama : 11 And from Sephama the bounds shall go down to Rebla, over-against the ſountain of Daphnis: from "hence they shall come eastward to the sea of Ce- nereth.| 12 And shall reach as far as the Jordan, and at the last shall be closed in by the most salt sca. This shall be your land with its borders round about. "3 A'id Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: This shall be the land which you shall pos- sess by lot, and which the Lord hath commanded to be given to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe. 14 For the tribe of the children of Ruben by their families, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the number of their kindrede, a.kt hal, of the tribe of Manasses, © 15 That is, two tribes and a half, have received their portion beyond the Jordan over-against Jeri cho at the east side. 16 And the Lord said to Moses: 17 These are the names of the men, that shall divide the land unto vou: Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, 18 And one prince of every tribe, 19 Whose names are these: Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone. 20 Of the tribe of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammiud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son aſ Chaselon. 22 Of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bocci the . son of Jogli. 23 Of the children of Joseph of the tribe of Ma- masses, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Camuel the son of Septhan. - 25 Of the tribe of Zabulon, Elisaphan the son of Pharmach. 26 Of the tribe of Issachar, Phaltiel the prince the son of Ozan. 27 Of the tribe of Aser, Ahiud the son of Salomi. 28 Of the tribe of Nephtali, Phedael the son of Ammiud. 29 These are they whom the Lord hath com. manded to divide the land of Chanaan to the chil- dren of Israel. CHAP XXXV. Cities are appointed for the Levites: of which sia, are to be the cities of refuge. ND the Lord spoke these things also to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, over- against Jericho: 2 Command the children of lsrael that they give to the Levites out of their possessions, 3 Cities to dwell in, and their suburbs round about : that they may abide in the towns, and the suburbs may be for their cattle and beasts: 4. Which suburbs shall reach from the walls o' the cities outward, a thousand paces on every side : 5 Toward the east shall be two thousand cubits : and toward the south in like manner shall be two thousand cubits: towards the sea also, which look. eth to the west, shall be the same extent : and the north side shall be bounded with the like limits And the cities shall be in the midst, and the su- burbs without. 6 And among the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for refuge to ſu. gitives, that he who hath shed blood may flee to them: and besides these there shall be other ſorly. two cities, 7 That is, in all forty-eight with their suburbs *=º * The most salt sea. The lake of Sodom, otherwise called the Dead Mººls f The Seorpion. A mountain so called from having a great number of scorpiºnna. The Mediterranean. f The great sea. Libanus. * The most high mountain. | Sea of Cenereth. This is the sea of Galilee, illustrated by the mi- racles of our Lord. CHAP. XXXV l. 8 And of these cities which shall be given out of the possessions of the children of lsrael, from them that have more, more shall be taken; and from them that have less, fewer Each shall give towns to the ...evites according to the extent of their inheritance. 9 The Lord said to Moses : 10 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt y to them : When you shall have passed over the Jordan into the land of Chanaan, 11 Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will. 12 And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged. 13 And of those cities, that are separated for the refuge of fugitives, 14. Three shall be beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Chanaan, 15 As well for the children of Israel as for strangers and sojourners, that he may flee to them, who hath shed blood against his will. 16 If any man strike with iron, and he die that was struck; he shall be guilty of murder, and he himself shall die. 17 If he throw a stone, and he that is struck die; the shall be punished in the same manner. 8 If he that is struck with wood die; he shall be revenged by the blood of him that struck him. 19 The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, ne shall kill him. 20 If through hatred any one push a man, or fling any thing at him with ill design : 21 Or being his enemy, strike him with his hand, and he die; the striker shall be guilty of murder: the kinsman of nim that was slain, as soon as he find- eth him, shall kill him. 22 But if by chance-medley, and without hatred, 23 And enmity, he do any of these things, 24 And this be proved in the hearing of the people, and the cause be debated between him that struck, and the next of kin: 25 The innocent shall be delivered from the hand of the revenger, and shall be brought back by sen- tence into the city, to which he had fled : and he shall abide there until the death” of the high-priest, -hat is anointed with the holy oil. 26 If the murderer be found without the limits of the cities that are appointed for the banished, 27. And be struck by him that is the avenger of olood ; he shall not be guilty that killed him. 28 For the fugitive ought to have stayed in the city until the death of the high-priest: And after he is dead, then shall the manslayer return to his own COlll) try. 29 These things shall be perpetual, and for an or- dinance in all your dwellings. 30 The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: *– * Until the death, &c. This º signified that our deliverance was to be effected by the death of Christ, the high-priest and the anointed of God none shall be condemned upon true evidence of on Illa ll. 31 You shall not take money of him, that is guilty of blood; but he shall die forthwith. 32 The banished and fugitives before the death of the high-priest may by no means return into their OWn Cltles. 33 Defile not the land of your habitation, which is stained with the blood of the innocent: neither can it otherwise be expiated, but by his blood that hath shed the blood of another. 34 And thus shall your possession be cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel. CHAP. XXXVI. That the inheritances may not be alienated from one tribe to another, all are to marry within their own tribes. AND the princes of the families of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses of the stock of the children of Joseph, came, and spoke to Moses before the princes of Israel, and said: 2 The Lord hath commanded thee, my lord, that thou shouldst divide the land by lot to the children of Israel, and that thou shouldst give to the daughters of Salphaad our brother the possession due to their father: 3 Now if men of another tribe take them to wives, their possession will follow them ; and bein transferred to another tribe, will be a diminishing j our inheritance. 4 And so it shall come to pass, that when the jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year of remission is come, the distribution made by the lots shall be con- founded, and the possession of the one shall pass to the others. 5 Moses answered the children of Israel, and said by the command of the Lord : The tribe of the children of Joseph hath spoken rightly. 6 And this is the law promulgated by the Lord, touching the daughters of Salphaad: Let them marry to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe: 7 Lest the possession of the children of Israel be mingled from tribe to tribe. For tº men shall marry wives of their own tribe and kindred : 8 And all women shall take husbands of the same tribe: that the inheritance may remain in the families, 9 And that the tribes be not mingled one with another, but remain so 10 As they were separated by the Lord. And the daughters of Salphaad did as was commanded: 11 And Maala, and Thersa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Noa, were married to the sons of their uncle by their father 12 Of the family of Manasses, who was the son of Joseph: and the possession that had been allotted to them, remained in the tribe and family of the in father. 13 These are the commandments and judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab upon || the Jordan over-against Jericho. | 39 The Book of DEUTERONOMY. This book is called DEU're Ronomy, which signifies A second Law, because it repeats and inculcates the ordinances formerly given on mount Sinai, with other precepts not expressed be- fore. The Heórews, from the first words in the book, call it, ELLE HADDEBARIM. CHAP. H. A repetition of what passed at Sinai and Cadesbarne; and of the peoples’ murmuring and their punishment. HESE are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the plain wilderness, over-against the Red Sea, between Pharan and Thophel and Laban and Haseroth, where there is very much gold : 2 Eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Cadesbarne. 3 In the fortieth year, the eleventh month, the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded in to say to them : 4. After that he had slain Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesel)on ; and Og king of Basan who abode in Astaroth, and in Edrai, 5 Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab. And Moses began to expound the law, and to say: 6. The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: You have stayed long enough in this moun- Lºllll . 7 Turn you, and come to the mountain of the Amorrhites, and to the other places that are next to it, the plains and the hills and the vales towards the south, and by the sea-shore, the land of the Cha- naanites, and of Libanus, as far as the great river Euphrates. wº 8 Behold, said he, I have delivered it to you; go in and possess it, concerning which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their seed after them. 9 And I said to you at that time: 10 l alone am not able to bear you: for the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and you are this day as the stars of heaven, for multitude. 11 (The Lord God of your fathers add to this number many thousands, and bless you as he hath spoken.) 12. I alone am not able to bear your business, and the charge of you and your differences. 13 Let me have from among you wise and un- derstanding men, and such whose conversation is approved amongyourtribes, that I may appoint them your rulers. 14. Then you answered me: The thing is good which thou meanest to do. 15 And I took out of your tribes men wise and honourable, and appointed them rulers, tribunes, and centurions, and officers over fifties, and over tens, who might teach you all things. 16 Aud I commanded them, saying: Hear them, and judge that which is just : whether he be one of your country, or a Stranger. 17 There shall be no difference of persons: you shall hear the little as well as the great: neithe shall you respect any man’s person, because it is the judgment of God. And if any thing seem hard to you, refer it to me, and I will hear it. 18 And I commanded you all things that you were to do. 19 And departing from Horeb, we passed through the terrible and vast wilderness, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorrhite, as the Lord our Gºlly'ſ commanded us. And when we were come iniè-Cadesbarne, 20 I said to you: You are come to the mountain of the Amorrhite, which the Lord our God will give to US. 21 See the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord our God hath spoken to thy fathers: fear not, nor be any way discouraged. 22 And you came all to me, and said: Let us send men who may view the land, and bring us word what way we shall go up, and to what cities we shall go. 23 And because the saying pleased me, I sent of you twelve men, one of every tribe: f 24 Who, when they had set forward, and had gone up to the mountains, came as far as the valley of the cluster: and having viewed the land, 25 Taking of the fruits thereof, to show its fer tility, they brought them to us, and said: The land is good, which the Lord our God will give us. 26 And you would not go up, but being incredu- lous to the word of the Lord our God, - 27 You murmured in your tents, and said: The Lord hateth us, and therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorrhite, and destroy us. 28. Whither shall we go up? the messengers have terrified our hearts, saying: The multitude is very great, and taller than we: the cities are great, and walled up to the sky:” we have seen the sons of the Enacims there. 29, And, I said to you: Fear not; neither be ye afraid of them: 30. The Lord God, who is your leader, himself y sh for you, as he did in Egypt in the sight OI all, 31 And in the wilderness (as thou hast seen) the Lord thy God hath carried thee, as a man is wout to carry his little son, all the way that you have come, until you came to this place. 32 And yet for all this you did not believe the Lord your God, * Walled tºp to the sky. A figurative expression, signifying the walk to be very high. ! 40 UH AP. II. 33 Who went before you in the way, and marked out the place, wherein you should pitch your tents, in the night shewing you the way by fire, and in the day by the pillar of a cloud. 34 And when the Lord had heard the voice of vour words, he was angry, and swore, and said: 35 Not one of the men of this wicked generation shall see the good land, which I promised with an oath to your fathers, 36 Except Caleb the son of Jephone: For he shall see it; and to him I will give the land, that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath followed the Lord. 37 Neither is his indignation against the people to be wondered at, since the Lord was angry with me also on your account, and said: Neither shalt thou go in thither. 38 But Josue the son of Nun thy minister, he shall go in for thee: exhort and encourage him, and he shall divide the land by lot to Israel. –39 Your children, of whom you said that they should be led away captives, and your sons who know not this day the difference of good and evil, they shall go in: and to them I will give the land, and they shall possess it. 40 But return you and go into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. 41 And you answered me: We have sinned against the Lord: we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God hath commanded. And when you went ready armed unto the mountain, 42 The Lord said to me: Say to them : Go not up, and fight not, for I am not with you: lest you fail before your enemies. 43 I spoke, and you hearkened not: but resisting the commandment of the Lord, and swelling with oride you went up into the mountain. 44 And the Amorrhite that dwelt in the moun- tains coming out, and meeting you, chased you, as bees do: and made slaughter of you from Seir as far as Horma. 45 And when you returned, and wept before the Lord, he heard you not; neither would he yield to your voice. 46 So you abode in Cadesbarne a long time. CHAP. II. They are forbid to fight against the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. Their victory over Sehon king of Hesebon. ND departing from thence we came into the wilderness that leadeth to the Red Sea, as the Lord had spoken to me: and we compassed mount Seir a long time. 2 And the Lord said to me: 3 You have compassed this mountain long enough: go towards the north: 4 And command thou the people, saying. You shall pass by the borders of your brethren the ehildren of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. 5 Take ye then good heed that you stir not So much as the step of one foot can tread upon, be. cause I have given mount Seir to Esau, for a pos- Session. 6. You shall buy meats of them for money, and shall eat: you shall draw waters for money, and shall drink. 7. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in every work of thy hands: the Lord thy God dwelling with thee, knoweth thy journey, how thou hast passed through this great wilderness, for forty years, and thou hast wanted nothing. 8 And when we had passed by our brethren the children of Esau, that dwelt in §...". the way of the plain from Elath and from Asiongaber, we came to the way, that leadeth to the desert of Moab. 9 And the Lord said to me: Fight not against the Moabites, neither go to battle against them: for I will not give thee any of their land, because I have givrn Ar to the children of Lot in possession. 10 The Emims first were the inhabitants thereoſ, a people great, and strong, and so tall, that, like the race of the Enacims, 11 They were esteemed as giants, and were like the sons of the Enacims. But the Moabites call them Emims. 12 The Horrhites also formerly dwelt in Seir: who being driven out and destroyed, the children of Esau dwelt there, as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave him. 13 Then rising up to pass the torient Zared, we came to it. 14 And the time that we journeyed from Cades- barne till we passed over the torrent Zared, was thirty-eight years: until all the generation of the men that were fit for war was consumed out of the camp, as the Lord had sworn: 15 For his hand was against them, that they should perish from the midst of the camp. 16 And after all the fighting men were dead. 17 The Lord spoke to me, saying: 18. Thou shalt pass this day the borders of Moab, the city named Ar: 19 And when thou comest nigh the frontiers of the children of Ammon, take heed thou fight not against them, nor once move to battle: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession. 20 It was accounted a land of giants: and giants formerly dwelt in it, whom the Ammonites call Zom- Zommims, 21 A people great and many, and of tall stature, like the Enacims whom the Lord destroyed before their face: and he made them to dwell in their stead, 22 As he had done in favour of the children of Esau, that dwelt in Seir, destroying the Horrhites, and delivering their land to them, which they pos- sess to this day. 23 The Hevites also, that dwelt in Haserim as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians; who came out of Cappadocia, and destroyed them and dwelt in their stead. 24 Arise ye, and pass the torrent Arnon : behold, against them. For I will not give you of their land. I have delivered into thy hand Sehon king of Hege- l Rºſs IJ F.U'ſ E, 1&ON U.M. Y. - - -- - - - - - Tº Yºº- -> zº- bon the Amorrhite, and begin thou to possess his land, and make war against him. 25 This day will I begin to send the dread and lear of thee upon the nations that dwell under the whole heaven; that when they hear thy name they may fear and tremble, and be in pain like women in ti avail. 26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Cademoth to Sehon the king of Hesebon with peace- alle words, saying: 27 We will pass through thy land, we will go along by the high way: we will not turn aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left. g 28 Sell us meat for money, that we may eat: give us water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that thou wilt let us pass through, 29 As the children of ɺ have done, that dwell in Seir, and the Moabites, that abide in Ar: until we come to the Jordan, and pass to the land which the Lord our God will give us. 30 And Sehon the king of Heschon would not ict us pass: because the Lord thy God had hardened” his spirit, and fixed his heart, that he might be deli- wered into thy hands, as now thou Seest. 31 And the Lord said to me: Behold, I have be- gun to deliver unto thee Sehon and his land: begin to possess it. 32 And Schon came out to meet us with all his people to fight at Jasa. 33 And the Lord our God delivered him to us: and we slew him with his sons and all his people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, killing the inhabitants of them, men and women and chil- dren. We left nothing of them; 35 Except the cattle which came to the share of them that took them ; and the spoils of the cities, which we took 36 From Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town that is situate in a valley, as Jar as Galaad. There was not a village or city, that escaped our hands : the Lord our God deliv- ered all unto us; 37 Except the land of the children of Ammon, to which we approached not : and all that border upon the torrent Jeboc, and the cities in the moun- tains, and all the places which the Lord our God forbad us. CHAP. III. The victory over Og, king of Basan. Ruben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses receive their possession on the other side of Jordan. * HEN we turned and went by the way of Basan: and Og the king of Basan came out to meet us with his people to fight in Edrai. 2 And the Lord said to me: Fear him not; be- cause me is delivered into thy hand, with all his people and his land: and thou shalt do to him as tlou hast done to Schon king of the Amorrhites, that dwelt in Hesebon. w -s’ * Hardened, &c. That is, in punishment of his past sins, he left him to his own stubborn and perverse disposition, which drew him to his ruin. See the note on Exodus vii. 3. 142 - ----- * -- . *~ 3 So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also the king of Basan, and all his people: and we utterly destroyed them, 4. Wasting all his cities at one time : there was not a town that escaped us ; sixty cities all he country of Argol) the kingdom of Og in Basan. 5 All the cities were fenced with very high walls, and with gates and bars, besides innumerable town that had no walls. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to Sehon the king of Hesebon, destroying every city, men and women and children: 7 But the cattle and the spoils of the cities we took for our prey. 8 And we took at that time the land out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were beyond the Jordon : from the torrent Arnon unto the mountain Hermon, 9 Which the Sidonians call Sarion, and the Amorrhites Samir : - 10 All the cities that are situate in the plain, and all the land of Galaad and Basan as far as Selcha and Edrai, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan. ll For only Og king of Basan remained of the race of the giants. His bed of iron is shown, which is in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, being nine cubits long, and four broad after the measure of the cubit of a man’s hand. 12 And we possessed the land at that time from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the lorrent Arnon, unto the half of mount Galaad: and I gave the cities thereof to Ruben and Gad. 13 And I delivered the other part of Galaad, and all Basan the kingdom of Og to the half tribe of Ma- masses, all the country of Argob: and all Basan is called the Land of giants. 14 Jair the son of Manasses possessed all the country of Argob unto the borders of Gessuri, and Machati. And he called Basan by his own name, Havoth Jair, that is to say, the towns of Jair, until this present day. 15 To Machir also l gave Galaad. 16 And to the tribes of Ruben and Gad I gave of the land of Galaad as far as the torrent Arnon, half the torrent, and the confines even unto the tor. rent Jeboc, which is the border of the children of Ammon: 17 And the plain of the wilderness, and the Jor- dan, and the borders of Cenereth unto the sea of the desert, which is the most salt sea, to the foot of mount Phasga eastward. 18. And I commanded you at that time, saying. The Lord your God giveth you this land for an in- heritance: go ye well appointed before your brethren the children of Israel all the strong men of you: 19 Leaving your wives and children and cattle. For I know you have much cattle; and they must remain in the cities, which I have delivered to you, 20 Until the Lord give rest to your brethren, as he hath, given to you; and they also possess the land, which he will give them beyond the Jordan: then shall every man return to his possession, which I <--~ ºùù’s - £-s 3 Y. —w z_2- * - - YS- the temple of Phogor in the land of Sehon king or the Amorrhites, that dwelt in Hesebon, whom Moses slew. And the children of Israelcoming out of Egypt 47 Possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Basan, of the two kings of the Amorrhites, who were beyond the Jordan towards the rising of the SLI il . 48 From Aroer, which is situate upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, unto mount Sion, which is also called Hermon, 49 All the plain beyond the Jordan at the east side, unto the sea of the wilderness, and unto the foot of mount Phasga. CHAP. V. The ten commandments are repeated and ea plained. ANP Moses called all Israel, and said to them: Hear. O. Israel, the ceremonies and judg- ments, which I speak in your ears this day: learn them, and fulfil them in work. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 He made not the covenant with our fathers. but with us, who are now present and living. 4. He spoke to us face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire. - 5 I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you at that time, to show you his words, for you feared the fire, and went not up into the mountain : and he said: 6 I am the Iord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; out of the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt not have strange gods in my sight. 8 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any things, that are in heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the waters under the earth. 9 Thou shall not adore them, and thou shalt no, Serve them. For I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation to them that hate me, 10 And showing mercy unto many thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments. ll. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for he shall not be unpunished thai taketh his name upon a vain thing. 12 Qbserve the day of the sabbath, to sanctify it as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. 3. 13 Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works. 14 The seventh day is the sabbath, that is, the rest of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not do any work, therein, thou, northy son, northy daughter northy man-servant, northy maid-servant, nor th; ox, northy ass, nor any of thy beasts, nor the strail. ger, that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest, even as thyself.” 15 Remember that thou also didst serve in Egypt; and the Lord thy God brought thee on from thence, with a strong hand, and a stretched. out arm. . Therefore hath he commanded thee that thou shouldst observe the sabbath-day. CH A P. V 1. Yºr- - 16 Honour thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that thou may st live a long time, and it may be well with thee in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill. 18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19 And thou shalt not steal. 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife ; nor his house, nor his field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. 22 These words the Lord spoke to all the mul- titude of you in the mountain, out of the midst of the fire and the cloud, and the darkness, with a loud voice, adding nothing more : and he wrote them in two tables of stone, which he delivered unto me. 23 But you, after you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and saw the mountain burn, came to me all the princes of the tribes and the elders, and you said: 24 Behold, the Lord our God hath shown us his unajesty and his greatness: we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; and have proved this day that God speaking with man, man hath lived. 25 Why shall we die therefore, and why shall this exceeding great fire consume us? For if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 What is all flesh, that it should hear the voice of the living God, who speaketh out of the midst of the fire, as we have heard, and be able to live f 27 Approach thou rather: and hear all things that the Lord our God shall say to thee: and thou shalt speak to us, and we will hear and will do them. 28 And when the Lord had heard this, he said to me: I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they spoke to thee: they have spoken all things well. - 29 Who shall give them to have such a mind, to fear me and to keep all my commandments at all times, that it may be well with them and with their children for ever ? º 30 Go and say to them : Return into your tents. 31 But stand thou here with me : and I will speak to thee all my commandments, and ceremo- nies and judgments; which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land, which l will give them for a possession. 32 Keep therefore and do the things which the Lord God hath commanded you : you shall not go aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left: 33 But vou shall walk in the way that the Lord your God hath commanded, that you may live, and it may be well with you, and your days may be long in the land of your possession. CHAP. VI. An eachortatiox to the love of God, and obedience to his law. T HESE are the precepts, and ceremonies, and judgments, which the Lord your God com- manded that I should teach you, and that you should do them in the land, into which you pass over to possess it : - 2 That thou mayst fear the Lord thy God, and keep his commandments and precepts, which I coul- mand thee, and thy sons, and thy grandsons, all the |days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear, O Israel, and observe to do the things which the Lord hath commanded thee, that it may be well with thee, and thou may st be greatly mul- tiplied, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath promised thee a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord 5 Thou shalt love the lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength. 6 And these words which I command thce this day, shall be in thy heart: 7 And thou shalt tell them to thy children: and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping, and rising. 8 And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand : and they shall be and shall move between thy eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them in the entry, and on the doors of thy house. 10 And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, for which he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and shall have given thee great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build, 11 Houses full of riches, which thou didst not set up, cisterns which thou didst not dig, vineyards and oliveyards, which thou didst not plant. 12 And thou shalt have eaten and be full : 13 Take heed diligently lest thou forget the Lord who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve him only ; and thou shalt swear by his name. 14 You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you: 15 Because the Lord thy God is a jealous God in the midst of thee: lest at any time the wrath of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and take thee away from the face of the earth. 16 Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, a. thou temptedst him in the place of temptation. 17 Keep the precepts of the Lord thy God, and the testimonies and ceremonies, which he hath commanded thee. 18 And do that which is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee: and going in thou maySt possess the goodly land. concerning which the Lord swore to thy fathers, 19 That he would destroy all thy encrimies be- fore thee, as he hath spoken. 20 And when thy son shall ask thee to-morrow, saying: What mean these testimonies, and cere. monies, and judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded us? - 21 Thou shalt say to him : We were bondmel, of Pharao in Egypt, and the Lord intought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. 22 And he wrought signs and wonders grea 145 㺠L) EU'I'ER()N()M Y and very grievous in Egypt against Pharao, and all his house. in our sight: 23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in and give us the land, concerning which he swore to our fathers. 2]. And the Lord commanded that we should do all these ordinances, and should fear the Lord our God, that it might be well with us all the days of our life, as it is at this day. 25 And he will be merciful to us, if we keep and do all his precepts before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. CHAP. VII. No league nor fellowship to be made with the Chanaanites : tºod promiseth his people his blessing and assistance, if they keep his commandments. HEN the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which thou art going in to possess, and shall, have destroyed many nations before thee, the Hethite, and the Gergezite, and the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Phe- rezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, seven nations much more numerous than thou art, and stronger than thou : 2 And the Lord thy God shall have delivered them to thee, thou shalt utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make “o league with them, no show mercy to them. 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, nor take his daughter for thy son: 4 For she will turn away thy son from follow- ing me, that he may rather serve strange gods: and the wrath of the Lord will be kindled, and will quickly destroy thee. 5 But thus rather shall you deal with them : De- stroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things. 6 Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth. 7. Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people: 8 But because the Lord hath loved you, and hath kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers: and hath brought you out with a strong hand, and re- deemed you from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao the king of Egypt. 9 And thou shalt, know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his cove- nant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand ge- herations: 10 And repaying forth with them that hate him, so as to destroy them, without further delay, immedi- tely rendering to them what they deserve. 1 1 Keep therefore the precepts and ceremonies and judgments, which I command thee this day to do. 12 l; after thou hast heard these judgments, thou keep and do them, the Lorºthy God will also keep his covenant to thee, and the mercy which he swo to thy fathers: 13 And he will love thee and multiply thee, and will bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy laund, thy corn, and thy vintage, thy oil, and thy herds, and the flocks of thy sheep upon the land, for which he swore to thy fathers that he would give it thee. 14 Blessed shalt thou be among all people. No one shall be barren among you of either sex, neithe of men nor cattle. 15 The Lord will take away from thee all sick- ness: and the grievous infirmities of Egypt, which thou knowest, he will not bring upon thee, but upon thy enemies. 16 Thou shalt consume all the people, which the Lord thy God will deliver to thee. }. eye shall not spare them, neither shalt thou serve their gods, lest they be thy ruin. 17 If thou say in thy heart: These nations are more than I ; how shall I be able to destroy them P 18 Fear not, but remember what the Lord thy God did to Pharao and to all the Egyptians; 19 The exceeding great plagues, which thy eyes saw, and the signs and wonders, and the strong hand, and the stretched-out arm, with which the Lord thy God ' " Ight thee out: so will he do to all the peo- ple V om thou fearest. 20 Moreover the Lord thy God will send also hor- nets among them, until he destroy and consume all that have escaped thee, and could hide themselves. 21 Thou shalt not fear them ; because the Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a God mighty and terrible: 22 He will consume these nations in thy sight by little and little and by degrees. Thou wilt not b able to destroy them altogether: lest perhaps the beasts of the earth should increase upon thee. 23. But the Lord thy God shall deliver them in thy sight; and shall slay them until they be utterly destroyed. 24 And he shall deliver their kings into thy hands. and thou shalt destroy their names from under hea- Ven: no man shall be able to resist thee, until thou destroy them. 25 Their graven things” thou shalt burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver and gold of which they are made; neither shalt thou take to thee any thing thereof, lest thou offend; because it is an abomina: tion to the Lord thy God. , 26 Neither shalt thou bring any thing of the idol into ſhy house, lest thou become an amathema, like it: , Thou shalt detest it as dung, and shalt utterly abhor it as uncleanness and filth, because it is an anathema. CHAP. VIII. The people are put in mind of God’s dealings with them, to the end that they may love him and serve him. LL the commandments, that I command thee this day, take great care to observe: that you may * Graven things. Idols, so called by contempt. + -īn anathema. That is, a thing devoted to destruction and which carries along with it a curse. - *>==== – & Lsº CHAP. IX. 1,ve, and be multiplied, and going in may possess the and, for which the Lord swore to your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way through which the Lord thy God hath brought thee for forty wears through the desert to afflict thee and to prove thee, and that the things that were in thy heart might Je made known, whether thou wouldst keep his com- mandments or no. * 3 He afflicted thee with want, and gave thee man- tra for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew: to show that not in bread alone” doth man live; but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. 4 Thy raiment, with which thou wast covered, hath not decayed for age, and thy foot is not worn, lo, this is the fortieth year, 5 That thou mayest consider in thy heart, that as a man traineth up his son, so the Lord thy God hath trained thee up. 6 That thou shouldst keep the commandments # the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and fear }l iſl. - 7 For the Lord thy God will bring thee into a good land, of brooks, and of waters, and of foun- tains; in the plains of which and the hills deep riv- ers break out: 8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, wherein fig-trees, and pomegranates, and oliveyards grow; a land of oil and honey: 9 Where without any want thou shalt eat thy bread, and enjoy abundance of all things: where the sº are iron, and out of its hills are dug mines of }}^{+SS : 10 That when thou hast eaten, and art full, thou mayst bless the Lord thy God for the excellent land which he hath given thee. 1 I Take heed, and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God, and neglect his command- ments and judgments and ceremonies, which I com- mand thee this day: - - 12 Lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them, 13 And shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of ; and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things, 14 Thy heart be lifted up, and thou remember not the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: 15 And was thy leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion, and the dipsas,f and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out f the hardest rock, 16 And fed thee in the wilderness with manna, hich thy fathers knew not. And after he had º and proved thee, at the last he had mercy n thee, 17 Lest thou should say in thy heart: My own * Not in bread alone, &c. i. e. That God is able to make food of what he please for the support of man. t The dipsas. A serpent whose bite causeth a violent thirst; from whence it has its name; for in Greek, dipsa, (3tpa) signifies thirst | might, and the strength of my own hand, have achieved all these things for me. 18 But remember the Lord thy God, that he hath given thee strength, that he might fulfil his covenant, concerning which he swore to thy fa- thers, as this present day showeth. 19 But if thou forget the Lord thy God, and follow strange gods, and serve and adore them; behold, now I foretell thee that thou shalt utterly perish. 20 As the nations, which the Lord destroyed at thy entrance, so shall you also perish, if you be dis- obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. CHAP. IX. Lest they should impute their victories to their own merits, they are put in mind of their manifold rebellions and other sins, for which they should have been destroyed, but God spared them for his promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. EAR, O Israel: Thou shalt go over the Jor- dan this day, to possess nations very great and stronger than thyself, cities great, and walled up to the sky, 2 A people great and tall, the sons of the Enacims, whom thou hast seen, and heard of, against whom no man is able to stand. - 3 Thou shalt know therefore this day that the Lord thy God himself will pass over before thee, a devouring and consuming fire, to destroy and extir- pate and bring them to nothing before thy face quickly, as ile hath spoken to thee. “g 4, Say not in thy heart, when the Lord thy Goº shall have destroyed them in thy sight: For my justice hath the Lord brought me in to possess this land: whereas these nations are destroyed for their wickedness. 5 For it is not for thy justices, and the upright- ness of thy heart that thou shalt go in to possess their lands: but because they have done wickedly, they are destroyed at thy coming in : and that the Lord might accomplish his word, which he pro- mised by oath to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Know therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this excellent land in possession for thy justices, for thou art a very stiff-necked people. 7 Remember, and forget not how thou pro- vokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilder- ness. From the day that thou camest out of Egypt, unto this place, thou hast always strove against the Lord. 8 For in Horeb also thou didst provoke him: and he was angry and would have destroyed thee, 9 When 7. up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you: and I continued in the mount forty days and nights, neither eating brºad, nor drinking water. 10 And the Lord gave me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and containing all the words that he spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the fire, when the people were assem bled together. 147 * * * * ºr ****:::--zerº-esº- - -- 2. * : *****, ºr:rºrºº:::::::gs. §: •º- ***::::::::::: *…*** fººt ºff t *...* **, ...~~. *~. ”. * - : *. # ** Lº: * *:::::: *:::::: -: *** $3.5.2% - ** As Fr- tº: --- r: Fºz. * - * :- A. : “:- " -: , x -º- : . . . . . … : :"…" Tº . . . . . . . . . *:::::::::::#####sº: # * : *...* *- ::: * : * : *.*, * > . . s.....: 3 :* - ~." - ... 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" .. - 2 -- - - -- DEUTERONOMY. mised the, 1, and he hated them . the refore he Il And when forty days were passed, and as | inany mights, the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant, 12 And said to me: Arise, and go down from hence quickly: for thy people, which thou hast brought out of Egypt, have quickly forsaken the way that thou hast shown them, and have made to themselves a molten idol. 13 And again the Lord said to me: I see that his people is stiff-necked: 14 Let me alone that I may destroy them, and abolish their name from under heaven, and set thee over a nation, that is greater and stronger than this. 15 And when I came down from the burning mount, and held the two tables of the covenant with both hands, 16 And saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten calſ, and had quickly forsaken his way, which he had shown you : |7 || cast the tables out of my hands, and broke them in your sight. 18 And I fell down before the Lord as before, ſorty days and nights neither eating bread, nor drinking water, for all your sins which you had committed against the Lord, and had provoked him to wrath: - 19 For . . . feared his indignation and anger, wherewith being moved against you, he would have destroyed you. also. \ 20 And he was exceeding angry against Aaron also, and would have destroyed him: and I prayed in like manner for him. 21 And your sin that you had committed, that is, the calf, I took, and burned it with fire, and brºaking it into pieces, until it was as small as dust, I threw it into the torrent, which cometh down from the mountain. 22 At the burning also, and at the place of temp- ...' and at The graves of lust you provoked the 401'( : . 23 And when he sent you from Cadesbarne, say- ing: Go up, and possess the land that I have given you, and you slighted the commandment of the Lord your God, and did not believe him, neither would you hearken to his voice; 24 But were always rebellious from the day that ! began to know you. 25 And I, lay prostrate before the Lord forty days and nights, in which I humbly besought him, !" he would not destroy you as he had threat. C]]{2( : 26, And praying, I said: O Lord God, destroy not thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou last redeemed in thy greatness, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. 27 Rºmember thy servants Abraham, Isaac, and lacob: look not on the stubbornness of this people, nor on their wickedness and sin. 28 Lest perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which thou hast brought us, say: The Lord could not bring them into th. land, that he pro- And the Lord heard me this time; brought them out, that he might kill them in the wilderness: - 29 Who are thy people and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out by thy great strength, and in thy stretched-out arm. - CHAP. X. God giveth the second tables of the law: a further exhortation to fear and serve the Lord. T that time the Lord said to me: Hew thee two tables of stone like the former, and come up to me into the mount: and thou shalt make an ark of wood, 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in them, which thou brokest before; and thou shalt put them in the ark. 3 And I made an ark of setim-wood. And when I had hewn two tables of stone like the for- i. I went up into the mount, having them in my ands. 4 And he wrote in the tables, according as he had written before, the ten words, which the Lord spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the fire, when the people were assembled: and he gave them to me. 5 And returning from the mount, I came down, and put the tables into the ark, that I had made : and they are there till this present, as the Lord com- manded me 6 And the children of Israel removed their camp from Beroth of the children of Jacan into Mosera,” where Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him in the priestly office. 7 From thence they came to Gadgad: from which place they departed, and camped in Jete- batha, in a land of waters and torrents. 8. At that time he separated the tribe of Levi, to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to stand before him in the ministry, and to bless in his name until this present day. 9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor possession with his brethren: because the Lord himself is his possession, as the Lord thy God promised him. 10 And I stood in the mount, as before, forty days and nights: and the Lord heard me this time also, and would not destroy thee. 11 And he said to me: Go, and walk before the people, that they may enter, and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers that I would give them. 12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but that thou fear the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and love him, and serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul: 13 And keep the commandments of the Lord, and his ceremonies, which I command thee this day, that it may be well with thee? e 14 Behold, heaven is the Lord’s thy God, and the heaven of heaven, and the earth and all things that are therein. - 15 And yet the Lord hath been closely joined to -Eºis->= C * Mosera. By mount Hor, for there Aaron died, Num. xx. The and the following verses seem to be inserted by way of parenthesis. X CHAP. XI. thy fauhers, and loved them, and chose their seed after them, that is to say, you out of all nations, as this day it is proved. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. 17 Because the Lord your God he is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, a great God and mighty, º terrible, who accepteth no person, nor taketh *FI IOCS. 18. He doeth judgment to the fatherless and the widow, loveth the stranger, and giveth him food and raiment. 19 And do you therefore love strangers; because you also were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him only: to him thou shalt adhere, and shalt swear by his name. 21 He is thy praise, and thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thy eves have seen. - 22 In seventy souls thy fathers went down into Egypt: and behold, now the Lord thy God hath multiplied thee as the stars of heaven. CHAP. XI. The love and service of God are still inculcated, with a blessing to them that serve him, and threats of punishment if they for- sake his law. HEREFORE love the Lord thy God, and ob- serve his precepts and ceremonies, his judg- ments and commandments at all times. 2 Know this day the things that your children know not, who saw not the chastisements of the Lord your God, his great doings and strong hand, and stretched-out arm, 3 The signs and works which he did in the midst of Egypt to king Pharao, and to all his land, 4 And to all the host of the Egyptians, and to their horses and chariots: how the waters of the Red Sea covered them, when they pursued you, and how the Lord destroyed them until this present day: 5 And what he hath done to you in the wilder- ness, till you came to this place: 6 And to Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, who was the son of Ruben: whom the earth, open- ing her mouth, swallowed up with their households and tents, and all their substance, which they had in the midst of Israel. 7 Your eyes have seen all the great works of the Lord, that he hath done, #"That you may keep all his commandments, which I command you this day, and may go in, and possess the land, to which you are entering, 9 And may live in it a long time: which the Lord promised by oath to your fathers, and to their seed, a land which floweth with milk and honey. 10 For the land which thou goest to possess, is not like the land of Egypt, from whence thou camest out, where when the seed is sown, waters are brought in to water it after the manner of gardens. 11. But it is a land of hills and plains, expecting rain from heaven. * 12 And the Lord thy God doth always visit it: and his eyes are on it from the beginning of the year unto the end thereof. 13 If then you obey my commandments, which I command you this day, that you love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your healt, and with all your soul: 14. He will give to your land the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your corn and your wine, and your oil, 15 And your hay out of the fields to ſeed yout cattle, and that you may eat and be filled. 16 Beware lest perhaps your heart be deceived, and you depart from the i. and serve strange gods, and adore them : 17 And the Lord being angry shut up heaven that the rain come not down, nor the earth yield her fruit, and you perish quickly from the excellent land, which the Lord will give you. 18 Lay, up these my words in your hearts and minds, and hang them for a sign on your hands, and place them between your eyes. 19 Teach your children that they meditate on them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest on the way, and when thou liest down and risest up. 20 Thou shalt write them upon the posts and the doors of thy house: 21 That thy days may be multiplied, and the days of thy children in the land which the Lord swore to thy fathers, that he would give them as long as the heaven hangeth over the earth. 22 For if you keep the commandments which l command you, and do them, to love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, cleaving unto him, 23 The Lord will destroy all these nations before your face, and you shall possess them, which are greater and stronger than you. 24. Every place that your foot shall tread upon, shall be yours. From the desert, and from Liba- nus, from the great river Euphrates unto the west- ern sea shall be your borders. 25 None shall stand against you : the Lord you God shall lay the dread and fear of you upon al the land that you shall tread upon, as he hath spoken to you. 26 Behold, I set forth in your sight this day a blessing and a curse: r 27 A blessing, if you obey the commandments ol the Lord your God, which fº you this days 28 A curse, if you obey not the commandments of the Lord your God, but revolt from the way which now I show you, and walk after strange gods which you know not. 29 And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, whither thou goest to dwell, thou shalt put the blessing" upon mount Garizim, the curse upon mount Hebal: 30 Which are beyond the Jordan, behind the way that goeth to the setting of the sun, in the land of the Chanaanite who dwelleth in the plain coun * Put the blessings, &c. See Deut. xxvii. 12, &c. and Josue viii. 33 149 DEUTERONOMY. fºr- try over against Galgala, which is near the valley that reacheth and entereth far. 81 For you shall pass over the Jordan, to pos- sess the land, which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have it and possess it. 32 See therefore that you fulfil the ceremonies and udgments, which I shall set this day before you. CHAP. XII. All idolatry must be eactirpated: sacrifices, tithes, and first- fruits must be offered in one only place: all eating of blood is prohibited. 7|W H FSE are the precepts and judgments, that you must do in the land, which the Lord the God of thy fathers will give thee, to possess it all the days that thou shalt walk upon the earth. 2 Destroy all the places in which the nations, uhat you shall possess, worshipped their gods upon high mountains, and hills, and under every shady tree: 3 Overthrow their altars, and break down their statues; burn their groves with fire, and break their idols in pieces: destroy their names out of those places. 4. W. shall not do so to the Lord your God: 5 But you shall come to the place, which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, and to dwell in it: And you shall offer in that place your holo- causts and victims, the titles and first-fruits of your hands, and your vows and gifts, the first-born of your herds and your sheep. 7 And you shall eat there in the sight of the Lord your God: and you shall rejoice in all things, whereunto you shall put your hand, you and your houses wherein the Lord your God hath blessed you. 8 You shall not do there the things we do here this day, every man that which seemeth good to himself. 9 For until this present time you are not come to rest, and to the possession, which the Lord your God will give you. 10 You sha'l pass over the Jordan, and shall dwell in the land which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have rest from all enemies round about; and may dwell without any fear, 11 In the place, which the Lord your God shall choose, that his name may be therein. Thither shall you bring all the things that I command you, holo- causts, and victims, and tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands; and whatsoever is the choicest in the gifts which you shall vow to the Lord. 12 There shall you feast before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your men-servants and maid-servants, and the Levite that dwelleth in your cities. For he hath no other part and possession among you. 13 Beware lest thou offer thy holocausts in every place that thou shalt see : 14 But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes shalt thou offer sacrifices, and shalt do all that I command thee. 15 But if thou desirest to eat, and the eating of flesh delight thee, kill, and eat according to the blessing of the Lord thyºd, which he hath given thee, in thy cities: whethel it be unclean, that is to say, having blemish or defect; or clean, that is to say, sound and without blemish, such as may be offered, as the roe, and the hart, shalt thou eat it 16 Only the blood thou shalt not eat: but thou shalt pourit out upon the earth as water. º 17. Thou mayst not eat in thy towns the tithes of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, the first- born of thy herds and thy cattle, nor any thing that thou vowest, and that thou wilt offer volunta. rily, and the first-fruits of thy hands: 18 But thou shalt eat them before the Lord º God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and maid-servant, and the Levite that dwelleth in thy cities: and thou shalt ejoice, and be refreshed before the Lord thy God in all things, whereunto thou shalt put thy hand. e 19 Take heed thou forsake not the Levite all the time that thou livest in the land. º 20 When the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he hath spoken to thee, and thou wilt eat the flesh that thy soul desireth : 21 And if the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be there, be far off, thou shalt kill of thy herds and of thy flocks, as I have commanded thee; and shalt eat in thy towns, as it pleaseth thee. 22 Even as the roe and the hart is eaten, so Gº shalt thou eat them : both the clean and unclean shall eat of them alike. 23 Only beware of this, that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is for the soul: and therefore thou must not eat the soul with the flesh: 24. But thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25 That it may be well with thee and thy chil- dren after thee, when thou shalt do that which is pleasing in the sight of the Lord. 26 But the things which thou hast sanctified and vowed to the Lord, thou shalt take, and shall come to the place which the Lord shall choose: 27 And shalt offer thy oblations the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy God: the blood of thy victims thou shalt pour on the altar and the flesh thou thyself shalt eat. 28 Observe and hear all the things that I com- mand thee, that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee for ever, when thou shalt do ..", * good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy God. - 29 When the Lord thy God shall have destroy- ed before thy face the nations, which thou shalt go in to possess, and when thou shalt possess them, and dwell in their land: 30 Beware lest thou imitate them, after they art destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship. 31 Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering . sons and daughters, and burning them with re. * -> w- ==º .4 3. K - S- ... < . . . * * * * - - - • L-- *-i-. -- " ... -- …: ' '. - ...-:Jºº.”fº-º-º-º-º: CHAP. XIII, XIV. 3? What I command thee, that only do thou” to the Lord: neither add any thing, nor diminish. CHAP. XIII. False prophets must be slain, and idolatrous cities destroyed. H} there rise in the midst of thee a prophet, or one that saith he hath dreamed a dream, and he fore- tell a sign and a wonder, 2 And that come to pass which he spoke, and he say to thee: Let us go and follow strange gods, § thou knowest not, and let us serve them: 3 Thou shalt not hear the words of that prophet or dreamer: for the Lord your God trieth you, that it may appear whether you love him with all your heart, and with all your soul, or no. 4. Follow the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and hear his voice: him you shall serve, and to him you shall cleave. 5 And that prophet or forger of dreams shall be slain : because he spoke to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bond- age; to make thee go out of the way, which the lord thy God commanded thee: and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee. 6 If thy brother the son of thy mother, or thy son, or daughter, or thy wife that is in thy bosom, or thy friend, whom thou lovest as thy own soul, would persuade thee secretly, saying: Let us go, and serve strange gods, which thou knowest not, nor thy fathers, + 7 Of all the nations round about, that are near or afar off, from one end of the earth to the other, 8 Consent not to him; hear him not; neithér let (hy ". spare him to pity and conceal him : 9 But thou shalt presently put him to death.if Let thy hand be first upon him, and afterwards the hands of all the people. - 10 With stones shall he be stoned to death: be- cause he would have withdrawn thee from the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage: l! That all Israel hearing may fear, and may do no more any thing like this. ... 12 If in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God shall give thee to dwell in, thou hear some say: 13 Children of Belialſ are gone out of the midst of thee, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, and have said: Let us go, and serve strange gods which you know not: - 14 Inquire carefully and diligently, the truth of the thing by looking well into it; and if thou find that which is said to be certain, and that this abomi- nation hath been really committed, 15 Thou shalt forthwith kill the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, and shalt de- stroy it and all things that are in it, even the cattle. 16 And all the household goods that are there, thou shalt gather together in the midst of the streets thereof, and shalt burn them with the city itself, so as to consume all for the Lord thy God, and that it be a heap for ever: it shall be built no more. 17 And there shall nothing of that amathema stick to thy hand: that the Lord may turn from the wrath of his fury, and may have mercy on thee, and mul tiply thee as he swore to thy fathers, 18 When thou shalt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, keeping all his precepts, which I command thee this day, that thou mayest do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy God. CHAP. XIV. In mourning for the dead they are not to follow the ways of th gentiles : the distinction of clean and unclean meats: ordinan- Ces concerning tithes, and first-fruits. BE ye children of the Lord your God: you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness for the dead. . 2 Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God: and he chose thee to be his peculiar people of all nations that are upon the earth. - 3 Eat not the things that are unclean." 4. These are the beasts that you shall eat: the ox, and the sheep, and the goat, 5 The hart and the roe, the buffle, and chamois, the pygarg, the wild goat, the camelopardalus. 6 }. beast that divideth the hoof in two parts, and cheweth the cud, you shall eat. - 7 But of them that chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, you shall not eat, such as the camel, the hare, and the cherogril: because they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, they shall be unclean to you 8 The swine also, because it divideth the hoof, but cheweth not the cud, shall be unclean : their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. 9 These shall you eat of all that abide in the waters: All that have fins and scales, you shall eat. 10 Such as are without fins and scales, you shall not eat, because they are unclean. Il All birds that are clean you shall eat. 12 The unclean eat not: to wit, the eagle and the grype, and the osprey, 13 The ringtail, and the vulture, and the kite according to their kind, 14 And all of the raven's kind : 15 And the ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind : 16 The heron, and the swan, and the stork, 17 And the cormorant, the porphirion, and the night-crow, c * 18 The bittern, and the charadrion, every one in their kind: the houp also, and the bat, .. © 19 Every thing that creepeth and hath little wings, shall be unclean, and shall not be eaten. 20 All that is clean, you shall eat 21 But whatsoever is dead of itselſ, eat n thereof. Give it to the stranger that is within thy .* That only do thou, &c. They are forbid here to follow the ceremo- nies of the heathens; or to make any alterations in the divine ordi- Jºaº Ces. * Presently put him to death. Not by killing him by private authority, but by informing the magistrate, and proceeding by order of justice. f Belial. That is, without yoke. Hence the wicked, who refuse to be'subject to the divine law, are called in scripture the children of Belial. | Unclean. See the annotations on Leviticus XI. 151 j:-º: - 2 … . . ,'. - - ... ." . " … • * * ales, to cat, or sell it tº him; bºcatiº thou art the i. people of the Lord ſhy, God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of its dam. . ſº 22 Every year thou shalt set aside the tithes of all thy fruits that the earth bringeth forth. 23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, that his name may be called upon therein, the tithe of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, and the first-born of thy herds and thy sheep: that thou mayst learn to fear the Lord thy God at all times. 21. But when the way and the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, are far off, and he hath blessed thee, and thou canst not carry all these things thither, 25 Thou shalt sell them all, and turn them into money; and shalt carry it in thy hand, and shalt go to the place which the Lord shall choose : 26 And thou shalt buy with the same money whatsoever pleaseth thee, either of the herds or of sheep, wine also and strong drink, and all that thy soul desire: h : and thoſ: shalt eat before the Lord thy God, and shalt ſeast, thou and thy house : 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, be- 28 'The third year thou shalt separate another tithe of all things that grow to thee at that time : and shalt lay it up within thy gates. 29 And the Levite that hath no other part nor possession with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat, and be filled : that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands that thou shalt do. CHAP. XV. The law of the seventh year of remission. The firstlings of cat- tle are to be sanctified to the Lord. N the seventh year thou shalt make a remission, 2 Which shall be celebrated in this order. He to whom any thing is owing from his friend or neigh- bour or brother, cannot demand it again, because it is the year of remission of the Lord. 3 Of the foreigner or stranger thou mayst exact it: of thy countryman and neighbour thou shalt not have power to demand it again. 4 And there shall be no poor” nor beggar among ou: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the j which he will give thee in possession. 5 Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep all things that he hath ordained, and which I command thee this day, he will bless thee, as he hath promised. 6 Thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt oorrow of no man. Thou shalt have dominion over very many nations, and no one shall have do- minion over thee. & 7 If one of thy brethren that dwelleth within the gates of thy city in the land which the Lord thy *gme |) FUTERONOMY. God will give thee, come to poverty, thou shalt no harden thy heart, nor close thy hand, 8 But shalt open it to the poor man : thou shal lend him, that which thou perceivest he hath need of 9 Beware lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee, and thou say in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh; and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, denying to lend him that which he asketh : lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it become a sin unto thee. 10 But thou shalt give to him: neither shalt thou do any thing craftily in relieving his necessities; that the Lord thy God may bless thee at all times, º all things to which thou shalt put thy hand. - 11 There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy band to thy needy and poor brother, that live-h in the land. 12 When thy brother a Hebrew man, or Hebrew woman is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, in the seventh year thou shaft let him go free: 13 And when thou sendest him out free, thou shalt not let him go away empty: i4. But shalt give him for his way out of thy flocks, i. and out of thy barn-floor, and thy wine-press, where- with the Lord thy God shall bless thee. 15 Remember that thou also wast a bond-ser- vant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God º thee free ; and therefore I now command thee this. © 16 But if he say: I will not depart; because lie loveth thee, and thy house, and findeth that he is well with thee: 17 Thou shalt take an awl, and bore through his ear in the door of thy house: and he shall serve thee for ever: thou shalt do in like manner to thy woman-servant also. 18 Turn not away thy eyes from them when thou makest them free : because he hath served thee six years according to the wages of a hireling; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works that thou doest. 19. Of the firstlings, that come of thy herds and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify to the Lord thy God whatsover is of the male sex. Thou shalt not work with the firstling of a bullock, and thou shalt not shear the firstlings of thy sheep. . 20 In the sight of the Lord thy God shalt, thou eat them every year in the place that the Lord shall choose, thou and thy house. ...a 21 But if it have a blemish, or be lame, or blind, or in any part disfigured or feeble, it shall not be sa- crificed to the Lord thy God. 22 But thou shalt eat it within the gates of thy city: the clean and the unclean shall eat them alike, as the roe, and as the hart. 23 Only thou shalt take heed not to eat their blood, but pour it out on the earth as water. —º * There shall be no poor, &c. 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', - * * - - - - - - - - - . - - * * - * : ' '. • * , . . . ... • - - - - * ~ *- | *** * - - ~ * ‘. . . * - , - . . ~~~~ CHAP CHAP XVI. rhe three principal solemnities to be observed; just judges to be appointed in every city: all occasions of idolatry to be avoid- ed. . . . “A L’ --, * .. CHAP. XXII, XXIII. file the land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee In possession. CHAP. XXII. liumanity towards neighbours. Neither sea may use the ap- parel of the other. Cruelty to be avoided even to birds. Bat- tlements about the roof of a house. Things of divers kinds not to be mixed. The punishment of him that slandereth his wife, as also of adultery and rape. THQ'ſ, shalt not pass by if thou seest thy bro- ther’s ox, or his sheep go astray: but thou shalt pring them back to thy brother. . 2 And if thy brother be not nigh, or thou know him not; thou shalt bring them to thy house, and they shall be with thee until thy brother seek them, and receive them. 3 Thou shalt do in like manner with his ass, and with his raiment, and with every thing that is thy brother’s, which is lost: if thou find it, neglect it not as pertaining to another. 4. If thou see thy brother's ass or his ox to be ſallen down in the way, thou shalt not slight it, but shall lift it up with him. 5 A woman shall not be clothed with man’s ap- parel; neither shall a man use woman’s apparel : for he that doeth these things is abominable before God. - 6 If thou find, as thou walkest by the way, a oird’s nest in a tree, or on the ground, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs: thou shalt not take” her with her young: 7 But shalt let her go, keeping the young which thou hast caught: that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst live a long time. 8 When thou buildest a new house, thou shalt make a battlementſ to the roof round about: lest blood be shed in thy house, and thou be guilty, if any one slip, and fall down headlong. 9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest both the seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of the vineyard, be sanctified together. 10 Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. 11 Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of woollen and linen together. 12 Thou shalt make strings in the hem at the four corners of thy cloak, wherewith thou shalt be covered. ! 13 If a man marry a wife, and afterwards hate her, 14 And seek occasions to put her away, laying to her charge a very ill name, and say: I took this woman to wife, and going in to her, I found her not 3 W II ºl H. . # Her father and mother shall take her, and shall bring with them the tokens of her virginity to the ancients of the city that are in the gate: 16 And the father shall say: I gave my daughter unto this man to wife: and because he hateth her, ** = 17 He layeth to her charge a very ill name, so as to say: l found not thy daughter a virgin. and 1.e- hold, these are the tokens of my daughter's vir- ginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the ancients of the city: 18 And the ancients of that city shall take that man, and beat him, 19 Condemning him besides in a hundred sicles of silver, which he shall give to the damsel's father, because he hath defamed by a very ill name a virgin of Israel: and he shall have her to wife, and may not put her away all the days of his life. 20 But if what he chargeth her with be true, and virginity be not found in the damsel: 21 They shall cast her out of the doors of her fa. ther’s house; and the men of the city shall stone her to death; and she shall die: because she hath done a wicked thing in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee. 22 If a man lie with another man’s wife, they shall both die, that is to say, the adulterer and the adulteress: and thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel. - 23 If a man have espoused a damsel that is a virgin, and some one find her in the city, and lie with her, 24 Thou shalt bring them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned: the damsel, be- cause she cried not out, being in the city: the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife. And thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee. 25 But if a man find a damsel that is betrothed, in the field, and taking hold of her, lie with her, he alone shall die: 26 The damsel shall suffer nothing; neither is she guilty of death: for as a robber riseth against his brother, and taketh away his life, so also did the damsel suffer: 27 She was alone in the field: she cried, and there was no man to help her. 28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, who is not espoused, and taking her lie with her, and the matter come to judgment: 29 He that lay with her, shall give to the father of the maid fifty sicles of silver, and shall have her to wife, because he hath humbled her: he may not put her away all the days of his life. 30 No man shall take his father’s wife, nor re- move his covering. CHAP. XXIII. Who may and who may not enter into the church: uncleannes, to be avoided : other precepts concerning fugitives, fornica. tion, usury, vows, and eating other men's grapes and corn. A N eunuch, f whose testicles are broken or cus away, or yard cut off, shall not enter into hº church.Ş of the Lord. * Thou shalt not take, &c. This was to show them to exercise a cer- tain mercy even to irrational creatures; and by that means to train Jhem up to a horror of cruelty, and to the exercise of humanity and mutual charity one to another. # Battlement. This precaution was necessary, because all their houses had flat tops; and it was usual to walk and to converse toge- ther upon them yº- ---º-º-º-ºrºmºsºs as -º-º-º-º-º: , , º ---> - == 3. Jes: - f Eunuch. By these are meant, in the spiritual sense, such as are barren in good works. - | Into the church. That is, into the assembly or congregation of Is. rael, so as to have the privilege of an Israelite, or to be capa ºle of any place or office among the people of God. ſº ºr was 157 DEUTER(..)NOMY. 2 A inamzer, that is to say, one born of a pros- titute, shall not enter into the church of the Lord, until the tenth generation. 3 The Ammonite, and the Moabite even after the tenth generation shall not enter into the church of the Lord for ever: | Because they would not meet you with bread ind water in the way, when you cane out of Egypt: ,,1d because they hired against thee Balaam, the on of Beor, from Mesopotamia in Syria, to curse th: : 5 And the Lord thy God would not hear Ba- laam; and he turned his cursing into thy blessing, because he loved thee. (; "Thou shalt not make peace with them; neither shalt thou seek their prosperity all the days of thy liſe for ever. 7 Thou shalt not abhor the Edomite, because he is thy brother: nor the Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land. * 8 They that are born of them, in the third ge- 11 ration shall enter into the church of the Lord. 9 When thou goest out to war against thy ene- mies, thou shalt keep thyself from every evil thing: 10 if there be among you any man, that is de- filed in a dream by night, he shall go forth out of the camp, | | And shall not return before he be washed with water in the evening: and after sun-set he shall re- turn into the camp. 12 Thou shalt have a place without the camp, to which thou mayst go for the necessities of nature, 13 Carrying a paddle at thy girdle. And when thou sittest down, thou shalt dig round about, and with the earth that is dug up thou shalt cover 14. That which thou art eased of: (for the Lord tly God walketh in the midst of thy camp to de- liver thee, and to give up thy enemies to thee :) and let thy camp be holy, and let no uncleanness” ap- pear therein, lest he go away from thee. 15 Thou shalt not deliver to his master the ser- want that is fled to thee. 16 He shall dwell with thee, in the place that shall please him, and shall rest in one of thy cities: give him no trouble. 17 There shall be no whore among the daugh- ". | Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of ,51"; (*|. 18 Thou shalt not offer the hire of a strumpet, nor the price of a dog, in the house of the Lord thy God, whatsoever it be that thou hast vowed : because both these are an abomination to the Lord thy ſod. 19 Thou shalt not lend to thy brother money to tiºuſ V, nor corn, nor any other thing: 20 But to the stranger + To thy brother thou halt lend that which he wanteth, without usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all thy works, in the land which thou shalt go in to pos- SCSS. 21 When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay, it: because the Lord thy God will require it. And if thou delay, it shall be imputed to thee for a sin. 22 If thou wit not promise, thou shalt be with out sin. 23 But that which is once gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe, and shalt do as thou hast pro- mised to the Lord thy God, and hast spoken with thy own will and with thy own mouth. 24. Going into thy neighbour's vineyard, thou mayst eat as many grapes as thou pleasest: but must carry none out with thee: 25 If thou go into thy friend's corn, thou mayst break the ears, and rub them in thy hand; but not reap them with a sickle. CHAP. XXIV. Divorce permitted, to avoid greater evil: the newly-married must not go to war: of men-stealers, of leprosy, of pledges, of labourers’ hire, of justice, and of charity to the poor. F a man take a wife, and have her, and she find . not favour in his eyes for some uncleanness; he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed, and marrieth another husband, 3 And he also hateth her, and hath given her a bill of divorce, and hath sent her out of his house, or is dead: 4. The former husband cannot take her again to wife: because she is defiled, and is become abo- minable before the Lord: lest thou cause thy land to sin, which the Lord thy God shall give thee to poSSess. 5 When a man hath lately taken a wife, he shall not go out to war; neither shall any public business be enjoined him: but he shall be free athome without fault, that for one year he may rejoice with his wife. 6 Thou shalt not take the nether nor the upper |ºlone to pledge: for he hath pledged his life to thee. 7 If any man be found soliciting his brother of the children of Israel, and selling him shall take a price, he shall be put to death, . thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee. 8 Observe diligently that thou incur not the stroke of the leprosy, but thou shalt do whatsoever the priests of the Levitical race shall teach thee, accord. ing to what I have commanded them, and fulfil thou it carefully. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Mary, in the way when you came out of Egypt. 10 When thou shalt demand of thy neighbour any thing that he oweth thee, thou shalt not go into his house to take away a pledge: * No the stranger. This caution against suffering any filth in the samp, was to teach them to fly the filth of sin, which driveth God owav from the soul. * To uncleanness. This was a dispensation granted by God to his people who being the I ord of all things, .an give a right and title to one upon the goods of another. Otherwise the scripture every where condemns usury, as contrary to the law of God, and a crying sin. See Erod. xxii. 25. Levit. xxv. 36 37. 2 Esdr v. 7 Psalm xiv. 5. Ezek. xviii. 8, 13, &c. | 58 CHAP. XXV, XXV, --> *::: ***.*.*::: * ~ *-* -- ºgº-ºº-ºº-ººººº...ºxs; ~Fºº, ºr s..… - , , ----, --- - * - - - , ; : - - : - . . . . . * - … . . . ~~. *- --> * : * ~ ; c. - ll but thou shalt stand without, and he shall bring out to thee what he hath. 12 But if he be poor, the pledge shall not lodge with thee that night, 13 But thou shalt restore it to him presently be- fore the going down of the sum: that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee, and thou mayst have Justice before the Lord thy God. 14 Thou shalt not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stran- ger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is with- in thy gates: 15 But thou shalt pay him the price of his labour the same day, before the going down of the sun, be- cause he is poor, and with it maintaineth his life: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it be re- puted to thee for a sin. 16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, but every one shall die for his own sin. 17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless: neither shalt thou take away the widow’s raiment for a pledge. 18 Remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt, and the Lord thy God delivered thee from thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing. 19 When thou hast reaped the corn in thy field, and hast forgot and left a sheaf, thou shalt not re- turn to take it away: but thou shalt suffer the stran- ger, and the fatherless and the widow to take it away: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands. 20 If thou have gathered the fruit of thy olive- trees, thou shalt not return to gather whatsoever re- maineth on the trees: but shalt leave it for the stran- ger, for the fatherless, and the widow. t 2! If thou make the vintage of thy vineyard, .hou shalt not gather the clusters that remain: but they shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 Remember that thou also wast a bond-man in Egypt, and therefore I command thee to do this thing. CHAP. XXV. Stripes must not eacceed forty. The oa, is not to be muzzled. Of raising seed to the brother. Of the immodest woman. Of unjust weight. Of destroying the Amalecites. | there be a controversy between men, and they | call upon the judges; they shall give the prize of justice to him whom they perceive to he just: and him whom they find to be wicked, they shall condemn of wickedness. 2 And if they see that the offender be worthy of stripes; they shall lay him down, and shall cause him to be beaten before them. According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be: 3 Yet so, that they exceed not the number of forty: lest thy brother depart shamefully torn before thy eyes. * Mot muzzle, &c. St. Paul understands this of the spiritual labourer in the church of God, who is not to he denied his maintenance. 1 Cor. ix. 8, 9, 10. t.Amalee. This order for destroying the Amalecites, in the mysti- cal sense, sheweth how hateful they are to God, and what punishments 4 Thou shalt not muzzle” the ox that treadeth out thy corn on the floor. 5. When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another: but his brother shall take her, and raise up seed for his brother: 6 And the first son he shall have of her he shall call by his name, that his name be not abolished out of Israel. 7 But if he will not take his brother’s wife, who by law belongeth to him, the woman shall go to the gate of the city, and call upon the ancients and say. My husband's brother refuseth to raise up his bro- ther's name in Israel and will not take me to wife. 8 And they shall cause him to oe sent for forth- with, and shall ask him. If he answer: I will not take her to wife: 9 The woman shall come to him before the an- cients, and shall take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and say: So shall it be done to the man that will not build up his brother’s house: 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of the unshod. 11 If two men have words together, and one be- gin to fight against the other, and the other’s wife willing to deliver her husband out of the hand of the stronger, shall put forth her hand, and take him by the secrets: 12 Thou shalt cut off her hand; neither shalt thou be moved with any pity in her regard. 13 Thou shalt not have diverse weights in thy bag, a greater and a less: 14 Neither shall there be in thy house a greater bushel and a less. 15 Thou shalt have a just and a true weight; and thy bushel shall be equal and true: that thou may st live a long time upon the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee. 16 For the Lord thy God abhorreth him that doeth these things; and he hateth all injustice. 17 Remember what Amalect did to thee in the way when thou camest out of Egypt: 18 How he met thee; and slew the hindmost of thy army, who sat down being weary, when thou wast spent with hunger and labour; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore when the Lord thy God shall give thee rest, and shall have subdued all the nations round about in the land which he hath promised thee; thou shalt blot out his name from under heaven. See thou forget it not. CHAP. XXVI. The form of words with which the first-fruits and tithes are to be offered. God’s covenant. ND when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, and hast conquered it, and dwellest in it: they are to look for from his justice, who attack and discourage his servants when they are but just come out, as it were of the Egyrº of this wicked world, and being yet weak and faint-hearted are but beginning their journey to the land of promise. I 59 ©º \º 2. DEUTE}{ONOMY 2 Thou shalt take the first of all thy fruits, and || put them in a basket, and shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may be invocated there: © 3 And thou shalt go to the priest that shall be in those days, and say to him: I profess this day before the Lord thy God, that I am come into the land, for which he swore to our fathers, that he would give it us 4 And the priest taking the basket at thy hand, shall set it before the altar of the Lord thy God: 5 And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: The Syrian * pursued my father, who went down into Egypt, and Sojourned there in a very small number. and grew into a nation great and strong, and of an infinite multitude. 6 And the Egyptians afflicted us, and perse- cuted us, laying on us most grievous burdens: 7 And we cried to the Lord God of our fathers: who heard us, and looked down upon our affliction, and labour, and distress; 8 And brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand, and a stretched-out arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders: 9 And brought us into this place, and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And therefore now I offer the first-fruits of the land which the Lord hath given me. And thou shalt leave them in the sight of the Lord thy God, adoring the Lord thy God. | | And thou shalt feast in all the good things which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and thy house, thou and the Levite, and the stranger that is with thee 12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all thy fruits, in the third year of tithes thou shalt give it to the levite, and to the stranger, and to the father- less, and to the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled: - 13 And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: I have taken that which was sanc- tiſied out of my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, as thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, nor for- gotten thy precepts. 14 I have not eaten of them in my mourning, nor separated them for any uncleanness, nor spent any thing of them in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all things as thou hast commanded me. 15 Look from thy sanctuary, and thy high habita- tion of heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and Womey. 16. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded hee to do these commandments and judgments: and to keep and ful'il them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to be thy ** ..~º-º-º-º-º-º: -- ~ * * * * The Syrian. Laban. Sec Gen. xxvii. 160 God, and to walk in his ways and keep his ceremo. nies, and precepts. and judgments, and clbey his command. 18 And the Lord hath chosen thee this day, to be his peculiar people, as he hath spoken to thee. and to keep all his commandments: 19 And to make thee higher than all nations which he hath created, to his own praise, and name and glory: that thou mays, we a holy people of the Lord thy God as he hath spoken. CHAP. XXVII. The commandments must be written on stones; and an altar erected, and sacrifices offered. The observers of the com. mandments are to be blessed, and the transgressors cursed. AND Moses with the ancients of Israel com manded the people, saying: Keep every com mandment that I command you this day. 2 And when you are passed over the Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. thou shalt set up great stones, and shalt plaster them over with plaster, 3 That thou mayst write on them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over the Jordan. that thou mayst enter into the land which the Lord ‘hy God will give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as he swore to thy fathers. 4. Therefore when you are passed over the Jor- dan, set up the stones which I command you this day, in mount Hebal; and thou shalt plaster them with plaster: 5 And thou shalt build there an altar to the Lord thy God, of stones which iron hath not touched, 6 And of stones not fashioned nor polished: and § shalt offer upon it holocausts to the Lord th’ OO! . 7 And shalt immolate peace-victims, and eat there, and feast before the Lord thy God. 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law plainly and clearly. 9 And Moses and the priests of the race of Levi said to all Israel: Attend, and hear, O Israel. This day thou art made the people of the Lord thy God. 10 Thou shalt hear his voice, and do the com. mandments and justices which I command thee. 1 l And Moses commanded the people in that day, saying: 12 These shall stand upon mount Garizim to bless the people, when you are passed the Jordan Simeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Joseph, and Ben jamin. - 13 And over-against them shall stand on moun, Hebal to curse : Ruben, Gad, and Aser, and Za bulon, Dan, and Nephtali. 14 And the Levites shall pronounce, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice: 15 Cursed be the man that maketh a graven and molten thing, the abomination of the Lord, the work of the hands of artificers, and shall put it in a secre place: and all the people shall answer, and say Amen. 16 Cursed be he that honoureth not his fathel land mother ; and all the people shall say: Amen. - :- * . . . - - - - - - - - * . - - - --, - . . ; ”. Y. S.- . . . . . . . . . " 'iº sº tº - . . . * > . . . ' ' '....... º.º.º." - ...sº ºr. " * -ºº: * ... s." . . . º.º... . . . .z- > . . ... "...s.º. º.º.º. cº-fº = -º —º- ~4. CHAP. XXVIII. | 7 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s land marks: and all the people shall say: Amen. 18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wan- der out of his way : and all the people shall say: Amen. 19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, of the fatherless and the widow : and all the people shall say : Amen. 20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, and uncovereth his bed: and all the people shall say: Amen 21 Cursed be he that lieth with any beast : and all the people shall say: Amen. 22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or of his mother : and all the people shall say: Amen. 23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in- saw : and all the people shall say : Amen. 24 Cursed be he that secretly killeth his neigh- bour: and all the people shall say: Amen. 25 Cursed be he that taketh gifts, to slay an innocent person : and all the people shall say: Amen. 26 Cursed be he that abideth not in the words of this law, and fulfilleth them not in work: and all the people shall sav : Amen. CHAP. XXVIII. Many blessings are promised to the observers of God’s com- mandments : and curses threatened to transgressors. Nº. if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to do and keep all his commandments, which I command thee this day, the Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth. 2 And aſ these blessings” shall come upon thee, nd overtake thee : yet so if thou hear his precepts. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and hlessed | Snaſt in the field. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the droves of thy herds, and the folds of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be .ny barns, and blessed thy stores. 6 Blessed shalt thouſ be coming in and going out. 7 The Lord shall cause thy enemies, that rise up against thee, to fall down before thy face : one way shall they come out against thee, and seven ways shall they flee before thee. 8 The Lord will send forth a blessing upon thy store-houses, and upon all the works of thy hands ; and will bless thee in the land that thou shalt re- Cel We. 9 The Lord will raise thee up to be a holy peo- ple to himself, as he swore to thee : if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all the people of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is invocated upon thee ; and they shall fear thee. 11 The Lord will make thee abound with all goods, with the fruit of thy womb. and the fruit on thy cattle, with the fruit of thy land, which the Lord swore to thy fathers that he would give thee 12 The Lord will open his excellent treasure, the heaven, that it may give rain in due season: and he will bless all the works of thy hands. And thou shalt lend to many nations, and shalt not bor row of any one. 13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail : and thou shalt be always above, and not beneath: yet so if thou wilt hear the command- ments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day, and keep and do them. g 14 And turn not away from them neither to the right hand, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them. 15 But if thou wilt not hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep, and to do all his command- ments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day, all these cursest shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, cursed in the field. 17 Cursed shall be thy barn, and cursed thy stores. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, the herds of thy oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. & 19 Cursed shalt thou be coming in, and cursed going out. 20 The Lord shall send upon thee famine and hunger, and a rebuke upon all the works which thou shalt do : until he consume and destroy thee quickly, for thy most wicked inventions, by which thou hast forsaken me. 2! May the Lord set the pestilence upon thee. until he consume thee Cut of the land. which thou o in to possess. 22 May the Lord afflict thee with miserable wan, with the fever and with cold, with burning and with heat, and with corrupted air and with blasting, and pursue thee till thou perish. 23 Be ſhe heaven, that is over thee, of brass; and the ground thou treadest on, of iron. 24. The Lord give thee dust for rain upon thy land, and let ashes come down from heaven upon thee, till thou be consumed. 25 The Lord make thee to fall down before thy enemies: one way maySt Thou go out against them, and flee seven tways, and be scattered throughout all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And be thy carcass meat for all the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the earth ; and oe there none to drive them away. 27 The Lord strike thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and the part of thy body, by which the dung is cast out, with the scab and with the itch ; so that thou canst not be healed. * All these blessings, &c. In the Old Testament, God promised tem- poral blessings to the keepers of his law, heaven not being opened as yet, and that gross and sensual people being more moved with pre- sent and sensible things. But in the New Testament the goods that are promised us are spiritual and eternal: and temporal evils are turned into blessings + All these curses, &c. Thus God dealt with the transgressors of hus law in the Old Testament: but now he ºften suffers sinlers to pros- per in this world, rewarding them for some little good they tºº. done, and reserving their punishment for the other world 161 DEUT'Eſt ()N()M ) 47 Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy 28 The Lord strike thee witn madness and blind- ness and fury of mind, ſº 29 And mayst thou grope at mid-day as the blind is wont to grope in the dark, and not make straight thy ways. And mayst, thou at , all times suffer wrong, and be oppressed with violence: and maySt thou have no one to deliver thee. 30 Mayst thou take a wife, and another sleep with her. Mayst thou build a house, and not dwell therein. Mayst thou plant a vineyard, and not ga- ther the vintage thereof. 31 May thy ox be slain before thee, and thou not eat thereof. May thy ass be taken away in thy sight, and not restored to thee. May thy sheep be given to thy enemies, and may there be none to help thee. 32 May thy sons and thy daughters be given to another people, thy eyes looking on, and languish- ing at the sight of them all the day: and may there be no strength in thy hand. 33 May a people which thou knowest not, eat the fruits of thy land, and all thy labours : and mayst thou always suffer oppression, and be crushed at all times, 34. And be astonished at the terror of those things which thy eyes shall see. 35 May the Lord strike thee with a very sore ulcer in the knces and in the legs; and be thou in- curable from the sole of the foot to the top of thy head. 36 The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king, whom thou shalt have appointed over thee, into a nation which thou and thy fathers know not : and there thou shalt serve strange gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt be lost, as a proverb and a by-word to all people, among whom the Lord shall bring thee in. 38 Thou shalt cast much seed into the ground, and gather little : because the locusts shall con- sume all. 39 Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dig it, and shalt not drink the wine, nor gather any thing there- of : because it shall be wasted with worms. 40 Thou shalt have olive-trees in all thy borders, and shalt not be anointed with the oil: for the olives shall fall off, and perish. Al Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and shalt not enjoy them : because they shall be led into captivity. 42 The blast shall consume all the trees and the fruits of thy ground. 43 The stranger that liveth with thee in the land, shall rise up over thee, and shall be higher : and thou shalt go down, and be lower. 44. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be as the head, and thou shalt be the tail. 45 And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue and overtake thee, till thou perish : because thou heardest not the voice of the Lord thy God, and didst not keep his commandments and ceremonies which he commanded thee. 46 And they shall be as signs and wonders on thee, and on thy seed for ever. | G'." God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abun- dance of all things: 48 Thou shalt serve thy enemy, whom the Lord will send upon thee, in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shal! put an iron yoke upon thy neck, till he consume thce 49 The Lord will bring upon thee a nation from afar, and from the uttermost ends of the earth, lik an eagle that flieth swiftly: whose tongue thou cans. not understand : - 50 A most insolent nation, that will show no re gard to the ancient, nor have pity on the infant, 51 And will devour the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruits of thy land : until thou be destroyed, and will leave thee no wheat, nor wine, nor oil, nor herds of oxen, nor flocks of sheep; until he de- stroy thee. 52 And consume thee in all thy cities, and the strong and high walls be brought down, wherein thou trustedst in all thy land. Thou shalt be be- sieged within thy gates in all thy land, which the Lord thy God will give thee: 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy womb, and the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, in the distress and extremity wherewith thy enemy shall oppress thee. 54. The man that is nice among you, and very delicate, shall envy his own brother, and his wife, that lieth in his bosom, 55 So that he will not give them of the flesh of his children, which he shall eat: because he hath nothing else in the siege and the want, wherewith. thy enemies shall distress thee within all thy gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman, that could not go upon the ground, uor set down her foot for over-much niceness and tenderness, will envy hel husband who lieth in her bosom, the flesh of her son, and of her daughter, 57 And the filth of the after-births, that come forth from between her thighs, and the children that are born the same hour. For they shall eat them secretly for the want of all things, ir, the | siege and distress, wherewith thy enemy shall op- press thee within thy gates. 58 If thou wilt not keep, and fulfil all the words of this law, that are written in this volume. and fear his glorious and terrible name : that is, The Lord thy God : 59 The Lord shall increase thy plagues, and the plagues of thy seed, plagues great and lasting, in- firmities grievous and perpetual. 60 And he shall bring back on thee all the afflic. tions of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall stick fast to thee. 61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon thee al the diseases and plagues, that are not written in the volume of this law till he consume thee: 62 And you shall remain few in number, whi before were as the stars of heaven for multitude. because thou heardest not the voice of the Lord thy God. 63 And as the Lord rejoiced upon you before ----- ~ * ...------'T T*---——º. - - *. - * . . . . . . . . .” - - , , " - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;-). . . … :: * ~ * : * : * *** :: **, *.*.*.*.*.*&^ *::::::::::::::::#3 **. - CHAP. XXIX. doing good to you, and multiplying you; so he shallſ tº joice destroying and bringing you to naught: so that you shall be taken away from the land which thou shalt go in to possess. 64. The Lord shall scatter thee among all peo- ple, from the farthest parts of the earth to the ends thereof: and there thou shalt serve strange gods, which both thou art ignorant of, and thy fathers, wood and stone. * 65 Neither shalt thou be quiet, even in those nations, nor shall there be any rest for the sole of thy foot. For the Lord will give thee a fearful heart, and languishing eyes, and a soul consumed with pensiveness: 66 And thy life shall be as it were hanging be- fore thee. Thou shalt fear night and day : neither shalt thou trust thy life. 67 In the morning thou shalt say: Who will grant me evening P and at evening: Who will grant me morning f ſº the fearfulness of thy heart, wherewith thou shalt be terrified, and for those things which thou shalt see with thy eyes. 68 The Lord shall bring thee again with ships into Egypt, by the way whereof he said to thee that thou shouldst see it no more. There shalt thou be set to sale to thy enemies for bondmen and Uondwomen; and no man shall buy you. CHAP. XXIX. The covenant is solemnly confirmed between God and his people. Threats against those that shall break it. - HESE are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab; beside that covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them : You have seen all the things that the Lord did be- fore you in the land of Egypt, to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole land; 3 The great temptations, whichthy eyes have seen, those mighty signs, and wonders: 4 And the Lord hath not given you” a heart to un- derstand, and eyes to see, and ears that may hear, unto this present day. 5 He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age. 6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink: that you might know that I am the Lord your God. g 7 And you came to this place : and Sehon king of Hesebon, and Og king of Basan, came out against; as to fight. And we slew them ; 8 And took their land, and delivered it for a pos- session to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses. 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and fulfil them ; that you may understand all that you do. * Hath not given you, &c. . Through your own fault and because you resisted his grace. # The drunken, &c. absumat ebria sitientem. It is a proverbial expres- ston, which may either be understood, as spoken by the sinner, bless- *ng that is * himself in his sins with the imagination of peace, 10 You all stand this day before the Lord your God, your princes, and tribes, and ancients, an doctors, all the people of Israel, fi"Your children, and your wives, and the stran ger that abideth with thee in the camp, besides thu hewers of wood, and them that bring water: 12 That thou mayst pass in the covenant of th Lord thy God, and in the oath which this day the Lord thy God maketh with thee: 13 That he may raise thee up a people to him- self, and he may be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this cove- nant, and confirm these oaths, 15 But with all that are present, and that are ab- Sent. 16 For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we have passed through the midst of nations ; and passing through them, 17, You have seen their abominations and filth ; that is to say, their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped. 18 Lest perhaps there should be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart is turned away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations: and there should be among you a root bringing forth gall anſ bitterness. 19 And when he shall hear the words of this oath, he should bless himself in his heart, saying : J shall have peace, and will walk on in the naughtiness of my heart: and the drunken t may consume the thirsty. 20 And the Lord should not forgive him : but his wrath and jealousy against that man should be ex- ceedingly enkindled at that time; and all the curses that are written in this volume should light upon him : and the Lord should blot out his name from under heaven, 21 And utterly destroy him out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses that are contai:led in the book of this law and covenant: 22 And the following generation shall say, and the children that shall be born hereafter, and the strangers that shall come from afar, seeing the. lagues of that land, and the evils wherewith the }. hath afflicted it, 23 Burning it with brimstone, and the heat of salt, so that it cannot be sown any more, nor any green thing grow therein, after the example of the destruc tion of Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath and indig- nation 24. And all the nations shall say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land P what meaneth this exceeding great heat of his wrath * 25 And they shall answer: Because they forsock the covenant of the Lord, which he made with their and so great an abundance as may “tisfy, and as it were, consume a! thirst and want; or it may be ref., red to the root of bitterness, spokes of before, which being drunken with sin may attracu, and by that means consume such as thirst after the like evi 168 DEUTERONOMY. lathers, when he brought them out of the land of E }t : % And they have served strange gods, and ador- ed them, whom ºnew not, and for whom they ad not been assigned : 8. h º Therefore i. wrath of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses hat are written in this volume: © gº 28 And he hath cast them out of their land, in nger and in wrath, and in very great indignation; and hath thrown them into a strange land, as it is seen this day. e 29 Secret things” to the Lord our God: things that are manifest, to us and to our children for ever, that we may do aii the words of this law. CHAP. XXX. & Great mercies are promised to the penitent: God’s-command- ment is feasible. Life and death are set before them. NOW when all these things shall be come up- on thee, the blessing or the curse, which I have set forth before thee; and thou shalt be touch- ed with repentance of thy heart among all the na- tions, into which the Lord thy God shall have scat- tered thee; 2 And shalt return to him, and obey nis tom- mandments, as I command thee this day, thou and ºlden with all thy heart, and with all thy TOIll . 3. The Lord thy God will bring back again rhy captivity, and will have mercy on thee, and gather thee again out of all the nations. into which he scat- tered thee before. ..] If thou be driven as far as the poles of heaven, the Lord thy God will fetch thee back from thence ; 5 And will take thee to himself, and bring thee ...to the land which thy fathers possessed ; and thou halt possess it: and blessing thee, he will make ..hee more numerous than were thy fathers. 6 The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed; that thou mayst love the I,ord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayst live. 7 And he will turn all these curses upon thy ene- mies, and upon them that hate and persecute thee. 8 But thou shalt return, and hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and shalt do all the command- ments which I command thee this day: 9 And the Lord will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy'womb, thy cattle, and in the fruit of the fruitfulness of thy land, and in the plenty of all things. For the Lord will return to rejoice over thee in all good things, as he rºjoiced in thy fathers: 10 Yet so, if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy ( İod, and keep his precepts and ceremonies, which fe written in this law ; and return to the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, ll This commandment, that I command thee this day, is not above thee. nor far off from thee: * - –- * * Secret things, &c. As much as to say, secret things belong to, and are known to God alone: our business must be to observe what he bas revealed and manifested to us, º d to direct our lives accordingly. 12 Nor is it in heaven, that thou shouldst sty. Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it unto us, and we may hear and fulfil it in work f 13 Nor is it beyond the sea ; that thou maySt ex- cuse thyself, and say: Which of us can cross, the sea, and bring it untous, that we may hear, and do that which is commanded ? th 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in hy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it: 15 Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil; 16 That thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments; and thou mayst.live, and he may multiply thee, and bless thee in the land, which thou shalt go in to possess. 17 But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them : © 18 I forctell thee this day that thou shalt perish, and shalt remain but a short time in the land, to which thou shalt pass over the Jordan, and shalt go in to possess it. tº 19 I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live : 20 And that thou mayst love the Lord thy God. and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy º thou may st dwell in the land, for which the Lord swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it them. - CHAP. XXXI. Moses encourageth the people, and Josue who is appointed to succeed him. He delivereth the law to the priests. God forc- telleth that the people will often forsake him, and that he will punish them. He commandeth Moses to write a canticle, as a constant remembrancer of the law. ND Moses went, and spoke all these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them : I am this day a hundred and twenty years old: I can no longer go out and come in ; especially as the Lord also hath said to me : Thou shalt not pass over this Jordan. 3 The Lord thy God then will pass over before thee: he will destroy all these nations in thy sight; and thou shalt possess them : and this Josue shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. - 4 And the Lord shall do to them as he did to Sehon and Og the kings of the Amorrhites, and to their land ; and shall destroy them. 5 Therefore when the Lord shall have delivened these also to you, you shall do in like manner to them as I have commanded you. 6 Do manfully, and be of good heart: fear not. nor be ye dismayed at their sight: for the Lord thy God he himself is thy leader, and will not leave thee nor forsake thee. • * , 7 And Moses called Josue, and said to him be- fore all Israel : Take courage, and be valiant for thou shalt bring this people into the land which the Lord swore he would give to their fathers: and thou shalt divide it by lot, UHAr’. XXX I 8 And the Lord who is your leader, he himself will be with thee: he will not leave thee, nor for- sake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. 9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of . ºvenant of the Lord, and to all the ancients of ST316 H. 10 And he commanded them, saying: After se- Fen years, in the year of remission, in the feast of labernacles, ! I When all Israel come together, to appear in the sight of the Lord thy God, in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, in their hearing ; 12 And the people being all assembled together, both men and women, children and strangers, that are within thy gates ; that hearing they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and keep, and fulfil all the words of this law : 13 That their children also, who now are igno- rant, may hear, and fear the Lord their God, ali the days that they live in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it. 14 And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, the days of thy death are nigh: call Josue, and stand ye in the tabernacle of the testimony, that I may give him a charge. So Moses and Josue went, and stood in the tabernacle of the testimony: 15 And the Lord appeared there in a pillar of a cloud, which stood in the entry of the tabernacle. 16 And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers: and this people rising up will go a fornicating after strange gods in the land, to which it goeth in to dwell : there will they forsake me, and will make void the covenant, which I have made with them : 17 And my wrath shall be kindled against them in that day : and I will forsake them, and will hide my 'ace' from them : and they shall be devoured : all svils and afflictions shall find them, so that they shall say in that day. In truth, it is because God is not with me, that these evils have found me. 18 But I will hide, and cover my face in that day, for all the evils which they have done; because they have followed strange gods. 19 Now therefore write you this canticle, and teach the children of Israel; that they may know it by heart, and sing it by mouth, and this song may }: º me for a testimony among the children of ST:AG. I. 20 For I will bring them into the land, for which - swore to their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey. And when they have eaten, and are full and fat, they will turn away after strange gods, and will serve them ; and will despise me, and make void my COvenant. . 21 And after many evils and afflictions shall have come upon them, this canticle shall answer them for a testimony, which no oblivion shall take away out of the mouth of their seed. For I know their Jhoughts, and what they are about to do this day, be- fore that I bring them into the land which I have promised them - - 22 Moses therefore wrote the canticle, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 And the Lord commanded Josue the son of Nun, and said: Take courage and be valiant: fo thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with thee. 24. Therefore after Moses had wrote the word of this law in a volume, and finished it, 25. He commanded the Levites, who carried tn: ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 Take this book, and put it in the side of till. ark of the covenant of the Lord your God: that ºf may be there for a testimony against thee. 27 For. I know thy obstimacy, and thy most stifi neck. While I am yet living, and going in with 'ou, you have always been rebellious against the ord: how much more when I shall be dead? 28 Gather unto me all the ancients of your tribes and your doctors ; and I will speak these words in their hearing, and will call heaven and earth to wit ness against them. 29 For I know that, after my death, you will de wickedly, and will quickly turn aside from the way that I have commanded you : and evils shall come upon you in the latter times, when you shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him by the works of your hands. 30 Moses therefore spoke, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel, the words of this canticle and finished it even to the end. CHAP. XXXII. A canticle for the remembrance of the law. Moses is commanded to go up into a mountain, from whence he shall see the pro mised land, but not enter into it. HEA}, O ye heavens, the things I speak: let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth. 2 Let my doctrine gather as the rain, let my speech distil as the dew, as a shower upon the herb, and as drops upon the grass. 3 Because ſ". invoke the name of the Lord: give ye magnificence to our God. 4 The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments : God is faithful, and without any iniquity; he is just and right. 5 They have sinned against him, and are none ol his children in their filth: they are a wicked and per- verse generation. 6 Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, () foolish and senseless people? Is not he thy father, #. bath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee : 7 Remember the days of old; think upon even ) generation: ask thy father, and he will declare .o thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. 8 When the Most High divided the nations when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of people according to the number of the children of Israel. 9 But the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob the lot of his inheritance. 10 He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror, and of waste wilderness: he led him about | 6 DEUTERONOMY. and taught him: and he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11. As the eagle enticing her, young to fly, and hovering over them, he spread his wings, and hath taken him and carried him on his shoulders. 12 The Lord alone was his leader: and there was no strange god with him. 1.3 He set him upon high land, that he might eat the fruits of the fields, that he might suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the hardest stone. 14 Butter of the herd, and milk of the sheep with the ſat of lambs, and of the rams of the breed of Ba- San ; and goats with the marrow of wheat; and might drink the purest blood of the grape. 15 The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross; he forsook God who made nim, and departed from God his saviour. 16 They provoked him by strange gods, and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations. 17 They sacrificed to devils and not to God, to gods whom they knew not; that were newly come up, whom their fathers worshipped not. 18 Thou hast forsaken the God that begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee. 19 The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath; because his own sons and daughters provoked him. 20 And he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what their last end shall be: for It is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children. 2] They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation. 22 A fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn even to the lowest hell; and shall devour the earth with her increase, and shall burn the foundations of the mountains. 23 l will heap evils upon them, and will spend my arrows among them. 24. They shall be consumed with famine: and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite: I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground, and of Serpents. 25 Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years. 26 I said: Where are they P I will make the memory of them to cease from among men. 27 But for the wrath of the enemies I have de- ferred it : lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, and should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, h ith done all these things. 28 They are a nation without counsel, and with- but wisdom. 29 O that they would be wise, and would under- stand, and would provide for their last end. 30 How should one pursue after a thousand, and two chase ten thousand f Was it not, because their God had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? 31 For our God is not as their gods: our enemies themselves are judges. 32 Their vines are of the vineyard of Sodom. _--~~ ~" l and of the suburbs of Gomorrha: their grapes art grapes of gall, and their clusters most bitter. 33 Their wine is the gall of diagons, and thi venom of asps, which is incurable. 34 Are not these things stored up with me, and sealed up in my treasures? 35 Revenge is mine: and I will repay them in due time, that their foot may slide: the day of des truction is at hand, and the time makes haste to come 36 The Lord will judge his people, and will have mercy on his servants: he shall see that their hand is weakened, and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed. 37 And he shall say ' Where are their gods, in whom they trusted? 38 Of whose victims they ate the fat, and drank the wine of their drink-offerings: let them arise and help you, and protect you in your distress. 39 See ye that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me: I will kill, and I will make to live : I will strike, and l will heal: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. 40 I will lift up my hand to heaven, and l will Say: I live forever. 41 If I shall whet my sword as the lightning and my hand take hold on Judgment, I will ren. tler vengeance to my enemies, and repay them that hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood. and my sword shall devour flesh, of the blood of the slain and of the captivity, of the bare head of the enemies. 43. Praise his people, ye nations, for he will revenge the blood of his servants; and will render vengeance to their enemies: and he will be merciful to the land of his people. 44 So Moses came, and spoke all the words of this canticle in the ears of the people, and Josue the Son of Nun. - 45. And he ended all these words, speaking to all Israel. 46 And he said to them: Sct your hearts on all the words, which I testify to you this day: which you shall command your children to observe and to do, and to fulfil all that is written in this law: 47 For they are not commanded you in vain, but that every one should live in them; and that doing them you may continue a long time in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possessi 48 And the Lord spoke to Moses the same day, Say Ing: 49 Go up into this mountain Abarim, (that is to Say, of passages,) unto mount Nebo, which is in th: land of Moab over-against Jericho: and see the lan. of Chanaan, which I will deliver to the children o' Israel to possess: and die thou in the mountain. 50 When thou art gone up into it, thou shalt be gathered to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered to his people: 5] Because you trespassed against meinthemids of the children of lsrael at the waters of contradiº- tion, in Cades of the desert of Sin: and you did not sanctify me among the children of Israel. ºf T--> CHAP. XXXIII, XXXIV. 32 Thou shalt see the land before thee, which I will give to the children of 1srael: but thou shalt not entel into it CHAP. XXXIII. Moses before his death blesseth the tribes of ſsrael. 7 TW H IS is the blessing, where with the man of God Moses blessed the children of Israel, before his death. 2 And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he hath appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law. - 3 He hath loved the people: all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine. 4. Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob. 5 He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people beingassembled with the tribes of Israel. 6 Let Ruben live, and not die; and be he small in number. - 7. This is the blessing of Juda. Hear, O Lord the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his peo- ple: his hands shall fight for him ; and he shall be his helper against his enemies. 8 To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man,” whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of con- || tradiction: 9 Who hath said f to his father, and to his mo- ther: I do not know you ; and to his brethren : I | now you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant, -> 10 Thy judgments, O Jacob, and thy law, O Israel: they shall put incense in thy wrath, and holo- faust upon thy altar. ll Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his ene- mics : and let not them that hate him rise. 12 And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell f confidently in him : as in a bride-chamber shall he abide all the day long; and between his shoulders shall he rest. 13 To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath : | | Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon: 15 Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills: 16 And of the fruits of the earth, and of the ful- ness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite S among his brethren. 17 His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, h. horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth. hese are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses. 18 And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Z:..bulon in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tabernacles 19 They shall call the people to the mountain there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Whº shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands. 20 And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he hath rested as a lion, and hath seized upon the arm and the top of the head. 21 And he saw| his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up; who was with the }rinces of the people, and did the justices of the ord, and his judgment with Israel. 22 To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion; he shall flow plentifully from Basan. 23, And to Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the seal and the south. 24. To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his breth ren: and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth so also shall thy old age be. 26 There is no other god like the God of the righteous: he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither. 27 His dwelling is above, and underneath ar. the everlasting arms:** he shall cast out the ene. my from before thee, and shall say: Be thou brought to nought. - 28 Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine; and the heavens shall be misty with dew. 29 Blessed art thou, Israel: who is like to the O people, that art saved by the Lord P the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy glory: thy enemies shall deny thee; and thou shalt tread upon their necks. - CHAP. XXXIV. Moses seeth the promised land; but is not suffered to go into it He dieth at the age of 120 years. God, burieth his body se cretly ; and all Israel mourn for him thirty days. Josue, re- plenished (by imposition of Moses’s hands) with the spirit of God, succeedeth. But Moses for his special familiarity ºrith God, and for most wonderful miracles, is commended above all other prophets. THEN Moses went up from the plains of Moab upon mount Nebo, to the top of Phasga over- against Jericho: and the Lord showed him all the land of Galaad as far as Dan, * Holy man. Aaron and his successors in the priesthood. # Who hath said, &c. It is the duty of the priestly tribe to prefer God's honour and service before all considerations of flesh and blood : in such manner as to behave as strangers to their nearest akin, when these would withdraw them from the business of their calling. | Shall dwell, &c. This seems to allude to the temple being built in the confines of the tribe of Benjamin. * The Nazariée. See the note on Gen. xlix. 26 | He saw, &c. The pre-eminence of the tribe of Gad, to which tril alludeth, was their having the lawgiver Moses buried in their borders; though the particular place was not known. * The sea. The lake of Genesareth. ** Underneath are the everlasting arms. Though the dwelling of God be above in heaven, his arms are always stretched out to he'p us here below 167 JOSUE. 2 And all Nephtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasses, and all the land of Juda unto the further- PnoSt Sea, g e 3 And the south part, and the breadth of the plain of Jerºcho the city of palm-trees as far as Segor. 4. And the Lord said to him: This is the land, for whic!, I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, say- ing: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt nº pass over to it. 5 And Moses tº e servant of the Lord died there,” in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord: 6 And he buried him # of Moab, over-against Phogor: and no man hath known of his sepulchre until this present day. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim; neither were his teeth moved. in the ralley of the land || 8 And the children of Israel mourned for him ra the plains of Moab thirty days: and the days ºf their mourning in which they mourned for Moses were ended. 9 And Josue the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. 10 And there arose no more a prophet in lslaº like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. o 11 In all the signs and wonders, which he sent by him, to do in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whoke land, 12 And all the mighty hand, and great miracles which Moses did before all Israel. * Died there. . This last chapter of Deuteronomy, in which the death of Moses is related, was written by Josue, or by some of the pro- phets. # He buried him, viz By the ministry of angels, and would have the place of his burial to be unknown, lest the Israelites, who were sc prone to idolatry, might worship him with divine honours. THE BOOK T has book lled Josur, because it contains the history of what passed under him, and according to the common opinion was written by him. The Greeks call hum Jesus ; for Josue and Jesus in the Hebrew are the same name, and have the same signification, viz. A SA violin. And it was not without a mys- tery that he who was to bring the people into the land of pro- mise should have his name changed from OsKE (for so he was called before, Num. xiii. 17.) to Josue or JEsus, to give us to understand, that Moses by his law could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour Jrsus was to bring us into it. CHAP. I. Josue, encouraged by the Lord, admonisheth the people to pre- pare themselves to pass over the Jordan. OW it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and said to him : 2 Moses my servant is dead: arise, and pass over this Jordan, thou and thy people with thee, into the and which I will give to the children of Israel. 3 I will deliver to you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, as I have said to Moses, 4. From the desert, and from Libanus, unto the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hethites unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. 5. No man shall be able to resist you all the days of thy life: as I have been with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Take courage and be strong: for thou shalt di- "ide by lot to this people the land for which I swore to their fathers, that I would deliver it to them. 7 Take courage therefore, and be very valiant: ſºat thou mayst observe and do all the law, which Moses my servant hath commanded thee: turn not from it to the right has d or to the left, that thou Thayst understand all ºrgs which thou doest OF JOSUE. 8 Let not the book of this law depart from thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate on it day and might, that thou may s observe and do all things that are written in it: then shalt thou direct thy way. and understand it 9 Behold, 1 command thee: take courage, and be Strong. the Lord thy God is with thee in all things what. soever thou shalt go to. 10 And Josue commanded the princes of the peo. ple, saying: Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, and say: . 11 Prepare you victuals: for after the third day you shall pass over the Jordan, and shall go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God will give you. 12, And he said to the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses, 13 Remember the word, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying: The Lord your God hath given you rest, and all this land. 14 Your wives and children, and cattle shall re- main in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan: but pass you over armed before your brethren, all of you that are strong of hand, and fight for them, . 15 Until the Lord give rest to your brethren as he hath given you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them: and so you shall return into the land of your possession, and you shall dwell in it, which Moses the servant o the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun. 16 And they made answer to Josue, and said All that thou hast commanded us we will do: and whithersoever thou shalt send us, we will go. 17 As we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we >== Fiss •== Fear not, and be not dismayed: because . ºr w vºr *~~~~~~~ ~ I- zººs CHAP. II, III. $n H the inhabitants of the land have lost all strength. obey thee alsc: only be the Lord thy God with thee, as he was with Moses. !8. He that shall gainsay thy mouth, and not obey all thy words, that thou shalt command him, let him die: only take thou courage, and do manfully. CHAP. II. Two spies are sent to Jericho, who are received and concealed by Rahah ND Josue the son of Nun sent from Setim two ** men, to spy secretly: and said to them: Go, and view the land and the city of Jericho. They went and entered into the house of a woman, that was a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged with her. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, and was said Behold, there are men come in hither, by night, of the children of Israel, to spy the land. 3 And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: Bring forth the men that came to thee, and are en- tered into thy house: for they are spies, and are come to view all the land. 4 And the woman taking the men, hid them, and said: I confess they came to me, but I knew not whence they were: 5 And at the time of shutting the gate in the dark, they also went out together. I know not whither they are gone: pursue after them quickly, and you will overtake them. . 6 But she made the men go up to the top of her house, and covered them with the stalks of flax, which was there. 7 Now they that were sent, pursued after them, oy the way that leadeth to the fords of the Jordan: and as soon as they were gone out, the gate was presently shut. 8 The men that were hidden were not yet asleep, when behold, the woman went up to them, and said: 9 I know that the Lord hath given this land to you: for the dread of you is fallen upon us: and all 10 We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea at your going in, when you came out of Egypt: and what things you did to the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were beyond the Jordan, Sehon and Og, whom you slew. 11 And hearing these things we were affrighted, and our heart fainted away; neither did there re- main any spirit in us at your coming in : for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath. & 12 Now therefore swear ye to me by the Lord, that as I have shown mercy to you, so you also will show mercy to my father's house : and give me a true token, 13 That you will save my father and mother, my brethren and sisters, and all things that are theirs, and deliver our souls from death. 14. They answered her: Be our lives for you unto death, only if thou betray us not. And when, the Lord shalf have delivered us the land, we will show thee mercy and truth. 16 And she said to them: Get ye up to the moun tains, lest perhaps, they meet you as they return and there lie ye hid three days, till they come back, and so you shall go on your way. 17 And they said to her : We shall be blameless of this oath, which thou hast made us swear: 18 If when we come into the land, this scarlet cord be a sign, and thou tie it in the window, which thou hast let us down: and gather togeth. thy father and mother, and brethren and all thy ki dred into thy house. - 19 Whosoever shall go out of the door of thy house, his blood shall be upon his own head; and we shall be quit. But the blood of all that shal' be with thee in the house, shall light upon our head, if any man touch them. 20 But if thou wilt betray us, and utter this word abroad, we shall be quit of this oath, which thou hast made us swear. 21 And she answered : As you have spoken, so be it done. And sending them on their way, she hung the scarlet cord in the window. 22 But they went and came to the mountains, and stayed there three days, till they that pursued them were returned. For having sought them through all the way, they found them not. 23 And when they were gone back into the city. the spies returned, and came down from the moun- tain: and passing over the Jordan, they came to Josue the son of Nun, and told him all that befel them, 24. And said: The Lord hath delivered all this land into our hands: and all the inhabitants there.cº. are overthrown with fear. CHAP. III. The river Jordan is miraculously dried up, for the passage of the children of Israel. ND Josue rose before day-light, and removed the camp: and they departed from Setim, and came to the Jordan, he, and all the children of is- rael: and they abode there for three days. 2. After which the heralds went through the midst of the camp, 3 And began to proclaim: When you shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the race of Levi carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them as they go before: 4 And let there be between you and the ark the space of two thousand cubits; that you may see it afar off, and know which way you must go; for you have not gone this way before: and take care you come not near the ark. 5 And Josue said to the people: Be ye sanctifi- ed: for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among Oll. y 6 And he said to the priests. Take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people. And they obeyed his commands, and took it up, and walked before them. - 7 And the Lord said to Josue : This day will l 15 Thom she let them down with a cord out of a 3 indow: for her house joined close to the wall. - . . ~~ sº-sº *******_ ** --> &-a- <> beft to exalt thee bºre Israel: that they may ! S- JOSUE. know that as I was with Moses, so I am with thee also. 8 And do thou command the priests that carry die ark of the covenant, and say to them: When you shall have entered into part of the water of the lord m, stand in it. 9 And Josue said to the children of Israel. Come hither, and hear the word of the Lord your.God. 10 And again he said: By this you shall know hat the Lord the living God is in the midst of you, ud that he shall destroy before your sight the Cha- manite and the Hethite, the Hevite and the Phe- rezite, the Gergesite also and the Jebusite, and the A m rwhite. © 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you into the Jordan. 12 Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of every tribe. 13 And when the priests. that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the wa- ters that are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from above, shall stand toge- ther upon a heap. 14 So the people went out of their tents, to pass over the Jordān; and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant, went on before them. 15 And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it being harvest time, had filled the banks|| of its channel,) 16 The waters that came down from above stood n one place, and swelling up like a mountain, were seem afar off from the city that is called Adom, toil the place of Sarthan : but those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of the wilderness (which now is called the Dead Sea) until they wholly failed. 17 And the people marched over-against Jericho: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan: and all the people passed over through the channel that was dried up. CHAP. IV. Twelve stones are taken out of the river to be set up for a mont- ment of the miracle - and other twelve are placed in the midst of the river A\! when they were passed over, the Lord said to Josue : 2 Choose twelve men, one of every tribe : 3 And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night. 4 And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of the children of lsrael, one out of every tribe ºf 5 And he said to them : Go before the ark of the Lord your God to the midst of the Jordan; and carry from thence every man a stone on your shoul- ders, according to the number of the children of 6 That it may be a sign among you : and when your children shall ask you to-morrow, saying What mean these stones? 7 You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it passed over the same: therefore were these stones set for a monument of the children of Israel for ever. 8 The children of Israel therefore did as Josue commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan twelve stones, as the Lord had com manded him, according to the number of the chil dren of Israel, unto the place whercin they camped; and there they set them. 9 And Josue put other twelve stoncs in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood, that carried the ark of the covenant : and they are there until this present day. 10 Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the midst of the Jordan till all things were accom- plished which the Lord had commanded Josue ta speak to the people, and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste, and passed over. 11 And when they had all passed over, the ark also of the Lord passed over: and the priests went before the people. 12 The children of Ruben also and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had commanded them. 13 And forty thousand fighting men by their troops and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho. - 14. In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived. 15 And he said to him : 16 Command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan. 17 And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the Jordan. * 18 And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry ground, the waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before. 19 And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth day of the first month, and camped in. Galgal, over-against the east side of the city of Jericho. 20 And the twelve stones, which they had taken out of the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal; 21 And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers to-morrow, and shall say to them : what mean these stones P 22 You shall teach them, and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel. 23 The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over: 24. As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till we passed through : 25 That all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also Israel, 170 may fear the Lord your God for ever. CHAP. V, VI. CHAP. V. The people are circumcised : they keep the pasch. The manna ceaseth. An Angel appeareth to Josue. NOW when all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan westward, and ail the kings of Chanaan, who possessed the places near the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the chil- dren of Israel, till they passed over, their heart fail- ed them ; and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the coming in of the children of Israel. 2 At that time the Lord said to Josue : Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time.* the Shildren of Israel. & He did what the Lord had commanded : and he circumcised the children of Israel in the hill of the foreskins. - 4. Now this is the cause of the second circumci- sion : All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the men fit for war, died in the de- sert, during the time of the long going about in the W’3 W. º Now these were all circumcised. ple that were born in the desert, 6 During the forty years of the journey in the wide wilderness, were uncircumcised : till all they were consumed that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he had sworn before, that he would not show them the land flowing with milk and honey. - - 7 The children of these succeeded in the place of their fathers, and were circumcised by Josue : for they were uncircumcised even as they were born ; and no one had circumcised them in the way. 8 Now after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp, until they were healed. - 9 And the Lord said to Josue : This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt. And the name of that place was called Galgal, until this present day. 10 And the children of Israel abode in Galgal ; and they kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of thé month at evening in the plains of Jericho : 11 And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and furmety of the same year. - 12 And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land : neither did the children of Israel use that food any more ; but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan. 13 And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over-against him, holding a drawn Sword: and he went to him, and said: Art thou one of ours » of our adversaries f 14 And he answered : No : but I am prince of the host of the Lord ;f and now I am come. But the peo- • *-es- * The second time. Not that such as had peen circumcised oefore were to be circumcised again: but that they were now to renew, and to take up again the practice of circumcision; which had been omit- ted during their forty years sojourning in the wilderness; by reason ef their being always uncertain when they should be obliged to march. 15 Josue fell on his face to the ground. Avaí wºrshippingſ said: What saith my lord to his Servant : º 16 Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off th for the place whereon thou standest is holy Josue did as was commanded him. CHAP. VI After seven days processions, ihe pries, s sounding the , ...arts the walls of Jericho fall down ; and the city is taken , , i.le stroyed. NOW Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel: and no man durst go out or come in. 2 And the Lord said to Josue : Behold, I have given into thy hands Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the valiant men. 3 Go round about the city all ye ſighting men once a day: so shall ye do for six days. 4 And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant : and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets. - 5 And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout ; and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground ; and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand. 6 Then Josue the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them : Take the ark of the covenant : and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and march before the ark of the Lord. 7 And he said to the people : Go, and compass the city, armed, marching before the ark of the Lord. 8 And when Josue had ended his words, and the seven priests blew the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, - 9 And all the armed men went before, the rest of the common people followed the ark, and the sound of the trumpets was heard on all sides. 10 But Josue had commanded the people, saying You shall not shout, nor shall your voice be heard, nor any word go out of your mouth ; until the day COIN) (2 ºl.i shall say to you : Cry, and shout. 11 So the ark of the Lord went about the city once a day, and returning into the camp, abode there. 12 And Josue rising before day, the priests took the ark of the Lord, - 13 And seven of them seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee: and they went before the ark of the Lord walking and sounding the trumpets: and the armed men went before them ; and the rest of the common people followed the ark ; and they blew the trumpets. feet: A m.) t Prince of the host of the Lord, &c. St. Michael, who is called prince of the people of Israel, Daniel x. 21. f Worshipping. . Not with divine honour, but with a religious vene ration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of his person. 171 JOSUE 14. And they went round about the city the second day once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days. 15 But the seventh day, rising up early, they went about the city, as it was ordered, seven times. 16 And when in the seventh going about the riests sounded with the trumpets, Josue said to all !". Shout ; for the Lord hath delivered the city to you : - 17 And let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rahab the harlot live, with all that are with her in the house : for she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But beware ye lest you touch aught of those things that are forbidden, and you be guilty of trans- gression, and all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled. 19 But whatsoever gold or silver there shall be, or vessels of brass and iron, let it be consecrated to the Lord, laid up in his treasures. 20 So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets sounding, when the voice and the sound thundered in the ears of the multitude, the walls forth with ſell down : and every man went up by the place that was over-against him : and they took the city, 21 And killed all that were in it, man and woman, young and old. The oxen also and the sheep, and the asses, they slew with the edge of the sword. 22 But Josue said to the two men that had been sent for spies: Go into the harlot's house, and bring her out, and all things that are hers, as you assured lier by oath. 23 And the young men went in and brought out Rahab, and her parents, her brethren also, and all her goods, and her kindred, and made them to stay without the camp. 24 But they burned the city, and all things that were therein : except the gold and silver, and ves- sels of brass and iron, which they consecrated into the treasury of the Lord. 25 But Josue saved Rahab the harlot and her father’s house, and all she had ; and they dwelt in the midst of Israel until this present day: because she hid the messengers whom he had sent to spy out Jericho. At that time, Josue made an imprecation, saying: 26 Cursed” be the man before the Lord, that shall raise up and build the city of Jericho. In his first-born may he lay the foundation thereof, and in ..he last of his children set up its gates. 27 And the Lord was with Josue : and his name was noised throughout all the land. CHAP. VII. For the sin of Achan, the Israelites are defeated at Hai. The offender is fºund out, and stoned to death ; and God’s wrath is turned from them. RUT the children of Israel transgressed the com- mandment, and took to their own use of the a.athema. For Achan, the son of Charm1, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zare, of the tribe of Juda, took something of the amathema: and the Lord was angry against the children of Israel. 2 And when Josue sent men from Jericho against Hai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of the town of Bethel, he said to them : Go up, and view the country: and they ſulfilled his command, and viewed Hai. 3 And returning they said to him Let not all the people go up, but let two or three thousand men go, and destroy the city: why should all the people º publed in vain against enemies that are very eW 4. There went up therefore three thousand fight- ing men, who immediately turned their backs, 5 And were defeated by the men of the city of Hai: and there fell of them six and thirty men: and the enemies pursued them from the gate as far as Sabarim, and they slew them as they fled by the descent : and the heart of the people was struck with fear, and melted like water. - 6 But Josue rent his garments, and fell flat on the ground before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and all the ancients of Israel: and they put dust upon their heads. 7 And Josue said: Alas, O Lord God, why wouldst thou bring this people over the river Jor- dam, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorrhite. and to destroy us? would God we had staid he- yond the Jordan as we began. 8 My Lord God, what shall I say, seeing Israel turning their backs to their enemies f 9 The Chanaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and being gathered together will surround us and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do to thy great name P 10 And the Lord said to Josue: Arise ; why liest thou flat on the ground P l l lsrael hath sinned, and transgressed my co- venant: and they have taken of the amathema, and º stolen and lied, and have hidden it among their OOCIS. É 12 Neither can Israel stand before his ºnemies, but he shall flee from them: because he is defiled with the anathema. I will be no more with you, till vou destroy him that is guilty of this wicked- Il 62.SS. 13 Arise, sanctify the people, and say to them Be ye sanctified against to-morrow : for thus saith the Lord God of Israel: The amathema is in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thy enemies, till he be destroyed out of thee that is defiled with this wickedness. 14 And you shall come in the morning every time by your tribes: and what tribe soever the lot shall find, it shall come by its kindreds, and the kindred by its houses, and the house by the men. 15 And whosoever he be that shall be found * Cursed, &c. Jericho, in the mystical sense, signifies inquity: the •ou"ding of the tr impets by the priests, the preaching of the word of t sod; by which the walls of Jericº,are thrown down, when sin- 7. --Tºs- ners are converted: and a dreadful curse will light on them who build them up again. CHAP. VII). guilty of this fact, he shall be burnt with fire with all his substance; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and hath done wickedness Israel. 16 Josue, therefore, when he rose in the morn- ing, made Israel to come by their tribes: and the tribe of Juda was found: * | 7 Which being brought by its families, it was found to be the family of Zabdi- 18 And bringing his house, man by man, he found A chan the son of Charmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zare, of the tribe of Juda. • 19 Aud Josue said to Achan : My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and confess, and tell me what thou hast done: hide it not. 20 And Achan answered Josue, and said to him: Indeed, I have sinned against the Lord the God of Israel; and thus and thus have I done. 2i For is aw among the spoils a scarlet garment exceeding good, and two hundred sicles of silver, and a golden rule of fifty sicles: and I coveted them, and I took them away, and hid them in the ground in the midst of my tent: and the silver I covered with the earth that I dug up. 22 Josue therefore sent ministers, who running •o his tent, found all hidden in the same place, to- gether with the silver. 23 And taking them away out of the tent, they brought them to Josue, and to all the children of Is- rael, and threw them down before the Lord. 24. Then Josue and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zare, and the silver, and the garment, and the golden rule, his sons” also and his daughters, his oxen and asses, and sheep, the tent also, and all the goods; and brought them to the valley of Achor: 2b Where Josue said: Because thou hast trou- bled us, the Lord trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him: and all things that were his, were Jonsumed with fire. 26 And they gathered together upon him a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this present day. And the wrath of the Lord was turned away from them. And the name of that place was called The Valley of Achor, f until this day. CHAP. VIII Hai is taken, and burnt; and all the inhavitants slain. An altar is built ; and sacrifices offered. The law is written on stones: and the blessings and cursings are read before all the people. ND the Lord said to Josue. Fear not, nor be thou dismayed: take with thee all the multi- tude of fighting men; arise and go up to the town of Hai. Behold, I have delivered into thy hand the king thereof, and the people, and the city and the and : 2 And thou shalt do to the city of Hai, and to the king thereof, as thou hast done to Jericho, and to the king thereof: but the spoils and all the cattle A. * His sons &c. of their father. # Achor. That is trouble. Probably conscious to, or accomplices of the crime | ou shall take for a prey to yourselves lay an au. }. for the city behind it. 3 And Josué arose, and all the army cf the fight- ing men with him, to go up against Hai and he sent thirty thousand chosen valiant men in the night, 4 And commanded them, saying: Lay an aim bush behind the city: and go not very far from it and be ye all ready. 5 But I and the rest of the multitude which s with me, will approach on the contrary side agains the city. And when they shall come out against us, we will flee, and turn our backs, as we did be-, fore : 6 Till they pursuing us be drawn farther from the city: for they will think that we flee as before. 7 And whilst we are fleeing, and they pursuing, you shall rise out of the ambush, and shall destroy the city: and the Lord your God will deliver it into our hands. o 8 And when you shall have taken it, set it on fire: and you shall do all things so as I have com manded. 9 And he sent them away; and they went on to the place of the ambush, and abode between Be- thel and Hai, on the west side of the city of Ha: º Josue staid that night in the midst of the peo- ple: 10 And rising early in the morning, he mustered his soldiers, and went up with the ancients in the front of the army, environed with the aid of the fighting mem. 11 And when they were come, and were gone up over-against the city, they stood on the north side of the city, between which and them there was a valley in the midst. 12 And he had chosen five thousandſ men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Hai on the west side of the same city: ſº 13 But all the rest of the army went in battle array on the north side, so that the last of that mul- titude reached to the west side of the city. So Josue went that night, and stood in the midst of the valley. o 14, And when the king of Hai saw this, he made haste in the morning, and went out with all the army of the city, and set it in battle array to- ward the desert, not knowing that there lay an am- bush behind his back. * , 15 But Josue and all Israel gave back, makin as if they were afraid, and fleeing by the way o the wilderness. 16 But they shouting together, and encouraging one another, pursued them. And when they were come from the city, e © 17 And not one remained in the city of Hai and of Bethel, that did not pursue after Israel, leaving the towns open as they had rushed out, 18. The Lord said to Josue: Lift up the shield t Five thousand. These were part of the 30,000 mentioned abºve verse 3. 173 JOSUE. ſº that is in thy hand, towards the city of Hai, for I w ill deliver it to thee 19 And when he had lifted up his shield towards the city, the ambush that lay hid, rose up immediately: and going to the city, took it, and set it on fire. 20 And the men of the city, that pursued after Josue, looking back, and seeing the smoke of the eity rise up to heaven, had no more power to flee this way or that way: especially as they that had counterfeited flight, and were going towards the wilderness, turned back most valiantly against them that p insued. 21 So Josue and all Israel seeing that the city was taken, and that the smoke of the city rose up, returned, and slew tile men of Hai. 22 And they also that had taken and set the city ſon fire, issuing out of the city to meet their own men, began to cut off the encumies who were sur- rounded by them. So that the enemies being cut ºff on both sides, not one of so great a multitude 'vas saved. - - 23. And they took the king of the city of Hai *live, and brought him to Josue. 24. So all being slain that had pursued aſter Is- racl in his ſlight to the wilderness, and falling by the sword in the same place, the children of Israel re- turned, and laid waste the city. - 25 And the number of them that fell that day both of men and women, was twelve thousand per- sons, all of the city of Hai. 26 But Josue drew not back his hand, which he had stretched out on high, holding the shield, till all the inhabitants of Hai were slain. 27 And the children of Israel divided among them the cattle and the prey of the city, as the Lord had commanded Josue. * 28 And he burned the city, and made it a heap for ever: 29 And he hung the king thereof on a gibbet until the evening and the going down of the sum. Then Josue commanded, and they took down his carcass from the gibbet ; and threw it in the very en- trance of the city, heaping upon it a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this present day. 30 Then Josue built an altar to the Lord the God of Israel in mount Helbal, 31 As Moses the servant of the Lord had com- manded the children of Israel, and it is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of unhewn stones which iron had not touched: and he offered upon it holocausts to the Lord, and immolated vic- tims of peace-offerings. 32 And he wrote upon stones the Deuteronomy of the law of Moses, which he had ordered before the Cuildren of Israel. 33 And all the people, and the ancients, and the princes and judges stood on both sides of the ark, before the priests that carried the ark of the cove- uant of the Lord, both the stranger and he that was born among them, half of them by mount Garizim, and half by mount Hebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. And first he blessed the people of Israel. . ~~~~ *Twº 34 Afºr this he read all the words of the bless ing and the cursing, and all things that were written in the book of the law. © 35 He left out nothing of those things which Moses had commanded; but he repeated all befort all the people of Israel, with the women and chil. dren and strangers that dwelt among them. CHAP. IX. Josue is deceived by the Gabaomites: who being detected are condemned to be perpetual servants. - OW when these things were heard of, all the kings beyond the Jordan, that dwelt in the mountains and in the plains, in the places near the sea, and on the coasts of the great sea, they also that dwelt by Libanus, the Hethite and the Amor- rhite, the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, and the He- vite, and the Jebusite, . 2 Gathered themselves together, to fight against Josue and Israel with one mind, and one resolution. 3 But they that dwelt in Gabaon, hearing all that Josue had done to Jericho and Hai: 4 Cummingly devising took for themselves pro visions, laying old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles rent and sowed up again, 5 And very old shoes which for a show of age were clouted with patches, and old garments upon them: the loaves also, which they carried for pro- vision by the way, were hard, and broken into pieces : . 6 And they went to Josue, who then abole in the camp at Galgal, and said to him, and to all Is. rael with him: We are come from a far country, d - siring to make peace with you. And the children of Israel answered them, and said: 7 Perhaps you dwell in the land which falls to our lot; if so, we can make no league with you. 8 But they said to Josue : We are thy servants. Josue said to them: Who are you? and whence came you ? w 9 They answered: From a very far country thy servants are come in the name of the Lord thy God For we have heard the fame of his power, all the things that he did in Egypt, X. 10 And to the two kings of the Amorrhites that were beyond the Jordan, Sehon king of Hesebon, and Og king of Basan, that was in Astaroth : | 1 And our ancients, and all the inhabitants of our country said to us: Take with you victuals for a long way, and go meet them, and say: We are your servants; make ye a league with us. 12 Behold, these loaves we took hot, when we set out from our houses to come to you; now they are become dry, and broken in , i.eces by being ex ceeding old. - 13 These bottles of wine when we filled them were new, now they are rent and burst. These garments we have on, and the shoes we have on our feet, by reason of the very long journey are worn out, and almost consumed. - 14 They took therefore of their victuals, and consulted not the mouth of the Lord. 15 And Josue made peace with them, and en- =TFs - s 174 CHAI’. X tering into a league promised that they should not be slain the princes also of the multitude swore IO them. 16 Now three days after the league was made, they heard that they dwelt mºi, ii they should be among them. 17 And the children of Israel removed the camp, and came into their cities on the third day, the names of which are Gabaon, and Caphira, and Beroth, and Cariathiarim. 18 And they slew them not, because the princes of the multitude had sworn in the name of the Lord the God of Israel. Then all the common people murmured against the princes. *. 19 And they answered them : We have sworn o them in the name of the Lord the God of Israel; and therefore we may not touch them. 20 But this we will do to them: Let their lives be saved, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us, if we should be forsworn. 21 But so let them live, as to serve the whole multitude in hewing wood, and bringing in water. As they were speaking these things, 22 Josue called the Gabaonites, and said to them: Why would you impose upon us, saying: We º jar off from you, whereas you are in the midst Of UIS : 23 Therefore you shall be under a curse, and your race shall always be hewers of word, and car- riers of water unto the house of my God. 24. They answered: It was told us thy servants, anat the Lord thy God had promised his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all ..he inhabitants thereof. Therefore we feared ex- ceedingly, and provided for our lives, compelled by the dread we had of you ; and we took this counsel. 25 And now we are in thy hand: deal with us as It seemeth good and right unto thee. 26 So Josue did as he had said, and delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, that they should not be slain. 27 And he gave orders in that day, that they should be in the service of all the people, and of the altar of the Lord, hewing wood, and carrying water, until this present time, in the place which the Lord nath chosen. CHAP. X. , Five kings war against Gabaon. Josue defeateth them : many are slain with hail-stones. At the prayer of Josue the sun and moon stand still the space of one day. The five kings are hanged. Divers cities are taken. WWHEN Adonisedec king of Jerusalem had heard these things, to wit, that Josue had taken Hai, and had destroyed it (for as he had done to Jericho and the king thereof, so did he to Hai, and its king) and that the Gabaonites were gone over to lsrael, and were their confederates, 2 He was exceedingly afraid. For Gabaon was a great city, and one ; the royal cities, and greater than the town Hal and all its fighting men were most valiant. 3 Therefore Adonisedec king of Jerusalem sent to Oham king of Hebron, and to Pharam king of 2 º’- > (cº- = ** =s+ —t- Jerimoth, and to Japhia king of Lachis, and to Ta bir king of Eglon, saying: Come up to me, and bring help, that we may take Gabaon, because it hath gone over to Josue, and to the children of Israel 5. So the five kings of the Amorrhites being as sembled together, went up; the king of Jerusalein. the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon, they and their armies and camped about Gabaon, laying siege to it. 6 But the inhabitants of the city of Gabat m which was besieged, sent to Josue, who then abode in the camp at Galgal, and said to him: Withdraw not thy hands from helping thy servants: come up quickly and save us, and bring us succour: for all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwell in the mountains, are gathered together against us. 7 And Josue went up from Galgal, and all the army of the warriors with him, most valiant men. 8 And the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not for I have delivered them into thy hands: none of them shall be able to stand against thee. 9 So Josue going up from Galgal all the night, came upon them suddenly. 10 And the Lord troubled them at the sight of Israel: and he slew them with a great slaughter in Gabaon, and pursued them by the way of the as- cent to Beth-horon, and cut them off all the way to Azeca and Maceda. 11 And when they were fleeing from the chil- dren of Israel, and were in the descent of Beth horon, the Lord cast down upon them great stones from heaven as far as Azeca: and many more were killed with the hail-stones than were slain by the swords of the children of Israel. 12 Then Josue spoke to the Lord, in the day that he delivered the Amorrhite in the sight of the chil- dren of Israel, and he said before them: Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun and the moon stood still till the people revenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of the just P* So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down the space of one day. 14. There was not before nor after so long a day the Lord obeying the voice of a man, and fighting for Israe!. - 15 And Josue returned with all Israel into the camp of Galgal. g 16 For the five kings were fled, and had hidden themselves in a cave .# the city of Maceda. 17 And it was told Josue that the five kings were found hidden in a cave of the city of Maceda. 18 And he commanded them that were with him saying: Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave and set careful men to keep them shut up ; 19 And stay you not; but pursue after the ene mies, and kill all the hindermost of them as they flee, and do not suffer them whom the Lord God * The book of the just. In Hebrew Jasner; an ancient book, long since lost. 175 * A. * sº º JUSUH. hath delivered into your hands, to shelter themselves in their cities. º 20 So the enemies being slain with a great slaugh- ter, and almost utterly consumed, they that were able to escape from Israel, e.tered into fenced cities. 21 And all the army returned to Josue in Mace- da, where the camp then was, in good health, and without the loss of any one : and no man durst move his tongue against the children of Israel. 22 And Josue gave orders, saying: Open the mºuth of the cave, and bring forth to me the five kings that lie hid therein. 23 And the ministers did as they were command- cd ; and they brought out to him the five kings out of the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of He- bron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon. 24 And when they were brought out to him, he called all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the army that were with him: Go, and set your feet on the necks of these kings. And when they had gone, and put their feet upon the necks of them lying under them, 25. He said again to them: Fear not, neither be ye dismayed; take courage, and be strong: for so will the Lord do to all your enemies, against whom you fight. 26 And Josue struck, and slew them, and hanged them upon five gibbets; and they hung until the tWelling. 27 And when the sun was down, he commanded the soldiers to take them down from the gibbets. And after they were taken down, they cast them into the cave where they had lain hid, and put great Stones at the mouth thereof, which remain Intil this day. - 28 The same day Josue took Maceda, and de- stroyed it with the edge of the sword, and killed the king and all the inhabitants thereof; he left not In it the least remains. Aud he did to the king of Maceda, as he had done to the king of Jericho. 29 And he passed from Maceda with all Israel to Lebna, and fought against it: 30 And the Lord delivered it with the king thereof into the hands of Israel : and they destroyed the city with the edge of the sword, and all the in- habitants thereof. They left not in it any remains. And they did to the king of Lebna, as they had done to the king of Jericho. 31 From Lebna he passed unto Lachis with all Israel: and investing it with his army, besieged it. 32 And the Lord delivered Lachis into the hands of Israel: and he took it the following day, and put t to the sword, and every soul that was in it, as he] thad done to Lebna. 33 At that time Horam king of Gazer, came up to succour Lachis: and Josue slew him with all his people, so as to leave none alive. * The king, viz. the new king who succeeded him that was slain, wer. 26. } .Any remains therein, but slew, &c. God ordered these people to be atterly destroyed, in punishment of their manifold abominations: and unet they inight not draw the Israelites into the like sins. | 34 And he passed from Lachis to Eglon. and surrounded it, 35 And took it the same day; and put to the sword all the souls that were in it, according to all that he had done to Lachis. 36 He went up also with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron, and fought against it : 37 Took it, and destroyed it with the edge of the sword; the king” also thereof, and all the towns of that country, and all the souls that dwelt in it: he left not therein any remains : as he had done tº Eglon, so did he also to Hebron, putting to the sword all that he found in it. 38 Returning from thence to Dabir, 39 He took it, and destroyed it: the king also thereof, and all the towns round about he destroyed with the edge of the sword ; he left not in it any remains: as he had done to Hebron and Lebna and to their kings, so did he to Dabir and to the king thereof. 40 So Josue conquered all the country of the hills and of the south and of the plain, and of Ase- doth with their kings: he left not any remains therein, but slewf all that breathed, as the Lord the God of Israel had commanded him, 41 From Cadesbarme even to Gaza. All the land of Gosen even to Gabaon, 42 And all their kings, and their lands he took and wasted at one onset: for the Lord the God of Israel fought for him. 43 And he returned with all Israel to the place of the camp in Galgal. CHAP. XI. The kings of the north are overthrown: the whole country is taken. ND when Jabin King of Asor had heard these things, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Sameron, and to the king of Aghsaph: 2 And to the kings of the north, that dwelt in the mountains and in the plains over-against the south side of Ceneroth, and in the levels and the coun- tries of Dor, by the sea-side: 3 To the Chanaanite also on the east and on the west, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Jebusite in the mountains; to the Hewite also who dwelt at the foot of Hermon in the land of Maspha. 4 And they all came out with their troops, a people exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea-shore, their horses also and chariots a very great multitude. 5 And all these kings assembled together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. - 6 And the Lord said to Josue : Fear them not for to-morrow at this same hour. I will deliver al these to be slain in the sight of israel: thou shall hamstring their horses, and thou shalt burn their chariots with fire.f Hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots with fire, &e. God sº ordained, that his people might not trust in chariots and horses, but in him. y r; sº * * º yº–===== His - agº" 176 CHAP. XII. 7 And Josue came, and all the army with him, against them to the waters of Merom on a sudden, and fell upon them 3 And the Lord delivered them into the hands of 1srael. And they defeated them, and chased them as far as the great Sidon, and the waters of Mase- rephot, and the field of Masphe, which is on the east i. thereof. He slew them all, so as to leave no remains of them : 9 And he did as the Lord had commanded him: he hamstring d their horses, and burned their chariots. 10 And presently turning back he took Asor; and slew the king thereof with the sword. Now Asor of old was the head of all these kingdoms. 11 And he cut off all the souls that abode there : he left not in it any remains, but utterly destroyed all, and burned the city itself with fire. 12 And he took and put to the sword and de- stroyed all the cities round about, and their kings, as Moses the servant of God, had commanded him. 13 Except the cities that were on hills and high places, the rest Israel burned : only Asor that was very strong, he consumed with fire. 14, And the children of Israel divided among themselves all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, killing all the men. 15. As the Lord had commanded Moses his ser- vant, so did Moses command Josue, and he accom- plish d all: he left not one thing undone of all the ºnlinents which the Lord had commanded ( *SO’S, - 16 So Josue took all the country of the hills, and of the south, and the land of Gosen, and the plains, and the west country, and the mountain of Israel, and the plains thereof; '7 And part of the mountain that goeth up to Seir as far as Baalgad by the plain of Libanus under mount Hernion : all their kings he took, smote, and slew. ki 18 Josue made war a long time” against these | ll º'S. 19 There was not a city that delivered itself to ‘he children of Israel, except the Hewite, who dwelt an Gabaon : for he took all by fight. 20 For it was the sentence of the Lord, that their hearts should be liardened, f and they should fight against israel, and fall, and should not deserve any clemency, and should be destroyed, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 2] At that time Josue came and cut off the Ena- cims from the mountains, from Hebron, and Dabir, and Anab, and from all the mountain of Juda and Israel; and destroyed their cities. - 22 He left not any of the stock of the Enacims, ji, the land of the children of Israel; except the ites of Gaza, and Geth, and Azotus, in which alone they were left. 23 So Josue took all the land, as the Lord spoke to Moses, and delivered it in possession to the chil- dren of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes And the land rested from wars. CHAP. XII. A list ºf the kings slain bu Moses and Josue Y WHESE are the kings, whom the children of Is. ael slew and possessed their land beyond the Jordan, towards the rising of the sun, from the tor. rent Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the east Country that looketh towards the wilderness 2 Schon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and had dominion from Aroer, which is seated upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, and ol the middle part in the valley, and of half Galaad, as far as the torrent Jaboc, which is the border of the children of Ammon. 3 And from the wilderness, to the sea of Cene- roth toward the east, and to the sea of the wilder. ness, which is the most salt sea, on the east side by the way that leadeth to Bethsimoth ; and on the south side, that lieth under Asedoth, Phasga. 4 The border of Og the king of Basan, of thi. remnant of the Raphaims who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrai, and had dominion in mount Her. mon, and in Salecha, and in all Basan, unto the borders. 5 Of Gessuri, and Machati, and of half Galaad the borders of Sehon the king of Hesebon. 6 Moses the servant of the Lord, and the children of Israel slew them: and Moses delivered their land in possession to the Rubenites, and Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses. 7 These are the kings of the land, whom Josue and the children of Israel slew beyond the Jordan on the west side from Baalgad in the field of Li- banus, unto the mount, part of which goeth up into Seir : and Josue delivered it in possession to the tribes of lsrael, to every one their divisions, 8 As well in the mountains as in the plains and the champaign countries. In Asedoth, and in the wilderness, and in the south was the Hethite and the Amorrhite, the Chanaanite and the Pherezite the Hevite, and the Jebusite. 9 The king of Jericho one; the king of Ha, which is on the side of Bethel, one; 10 The king of Jerusalem one; the king of He bron one; ! ! The king of Jerimoth one; the king of La- chis one; 12 The king of Eglon one; the king of Gazel One: 13 The king of l)abir one, the king of Gadel One : 14. The king of Herma one; the king of Hered One : 15 The king of Lebna one; the king of Odul- lam one; 16 The king of Maceda one; the king of Bethe' *.d long time. Seven years, as appears from chap. xvi. 10. f Hardened. This hardening of their hearts, was their having no One : thought of yielding or submitting; which was a sentence or judgin.” of God upon them in punishment of their enorinous crimes 17° - - =–Tº Tºs º >==---~~ > -º * ~~~~ <> “E- w tº-2 __ $1.1% JOSUE 17 ( me king of Taphua one; the king of Opher 01){} , 18 ſhe king of Aphec one; the king of Saron Oſlº. " 19 tone ; - 20The king of Semeron one; the king of Achsaph ſhe king of Madon one; the king of Asor DI16 2] The king of Thenac one; the king of Ma- geddo one; 22 The king of Cades one ; the king of Jacha- man of Carmel one; 23 The king of Dor, and of the province of Dor one; the king of the nations of Galgal one; 2í The king of Tilersa. and one. CHAP. XIII. God commandeth Josue to divide the land: the possessions of Ruben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, beyond the Jordan. OSU E was old, and ſar advanced in years :* and the Lord said to him : thou art grown old, and advanced in age; and there is a very large country left, which is not yet divided by lot : 2 To wit, all Galilee, fi. and all Gessuri. 3 From the troubled river, that watereth Egypt, unto the borders of Accaron northward : the land of Chanaan, which is divided among the lords of the Philistines, the Gazites, the Azotians, the As- calomites, the Gethites, and the Accaronites. 4 And on the south side are the Hevites, all the land of Chanaan, and Maara of the Sidonians as lar as Apheca, and the borders of the Amorrhite, 5 And his confines. The country also of Liba- nus towards the east from Baalgad under mount llermon to the entering into Emath. 6 Of all that dwell in the mountains from Liba- nus, to the waters of Maserephoth, and all the Si- donians. I am he that will cut them off from be- fore the face of the children of Israel. So let their land come in as a part of the inheritance of Israel, as I have commanded thee. 7 And now divide the land in possession to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe of Manasses, 8 With whom f Ruben and Gad have possessed the land, which Moses the servant of the Lord de- livered to them beyond the river Jordan, on the east side, - 9 From Aroer, which is upon the bank of th torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley, and all the plains of Medaba, as far as Dibon : 10 And all the cities of Sehon, king of the Amor- rhites, who reigned in Heselbon, unto the borders of the children of Ammon 11 And Galaad, and the borders of Gessuri and Machati, and all mount Hermon, and all Basan as far as Salecha, 12 All the kingdom of Og in Basan, who reigned - 2 - • – 11 : 1s.s. l. . . . tro +ls: “t. - Ull U. 2 4 l Il U I U. nº i i 1855 ui i i i t y || in Astaroth and Edral : he was of the romans of the Raphaims : and Moses overthlew an I destroyed them. 13 And the children of Israel would nºt destroy Gessuri and Machati: and they have dwelt in the midst of Israel, until this present day. 14 But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: but the sacrifices and the victims of the Lord God of Israel, are his inheritance, as he spoke to him. 15 And Moses gave a possession to the children of Ruben according to their kindreds. - 16 And their border was from Aroer, which is on the bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley of the same torrent: all the plain, that Heatieth to Medaka, --> - 17 And Hesebon, are in the plains. Dibon also, and Bamothbaal, and the town of Baalmaon, 18 And Jassa, and Cedimoth, and Mephaath, 19 And Cariathaim, and Sabama, and Saratha- sar in the mountain of the valley, 20 Bethphogor and Ascdoth, Phasga and Be thiesimoth, 21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdoms of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that reigned in Hesebon, whom Moses slew with the princes of Madian:f Hevi, and Recem, and Sur, and º and Rebe, dukes of Sellon, inhabitants of the *l I) (l. 22 Balaam also the son of Beor the soothsave , (§ the children of Israel slew with the sword among the rest that were slain. 23 And the river Jordan was the border of the children of Ruben. This is the possession of the Rubenites, by their kindreds, of cities and villages, 24 And Moses gave to the tribe of Gad and to his children, by their kindreds, a possession, of which this is the division. 25 The border of Jaser, and all the cities ( ; Galaad, and half the land of the children of Am mon: as far as Aroer, which is over-against Rahlia: 26 And from Heseljom unto Ramoth, Masphe, and Betonim; and from Manaim unto the borders ol Dabir. 27 And in the valley Betharan and Bethnemra, and Socoth, and Saplion the other part of the king- dom of Sehon king of Hesebon: the limit of this also is the Jordan, as far as the uttermost part of the sea of Cenereth beyond the Jordan on the east side. 28 This is the possession of the children of Gad by their families, their cities and villages. 29 He gave also to the half tribe of Manasses and his children possession according to their kindreds, 30 The beginning whereof is this: from Manaim . all Basan, and all the kingdoms of Ogking of Basan, and all the villages o' Jaar, wiiich are in Basan, thre SCOre t OWIl S. - 31 And half Galaad, and Astaroth, and Edrai e--- * Josue was old, and far advanced in years. He was then about 10 tears old. ..?ng there is a very large country left, which is not yet divided by et, not vet possessed by the children of lsrael. { }With whom That is, with the other half of that same tribe º f The princes of Madian. . It appears, from hence that these were subjects of king Sejon : they are said to have been slain with hiºn that is, about the saine time, but not in the same battle. and all their villages, which - - - %|R *78 UHAP. XIV, XV cities at the kingdom of Ogili Basan; to the children of Machir, the son of Manasses, to one half of the children of Machir according to their kindreds. 32 This possession Moses divided in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, over-against Jericho on the east side. 33 But to the tribe of Levi he gave no posses- tion: Because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their possession, as he spoke to them. CHAP. XIV. Caleb’s petition. Hebr n is given to him and to his seed. 7 IW H IS is what the children of Israel possessed in the land of Chanaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Josite the son of Nun, and the princes of the || families by the tribes of Israel gave to them: 2 Dividing all by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, to the nine tribes, and the half tribe. 3 For to two tribes and a half Moses had given possession beyond the Jordan: besides the Levites, who received no land among their brethren: 4. But in their place succeeded the children of Joseph divided into two tribes, of Manasses and Ephraim: neither did the Levites receive other por- tion of land, but cities to dwell in, and their suburbs to feed their beasts and flocks. 5 As the Lord had commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel; and they divided the land. 6 Then the children of Juda came to Josue in Galgal, and Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenezite spoke to him: Thou knowest what the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Cadesbarne. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Cadesbarue, to view the land: and I brought him word again as to me seemed true. 8 But my brethren, that had gone up with me, discouraged the heart of the people: and I never- theless followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore in that day, saying: The land which thy foot hath trodden upon shall be thy possession, and thy children’s for ever; because thou hast followed the Lord my God. 10 The Lord therefore hath granted me life, as he promised until this present day. It is forty and five years since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel journeyed through the wilderness: this day ( am eighty five years old, 11 As strong as I was at that time when I was sent to view the land: the strength of that time con- tinueth in me until this day, as well to fight as to ruarch. 12 Give me therefore this mountain, which the Lord promised, in thy hearing also, wherein are the Enac ims, and cities great and strong : if so be the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to destroy them, as he promised me. 13 And Josue blessed him, and gave him Hebron in possession. * Hebron belonged, &c. All the country thereabouts, depending on pebron, was given to Caleb : but the city itself with the suburbs, was one of those that were given to the priests to dwell in. 12 14 And from that time Hebron belonged" to U.i. leb the son of Jephone the Cenezite, until this present day: because he followed the Lord the God of 1srael. 15 The name of Hebron before was called Ca. riath-Arbe: Adam the greatest among the Enacims was laid there : and the land rested from wars. CHAP. XV. The borders of the lot of Juda. Caleb’s portion and conquest The cities of Juda. TOW the lot of the children of Juda by thei. kindreds was this: From the frontier of £iº to the desert of Sin Southward, and to the uttermost part of the south coast. 2 Its beginning was from the top of the most salt sea, and from the bay thereof, that looketh to the South. 3 And it goeth out towards the ascent of the scor- pion, and passeth on to Sina; and ascendeth into Cadesbarne, and reacheth into Esron, going up to Adar, and compassing Carcaa. 4 And from thence passing along into Asemona, and reaching the torrent of Egypt: and the bounds thereof shall be the great sea: this shall be the limit of the south coast. 5 But on the east side the beginning shall be the most salt sea even to the end of the Jordan: and to- wards the north, from the bay of the sea unto the same river Jordan. 6 Aud the border goeth up into Beth-Hagla, and passeth by the north into Beth-Araba: going up to the stone of Boen the son of Ruben. 7 And reaching as far as the borders of Debera from the valley of Achor, and so northward looking towards Galga!, which is opposite to the ascent of Adommim, on the south side of the torrent: and the border passeth the waters that are called the ſountain of the sum: and the goings out thereof shall | be at the fountain Rogel. 8 And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Ennom on the side of the Jebusite towards the south; the same is Jerusalem: and thence ascending to the top of the mountain, which is over-against Geenom to the west in the end of the valley of Raphaim, northward. 9 And it passeth on from the top of the mountain to the fountain of the water of Nephtoa; and reacheth to the towns of mount Ephron: and it bendeth to- wards Baala, which is Cariathiarim, that is to say, the city of the woods. 10 And it compasseth from Baala westward unto mount Seir ; and passeth by the side of mount Jarim to the north into Cheslon; and goeth down into Bethsames, and passeth into Thamna. 11 And it reacheth northward to a part of As caron at the side ; and bendeth to Sechrona, an passeth mount Baala; and cometh into Jebneel, and is bounded westward with the great sea. 12 These are the borders round about of the chil dren of Juda in their kindreds. 13 But to Caleb the son of Jephone he gave a portion in the midst of the children of Juda, as the Lord had commanded him : Cariath-Arbe the father of Enac, which is Hebron. | 79 JOS UE. 14 And Caleb destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac, Sesai, and Ahiman. and Tholmai of the act of Enac. 15 And going up from thence he came to the in- habitants of Dabir, which before was called Cariath- Sepher, that is to say, the city of letters. 16 And Caleb said: He that shall smite Cariath- Sepher, and take it, I will give him Axa my daugh- er to wife. 17 And Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Axa his daughter to wife. 18 And as they were going together, she was mo- ved by her husband to ask a field of her father, and she sighed as she sat on her ass. And Caleb said to her : What aileth thee? 19 But she answered: Give me a blessing: thou hast given me a southern and dry land, give me also a land that is watered. And Caleb gave her the upper and the nether watery ground. - 20 This is the possession of the tribe of the chil- dren of Juda by their kindreds. 21. And the cities from the uppermost parts of the children of Juda by the borders of Edom to the south, were Cabseel, and Eder, and Jagur 22 And Cina, and Dimona, and Adada, 23 And Cades, and Asor, and Jethnam, 24 Ziph, and Telem, and Baloth, 25 New Asor and Carioth, Hesron, which is Asor, 26 Amam, Sama, and Molada, 27 And Asergadda, and Hassemon, and Beth- phelet, s 28 And Hasersual, and Bersabee, and Basiothia, 29 And Baala, and Jim, and Esem, 30 And Eltholad, and Cesil, and Harma, 31 And Siceleg, and Medemena, and Sensenna, 82 Lebaoth, and Selim, and Aen, and Remmon: all the cities twenty-nine, and their villages. 33 But in the plains: Estaol and Sarea and Ase- Ina, 34 And Zanoe and Engannim and Taphua and Enaim, 35 And Jerimoth and Adullam, Socho and Aze- Ca, 36 Arid Saraim and Adithaim and Gedera and Gederothaim: fourteen cities, and their villages. 37 Sanan, and Hadassa, and Magdalgad, 38 l)elçan, and Masepha, and Jecthel, 39 Lachis, and Bascăth, and Eglon, 40 Chebbon, and Leheman, and Cethlis, 41. And Gideroth, and Bethdagon, and Naama, and Maceda: sixteen cities, and their villages. 42 Labana, and Ether, and Asan, 43 Jepththa, and Esna, and Nesih, 44 And Ceila, and Achzib, and Maresa: nine ci- "ies, and their villages. * Accaron with the towns and villages thereof, 46 From Accaron even to the sea: all places that ſie towards Azotus and the villages thereof. 47 Azotus with its towns and villages: Gaza with its towns and villages, even to the torrent of Egypt, \nd the great sea that is the border thereof 48 And in the mountain. Samir, and Jether, and Socoth, e G * 49 And Danna, and Cariath-senna, this is Dabir 50 Anab, and Istemo, and Anim, tº ſº; 51 Gosen, and Olon, and Gilo: eleven cities and their villages. 52 Arab, and Ruma, and Esaan, 53 And Janum, and Beththaphua, and Apheca, 54 Athmatha, and Cariath-arbe, this is Hebron, and Sior: mine cities and their villages. 55 Maon, and Carmel, and Ziph, and Jota, 56 Jezrael, and Jucadam, and Zanoe, 57 Accain, Gabaa, and Thamna: ten citics and their villages 58 Halhul, and Bessur, and Gedor, º 59 Mareth, and Bethanoth, and Eltecon: six ci- ties and their villages. º 60 Cariathbaal, the same is Cariathiarim, the city of woods, and Arebba: two cities and their villages. 61 in the desert Betharaba, Meddin, and Sacha- cha 62 And Nebsam, and the city of salt, and Engad- di: six cities and their villages. 63 But the children of Juda could not destroy the Jebusite that dwelt in Jerusalem: and the Jebusite dwelt with the children of Juda in Jerusalem until this present day. CHAP. XVI. The let of the sons of Joseph. The borders of the tribe ºf Ephraim. AND the lot of the sons of Joseph fell from the Jordan over-against Jericho and the waters there of, on the east: the wilderness which goeth up from Jericho to the mountain of Bethel: 2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luza: and pass- eth the border of Archi, to Ataroth: 3 And goeth down westward. by the border of Jephleti, unto the borders of Beth-heron the mether, and to Gazer: and the countries of it are ended by the great sea : 4 And Manasses and Ephraim the children of Jo- seph possessed it. - 5 And the border of the children of Ephraim was according to their kindreds: and their possession towards the east was Ataroth-addar unto Beth-ho- rom the upper. 6 And the confines go out unto the sea: but Machmethath looketh to the north,” and it goeth round the borders eastward in to Thanath-selo; and passeth along on the east side to Janoe. 7 And it goeth down from Janoe into Ataroth and Naaratha : and it cometh to Jericho, and goeth out to the Jordan. - 8 From Taphna it passeth on toward the sea Int the valley of reeds. and the goings out thereof area! the most salt sea. This is the possession of the tribe of the children ol Ephraim by their families. 9 And there were cities with their villages sepa- rated for the children of Ephraim in the midst of º possession of the children of Manasses. * Looketh to the worth, dºc. The meaning is that the border went ! towards the north, lºv blue/uneth ath; and then turned eastwaru to 7 va. 'nath-seto. | ??U) CHAP. XVII, XVIII. 0 And the children of Ephraim, slew not the Ci, anaanite, who dwelt in Gazer and the Chanaan- ite dwelt in the midst of Ephraim until this day, paying tribute. - CHAP. XVII. The lot of the half tribe of Manasses. AN D this lot fell to the tribe of Manasses (for he £A is the first-born of Joseph) to Machir the first- born of Manasses the father of Galaad, who was a warlike man, and had for possession Galaad and Basan w 2 And to the rest of the children of Manasses ac- cording to their families: to the children of Abiezer, and to the children of Helec, and to the children of Esriel, and to the children of Sechem, and to the children of Hepher, and to the children of Semida: these are the male children of Manasses the son of Joseph, by their kindreds. 3 But Salphaad the son of Hepher the son of Galaad the son of Machir the son of Manasses had no sons, but only daughters: whose names are these, Maala and Noa and Hegla and Melcha and Thersa. 4 And they came in the presence of Eleazar the priest and of Josue the son of Nun, and of the princes, saying: The Lord commanded by the hand bf Moses, that a possession should be given us in the midst of our brethren. And he gave them ac- cording to the commandment of the Lord a pos- session amongst the brethren of their father. 5 And there fell ten portions to Manasses, beside the land of Galaad and Basan beyond the Jordan. 6 For the daughters of Manasses possessed inheri- tance in the midst of his sons. And the land of Galaad fell to the lot of the rest of the children of Manasses. 7 And the border of Manasses was from Aser, Machmethath which looketh towards Sichem: and it goeth out on the right hand by the inhabitants of the fountain of Taphua. 8 For the lot of Manasses took in the land of '[aphua, which is on the borders of Manasses, and belongs to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the border goeth down to the valley of the reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities. of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Ma- nasses: the border of Manasses is on the north side of the torrent; and the outgoings of it are at the sea: 10 So that the possession of Ephraim is on the south, and on the north that of Manasses; and the sea is the border of both: and they are joined together in the tribe of Aser on the north, and in the tribe of Issachar on the east. II And the inheritance of Manasses in Issachar and in Aser was Bethsan and its villages, and Jeb- laam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with the towns thereof; the inhabitants also of En- do, with the villages thereof: and in like manner the inhabitants of Thenac with the villages thereof; and the inhabitants of Mageddo with their villa- ges, and the third part of the city of Nopheth. [2 Neither could the children of Mamasses over- throw these cities; but the Chanaanite began to dwell in his land 13 But after that the children of Israel were grown strong, they subdued the Chanaanites and made them their tributaries: and they did not kill them. 14 And the children of Joseph spoke to Josue and said: Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to possess, whereas I am of so great a multitude, and the Lord hath blessed me? 15 And Josue said to them: If thou be a great people, go up into the woodland, and cut down room, for thyself in the land of the Pherezite and the Ra- phaims: because the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee. 16 And the children of Joseph answered him : We cannot go up to the mountains for the Cha- naanites that dwell in the low lands, wherein are situate Bethsan, with its towns, and 'ezrael in the midst of the valley, have chariots of iron. 17 And Josue said to the house of . oseph, to Ephraim and Manasses: Thou art a great people, º of great strength; thou shalt not have one lot Only: 18 But thou shalt pass to the mountain, and shalt cut down the wood, and make thyself room to dwell in and mayst proceed farther, when thou hast destroyed the Chanaanite, who as thou say est have iron chariots, and are very strong. CHAP. XVIII. Surveyors are sent to divide the rest of the land into seven tribes The lot of Benjamin. ND all the children of Israel assembled together in Silo: and there they set up the tabernacle o. |. testimony: and the land was subdued before til Gº Ill. 2 But there remained seven tribes of the children of Israel, which as yet had not received their pos- sessions. - - 3 And Josue said to them. How long are you in- dolent and slack, and go not in to possess the land, wigh the Lord the God of your fathers hath given Oll y 4 Choose of every tribe three men, that I may send them, and they may go and compass the i. and mark it out according to the number of each multitude; and bring back to me what they have marked out. º 5 Divide to yourselves the land into seven parts let Juda be in his bounds on the south side, and the house of Joseph on the north. . 6 The land in the midst between these mark ye out into seven parts:* and you shall come hither to me, that I may cast lots for you before the Loid your God. 7 For the Levites have no part among you; bu the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. A lit Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasses have already received their possessions beyond the Jordan eastward; which Moses the servant of th Lord gave them. * The land in the midst between these mark ye out intº seven parts: Tnal is to say, the rest of the land, which is not already assigned to Judo or Joseph. 181 JOSUF. & And when the men were risen up, to go to mark out the land, Josue commanded them, saying: Go round the land, and mark it out, and return to me; that I may cast lots for you before the Lord in Siło. 9 So they went: and surveying it, divided it into seven parts, writing them down in a book. And they returned to Josue, to the camp in Silo. 10 And he cast lots before the Lord in Silo; and ºlivided the land to the children of Israel into seven parts. 11 And first came up the lot of the children of Benjamin by their families, to possess the land be- tween the children of Juda and the children of Joseph. 12 And their border northward was from the Jor- dan: going along by the side of Jericho on the north side, and thence going up westward to the moun- tains, and reaching to the wilderness of Bethaven, 13 And passing along southward by Luza, the same is Bethel; and it goeth down into Ataroth-ad- dar to the mountain, that is on the south of the nether Bethhoron. 14 And it bendeth thence going round towards the sea, south of the mountain that looketh towards Bethhoron to the south-west: and the outgoings thereof are into Cariathbaal, which is called also Cariathiarim, a city of the children of Juda. This is their coast toward the sea, westward 15 But on the south side the border goeth out from part of Cariathiarim towards the sca, and someth to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoa. 16 And it goeth down to that part of the moun- tain that looketh on the valley of the children of En- nom; and is over-against the north quarter in the furthermost part of the valley of Raphaim: and it goeth down into Geennom (that is the valley of En- nom) by the side of the Jebusite to the south; and cometh to the fountain of Iłogel, 17 Passing thence to the north, and going out to Ensemes that is to say, the fountain of the sum: 18 And it passeth along to the hills that are over- against the ascent of Adommim: and it goeth down to Abenboen, that is, the stone of Boen the son of Ruben: and it passeth on the north side to the cham- paign countries; and goeth down into the plain, 19 And it passeth by Bethliagla northward: and the outgoings thereof are towards the north of the most salt sea at the south end of the Jordan: 20 Which is the border of it on the east side. This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their borders round about, and their families. 21 And their cities were, Jericho and Bethhagla and Vale-Casis, 22 Betharaba, and Samaraim, and Bethel, 23 And Avim, and Aphara, and Ophera, 24 The town Emona, and Ophini, and Gabee: twelve cities, and their villages. 25 Gabaon, and Rama, and Beroth, 26 And Mesphe, and Caphara, and A mosa, 27 Aud Recem, Jarephel, and Tharela, 28 And Sela, Eleph, and Jebus, which is Jeru- salem, Gabaath, and Cariath: fourteen cities, and heir villages. This is the possession of the chil- dren of Benjamin by their families. z_2– CHAP. XIX. The lots of the tribes ºf Simeon, Zabulon, Issuthar, Aser, Nepa tali, and Dan. A city is given to Josue. ND the second lot came fortn for the hildren of Simeon by their kindreds : and the ir inhe- ritance was, 2 In the midst of the possession of the children of Juda: Bersabee, and Sabee, and Molada 3 And Hasersual, Bala, and Asem, 4 And Eltholad, Bethul, and Harma, 5 And Siceleg, and Bethmarchaboth, and lia- SerSuSa, 6 And Bethlebaoth and Sarohen : thirteen cities, and their villages: 7 Ain and Remmon, and Athor, and Asan : four cities, and their villages. 8 And all the villages round about these Lutºs to Baalath Beer Ramath to the south quarter. This is the inheritance of the children of Simeon accord- ing to their kindreds, 9. In the possession and lot of the children of Juda; because it was too great ; and therefore the children of Simeon had their possession in the mids! of their inheritance. g 10 And the third lot ſell to the children of Za- bulon by their kindreds : and the border of their possession was unto Sarid. . 11 And it went up from the sea and from Merala and came to Debbaseth : as far as the torrent, which is over-against Jeconam. 12 And it returneth from Sarid eastward to the borders of Ceseleththabor ; and it goeth out to 1)a- bereth, and ascendeth towards Japhic. 13 And it passeth along from thence to 1 he east side of Gethhepher and Thacasin ; and goeth out to Remmon, Amthar, and Noa. 14 And it turneth about to the north of Hana- thon : and the outgoings thereof are the valley of Jephtahel. 15 And Cateth, and Naalol, and Seineion, and Jedala, and Bethlelem : twelve cities and their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the chil- dren of Zabulon by their kindreds, the cities and their villages. 17 The fourth lot came out to Issachar by thei kindreds. 18 And his inheritance was Jezrael, and Casa loth, and Sunem, 19 And Hapharaim, and Seon, and Anaharath. 20 And Rabboth, and Cesion, Abes, 21 And Rameth. and Engannim, and Enhadda, and Bethpheses. w 22 And the border thereof cometh to Thab yr, and Sehesima, and Bethsames: and the outgoings thereof shall be at the Jordan : sixteen Cities an their villages. 23 This is the possession of the sons of Issacna! by their kindreds, the cities and their villages. 24 And the fifth lot fell to the tribe of the chil- dren of Aser by their kindreds: 25 And their border was Haleath, and Chali, and Beten, and Axaph, - & Cº. S- $32 CHAP. XX, XXI 26 And Elmelech, and Amaad, and Messal: and it reacheth to Carmel by the sea, and Sihor and La- hanath : 27 And it returneth towards the east to Bethda- on; and passeth along to Zabulon and to the val- ey of Jephthael towards the north to Bethemec and Nehiel. (Jabul, 28 And to Abaran, and Rohob, and Hamon, and Cana, as far as the great Sidon. 29 And it returneth to Horma, to the strong city of Tyre, and to Hosa: and the outgoings thereof shall he at the sea from the portion of Achziba : 30 And Amma, and Aphec, and Rohob : twenty two cities and their villages. 31 This is the possession of the children of Aser by their kindreds, and the cities and their villages. 32 The sixth lot came out to the sons of Neph- tali by their families: 33 And the border began from Heleph and Elon to Saananim, and Adami, which is Neceb, and Jeb- nael even to Lecum ; and their outgoings unto the Jordan: 34 And the border returneth westward to Aza- notthabor, and goeth out from thence to Hucuca, and passeth along to Zabulon southward, and to Aser westward, and to Juda upon the Jordan to- wards the rising of the sun. 35 And the strong cities are Assedim, Ser, and ſºmath, and Reccath and Cenereth, 36 And Edelma, and Arama, Asor 37 And Cedes, and Farai, Enhasor 38 And Jeron, and Magdalel, Horem, and Be- thanath, and Bethsames: nineteen cities and their villages. 39 This is the possession of the tribe of the chil- dren of Nephtali by their kindreds, the cities and their villages. . 40 The seventh lot came out to the tribe of the children of Dan by their families: 41 And the border of their possession was Sa- raa, and Esthaol, and Hirsemes, that is, the city of he sun- 42 Selebin, and Aiaion, and Jethela, 43 Elon, and Theuna, and Acron, 44 Elthece, Gibhethon, an Balaath, 45 And Jud, and Bane, and Barach, and Geth- T{*II* ll) () 1) . 46 And Mejarcon and Arecou, with the border that looketh towards Joppe, 47 Aud is terminated there Aud the children of Dan went up and fought against Leseum, and took it: and they put it to the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt in it, calling the name of it i. Dan, by the name of Dan their father. 48 This is the possession of the tribe of the sous of Dan, by their kindreds, the cities and their vil- lages. 49 And when he had made an end of dividing the land by lot to each one by their tribes, the chil- dren ºf Israel gave a possession to Josue the son o Nun in the midst of them, 59. According to the commandment of the Lord, -º' Tº And it goeth out to the left side of the city which he asked for, Thamnath Saraa in moun- Ephraim : and he built up the city, and dwelt in it 51. These are the possessions which Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, and the princes of the families, and of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed by lot in Silo, before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. a no they divided the land. CHA P. XX. The cities of refuge are appointed for casual manslaughter. . AND the Lord spoke to Josue, saying Speak to *- the children of Israel, and say to them : 2 Appoint cities of refuge, of which I spoke ty you by the hand of Moses : 3 That whosoever shall kill a person unawares may flee to them ; and may escape the wrath of the kinsman, who is the avenger of blood : 4 And when he shall flee to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city; and shall speak to the ancients of that city, such things as jºrove him innocent : and so shall they receive him, and give him a place to dwell in. 5 And when the avenger of blood shall pursue him, they shall not deliver him into his hands; be- cause he slew his neighbour unawares, and is not proved to have been his enemy two or three days before. 6 And he shall dwell in that city, till he stand before judgment to give an account of his fact, and till the death of the high-priest, who shall be at that time: then shall the manslayer return, and go into his own city and house from whence he fled. 7 And they appointed Cedes in Galilee of mount Nephtali, and Sichem in mount Ephraim, and Caria- tharbe, the same is Hebron in the mountain of Juda. 8 And beyond the Jordan to the east of Jericho, they appointed Bosor, which is upon the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Basan ot the tribe of Manasses. 9 These cities were appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the strangers, that dwelt among them: that whosoever had killed a person unawares might flee to them, and not die by the hand of the kinsman, coveting to revenge the blood that was shed until he should stand before the people to lay open his cause. CHAP. XXI. Cities with their suburbs are assigned for the priesfs and Levites. T HEN the princes of the families of Levi came to Eleazar the priest, and to Josue the son of Nun, and to the princes of the kindreds of all thu tribes of the children of Israel: $ 2 And they spoke to them in Silo in the and 3; Chanaan, and said: The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given us to dwell in, and their suburbs to feed our cattle. 3 And the children of Israel gave out of their possessions according to the commandment of the Lord, cities and their suburbs. 4 And the lot came out from the family of Caith # 83 <= *--~ --~~~~ ( [. —ur- *- JUSU E. of the Cluldron of Aaron the priest, out of the tribes of Judah, and of Simcon, and of Benjamin, thirteen Clt It'S. 5 And to the rest of the children of Caath, that *s, to the Levites, who remained, out of the tribes of Ephraim, and of Dan, and the half tribe of Ma- masses, ten cities. g 6 And the lot came out to the children of Ger- son, that they should take of the tribes of Issachar and of Aser and of Nephtali, and of the half tribe of Manasses in Basan, thirteen cities. - 7 And to the sons of Merari by their kindreds, of he tribes of Ruben and of Gad and of Zabulon, twelve cities. 8 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, giving to every one by lot. 9 Of the tribes of the children of Juda and of Simeon, Josue gave cities; whose names are these, 10 To the sons of Aaron, of the families of Caath of the race of Levi (for the first lot came out for them) 11 The city of Arbe the father of Enac, which is called Hebron, in the mountain of Juda, and the Suburbs thereof round about. - 12 But the fields and the villages thereof he had given to Caleb the son of Jephone for his posses- Sion, 13. He gave thcreſore to the children of Aaron the priest, Hebron a city of refuge; and the suburbs thereof; and Lobana with the suburbs thereof, 14 And Jether and Estemo, 15 And Holon, and Dabir, 16 And Ain, and Jeta, and Bethsames, with their suburbs: nine cities out of the two tribes, as hath been said 17 And out of the tribe of the children of Ben- jamin, Gabaon, and Gabae, 18 And Anathoth and Almon, with their suburbs; four cities. 19 All the cities together of the children of Aaron the priest were thirteen. with their suburbs. 20 And to the rest '... the families of the children of Caath of the race of Levi, was given this pos- SCSS) ()]]. - 21 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Sichem one of the cities of refuge, with the suburbs thereof in mount Ephraim, and Gazer, 22 And Cibsaim, and Bethhoron, with their su- burbs; four cities. - 23 And of the tribe of Dan, Eltheco and Gaba- thon, 24 And Aialon and Gethremmon, with their su- burbs; four cities. 25. And of the half tribe of Manasses, Thanac wild Gethremmon, with their suburbs; two cities. 26. All the cities were ten, with their suburbs, which were given to the children of Caath of the in- ſerior degree. - 27 To the children of Gerson also of the race of |Aevi out of the half tribe of Manasses, Gaulon in Basan, one of the cities of refuge, and Bosra, with their suburbs: two cities. - 28 And of the tribe of Issachar, Cesion and Dabereth, 29 And Jaramoth, and Engannum, with their suburbs; four cities. 30 And of the tribe of Aser, Masal and Abdon, 31 And Helcath, and Rohob, with their suburbs, four cities. 32 Of the tribe also of Nephtali, Cedes in Galilee one of the cities of refuge : and Hammoth Dor and Carthan, with their suburbs; three cities. - 33 All the cities of the families of Gerson, were thirteen, with their suburbs. 34 And to the children of Merari Levites of the inferior degree by their families were given of the tribe of Zabulon, Jecnam and Cartha, - 35 And Damna and Naalol ; four cities, with their suburbs. 36 Of the tribe of Ruben beyond the Jordan over- against Jericho, Bosor in the wilderness, one of the cities of refuge, Misor, and Jaser, and Jethson, and Mephaath, four cities* with their suburbs. - 37 Of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Galaad, on of the cities of refuge, and Manaim, and Hesebon, and Jaser ; four cities with their suburbs. 38 All the cities of the children of Merari by their families and kindreds, were twelve. 39 So all the cities of the Levites within the pos- session of the children of Israel were forty-eight, 40 With their suburbs, each distributed by the families. - 41 And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their fathers: and they possessed it, and dwelt in it. 42 And he gave them peace from all nations round about: and none of their enemies durst stand against them, but were brought under their dominion. 43 Not so much as one word, which he had pro- mised, to perform unto them, was made void, but all came to pass. CHAP. XXII. The tribes of Ruben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses return to their possessions. They build an altar by the side of the Jordan, which alarms the other tribes. An embassage is sent to them, to which they give a satisfactory answer. A". the same time Josue called the Rubenites, and Lºa the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses, 2 And said to them : You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you : you have also obeyed me in all things: 3 Neither have you left your brethren this long time, until this present day, keeping the Command- ment of the Lord your God. 4. Therefore as the Lord your God hath given your brethren rest and peace, as he promised: return, and go to your dwellings, and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan: 5 Yet so that you observe attentively, and in work fulfil the commandment, and the law which * Four cities. There are no more, though there be five names: ſo Alisor is the same city as Bosor, which is to be observed ir some othe, | places where the number of names exceeds the number of cities. | S4 CHAP. XXII. Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you : that you love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments, and cleave to him, and serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul. 6 And Josue blessed them, and sent them away: and they returned to their dwellings. tº- 7 Now to half the tribe of Manasses, Moses had ſº a possession in Basan: and therefore to the | alf that remained, Josue gave a lot among the rest of their brethren beyond the Jordan to the west. And when he sent them away to their dwellings, and had blessed them, e 8 He said to them: With much substance and riches, you return to your settlements, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and variety of raiment: divide the prey of your enemies with your brethrem. || 9. So the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses returned, and parted from the children of Israel, in Silo, which is in Chanaan, to go into Galaad the land of theirl possession, which they had obtained according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. 10 And when they were come to the banks of the Jordan, in the land of Chanaan, they built an altar immensely great near the Jordan. 11 And when the children of Israel had heard of it, and certain messengers had brought them an account that the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses had built an altar in the land of Chanaan, upon the banks of the Jor- slau, over-against the children of Israel: 12 They all assembled in Silo, to go up and fight against them. 13 And in the mean time they sent to them into the land of Galaad, Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 And ten princes with him, one of every tribe: 15 Who came to the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses, into the land of Galaad, and said to them: 16 Thus saith all the people of the Lord: What meaneth this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord the God of Israel, building a sacrilegious altar, and revolting from the worship of him? 17 is it a small thing to you that you sinned with Beelphegor, and the stain of that crime remaineth in us to this day? and many of the people per- isled. 18 And you have forsaken the Lord to-day; and to-morrow his wrath will rage against all Israel. 19 But if you think the land of your possession to be unclean, pass over to the land wherein is the tabernacle of the Lord, and dwell among us: only depart not from the Lord, and from our society, by building an altar beside the altar of the Lord our 20 Did not Achan the son of Zare transgress the commandment of the Lord, and his wrath lay upon all the people of Israel P. And he was but one man; and would to God he alone had perished in his wickedness. 21 And the children of Ruben, and of Gad, anſ. of the half tribe of Manasses answered the princes of the embassage of Israel: 22 The Lord the most mighty God, the Lord the most mighty God, he knoweth, and Israel also shall understand: If with the design of transgres- sion we have set up this altar, let him not save us. but punish us immediately: 23 And if we did it with that mind, that we might lay upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace-offerings, let him require and judge: 24 And not rather with this thought and design, that we should say: To-morrow your children will Say to our children: What have you to do with the Lord the God of Israel P - 25 The Lord hath put the river Jordan for a bor der between us and you, O ye children of Ruben, and ye children of Gad: and therefore you have no part in the Lord. And by this occasion your chil- dren shall turn away our children from the fear of the Lord. We therefore thought it best, 26 And said: Let us build us an altar, not for holocausts, nor to offer victims, 27 But for a testimony between us and you, and our posterity and yours, that we may serve the Lord, and that we may have a right to offer both holocausts, and victims, and sacrifices of peace-of- ferings: and that your children to-morrow may not say to our children: You have no part in the Lord. 28 And if they will say so, they shall answer them: Behold, the altar of the Lord, which our fa- thers made, not for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony between us and you. 29 God keep us from any such wickedness, that we should revolt from the Lord, and leave off fo! lowing his steps, by building an altar to offer ho- locausts, and sacrifices, and victims, beside the altar of the Lord our God, which is erected before his tabernacle. 30 And when Phinees the priest, and the princes of the embassage, who were with him, had heard this, they were satisfied: and they admitted most willingly the words of the children of Ruben, and Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses. 31 And Phinees the priest the son of Eleazar said to them: Now we know that the Lord is with us; because you are not guilty of this revolt, and you have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Lord. 32 And he returned with the princes from the children of Ruben and Gad, out of the land of Ga- laad, into the land of Chanaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. 33 And the saying pleased all that heard it. Andº the children of Israel praised God: and they no longer said that they would go up against them, and fight, and destroy the land of their posses. SFO fl. 34 And the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad called the altar which they had built, ( )itſ testimony, that the Loº! is God. JOSUE. CHAP. XXIII. Josue being old admonisheth the people to keep God’s command- ments : and tº avoid marriages and all society with the gen- tiles, for fear of being brought to idolatry. ND when a long time was passed, after that the Lord had given peace to Israel, all the na- tions round about being subdued, and Josue being Row old, and far advanced in years: 2 Josue called for all Israel, and for the elders, and for the princes, and for the judges, and for the masters, and said to them: I am old, and far ad- vanced in years: 3 And you see all that the Lord your God hath don" to all the nations round about, how he himself hat. fought for you: 4 And now since he hath divided to you by lot all the land, from the east of the Jordan unto the great sea, and many nations yet remain: 5 The Lord your God will destroy them, and take them away from before your face; and you shall possess the land as he hath promised you. 6 Only take courage; and be careful to observe all things that are written in the book of the law of Moses: and turn not aside from them neither to the right hand nor to the left : 7 Lest after that you are come in among the gentiles, who will remain among you, you should swear by the name of their gods, and serve them, and adore them : • 8 But cleave ye unto the Lord your God; as you have done until this day. 9 And then the Lord God will take away before your eyes nations that are great and very strong ; and no man shall be able to resist you. 10 One of you shall chase a thousand men of the enemies; because the Lord your God himself will fight for you, as he hath promised. 11 This only take care of with all diligence, that you love the Lord your God. 12 But if you will embrace the errors of these nations that dwell among you, and make marriages with them, and join friendships: 13 Know ye for a certainty that the Lord your God will not destroy them before your face : but they shall be a pit and a snaie in your way, and a stumbling-block at your side, and stakes in your “yes, till he take you away and destroy you from off this excellent land, which he hath given you. 14 Behold, this day I am going into the way of all the earth; and you shall know with all your mind, that of all the words, which the Lord pro- mised to perform for you, not ºne hath failed. 15 Therefore as he hath tulfilled in deed what he promised. and all things piosperous have come: *G will ne bring upon you all the evils he hath threatened, till he take you away and destroy you from off this excellent land, which he hath given WOu, 16 When you shall have transgressed the cove- :aut of the Lord your God, which he hath made with You, and shall have served strange gods, and nºlored them: then shall the inſignation of the Lord rise up quickly and speedily against you; and you } {}{} shall be taken away from this excellent land, which he hath delivered to you. CHAP. XXIV Josue assembleth the people, and reneweth the covenant between them and God. His death and burial. AN D Josue gathered together all the tribes of Is rael in Sichem ; and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters. and they stood in the sight of the Lord: 2_And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river,” There the fa- ther of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served Strange gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from the bor. ders of Mesopotamia, and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed, 4 And gave him Isaac : and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went 1 down into Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and wonders. 6 And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea. 7 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyp. tians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt: and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time: 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amor- rhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they, fought against you, I delivered them into your º: and you possessed their land, and slew the II). 9 And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab, arose and ſought against Israel. And he sent and valled for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you 10 And I would not hear him: but on the con- trary 1, blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand. 11 And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho., And the men of that city ſought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Charlºanite, and the Hethite and the Gergesite and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands. 12 And I sent before you hornets: and l drove them Qut from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow. 13 And I gave you a land in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not; Vineyards and olive-yards which you planted not 14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him, with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord 15 But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord º me * * *- * Of the river. The Euphrates. CHA l’. 1. you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. 16 And the people answered, and said. God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange ºC (IS. 17 The Lord our God he brought us and our "athers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we jour- neyed, and among all the people through whom we passed. - 18 And he cast out all the nations, the Amor- white, the inhabitant of the land into which we are •ome. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is tour God. 19 And Josue said to the people: You will not be able to serve the Lord,” for he is a holy God, and nighty, and jealous, and will not forgive your wick- edness and sins. 20 If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after all the good he hath done you. 21 And the people said to Josue: No, it shall º: º so as thou Sayest but we will serve the LOTOl. 22 And Josue said to the people : You are wit– nesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered : We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel. * You will not be able to serve the Lord, &c. This was not said by way Jf discouraging them; but rather to make them more earnest an resolute, by setting before them the greatness of the undertaking, and the courage and constancy necessary to go through with it. # It hath heard. This is a figure of speech, by which sensation is at- 24 And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments. 25 Josue therefore on that day made a covenant. and set before the people commandments and judg- ments in Sichem. 26 And he wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord. and he took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord : 27 And he said to all the people: Behold, this Stone shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heardf all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord. 28 And he sent the people away, every one to their own possession. 29 And afterſ these things Josue the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years old: • 30 And they buried him in the border of his pos- Session in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas. 31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue, and of the ancients that lived a long time af- ter Josue, and that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done in Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes : and it was in the pos- session of the sons of Joseph. 33 Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried him in Gabaath, that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim. tributed to inanimate things; and they are called upon, as it were, tº bear witness in favour of the great Creator, whom they on their part constantly obey. Í And after, &c. If Josue wrote this book, as is commonly believed, these last verses were added by Samuel, or some other prophet. THE BOOK OF JUDGES. This book is called JUDGEs, because it contains the history of what passed under the government of the Judges, who ruled Israel before they had kings. The writer of it, acceording to Whe more general opinion, was the prophet Samuel. CHAP. I. The eaſpedition and victory of Juda against the Chanaanites; who are tolerated in many places. A FTER the death of Josue, the children of Is- rael consulted the Lord, saying: Who shall go up before us against the Chanaanite, and shall be ..he leader of the war P - 2 And the Lord said: Juda shall go up : behold, I have delivered the land into his hands. 3 And Juda said to Simeon his brother: Come ap with me into my lot, and fight against the Cha-l naanite, that I also may go along with thee into thy lot. And Simeon went with him. 4 And Juda went up : and the Lord delivered the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite into their hands: and they slew of them in, Bezec, ten, thousand men, 5 And they found Adonibezec in Bezec. and fought against him : and they defeated the Cha- naanite, and the Pherezite. 6 And Adonibezec fled: and they pursued after him, and took him, and cut off his fingers and toes 7 And Adonibezec said: Seventy kings having their fingers and toes cut off, gathered up the leav- ings of the meat under my table: as I have done so hath God requited me. And they brough him to Jerusalem; and he died there. ; JU 1) GES. 8 And the children of Juda besieging Jerusa- lem,” took it, and put it to the sword, and set the whole city on ſire 9 And afterwards they went down and fought against the Chanaanite, who dwel: in the moun- tains, and in the south, and in the plains. 10 And Juda going forward against the Chanaan- ite, that dwelt in Hebront the (name whereof was in former times Cariatharbe) slew Sesai, and Ahi- ..man, and Tholmai: | | And departing from thence he went to the inhabitants of Dabir, the ancient name of which was Cariath-se, ſher, that is, the city of letters.f 12 And Caleb said: He that shall take Cariath- sepher, and lay it waste, to him will I give my daughter Axa to wife. 13 And Othouiel the son of Cenoz, the younger brother of Caleb having taken it, he gave him Axa his daughter to wife. | M. And as she was going on her way her hus- land admonished her to ask a field of her father. And as she sighed sitting on her ass, Caleb said to her : What aileth thee P 15 But she answered : Give me a blessing, for hou hast given me a dry land: give me also a wa- ‘ory land. So Caleb gave her the upper and the aether watery ground. 16 And the children of the Ciniteş the kinsman of Moses went up from the city of palms, with the children of Juda into the wilderness of his lot, which .s at the south side of Arad.: and they dwelt with him. 17 And Juda went with Simeon his brother ; and they together defeated the Chanaanites that dwelt in Sephaath, and slew them. And the name of the city was called Horma, that is, Anathema. 18 And Juda took Gazal with its confines, and Ascalom, and Accaron with their confines. 19 And the Lord was with Juda, and he possess- ed the hill country ; but was not able'll to destroy the inhabitants of the valley; because they had many chariots armed with scythes. 20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac. 21 But the sons of Benjamin did not destroy the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem : and the Jebu- site hath dwelt with the sons of Benjamin in Jeru- salem until this present day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel ; and the Lord was with them. 23 For when they were besieging the city, which before was called Luza, 24. They saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him : Show us the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy. 25 And when he had shown them, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but that man and all his kindred they let go : 26 Who being sent away, went into the land o of Hethim, and built there a city, and called it Luza. which is so called until this day. 27 Manasses also did not destroy Bethsan, and Thanac with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor, and Jeblaam, and Mageddo with their villages. . And the Chanaanite began to dwell with them. 28 But after Israel was grown strong, he made them tributaries, and would not destroy them. 29 Ephraim also did not slay the Chanaanite that dwelt in Gazer, but dwelt with him. 30 Zabulon destroyed not the inhabitants of Ce- from, and Naalol : but the Chanaanite dwelt among them, and became their tributary. 31 Aser also destroyed not the inhabitants of Ac- cho, and of Sidon, of Ahalab, and of Achazib, and of Helba, and of Aphee, and of Rohob: 32 And he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites the inhabitants of that land, and did not slay them. 33 Nephtali also destroyed not the inhabitants of Bethsames, and of Bethanath ; and he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites the inhabitants of the land, and the Bethsamites and Bethamites were tri- butaries to him. 34 And the Amorrhite straitened the children of Dan in the mountain, and gave them not place tº go down to the plain: - - 35 And he dwelt” in the mountain Hares, that is of potsherds, in Aialon and Salebim. And the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon him: and he became tributary to him. 36 And the border of the Amorrhite was from the ascent of the scorpion, the rock, and the higher places. CHAP. II. An Angel reproveth Israel. They weep for their sins. After the death of Josue, they often fall, and repenting are deliverea from their affletions, but still fall worse and worse. AN! an Angelft of the Lord went up from Gal- gal to the place of weepers, and said: I made you go out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers; and I pro- • Jerusalem. This city was divided into two; one part was called Jebus, the other Salern; the one was in the tribe of Judah, the other in the tribe of Benjamin. After it was taken and burnt by the men of Juda, it was quickly rebuilt again by the Jebusites, as we may gather from ver, 21; and continued in their possession till it was taken by king David. t Hebron. This expeditinn against Hebron, &c. is the same as is related Josue xv. 24. It is here repeated, to give the reader at once a short sketch of all the achievements of the tribe of Juda against the ('' anaanites. f The city of letters. or library kept there ! The Cimits. Jethro the father-in-law of Moses was called Cingus, 1SS Perhaps so called, from some famous school, arº. -- -- ~~ ---> Tº - * - - TS- or the Cinite: and his children who came along with the children ºf Israel settled themselves among them in the land of Chanaan, em- bracing their worship and religion. From these the Rechabites sprung, of whom see Jerem. xxxv. Ibid. The city of palms. Jericho, so called from the abundance of palm-trees. | Gaza, &c. These were three of the principal cities of the Philis- times, famous both in sacred and profane history. They were taken at this time by the Israelites: but as they took no care to put gar- risons in them, the Philistines soon recovered them again. T Was not able, &c. Through a cowardly fear of their chariots armed with hooks and Scythes, and for want of confidence in God ** He dwelt. That is, the Amorrhite. - # An angel. Taking the shape of a man. CHAP. [I]. mised that I would not make void my covenant with I you for ever: 2 On condition that you should not make a league with the inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their altars: and you would not hear my voice: why have you done this? 3 Wherefore I would not destroy them from be- fore your face; that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin. 4 And when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice and wept. 5 And the name of that place was called, The place of weepers, or of tears: and there they offer- ed sacrifices to the Lord. 6 And Josue” sent away the people: and the chil- dren of Israel went every one to his own possession to hold it: 7 And they served the Lord all his days, and the days of the ancients, that lived a long time after him, and who knew all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel. 8 And Josue the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old, 9 And they buried him in the borders of his pos- session in Thamnathsare in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas. 10 And all that generation was gathered to their fathers: and there arose others that knew not the Lord, and the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and they served Baalim. .2 And cney left the Lord the God of their fa- -ners, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed strange gods,f and the gods of the people that dwelt round about them: and hey adored them; and they provoked the Lord to allger, º Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Asta- TOth. 14 And the Lord being angry against Israel, de- livered them into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could they stand against their enemies: 15 But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly dis- tressed. 16 And the Lord raised up judges to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not hearken to them, 17 Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things con- trary. 18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, T in their days he was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the oppressors. 19 But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers hal done, following strange gods, serving them, and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accus. tomed to walk. 20 And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel : and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which l had made with their ſa thers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice 21 I also will not destroy the nations which Jo sue left, when he died : 22 That through them I may try Israel, whethel they will keep the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or no. - 23 The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not quickly destroy them ; neither did he de- liver them into the hands of Josue. CHAP. III. The people falling into idolatry are oppressed by their enemies, but repenting are delivered by Othoniel, Aod, and Samgar. HESE are the nations which the Lord left, that by them he might instruct Israel, and all that had not known the wars of the Chanaanites: 2 That afterwards their children might learn to fight with their enemies, and to be trained up to war: 3 The five princes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Heyites that dwelt in mount Libanus, from mount Baal Iler- mon to the entering into Emath. 4 And he left them, that he might try lsrael by them, whether they would hear the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses, or not. 5 So the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Hewite, and the Jebusite : 6 And they took their daughters to wives; and they gave their own daughters to their sons; and they served their gods. 7 And they did evil in the sight of the Lord : and they forgot their God, and served Baalim and As- taroth. 8 And the Lord being angry with Israel, deliver- ed them into the hands of Chusan Rasathaim king of Mesopotamia;i and they served him eight years. 9 And they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour, and delivered them, to wit, Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb: 10 And the Spirit of the Lord was in him , and he judged Israel. And he went out 10 fight, and the Lord delivered into his hand, Chusan Rasathaim king of Syria: and he overthrew him : 11 And the land rested forty years; and Othº- niel the son of Cenez died. * ...And Josue, &c. This is here inserted out of Josue xxiv. by way of recapitulation of what had happened before, and by way of an introduction to that which follows. - # They followed strange gods. What is here said of the children of Israel, as to their falling so often into idolatry, is to be understood of 4 creat part of them: but not so universally, as if the true worship of God was ever quite abolished among them : for the succession of the true church and religion was kept up all this time by the priests and Levites, at least in the house of God in Silo. - f Mesopotamia. In Hebrew, Aramingharaia, Syria of the two riters; so called because it lies between the Euphrates and the T &ris It is absolutely called Syria, ver 10 18 JUDGES. 12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord ; who strengthened against them Eglon king of Moab ; because they did evil in his sight. 13 And he joined to him the children of Ammon and Amalec: and he went and overthrew Israel, and Iossessed the city of palm-trees. 14 Aud the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years : 15 And afterwards they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour called Aod, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, who used the left hand as well as the right. And the children of Israel sent presents to Eglon king of Moab by him. 16 And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haſt in the midst of the length of the palm of the hand; and was girded there with under his garment on the right thigh. 17 Aud he presented the gifts to Eglon king of Moab. Now |. in was exceeding fat. 18 And when he had presented the gifts unto him. he followed his companious that came along with him. 19 Their returning from Galgal, where the idols were, he said to the king : l have a secret message to thee, O king. And he commanded silence : and all being gone out that were about him, 20 Aod went in to him : now he was sitting in a summer parlour alone, and he said: I have a word from God” to thee. And he forthwith rose up from his throne. t 21 And Aod put forth his left hand, and took the tlagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly, 22 With such force that the haft went in after the lilade into the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat. So that he did not draw out the dagger; but left it in the body as he had struck it in. And forth with by the secret parts of nature the ex- crements of the belly came out. 23 But Aod carefully shutting the doors of the parlour, and locking them, 24 Went out by a postern door. And the king's servants going in, saw the doors of the parlour shut, and they said: Perhaps he is easing nature in his summer parlour. 25 And waiting a long time till they were asham- ed, and seeing that no man opened the door, they took a key: and opening they found their lord lying dead on the ground. 26 But Aod, while they were in confusion, es- Laped, and passed by the place of the idols, from whence he had returned. And he came to Seirath : 27 And forthwith he sounded the trumpet in mount Ephraim and the children of Israel went down with him, he himself going in the front. 28 And he said to them : Follow me : for the ſ lord hath delivered our enemies the Moabites into our hands. And they went down after him, and seized upon the fords of the Jordan, which are in * A word from God, &c. What Aod, who was judge and chief ma- gistrate of Israel, did on this occasion, was by a special inspiration of God but such things are not to be initated by private men 1 Q() - = * = ~f_* –2 -º-º-º-º: “HE the way to Moab; and they suffered no man w pass Over : e * 29 But they slew of the Moabites at that time about ten thousand, all strong and valiant men none of them could escape. 30 And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel; and the land rested eighty years. 31 After him was Samgar the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with a plough-share: and he also defended Israel. CHAP. IV. Debbora and Barac deliver Israel from Jubin and Sisara. Ja- hel killeth Sisara. ND the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after the death of Aod: 2 And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jabin king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor. and he had a general of his army named Sisara ; and he dwelt in Haroseth of the gentiles. . 3 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord for he had nine hundred chariots set with scythes, and for twenty years had grievously oppressed them. 4 And there was at that time Debbora a prophet- ess, the wife of Lapidoth, who judged the people. 5 And she sat under a palm-tree, which was call- ed by her name, between Rama and Bethel in mount Ephraim : and the children of Israel came up to her for all judgment. 6 And she sent and called Barac the son of Abi- noem out of Cedes in Nephtali: and she said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army to mount Thabor, and thou shalt take with thee ten thousand fighting men of | children of Nephtali, and of the children of Za ) UI Oil . 7 And I will bring unto thee in the place of the torrent Cison, Sisara the general of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and all his multitude ; and will de- liver them into thy hand. 8 And Barac said to her: If thou wilt come with me, I will go : if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go. - 9 She said to him : I will go indeed with thee, but at this time the victory shall not be attributed to thee, because Sisara shall be delivered into the hand of a woman. Debbora therefore arose, and went with Barac to Cedes. 10 And he called unto him Zabulon and Neph- tali, and went up with ten thousand fighting men, having Debbora in his company. 11 Now Haber the Cinite had some time before departed from the rest of the Cinites his brethren the Sons of Hobab, the kinsman of Moses; and hat, pitched his tents unto the valley which is called Sen. nim, and was near Cedes. 12 And it was told Sisara, that Barac the son of Abinoem was gone up to mount Thabor: 13 And he gathered together his nine hundred chariots armed with Scythes, and all his army from Haroseth of the gentiles to the torrent Cison. 14 And Debbora said to Barac: Arise, for this is the day wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisara 3) CHAP. V. into thy hands. behold, he is thy leader. And Ba- rac went down from mount Thabor, and ten thou- sand fighting men with him. 15 And the Lord struck a terror into Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his multitude, with the edge of the sword, at the sight of Barac ; insomuch, that Sisara leaping down from off his chariot, fled away on foot : 16 And Barac pursued after the fleeing chariots, and the army, unto Haroseth of the gentiles: and all the multitude of the enemy was utterly de- stroyed. 17 But Sisara fleeing came to the tent of Jahel tne wife of Haber the Cimite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Asor, and the house of Haber the Cimite. 18 And Jahel went forth to meet Sisara, and said to him : Come in to me, my lord ; come in, fear not. He went into her tent, and being cover- ed by her with a cloak, 19 Said to her: Give me, I beseech thee, a little water, for I am very thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him. 20 And Sisara said to her : Stand before the door of the tent, and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is there any man here f thou shalt say : There is none. - 21 So Jahel, Haber’s wife, took a nail of the tent, taking also a hammer : and going in Softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it with the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground : and so passing from deep sleep to death, he ſainted away and died. 22 And behold, Barac came pursuing after Sisa- ra: and Jahel went out to meet him, and said to him : Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, he saw Sisara lying dead, and the nail fastened in his temples. 23 So God that day humbled Jabin the king of Chanaan before the children of Israel: 24 Who grew daily stronger, and with a mighty hand overpowered Jabin king of Chamaan, till they quite destroyed him. CHAP. V. The canticle of Debbora and Barac after their victory. IN that day Debbora and Barac, son of Abinoem, sung, and said: 2 O you of Israel, that have willingly offered your lives to danger, bless the Lord. 3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, ye princes: It is I, is 1, that will sing to the Lord. I will sing to the Lerd the God of Israel. 4 O Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, and passedst by the regions of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped water. 5 The mountains melted before the face of the Lord, and Sima before the face of the Lord the God of Israel. 6 in the days of Samgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jahel the paths rested:* and they that went by them, walked through by-ways. 7. The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel: until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel. 8 The Lord chose new wars, and he himself over- threw the gates of the enemies: a shield and spear was not seen among forty thousand of Israel. 9 My heart loveth the princes of Israel: O you that of your own good-will offered yourselves to danger, bless the Lord. 10. Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in judgment, and walk in the way. ll Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of the enemies was choaked, there let the justices of the Lord be rehearsed, and his clemency towards the brave men of Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the gates, and obtained the sovereignty. 12 Arise, arise, O Debbora ; arise, arise, and utter a canticle. Arise, Barac, and take hold of thy captives, O son of Abinoem. * 13 The remnants of the people are saved : the Lord hath fought among the valiant ones. 14 Out of Ephraimt he destroyed them into Ama- lec, and after him out of Benjamin into thy people, O Amalec : Out of Machirí there came down prin ces, and out of Zabulon they that led the army to fight. 15 The captains of Issachar were with Debbora, and followed the steps of Barac, who exposed him- self to danger, as one going headlong, and into a pit. Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men. 16 Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou maySt hear the bleatings of the flocks P Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men. 17 Galaad rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan applied himself to ships: Aser dwelt on the sea- shore, and abode in the havens. 18 But Zebulon and Nephtali offered their lives to death in the region of Merome. 19 The kings came and fought: the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanach by the waters of Ma- geddo; and yet they took no spoils. 20 War from heaven was made against them: the stars remaining in their order and courses fought against Sisara. 21 The torrent of Cison dragged their carcasses, * The paths rested. The ways to the sanctuary of God were unfre- uented: and men walked in the by-ways of error and sin. * Out of Ephraim, &c. destroyed as they were running through the land of Ephraim, and of Benjamin, which lies after, that is, beyond Ephraim : and so on to the very confines of Amalec. Or, it alludes to former victories of the people of God, particularly that which was freshest in memory, *hen the men of Ephraim and Benjamin, with Aod at their head, The enemies straggling in their flight were | overthrew their enemies the Moabites with the Amalecites their allies. See chap. iii. 1 JMachir. The tribe of Manasses, whose eldest son was Machir § Divided against himself, &c. By this it seems that the valiant met. of the tribe of Reuben were divided in their sentiments, with relation to this war; which division kept them at home within their own bor. ders, to hear the bleating of their flocks. JUDGES the torrent of Cadumim, the torrent of Cison: tread :holi, my soul, upon the strong ones. tº % The hoofs of the horses were broken whilst the stoutest of the enemies fled amain, and fell neadlong down. ſº 23 Curse ye the land of Meroz,” said the Angel of the Lord: curse the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to help his most valiant men. 2. Blessed among women be Jahel the wife of | laber the Cinite, and blessed be she in her tent. 25 IIe asked her water, and she gave him milk, and offered him butter in a dish fit for princes. 26 She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's hammer: and she struck Sisara, seeking in his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing through his temples. 27 At her feet he fell: he fainted, and he died : he rolled before her feet, and he lay lifeless and wretched. 28 I lis mother looked out at a window, and howled: and she spoke from the dining-room : Why is his chariot so long in coming back? Why are the ‘eet of his horses so slow f 29 One that was wiser than the rest of his wives, eturned this answer to her mother-in-law: :30 Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the ſairest of the woment is chosen out for him: gar- ments of divers colours are given to Sisara for his prey; and furniture of different kinds is heaped together to adorn the necks. & 31 So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love thee shine, as the sun shineth in his rising. 32 And the laud rested for forty years. CHAP. VI. The people, for their sins, are oppressed by the Madianites. Gedeon is called to deliver them. A ND the children of Israel again did evil in the * *- sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years: 2 And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist. 3 And when Israel had sown, Madian, and Ama- lec, and the rest of the eastern nations, came up: 4 And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade even to the entrance of Gaza : and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, (1 OJ &l SSU2S. 5 For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innume- rable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched. 6 And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sign o' Madian. 7 And he cried to the Lord, desiring help against tile Madºnites. 8 And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage: 9 And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you : and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you: their land. 10 And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice. ll And an Angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that was in Ephra, and helonged to Joas the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon his son was threshing and cleansing wheat by the wine-press, to flee from Madian, 12 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant o. II) Cl]. 13 And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian. 14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Is- rael out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee. 15 He answered and said: I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses,f and I am the least in my father’s house. - 16 And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man. 17 And he said: if I have found grace before thee give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me, 18 And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming. 19 So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him. - 20 Alid the Angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so, e 2] The Angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the Angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight. 22 And Gedeon seeing that was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face. Jileroz Where this land of Meroz was, which is here laid under a curse, we cannot find: nor is there mention of it any where else in *3ly writ. In the spiritual sense they are cursed who refuse to assist || enterprises. the people of God in their warfare against their spiritual enemies. | | Q2 __------> s &T º –º * >< —2 - 21||R *- * # The meanest in Manasses, &c., Mark how the Lord chooseum the humble who are mean and little in their own eyes) for the greatest CHAP. VII. 23 And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not; thou shalt not die. 24 And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord’s peace, until this present day. the family of Ezri, 25 That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father's; and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father's: and cut down the grove that is about the altar: 26 And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: s\d thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out! of the grove. 27 Then Gedeon taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father’s house, and the men ol that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night. 28 And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built. 29 And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when, they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon the son of Joasi did all this. 30 And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove. 31 He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baai, that you fight for him? he that is his adver- sary, let him die before to-morrow light appear: if he be a god, let him avenge himself on him that haun last down his altar. 32 From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joas had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar. 33 Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the east- ern people were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael. 31. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon: and he sounded the trumpet, and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him; and other messengers into Aser, and Zabulon, and Nephtali: and they came to meet him. J6 And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 37 I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew in the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel. 38 And it was so. And rising before day wring- ung the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew. -* * Lest Israel, & c. By this we see that God will not choose forhis in- strminents in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such as, through pride and self-conceit, will take the glory to thein- selves And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of 39 And he said again to God: Let not thy w rath be kindled against me, if I try once more, seeking a sign in the ſleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew. 40 And God did that night as he had requested and it was dry on the ſleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. ". . CHAP. VII. Gedeon with three hundred men, by stratagem defeats the MIt - diamites. HEN Jerobaal, who is the same as Gedeon, rising up early and all the people with him, came to the fountain that is called lº. Now the camp of Madian was in the valley on the north side of the high hill. * 2 And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee are many: and Madian shall not be deli- wered into their hands; lest” Israel should glory against me, and say: I was delivered by my own strength. 3 Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all, Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. So two and twenty thousand men went away from mount Galaad, and returned home and only ten thousand remained. - 4 And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too many; bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return. 5 And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side. 6 And the number of them that had lappeal water,t casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. 7 And the Lord said to ãodeon: By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place. 8 So taking victuals and trumpets according to their number, he ordered all the rest of the multi- tude to depart to their tents: and he with the three hundred gave himself to the battle. Now the camp of Madian was beneath him in the valley. 9 The same night the Lord said to him : Arise, and go down into the camp: because l have de- livered them into thy hand. 10 But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Phala thy servant go down with thee. 11 And when thou shalt hear what they are say - ing, then shall thy hands be strengthened; and thor shalt go down more secure to the enemies’ camp. And he went down with Phara his servant into part of the camp, where was the watch of men in arms. # That lapped water. . These were preferred that took the water up in their hands, and so lapped it, before them who laid thernselves quite down to the waters to drink ; which argued a inore eager and schsual disposition. 193 JUDGES 12 But Madian, and Amale and all the eastern veople lay scattered in the valley, as a multitude of ocusts: their camels also were innumerable, as the sand that lieth on the sea shore 13 And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream; and in this manner related what he had seen: I dreamt a dream,” and it seemed to me as if a hearth-cake of barley-bread rolled and same down into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to a tent it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground. 14. He to whom he spoke, answered This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon the son of Joas a man of Israel. For the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hand. 15 And when Gedeon had heard the dream, and the interpretation thereof, he adored, and returned to the camp of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into one part of the :amp, and do you as I shall do. 18 When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp. 19 And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him, went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the midnight watch, and the watchmen heing alarmed, they began to sound their trumpets,f and to clap the pitchers one against another. 20 And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held their lamps in their left hands, and with their right hands the trumpets which they blew : and they cried out : The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon ; 21 Standing every man in his place round about the enemies’ camp. So all the camp was troubled : and crying out and howling they fled away. 22 And the three hundred men nevertheless per- sisted sounding the trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp ; and they killed one another, º 23 Fleeing as far as Bethsetta, and the border of Abelmehula in Tebbath. But the men of Israel shouting from Nephtali and Aser, and from all Ma- masses, pursued after Madian. 24 And Gedeon sent messengers into all mount Ephraim, saying : Come down to meet Madian, and take the waters before them to Bethbera and the Jordan. And all Ephraim shouted, and took the waters before them and the Jordan as far as Bethbera. 25 And having taken two ment of Madian, Oreb, ------ - - - * ºf dream. Observation of dreams is commonly superstitious, and as such is condemned in the word of God: but in some extraordinary cases, as we here see, God is pleased by dreams to ſoretel what he is abov. to do. | Their trumpets, &c. In a mystical sense, the preachers of the gos- pel, in order to spiritual conquests, must not only sound with the trumpet of the word of God, but intist also break their earthen pitch- 1 & 4 ~ TR-sc- >= --→ F --><º--> --> -- ~~ - - ~~ and Zeb : Oreb they slew in the rock of Oreb, and Zeb in the wine-press of Zeb. And they pursued Madian, carrying the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon beyond the waters of the Jordan. CHAP. VIII. Gedeon appeaseth the Ephraimites : taketh Zebee and Salmana. destroyeth Soccoth and Phanuel: refuseth to be king : maketa an “phod of the gold of the prey : and dieth in a good ola age. The people return to idolatry. ANP the men of Ephraim said to him : What is this that thou meanest to do, that thou wouldst not call us when thou wentest to fight against Ma dian f and they chid him sharply, and almost of fered violence. 2 And he answered them : What could IS have done like to that which you have done P is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer 2 3 The Lord hath delivered into your hands the princes of Madian, Oreb and Zeb : what could I have done like to what you have done P And when he had said this, their spirit was appeased, with which they swelled against him. 4 And when Gedeon was come to the Jordan, he passed over it with the three hundred men, that were with him ; who were so weary that they could not pursue after them that fled. 5 And he said to the men of Soccoth : Give, I beseech you, bread to the people that is with me, for they are faint: that we may pursue Zebee, and Salmana the kings of Madian. - 6 The princes of Soccoth answered : Peradven ture the palms of the hands of Zebee and Salmana are in thy hand ; and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to thy army. 7 And he said to them : When the Lord therefore shall have delivered Zebee and Salmana into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert. 8 And going up from thence, he came to Pha- nuel : and he spoke the like things to the men of that place. And they also answered him, as the men of Soccoth had answered. 9 He said therefore to them also : When I shall return a conqueror in peace, I will destroy this tower. 10 But Zebee, and Salmana were resting with all their army. For fifteen thousand men were left of all the troops of the eastern people: and one hundred and twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword, were slain. 11 And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents, on the east of Nobe, and Jegbaa, and smote the camp of the enemies, who were se- cure, and suspected no hurt. 12 And Zebee and Salmana fied: and Gedeon ers, by the mortification of the flesh and its in their hands by the light of their vi, ques 1 Two men. That is, two of their chiefs. * What could I, &c., A meek and humble answer appeased them . who otherwise might have come to extremities. So great is the powe of humility both with God and man. passions, and carry lamps CHAP. IX. willingly. pursued and toºk them, all their host being put in confusion. 13 And returning from the battle before the sun rising, 14 Ile took a boy of the men of Soucoth ; and he asked him the names of the princes and ancients of Soccoth : and he described unto him seventy- Se VºI. In CI1. 15 And he came to Soccoth, and said to them : 13 hold Zebee and Salmama, concerning whom you upbraided me, saying: Peradventure the hands of }. and Salmana are in thy hands, and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to the men ...hat are weary and faint. 16 So he took the ancients of the city, and thorns and briers of the desert; and tore them with the same, and cut in pieces the men of Soccoth. 17 And he demolished the tower of Phamuel, and slew the men of the city. 18 And he said to Zebee and Salmana : What manner of men were they whom you slew in Tha- bor P They answered : They were like thee, and one of the m as the son of a king. 19 He answered them : They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As the Lord liveth, if you had saved them, I would not kill you. 20 And he said to Jether his eldest son : Arise, and slay them. But he drew not his sword : for he was afraid, being but yet a boy. 21 And Zebee and Salmana said: Do thou rise, and run upon us: because the strength of a man is according to his age : Gedeon rose up, and slew Zebee and Salmana : and he took the ornaments and bosses, with which the necks of the camels of kings are wont to be adorned. 22 And all the men of Israel said to Gedeon : Rule thou over us, and thy son, and thyson’s son : because thou hast delivered us from the hand of Madian. 23 And he said to them : I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; but the Lord shall rule over you. 24 And he said to them : I desire one request of ou : Give me the earlets of your spoils. For the fºil; were accustomed to wear golden earlets. 25 They answered : . We will give them most And spreading a mantle on the ground, they cast upon it the earlets of the spoils. 26 And the weight of the earlets that he request- ed, was a thousand seven hundred sicles of gold, oesides the ornaments, and jewels, and purple rai- ment, which the kings of Madian were wont to use, and besides the golden chains that were about the camels’ necks. 27 And Gedeon made an ephod” thereof, and put it in his city Ephra. And all Israel committed for- nication with it: and it became a ruin to Gedeon, and to all his house. 28 But Madian was humbled before the children of Israel: neither could they any more lift up their heads: but the land rested for forty years, while Gedeon presided. , 29 So Jero al the son of Joas went, and dwelt in his own house. 30 And he had seventy sons who came out of his thigh ; for he had many wives. * 31 And his concubine,t that he had in Sichern. bore him a son, whose name was Abimelech. 32 And Gedeon the son of Joas died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fa. ther in Ephra of the family of Ezri. 33 But after Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and committed fornication with Baalim. And they made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god : 34 And they remembered not the Lord their God, who delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies round about: 35 Neither did they show mercy to the house of Jerobaal Gedeon, according to all the good things he had done to Israel. - CHAP. IX. Abimelech killeth his brethren. Joatham’s parable. Gaal con- spireth with the Sichemites against Abimelech ; but is over- come. Abimelech destroyeth Sichem: but is killed at Thebes. AN!” Abimelech the son of Jerobaai went to Sichem to his mother’s brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the kindred of his mother’s fa- ther, saying : 2 Speak to all the men of Sichem : Whether is better for you, that seventy men all the sons of Je- robaal should rule over you, or that one man should rule over you ? And withal consider that I am your bone, and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spoke of him to all the men of Sichem, all these words; and they in- clined their hearts after Abimelech, saying: He is our brother : 4 And they gave him seventy weight of silver out of the temple of Baalberith :f wherewith he hired to himself men that were needy, and vaga- bonds : and they followed him. 5 And he came to his father’s house in Ephra, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerobaal Seventy men, upon one stone : and there remained only Joatham the youngest son of Jerobaal, who was hidden. 6 And all the men of Sichem were gathered to- gether, and all the families of the city of Mello; and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak that stood in Sichem. 7 This being told to Joatham, he went and stood on the top of mount Garizim ; and lifting up his voice, he cried, and said : Hear me, ye men of Si. chem, so may God hear you. 8 The trees went to anoint a king over them, . and they said to the olive-tree . Reign thou over us. 9 And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, * An ephod. A priestly garment; which Gedeon made with a good deºign; but the Israelites, after his death, abused it by making it an instrument of their idolatrous worship. t His concubine. She was his servant, but not his harlot; and is " 1 * called his concubine, as wives of an inferior degree are cºmmonly called in the Old Testament, though otherwise lawfully married. t Baalberith. That is, Baal of the covenant; sc called from the cºva nant they had mº: with Baal, chap. viii. 33. | 95 *~~ 231ſº *-----... – --~~ *——-- ** £2- - N-> & Lºr i JUIDGES. which both gods and men make use of,” to come to be promoted among the trees f 10 And the trees said to the fig-tree: Come thou, and reign over us. 1 | And it answered them : Can I leave my sweetness, and my delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the other trees f 12 And the trees said to the vine : Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And it answered them : Can I forsake my wine, that cheereth God and men,f and be promot- ed among the other trees P l', And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou, and reign over us. 15 And it answered them : If indeed you mean to make me king, come ye and rest under my sha- dow : but if you mean it not, let fire come out from the bramble, and devour the cedars of Libanus. 16 Now therefore, if you have done well, and without sin in appointing Abimelech king over you, and have dealt well with Jerobaal, and with his house, and have made a suitable return for the be- neſts of him, who fought for you, 17 And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from the hands of Madian, . 18 And you are now risen up against my father’s nouse, and have killed his sons seventy men upon »ne stone, and have made Abimelech the son of his handmaid king over the inhabitants of Sichem, be- cause he is your brother : 19 If therefore you have dealt well, and without fault with Jerobaal, and his house, rejoice ye this day in Abimelech: and may he rejoice in you. 20 But if unjustly, let fire come out from him, and consume the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello : and let fire come out from the men of Sichem, and from the town of Mello, and devour Abimelech. 21 And when he had said thus, he fled, and went into Bera ; and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother. 22 So Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years. 23 And the Lord sent a very evil spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Sichem ; who began to detest him, 2. And to leave the crime of the m:lrder of the seventy sons of Jerobaal, and the shedding of their blood upon Abimelech their brother, and upon the rest of the princes of the Sichemites, who aided him. 25 And they set an ambush against him on the top ol the mountains : and while they waited for his coming, they committed robberies, taking spoils yf all that passed by : and it was told Abimelech. 26 And Gaal the son of Obed came with his brethren, and went over to Sichem. And the in- paloitants of Sichem taking courage at his coming, 27 Went out into the fields, wasting the vine- | yards, and treading down the grapes: and singing and dancing they went into the temple of their god and in their banquets and cups they cursed Abi melech. 28 And Gaal the son of Obed cried Who is Abimelech, and what is Sichem, that we should serve him P Is he not the son of Jerobaal, and hath made Zebul his servant ruler over the men of Emor, the father of Sichem P Why then shall we serve him? 29 Would to God that some man would put this people under my hand, that I might remove Abimelech out of the way. And it was said to Abimelech : Gather together the multitude of an army, and come. 30 For Zebul the ruler of the city, hearing the words of Gaal, the son of Obed, was very angry, 31 And sent messengers privately to Abimelech, saying: Behold, Gaal the son of Obed is come into Sichem with his brethren, and endeavoureth to set the city against thee. 32 Arise therefore in the night with the people that is with thee, and lie hid in the field: 33 And betimes in the morning at sun-rising set upon the city. And when he shall come out against |. with his people, do to him what thou shalt be * !)}{2. 34 Abimelech therefore arose with all his army by night, and laid ambushes near Sichem in foul places. 35 And Gaal the son of Obed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abi- melech rose up, and all his army with him from the places of the ambushes. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul: Behold, a multitude cometh down from the mountains. And he answered him : Thou seest the shadows of the mountains as if they were the heads of men ; and this is thy mistake. 37 Again Gaal said: Behold, there cometh peo- ple down from the middle of the land; and one ºp cometh by the way that looketh towards th Oā K. . - 38. And Zebul said to him: Where is now thy mouth wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him P. Is not this the people which thou didst despise P Go out, and fight against him. 39 So Gaal went out in the sight of the people of Sichem, and fought againt Abimelech, 40 Who chased and put him to flight, and drove him to the city: and many were slain of his people, even to the gate of the city: - 41 And Abimelech sat down in Ruma : but Ze- bul drove Gaal, and his companions out of the city, and would not suffer them to abide in it. 42 So the day following the people went out into the field. And it was ºã to Abimelech. sºme * Both gods and inen make use of. The olive tree is introduced, speaking in this manner, because oil was used both in the worship of the true God, and in that of the false gods, whom the Sichemites weived. | Cheereth God and men. Wine is here represented as agreeable to ſº tº God, because he had appointed it to be offered up with his sacrifices But we are not obliged to take these words, spoken by the trees, it Joatham's parable, according to the strict literal sense; but only in a sense accommodated to the design of the parable expressed in the con. clusion of it. G CHAP X. 43 And he took his army and divided it into three companies, and laid ambushes in the fields. And seeing that the people came out of the city, he arose, and set upon them 44 With his own company, assaulting and be- sieging the city: whilst the two other companies lººd the enemies that were scattered about the CH (1. tº 45 And Abimelechassaulted the city all that day; and took it, and killed the inhabitants thereof, and demolished it, so that he sowed salt" in it. - 45 And when they who dwelt in the tower of Si- Chem had heard this, they went into the temple of their god Berith, where they had made a covenant with him, and from thence the place had taken its name, and it was exceeding strong. 47 Abimelech also hearing that the men of the tower of Sichem were gathered together, 48 Went up into mount Selmon he and all his people with him ; and taking an axe, he cut down the bough of a tree, and laying it on his shoulder, and carrying it, he said to his companions: What you see me do, do you out of hand. 49 So they cut down boughs from the trees, every man as fast as he could, and followed their leader. fire: and so it came to pass that with the smoke and with the fire a thousand persons were killed, men and women together of the inhabitants of the tower of Sichem. 50 Then Abimelech departing from thence came to the town of Thebes, which he surrounded and besieged with his army. * 51 And there was in the midst of the city a high tower, to which both the men and the women were fled together, and all the princes of the city, and having shut and strongly barred the gate, they stood - . the battlements of the tower to defend them- Sel V6 S. 52 And Abimelech coming near the tower fought Stoutly; and approaching to the gate, endeavoured to set fire to it: A- 53 And behold, a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull. 54 And he called hastily to his armour-bearer, and said to him : Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest it should be said that I was slain by a woman. He did as he was commanded, and slew him. 55 And when he was dead, all the men of Israel that were with him, returned to their homes. 56 And God repaid the evil that Abimelech had º against his father, killing his seventy bre- thren. 57 The Sichemites also were rewarded for what they had done: and the curse of Joatham the son of Jerobaal came upon them And surrounding the fort they set it on CHAP. X. Thola ru, eth Israel twenty-three years ; and Jair twenty-two The people fall again into idolatry; and are afflicted by the Philistines and Ammonites. They cry to God for help, who upon their repentance hath compassion on them. AETER Abimelech there arose a ruler in Israel Thola, son of Phua the uncle of Ahimeleºn.} a man of Issachar, who dwelt in Samir of mount Ephraim : 2. And he judged Israel three and twenty years and he died, and was buried in Samir. 3 To him succeeded Jair the Galaadite, who judged Israel for two and twenty years, 4 Having thirty sons that rode on thirty asscolts, and were princes of thirty cities, which from his name were called Havoth Jair,ſ that is, the towns i. jºin until this present day, in the land of Ga- ** Cl. 5 And Jair died; and was buried in the place which is called Camon. 6 But the children of Israel adding new sins to their old ones, did evil in the sight of the Lord; and served idols, Baalim and Astaroth, and the gods of Syria, and of Sidon, and of Moab, and of the chil- dren of Ammon, and of the Philistines: and they left the Lord, and did not serve him. 7. And the Lord being angry with them, deliver- ed them into the hands of the Philistines and of the children of Ammon. 8 And they were afflicted, and grievously op. pressed for eighteen years, all they that dwelt be- yond the Jordan in the land of the Amorrhite, who is in Galaad : 9 Insomuch that the children of Ammon passin over the Jordan, wasted Juda and Benjamin . Ephraim; and Israel was distressed exceedingly. 10 And they cried to the Lord, and said: "We have sinned against thee; because we have forsa- ken the Lord our God, and have served Baalim. 11 And the Lord said to them: Did not the Egyp- tians and the Amorrhites, and the children of Åm- mon and the Philistines, 12 The Sidonians also, and Amalec and Cha- naan oppress you : and you cried to me, and I deli- vered you out of their hand? 13 And yet you have forsaken me, and have wor- shipped strange gods: therefore I will deliver you no II) Ol’é 14 Go and call upon the gods which you have chosen: Let them deliver you in the time of distress. 15 And the children of Israel said to the Lord We have sinned ; do thou unto us whatsoever pleas- eth thee: only deliver us this time. 16 And saying these things, they cast away out of their coasts all the idols of strange gods, and serv ed the Lord their God: and he was touched with their miseries. • Soured salt. To make the ground harren, and fit for nothing # Uncle of Abimelech, i. e. Half-brotherto Gedeon, as being born of qhe same mother. but by a different father, and of a different tribe. t Havoth Jair. This name was now confirmed to these towns, whité they had formerly received from another Jair. JWumbers xxxii. 4 197 JUDGES. 17 And the children of Ammon shouting together, pitched their tents in Galaad; against whom the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and camped in Maspha. . . o 18 And the princes of Galaad said one to ano ther: Wi:osoever of us shall first begin to fight against the children of Ammon, he shall be the lea- ler of the people of Galaad. CHAP. XI. Jephte is made ruler of the people of Galaad : he first p’eads their cause against the Ammonites ; then making a voir, ob- tains a signal victory : he performs his vow. WIY HERE was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot; and his father was Ga- laad. 2 Now Galaad had a wiſe of whom he had sons; who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother. 3 Then he fled, and avoided them, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince. 4. In those days the climldren of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the an- cients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them: 6 And they said to him: Come thou, and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon. 7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father’s house: and pow you are come to me constrained by neces- Slt V % And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte : For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Am- mon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad. 9 Jephte also said to them : If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my hand, shall I be your prince? 10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised. Il Jephte therefore went with the princes of Ga- laad: and ali the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha. 12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his manne : What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land f 13 And he answered them: Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the onfines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably tſ) ille. * Chamos. The idol of the Moabites and Ammonites. He argues from their opinion, who thought they had a just title to the countries ***h they imagined they had conquered by the help of their gods: 14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and con manded them to say to the king of Ammon : 15 Thus saith Jephte; Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children ol Ammon: 16 But when they came up out of Egypt he walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and came into Cades. 17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cadt's, 18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab; and came over-against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Armon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab. 19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river. 20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition. 21 And the Lord delivered him with all his ar- my into the hands of Israel: and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabi- tant of that country, 22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him and wilt thou now possess this land P 24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos' possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession: 25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the Son of Sephor king of Moab; or canst show, that he strove against Israel, and fought against him. 26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim P 27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee buſ thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge, and decide this day be. tween Israel, and the children of Ammon. 28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers. 29 Therefore the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte: and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon, .30. He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wiit deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, hºw much more then had Israel an indisputable title to the countrie, which God, by visible miracles, had conquered for them. CHAP. XII, XIII. 31 Whosoever* shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will ! offer a holocaust to the Lord. 32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to ſight against them : and the Lord de- livered them into his hands. 33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come o Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: aud the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel. 34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to liis house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dauces: for he had no other children. 35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived : for I have open- ed my mouth to the Lord ; and I can do no other thing. 36 And she answered him : My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised ; since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies. 37 And she said to her father : Grant me only this which I desire : Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two mouths, and may be- wail my virginity'ſ with my companions. 38 And he answered her : Go. And he sent her a way for two months. And when she was gone with her centrades and companious, she mourned her virginity in the mountains. 39 And the two months being expired, she re- turned to her father: and he did to her as he had vowed : aud she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept, 40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days. CHAP. XII. The Frºhº, imites quarrel with Jephte : 42,000 of them art slain ; Abesan, Ahiaton, and Abdon, are judges. - UT beliold, there arose a sedition in Ephraim. And passing towards the north, they said to Jephte : When thou wentest to fight against the children of Ammon, why wouldst thou not call us, that we might go with thee P Therefore we will hurn thy house. 2 And he answered them : I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon : and called you to assist me, and you would not doit. 3 And when I saw this l put my life in Iny own hands, and passed over-against the children of Am- mon : and the Lord delivered them into Iny hands. What have I deserved, that you should rise up to fight against me * 4. Then calling to him all the men of Galaad he fouglt against Ephraim; and the men of Galaad defeated Ephraim, because he had said: Galaad is a fugitive of Ephraim, and dwelleth in the midst of Ephraim and Manasses. 5 And the Galaadites secured the fords of the Jor- dau, by which Ephraim was to return. And when any ope of the number of Ephraim came thither in the ſlight, and said: I beseech you let me pass: the Galaadites said to him: Art thou not an Ephraim- ite f |f he said : I am not : 6 They asked him : Say then, Scibboleth, which is...interpreted, An ear of corn. But he answered, Sibboleth, not being able to express an ea of on by the same letter. Then presently thov took him and killed him in the very passage of the Jordan. And there ſell at that time of Ephraim two and for y thousand. - 7 And Jephte the Galaadite judged Israel six years;, and he died, and was buried in his city of Galaad. - 8 After him Abesan of Bethlehem judged Israel: 9. He had thirty sons, and as many daughters whom he sent abroad, and gave to husbands; an took Wives for his sons of the same number, bring- ing them into his house. And he judged Israel Seven years : 10 And he died, and was buried in Bethlehem. | | To him succeeded Ahialon a Zabulonite: and he judged Israel ten years : 12 And he died, and was buried in Zabulon. 13. After him Abdon, the son of lllel, a Phara- thonite, judged Israel: w 14, And he had forty sons, and of them thirty grandsons, mounted upon seventy ass-colts: and he judged Israel eight years : 15 Aud he died, and was buried in Pharathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of Amalec. CHAP. XIII. The people fall again into idolatry; and are afflicted by the Philistines. An Angel foretelleth the birth of Samson. NI) the children of Israel did evil again in the ** sight of the lord : and he delivered them into he hands of the Philistines forty years. 2. Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue; and his wife was barren. * 3 And an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said : Thou art barren, and without children: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. ***=== * Whosoever, &c. Some are of opinion, that the meaning of this vow sf Jephte, was to consecrate to God whatsoever should first meet him, according to the condition of the things: so as to offe: it up as a noto- caust, if it were such a thing as might be so offered by the law; or to devote it otherwise to God, if it were not such as the law allowed to be offered in sacrifice. And therefore they think the daughter of Jephte was not stain by her father, but only consecrated to perpetual virginity. But the common opinion, followed by the generality of the holy fathers and divines, is, that she was offered as a holocaust, in •onsequence of her father's vow: and that Jephte did not sin, at least zot mortally, neither in making, nor in keeping his vow , since he is no ways blamed for it in scripture; and was even inspired by God him. self to make the vow (as appears from ver, 29, 30.) in consequence o which he obtained the victory; and therefore he reasonably conclu- dcd, that God, who is the master of life and death, was pleased on this occasion to dispense with his own law ; and that it was the divine will he should fulfil his vow. t Bewail my virginity. The bearing of children was much coveted under the Old Testament, when women might hope that from some child of theirs, the Saviour of the world might one day spring. Buſ under the New Testament virginity is preferred 1 Cor. vii. 35. 199 y Uſ DG F.S. 4. Now therefore beware, and drink no Wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. 5 ñº. thou shalt conceive and bear a son ; and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb : and he shall begin to deliver Is- rael from the hands of the Philistines. 6 And when she was come to her husband she said to him : A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an Angel, very awful. And when I asked him whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me. 7 But he answered thus: Behold, thou shalt con- ceive, and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb until the day of his death. 8 Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: Ibe- seech thee, O Lord, that the man of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us. What we ought to do concerning the child, that shall be born; 9 And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue: and the Angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her hus- band was not with her. And when she saw the Angel, 10 She made haste, and ran to her husband; and told him, saying: Behold, the man lath ap- peared to me, whom I saw before. 11 He rose up, and followed his wife: and com- ing to the man, said to him : Art thou he that spoke to the woman And he answered : I am. 12 And Manue said to him : When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do P or from what shall he keep himself f 13 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manue : From all the things I have spoken of to thy Wife, let her refrain” herself: 14 And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have com- manded her, let her fulfil and obserye. * 4 15 And Manue said to the Angel of the Lord : I beseech thee to consent to my request: and let us dress a kid for thee. 16 And the Angel answered him : If thou press ine, I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt of fer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the Angel of the Lord. 17 And he said to him:- What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour theef 18 And he answered him : Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful ? 19 Then Manue took a kid of the flocks and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doeth wonderful things : and he and flis wife looked on. 20 And when the flame from the altar went up also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground. 21 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to then no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an Angel of the Lord, 22 And he said to his wife: We shall .ertainly die, because we have seen God-f 23 And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holo caust and libations at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come. 24 And she bore a son, and called his name Sam- son. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol. CHAP. XIV. Samson desireth a wife of the Philistines. He killeth a lion. in whose mou. he afterwards findeth honey. His marriage feast, and riddle, which is dis covered by his wife. He killeth, and strippeth thirty Philistines. His wif: taketh another man. WHEN Samson went down to Thamnatha ; and seeing there a woman of the daughters of the Philistines, - 2 He came up, and told his father and his mother saying: I saw a woman in Thamnatha, of the daughters of the Philistines: I beseech wou. take her for me to wife. 3 And his father and mother said to him : Is there no woman among the daughters of thy bre- thren,f or among all my people, that thou wilt take a wife of the Philistines, who are uncircumcised : for me; for she hath pleased my eyes. 4. Now his parents knew not that the thing was done by the Lord, and that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philis. times had dominion over Israel. - 5 Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Thamnatha. And when they were come to the vineyards of the town, behold, a young lior met him raging and roaring. 6 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Sam- son : and he tore the lion as he would have torn a kid in pieces, having nothing at all in his hand: and he would not tell this to his father and mother. 7 And he went down and spoke to the woman that had pleased his eyes. 8 And after some days returning to take her, he went aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold there was a swarm of bees in the mouth of the lion. and a homey-comb. 9 9 And when he had taken it in his hands, he went on eating: and coming to his father and mo- ther, he gave them of it, and they ate: but he would not tell them, that he had taken the honey from the body of the lion. towards heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended And Samson said to his father: Take this woman * Let her refrain, &c. . By the Latin text it is not clear whether this abstinence was prescribed to the mother, or to the child: But the He- ºrew (in which the verbs relating thereto are of the ſeminine gender) Jetermineth it to the mother. But then the child also was to refrain from the like things, because he was to be from his infancy a Naza: rite of God, vor. 5. that is, one set aside, in a particular manner, and consecrated to God: now the Nazarites by the law were to abstain from all these Khings t Soen God. Nºt ir, his own person, but in the nerson of his meson. <> ºrs 2-s ger. The Israelites in those days, imagined they should die if they saw an Angel, taking occasion perhaps from those words spoken by the Lord to Moses, Er. xxxiii. 20. JNo man shall see me, and live. But the event demonstrated that it was but a groundless imagination i Is there no woman among the daughters of thy brethren. This shows prohibited, Deut. vii. 3, but afterwards they consented, knowing it to ibc by the dispensation of God; which otherwise would have been sun | fill in acting contrary to the law. `Sº- his parents were at first against his marriage with a Gentile, it being CHAP. XV. i () So his father went down to the woman, and made a feast for his son Samson : for so the young men used to do. ll And when the citizens of that place saw him, they brought him thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said to them : I will propose to you a riddle, which if you declare unto me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty shirts, and as many coats: 13. But if you shall not be able to declare it, you shall give me thirty shirts and the same number of coats. They answered him : Put forth the riddle that we may hear it. 14 And he said to them: Out of the eater came forth meat; and out of the strong came forth Sweet- ness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle. - 15 And when the seventh day came, they said to the wife of Samson : Soothe thy husband, and per- suade him to tell thee what the riddle meaneth. But if thou wilt not do it, we will burn thee, and thy father’s house. Have you called us to the wed- ding on purpose to strip us? - 16 So she wept before Samson, and complained, saying: Thou hatest me, and dost not love me: therefore thou wilt not expound to me the riddle which thou hast proposed to the sons of my people. But he answered : I would not tell it to my father and mother ; and how can I tell it to thee 17 So she wept before him the seven days of the feast : and at length on the seventh day as she was troublesome to him, he expounded it. And she immediately told her countrymen. 18 And they on the seventh day before the Sun went down said to him : What is sweeter than honey P and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them : If you had not ploughed with my heifer, vou had not found out my riddle. 19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him : and he went down to Ascalon, and slew there thirty men, whose garments he took away, and gave to them that had declared the riddle. And being ex- ceeding angry, he went up to his father’s house. 20 But his wife took one of his friends and bridal companions for her husband. CHAP. XV. Samson is denied his wife : He burns the corn of the Philistines, and kills many of them. NI) a while after, when the days of the wheat harvest were at hand, Samson came, meaning to visit his wife ; and he brought her a kid of the flock. And when he would have gone into her chamber as usual, her father would not suffer him, saying : 2 I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her to thy friend : but she hath a sister, who is younger and fairer than she , take her to wife instead of her. 3 And Samson answered him : From this day ! shall be blameless in what I do against the Philis- 4 And he went and caught three hundred foxes," and coupled them tail to tail, and fastelled torches between the tails: 5 And setting them on fire, he let the foxes go, that they might run about hither and thither. And they presently went into the standing corn of the Philistines ; which being set on fire, both the corn that was already carried together, and that which was yet standing, was all burnt; insomuch, that the flame consumed also the vineyards and the olive-yards. 6 *. the Philistines said: Who hath done this thing? And it was answered: Samson the son- in-law of the Thamnathite, because he took away his wife, and gave her to another, hath done these things. And the Philistines went up, and burnt both the woman and her father. 7 But Samson said to them : Although you have done this, yet will I be revenged of you, and then | will be quiet. 8 And he made a great slaughter of them, so that in astonishment they haid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And going down he dwelt in a cavern of the rock Etam. tº 9 Then the Philistines going up into the land of Juda, camped in the place which afterwards was called Lechi, that is, the Jaw-bone, where their army was spread - tº 10 And the men of the tribe of Juqa said to them : Why are you come up against us f They answered : We are come to bind Samson, and to pay him for what he hath done against us. ll Wherefore three thousand men of Juda went down to the cave of the rock Etam, and said to Samson : Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? Why wouldst thou do thus P And he said to them : As they did to me, so have I done to them. 12 And they said to him, We are come to bind thee, and to deliver thee into the hands of the Phi- listines. And Samson said to them : Swear to me, and promise me, that you will not kill me. 13 They said: We will not kill thee : but we will deliver thee up bound. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him from the rock Etam. - 14 Now when he was come to the place of the Jaw-bone, and the Philistines shouting went to meet him, the Spirit of the Lord came strongly upon him: and as the flax is wont to be consumed at the approach of fire, so the bands with which he was bound were broken and loosed. 15 And finding a jaw-bone, even the jaw-bone of an ass which lay there, catching it up, he slew there with a thousand men. - 16 And he said: With the jaw-bone of an a with the jaw of the colt of asses I have destroy them, and have slain a thousand men. 17 And when he had ended these words singing he threw the jaw-bone out of his hand ; and called times for l will do you, evils. 201 ºf T =– ~---ºº-ºº::===- : -- bººs <--> CHAP XVI 1. them. And being brought out of prison, he played #. them, and they made him stand between two ) li it! TS. ſ 26 And he said to the lad that guided his steps: Suffer me to touch the pillars which support the whole house, and let me lean upon them, and rest a little. 27 Now the house was full of men and women ; and all the princes of the Philistines were there. Moreover, about threelhousand persons of both sexes from the roof and the higher part of the house, were beholding Samson’s play. 25 But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God, remember me; and restore to me now my for- met strength, O my God, that l may revenge my- self” on my enemies; and for the loss of my two eyes I may take one revenge. 29 And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the other with his left, 30 He said: Let me die f with the Philistines. And when he had strongly shook the pillars, the house fell upon all the princes, and the rest of the multitude, that was there : and he killed many more at his death, than he had killed before in his life. 31 And his brethren and all his kindred, going down, took his body, and buried it between Saraa and Esthaol in the burying-place of his father Manue: and he judged Israel twenty years. CHAP. XVII. The history of the idol of Michas, and the young Levite. HERE was at that time a man of mount Ephraim whose name was Michas, . 2 Who said to his mother : The eleven hundred pieces of silver, which thou hadst put aside for thy- self, and concerning which thou didst swear in my hearing, behold, I have, and they are with me. And she said to him : Blesse, e my son by the Lord. 3 So he restored them to his mother, who said to him : I have consecrated and vowed this silver to the Lord, that my son may receive it at my hand, and make a graven and a molten god : so now I de- liver it to thee. 4 And he restored them to his mother ; and she took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the silversmith, to make of them a graven and a molten god, which was in the house of Michas. 5 And he separated also therein a little temple for the god ; and made an ephod, and theraphim, that is to say, a priestly garment, and idols; and he filled the handf of one of his sons ; and he became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; but every one did that which seemed right to himself. 7 There was also another young man of Beth- lehem Juda, of the kindred thereof: and he was a Levite, and dwelt there. 8 Now he went out from the city of Bethlehem and desired to sojourn wheresoever he should find it convenient for him. And when he was come to mount Ephraim, as he was on his journey, and had turned aside a little into the house of Michas, 9. He was asked by him whence he came And he answered: I am a Levite of Bethlehem Juda and I am going to dwell where I can, and where shall find a place to my advantage. 10 And Michas said: Stay with me, and be unto me a father and a priest : and I will give thee crery year ten pieces of silver, and a double sºul of ap: parel, and thy victuals. 11 He was content, and abode with the uran and was unto him as one of his sons. 12 And Michas filled his hand, and had th9 young man with him for his priest, saying : 13 Now I know God will do n e good, since l have a priest of the race of the Levites. CHAP. XVIII. The earpedition of the men of Dam against Lais : in their way they rob Michas of his priest and his goas. N those days there was no king in Israel: and the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in : for unto that day they had not received $ their lot among the other tribes. 2 So the children of Dan sent five most valiant men of their stock and family from Saraa and Es- thaol, to spy out the land, and to view it diligently and they said to them: Go, and view the land. They went on their way, and when they came to mount Ephraim, they went into the house of Michas, and rested there: - - 3 And knowing the voice of the young man the Levite, and lodging with him, they said to him: Who brought thee hither? what doest thou here? why wouldst thou come hither? 4 He answered them: Michas hath done such and such things for me, and hath hired me to be his priest. * 5 Then they desired him to consult the Lord, that they might know whether their journey should be prosperous, and the thing should have effect. 6 He answered them: Go in peace: the Lord looketh on your way, and the journey that you go. 7 So the five men going on came to Lais: and they saw how the people dwelt therein without any fear, according to the custom of the Sidonians, secure and easy, having no man at all to oppose them, being very rich, and living separated, at a distance from Sidon and from all men. - 8 And they returned to their brethren in Saraa * Revenge snyself. This desire of revenge was out of zeal for justice against the enemies of God and his people; and not out of private ran- dour and malice of heart. # Let me die. Literally, let my soul die. Samson, did not sin on this vecasion, though he was indirectly the cause of his own death. Be- cause he was moved to what he did, by a particular inspiration of God who also concurred with him by a miracle, in restoring his strength proc the snot, in consequence of his prayer. Samson by dying in this manner was a figure of Christ, who by his death overcaine all his ene. In 162S. f Filled the hand. That is, appointed and consecrated him to the priestly office. e N- —2 RUTH. of “hem that were dancing : and they went into their possessiºn, and built up their cities, and dwelt in them. 24. The children of Israel also returned by their | tribes, and families, to their dwellings. In those days there was no king in Israel: but every one diº that which seemed right to himself. - - --→ *-- ºr THE BOOK OF RUTH. This hook is called Ruth, from the name of the person whose his-ſ tory is here recorded: who, being a gentile, became a convert to the true faith, and marrying Booz the great-grandfather of David, was one of those from whom Christ sprung ac- cording to the flesh, and an illustrious figure of the gentile church. It is thought this book was written by the prophet Samuel. ſº CHAP. [. Elimelech of Bethlehem going with his wife Nocmi, and two sons, into the land of Moab, dieth there. His sons marry wives of that country, and die upithout issue. Noemi returneth home with her daughter-in-law Ruth, who refuseth to part with her. IN the days of one of the judges, when the judges ruled, there came a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Juda, went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 2 He was named Elimelech, and his wife, Noemi; and his two sons, the one Mahalon, and the other Chelion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Juda And en- tering into the country of Moab, they abode there. 3 And Elimelech the husband of Noemi died : and she remained with her sons. 4 And they took wives of the women of Moab, of which one was called Orpha, and the other Ruth. And they dwelt there ten years : 5 And they both died, to wit, Mahalon and Che- lion : and the woman was left alone, having lost both her sons and her husband. - 6 And she arose to go from the land of Moab to her own country with both her daughters-in-law : for she had heard that the Lord had looked upon his people, and had given them food. 7. Wherefore she went forth out of the place of her sojournment, with both her daughter’s-in-law : and being now in the way to return into the land of Juda, 8 She said to them: Go ye home to your mo- thers: the Lord deal merciful with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 May he grant you to find rest in the houses of the husbands which you shall take. And she kiss- ed them. And they lifted up their voice, and began to Weep, 10 And to say: We will go on with thee to thy people. | l But she answered them: Return, my daugh- ers, why conte ye with me? have I any more sons u my won b, that you may hope for husbands of me? 12 Return again, my daughters, and go, your ways: for l am now spent with age, and not fit for wedlock. Although I might conceive this night, and bear children, 13 If you would wait till they were grown up, and come to man’s estate, you would be old women be- fore you marry. Do not so, my daughters, I be- seech you: for I am grieved the more for your dis- tress; and the hand of the Lord is gone out against II]{2. 14 And they lifted up their voice, and began to weep again: Orpha kissed her mother-in-law, and returned: Ruth stuck close to her mother-in-law. 15, And Noemi said to her: Behold, thy kinswo- man is returned to her people, and to her gods:* go thou with her. * 16 She answered: Be not against me, to desire that I should leave thee, and depart: for whitherso- ever thou shalt go, I will go: and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. 17 The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and sof to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee. 18 'Then Noemi seeing, that Ruth was stedfastly determined to go with her, would not be against it, nor persuade her any more to return to her friends: 19 So they went together, and came to Bethle- hem. And when they were come into the city, the report was quickly spread among all: and the wo. men said: This is that Noemi. 20 But she said to them: Call me not Noemi (that is, beautiful,) but call me Mara (that is, bitter;) for the Almighty hath quite filled me with bitterness. 2] I went out full and the Lord hath brought mº back empty. , Why then did you call me Noem, whom the Lord hath humbled, and the Almighty hath afflicted? - 22 So Noemi came with Ruth the Moabitess her datighter-in-law, from the land of her Sojournment; and, returned into Bethlehem, in the beginning of the barley harvest. - CHAP. II. Ruth gleanet', tr. the field of Booz; who showeth her favour | OW her husband Elimelech had a kinsman, a powerful man, and very rich, whose name was Booz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to her mother. in-law . If thou wilt, I will go into the field, and glean ºne ears of corn that escape the hands of the f. The Lord do so and so, &c. A form of swearing asual in the hist of the Old Testament, by which the persons ºil. such *". To her gods, &c. Noemi did not mean to persuade Ruth to return to her free gods she had formerly worshipped: but by this manner of specch, insinuated to her, that if she would go with her, she must re. sounce her false gods, and return to the Lord the God of Israel. evils to fall upon them, if they did not do what they said 908 CHAP. III. reapers, wheresoever I shall find grace with a house- holder that will be favourable to me. And she an- swered her: Go, my daughter. 3. She went therefore, and gleaned the ears of corn after the reapers. And it happened that the owner of that field was Booz, who was of the kin- dred of Elimelech 4 And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you. And they answered him: The Lord bless thee. 5 And Booz said to the young man that was set over the reapers: Whose maid is this? 6 And he answered him: This is the Moabitess, who came with Noemi, from the land of Moab, 7 And she desired leave to glean the ears of corn that remain, following the steps of the reapers: and she hath been in the field from morning till now, and hath not gone home for one moment. 8 And Booz said to Ruth: Hear me, daughter, do not go to glean in any other field; and do not depart from this place; but keep with my maids, 9 And follow where they reap. For I have charged my young men, not to molest thee: and if thou art thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of the waters whereof the servants drink. 10 She fell on her face, and worshipping upon the ground, said to him: Whence cometh this to me, that I should find grace before thy eyes, and that thou shouldest vouchsafe to take notice of me, a woman of another country? 11 And he answered her: All hath been told me, that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law after the death of thy husband; and how thou hastleft thy parents, and | the land wherein thou wast born, and art come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 12 The Lord render unto thee for thy work; and mayst thou receive a full reward of the Lord he God of lisrael, to whom thou art come, and un- der whose wings thou art fled. 13 And she said: I have found grace in thy eyes, my lord, who hast comforted me, and hast spoken .o the heart of thy handmaid, who am not like to one of thy maids. 14 And Booz said to her: At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the Dread, and dip thy mor- sel in the vinegar. So she sat at the side of the reapers; and she heaped to herself frumenty, and ate and was filled, and took the leavings. 15 And she arose from thence, to glean the ears of corn as before. And Booz commanded his ser- vants, saying: If she would even reap with you, hin- der her not : - 16 And let fall some of your handfuls of purpose, and leave them, that she may gather them without shame: and let no man rebuke her when she gather- etn them. . J7 She gleaned therefore in the field till evening: and beating out with a rod, and threshing what she had gleaned, she found about the measure of an ephi of barley, that is, three bushels: * Thy latter kindness, viz. to thy husband deceased in seeking to keep up his name and family, by marrying his relation accºrding to b. ==s* _--T-Rs - =-T-> ===== 18 Which she took up and returned into the city and showed it to her mother-in-law: moreover she brought out, and gave her of the remains of her meat, wherewith she had been filled. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her: Where hast thou gleaned to-day, and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that hath had pity on thee. And she told her with whom she had wrought; and she told the man's name, that he was called Booz. 20 And Noemi answered her: Blessed be he ol the Lord: because the same kindness which he showed to the living, he hath kept also to the dead And again she said: The man is our kinsman. 21. And Ruth said, He also charged me, that should keep close to his reapers, till all the corn should be reaped. 22 And her mother-in-law said to her: It is bet- ter for thee, my daughter, to go out to reap with his maids, lest in another man’s field some one may re- sist thee. 23 So she kept close to the maids of Booz; and continued to glean with them, till all the barley and the wheat were laid up in the barns. CHAP. III. Ruth instructed by her mother-in-law lieth at Booz's feet, claim. ing him for her husband by the law of affinity: she receiveth a good answer, and sic measures of barley. AFTER she was returned to her mother-in-law, Noemi said to her: My daughter, I will seek rest for thee, and will provide that it may be well with thee. 2 This Booz, with whose maids thou wast joined in the field, is our near kinsman: and behold, this night he winnoweth barley in the thrashing-floor. 3 Wash thy self therefore, and anoint thee, and put on thy best garments, and go down to the barn floor: but let not the man see thee, till he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And when he shall go to sleep, mark the place wherein he sleepeth: and thou shalt go in, and liſt up the clothes wherewith he is covered towards his feet, and shalt lay thyself down there: and he will tell thee what thou must do. 5. She answered: whatsoever thou shalt command, I will do. 6 And she went down to the barn-floor, and did all that 'ier mother-in-law had bid her. 7 And when Booz had eaten, and drunk, and was merry, he went to sleep by the heap of sheaves: and she came softly, and uncovering his feet, laid her- self down. 8 And behold, when it was now midnight the man was afraid, and troubled: and he saw a woman lying at his feet: - 9 And he said to her: Who art thou º And she answered: I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread thy coverlet over thy servant, for thouarta near kinsman 10 And he said: Blessed art thou of the Lord, | my daughter; and thy latter kindness” has surpass the law, and not following after young men. For Booz, it seems, was then in years. $209 RUTH, d the former: becausc thou hast not followed young men cither poor or rich. | | Fear not therefore, but whatsoever thou shalt say to me I will do to thce. For all the people that dwell within the gates of my city, know that thou art a virtuous woman. 12 Neither do I deny myself to be near of kin; hut there is another nearer than 1. 13 Rest thou this night: and when morning is conic, if he will take thee by the right of kindred, All is well: but if he will not, I will undoubtedly take thee, as the Lord liveth: sleep till the morning. 14 So she slept at his feet till the night was going off. And she arose before men could know one another: and Booz said: Beware lest any man know thai thou camest hither. 15 And again he said: Spread thy mantle, where- with thou art covered, and hold it with both hands. And when she spread it and held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it upon her. And she carried it, and went into the city. 16 And came to her mother-in-law. Who, aid to her. What hast thou done, daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17 And she said: Behold, he hath given me six measures of barley: for he said: I will not have thee to return empty to thy mother-in-law. 18 And Noemi said: Wait, my daughter, till we see what end the thing will have. For the man will not rest until he have accomplished what he hath said. CHAP. IV. Upon the refusal of the nearer kinsman, Booz marrieth Ruth, who brings forth Obed, the grandfather of David. TWII EN Booz went up to the gate, and sat there. And when he had seen the kinsman going by, of whom he had spoken before, he said to him, call- ing him by his name: Turn aside for a little while, and sit down here. He turned aside, and sat down. 2 And Booz taking ten men of the ancients of the city, said to them: Sit ye down here. 3 They sat down, and he spoke to the kinsman Noemi, who is returned from the country of Moab, will sell a parcel of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 I would have thee to understand this, and would tell thee before all that sit here, and before the ancients of my people. If thou wilt take pos- session of it by the right of kindred, buy it, and pos- sess it. But if it please thee not, tell me so, that I may know what I have to do. For there is no near kinsulan besides thee, who art first, and me, who am second. But he answered: I will buy the field. 5 And Booz said to him: . When thou shalt buy the field at the woman’s hand, thou must take also IRuth the Moabitess, who was the wiſe of the de- 6 He answered: I yield up my right of next akm for I must not cut off the posterity of my own family Do thou make use of my privilege, which I profess I do willingly forego. 7 Now this in former times was the manner in Israel between kinsmen, that if at any time one yielded his right to another; that the grant might be sure, the man put off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: this was a testimony of cession of rign in Israel. 8 So Booz said to his kinsman: Put off thy shoe And immediately he took it off from his foot. 9 And he said to the ancients and to all the peo- ple: You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and Chelion’s, and Maha- lon’s, of the hand of Noemi: 10 And have taken to wife Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahalon, to raise up the name of the deceased in his inheritance, lest his name be cut of from among his family and his brethren and his peo- ple. You, I say, are witnesses of this thing. 11 Then all the people that were in the gate, and the ancients answered : We are witnesses: The Lord make this woman who cometh into thy house, like Rachel, and Lia, who built up the house of Israel, that she may be an example of virtue in Ephrata,” and may have a famous name in Bethlehem : 12 And that the house may be, as the house of Phares, whom Thamar bore unto Juda, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. 13 Booz therefore took Ruth, and married her, and he went in unto her: and the Lord gave her to conceive, and to bear a son. 14 And the woman said to Noemi: Blessed be the Lord, who hath not suffered thy family to want a successor; that his name should be preserved in Israel: 15 And thou shouldst have one to comfort thy soul, and cherish thy old age. For he is born of thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, and is much better to thee, than if thou hadst seven sons. 16 And Noemi taking the child, laid it in her bosom ; and she carried it, and was a nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours, congratula- ting with her, and saying: There is a son born to Noemi; called his name Obed: he is the father of Isai, the father of David. 18 These are the generations of Phares: Phares begot Esron : 19 Esron begot Aram: Aram begot Aminadab: 20 Aminadab begot Nahasson: Nahasson begot Salmon : 21 Salmon begot Booz: Booz begot Obed: 22 Obed begot Isai: Isai begot David. ceased; to raise up the name of thy kinsman in his] * *** Another name of Bethlehem inheritance. 210 º:--> T-><>__. ==~~ ====<==== y - N /? \ºve THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL, OTHERWISE CALLEL) THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. ! in and the following book are called by the Hebrews the books of Samuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two kings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by the Fathers, the first and second book of kings. As to the writer of them, it is the common opinion that Samuel composed the first book, as far as the twenty-fifth chapter ; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first, and wrote the second book. See 1 Paralipomenon, alias i Chronicles xix. 19. CHAP. I. Anna the wife of Elcana being barren, by vow, and prayer ob- taineth a son; whom she calleth Samuel ; and presenteth him to the service of God in Silo, according to her vow. HERE was a man of Ramathaimsophim, of -*- mount Ephraim, and his name was Elcana, the son of Jehoram, the son of Eliu, the son of Thohu, the son of Suph, an Ephraimite :* 2 And he had two wives ; the name of one was &nna, and the name of the other Phenenna. Phe- henua had children: but Anna had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city upon the appointed days, to adore, and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Silo. And the two sons of Heli, Oplini and Phinees, were there priests of the Lord. 4. Now the day came, and Elcana offered sacri- fice, and gave to Phenenna his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, portions: 5 But to Anna he gave one portion with sorrow, because he loved Anna. And the Lord had shut up her womb. - 6 Her rival also afflicted her, and troubled her exc, edinglv, insomuch that she upbraided her, that the Lord had shut up her womb : 7 And thus she did every year, when the time returned, that they went up to the temple of the Lord : and thus she provoked her: but Anna wept, and did not eat. 8 Then Elcana her husband said to her : Anna, why weepest thou ? And why dost thou not eat f and why dost thou aſſlict thy heart P Am not I bet- ter to thee, than ten children P 9 So Anna arose after she had eaten and drunk in Silo : And Heli the priest sitting upon a stool before the door of the temple of the Lord : 10 As Anna had her heart full of grief, she praved to the Lord, shedding many tears, | | And she made a vow, saying : O Lord of hos.s, if thou wilt look down, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a man-child: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life; and no razor shall come upon his head. | * .4m Ephraimite. He was of the tribe of Levi, l Paralip. vi. 34. but is called an Ephramite from dwelling in mount Fphraun. | _--~~Tºs- • >==T:--> —º *= sº--> <-- -- 4 sº- 12 And it came to pass, as she multiplied. I rayers before the Lord, that Heli observed her mouth. 13 Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard at all, Heli therefore thought her to be drunk, 14 And said to her : How long wilt thou be drunk f digest a little the wine, of which thou hast taken too much. 15 Anna answering, said: Not so, my lord : for I am an exceeding unhappy woman, and have drunk neither wine nor any strong drink ; but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Count not thy handmaid for one of the daugh- ters of Belial : for out of the abundance of my sor- row and grief have l spoken till now. 17 Then Heli said to her : Go in peace : and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition, which thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said: Would to God thy handmaid may find grace in thy eyes. So the woman went on her way, and ate; and her countenance was no more changed. 19 And they rose in the morning, and worship- ped before the Lord : and they returned, and came into their house at Ramatha. And Elcana knew Anna his wife: And the Lord remembered her. 20 And it came to pass when the time was conne about, Anna conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel:f because she had asked him of the Lord. 21 And Elcana her husband went up, and all his house, to offer to the Lord the solemn sacrifice, and his vow. 22 But Anna went not up: but she said to her husband: I will not go till the child be weaned, and till I may carry him, that he may appear before the Lord, and may abide always there. 23 And Elcana her husband said to her : Do what seemeth good to thee, and stay till thou wean him: and I pray that the Lord may fulfil his word. So the woman staid at home, and gave her son suck, till she weamed him. 24. And after she had weaned him, she carried him with her, with three calves, and three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine : and she brought him to the house of the Iord in Silo. Now the child was as yet very young : 25 And they immolated a calf, and offered the child to Heli. 26 And Anna said: I beseech thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord: I am that woman who stood before thee here praying to the Lord. f Samuel. This name imports, ..?sked of God. % 14 211 §l ſº 1. KINGS. 27 For this child did I pray; and the Lord hath granted me my petition, which I asked of him. 23 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord, all the days of his life, he shall be lent to the Lord. And they adored the Lord there. And Anna pray- en, and said: CHAP. II. The ranticle of Anna. The wickedness of the sons of Heli : for which they are not duly corrected by heir father. A prophecy against the house of Heli. M Yheart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn” is exalted in my God: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy sal- vation. 2 There is none holy as the Lord is : for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God. 3 Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boast- ing: let old matters depart from your mouth: for the lord is a God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared. 4 #. bow of the mighty is overcome, and .he weak are girt with strength. 5 They that were full before have hired out them- selves for bread: and the hungry are filled, so that the barren hath borne many: and she that had many children is weakened. 6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive : he bring- eth down to hell, and bringeth back again. 7 'The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he humbleth, and he exalteth. 8 He raiseth up the necdy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from the dunghill: that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord's; and upon them he hath set the world. 9 He will keep the feet of his saints: and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, because no man shall prevail by his own strength. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens : The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth : and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ. ll And Elcana went to Ramatha, to his house: lout the child ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Heli were children of Belial, not knowing the Lord, 13 Nor the office of the priests to the people: but Whosoever had offered a sacrifice, the servant of the pi test came, while the flesh was in boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand, 14 And thrust it into the kettle, or into the caul- dron, or into the pot, or into the pan: and all that * My horn. The horn in the scriptures signifies strength, power, *nd glory : so the horn is said to be exalted, when a person receives an increase of strength or glory. - 1. Who shall pray for him. Hy these words Heli would have his sons understanº, that by their wicked abuse of sacred things, and of the very sacrifiºes which were appointed to appease the Lord, they depri- **d themselves of the ordinary means of reconciliation with God; | the flesh-hook brought up, the tiest took to himsell Thus did they to all Israel that came to Silo. . 15 Also before they burnt the ſat, the servant of the priest came, and said to the man that sacrificed: Give me flesh to boil for the priest: for I will not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw. 16 And he that sacrificed said to him: Let the fat first be burnt to-day according to the custom.; and then take as much as thy soul desireth. But he answered, and said to him: Not so; but theu shalt give it me now, or else I will take it by force. 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was ex ceeding great before the Lord: because they with- drew men from the sacrifice of the Lord. 18 But Samuel ministered before the face of the Lord. being a child girded with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother made him a little coat, which she brought to him on the appointed days, when she went up with her husband, to offer the solemn sacrifice. 20 And Heli blessed Flcana and his wife : and he said him: The Lord give thee seed of this wo- man, for the loan thou hast lent to the Lord. And they went to their own home. 21 And the Lord visited Anna: and she conceiv- ed, and bore three sons, and two daughters; and the child Samuel became great before the Lord. 22 Now Heli was very old ; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women that waited at the door of the taber- | macle: 23 And he said to them : Why do ye these kind of things, which I hear, very wicked things, from all the people? 24 Do not so, my sons: for it is no good report that I hear, that you make the people of the Lord to transgress. - 25 If one man shall sin against another, God may be appeased in his behalf: but if a man shall sin against the Lord, who shall pray for him ºf And they hearkened not to the voice of their father, be- cause the Lord would slay them. 26 But the child Samuel advanced, and grew on, and pleased both the Lord and men. 27 And there came a man of God to Heli, and said to him : Thus saith the Lord: Did I not plainly appear to thy father’s house, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharao P 28 And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, and burn in- cense to me, and to wear the ephod before me: and I gave to thy father’s house of all the sacrifices of the children of Israel: 29 Why have you kicked away my victims, and my gifts which I commanded to be offered in the temple: and thou hast rather honoured thy sons *--— - which was by sacrifices. The more, because as they were the priests, whose business it was to intercede for all others, they had no other to offer sacrifice and to make atonement for them Ibid. Because the Lord would slay them. In consequence of their ma- nifold sacrileges, he would not soften their hearts with his efficatwave grace, but was determined to destroy them. 9 2 v l i A i'. I | | | W Yºº- }~-wiłł -build him a faithful-house, and he-shałł than uſe, to eat the first-fruits of every sacrifice of my people Israel 2 - - 30 Wherefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should minister in my sight, for ever. But now saith the Lord: Far be this from me: but whosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify: but they that despise me, shall be despised. 3! Behold, the days come : and I will cut off thy aim, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shail not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt see thy rival” in the temple, in all the prosperity of Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 However I will not altogether take away a man of thee from my altar; but that thy eyes may | ſaint, and thy soil be spent ; and a great part of Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child: and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep : and if he shall, call thee any more, thou shalt say : Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samu.. I went, and slept in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood. and he call ed as he had called the other times, Samuel, Samue And Samuel said: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth : 11 And the Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I de a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, botn his ears shall tingle. 12 In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end. 13 For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for ever, for injquity; because he knew thy house shall die when they come to man's estate. that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them. Ję zi - Trú ( TNº E I ſl I come upon thy two sons, Ophni and Phinees: In one day they shall both of them die. . . . . . . 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, who shall do according to my heart, and my soul: and I - 34-And-this shall be a sign to thee, that shall – sº tº ll: WW (Cl 1 N. all days before my anointed. 36 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall remain in thy house, shall come that he may be prayed for, and shall offer a piece of silver, and a roll of bread, and shall say: Put me, I beseech thee, to somewhat of the priestly office, that I may eat a morsel of bread. CHAP. III. Samuel is four times called by the Lord: who revealeth to him the evil that shall fall on Heli, and his house. NOW the child Samuel ministered to the Lord & before Heli: and the word of th: Lord was preciousf in those days; there was no manifest Vision 2 And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim, that he could not see : - 3 Before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 And the Lord called, Samuel. And he an- swered. Here am I. 5 And he ran to Heli, and said: Here am I : for thou didst call me. He said: I did not call; go back, and sleep. And he went, and slept. 6 And the Lord called Samuel again. Samuel arose, and went to Heli, and said: Hºre am I; for thou calledst me. He answered : I did not call thee, my son; return, and sleep. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: aertner had the word of the Lord been revealed to him: 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up, and went to Heli, 9 And said: Here am I; for thou didst call me. • Thy rival. A priest of another race. This was partly fulfilled, wneſ, Abiathar, of the race of Heli, was removed from the priesthºod, j's, loc, who was of another line, was substituted in his place. But it was more fully accomplished in the New Testament, when the priesthood of Aaron gave place to that of Christ _-T-s ––2 2…,’" And | and Israel went out to war against the Philistines, £---...- A --> *... lt l- > --> -- ~~~~~ ~ 1: ièziited to téii tilè ViSiOii to Heli. - ---- +4. Therefore—have-H sworn to the house-of-Heli; }- that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever. 15 And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samucl 16 Then Heli called Samuel, and said: Samuel, my son. And he answered: Here am I. 17 And he asked him: What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to theef I beseech thee, hide it not from me. May God do so and so to thee, and add so and so, if thou hide from me one worſ' of all that were said to thee. 18 So Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide them from him. Aud he answered: It is the Lord : let him do what is good in his sight. 19 And Samuel grew ; and the Lord was with him; and not one of his words fell to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Bersei.ee, knew that Samuel-was a faithful propinet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord again appeared in Silo, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Silo, accord- ing to the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to pass to all Israel. CHAP. IV. The Israelites being overcome by the Philistines, send for the ark of God; but they are beaten again ; the sons of Heli are kill: ed, and the ark taken : upon the hearing of the news, Hell falleth backward, and dieth. A. ND it came to pass in those days, that the Phi- listines gathered themselves together to fight: and camped by the Stone of help.f And the Philistines came to Aphec, 2 And put their army in array against Israel And when they had joined battle, Israel turned thei backs to the Philistines: and there were slain in that fight here and there in the fields about ſott thousand men. * # Precious. That is, rare. i the stone of help. In Hebrew, Łbus-ster; so called from the help which the Lord was pleased afterwards to give to his peer'e larae! in that place, by the prayers of Samuel, chap. vii. 12. 2 13 1. K1 NGS. 3 And the people returned to the camp: and the ancients of Israel said: Why, hath the Lord defeat- ºff us to-day before the Philistines?, Let us fetch untous the ark of the covenant of the Lord, from Silo, and let it come in the midst of us, that it may save us from the hand of our enemies. 4 Sc the people sent to Silo: and they brought. from thence the ark ºf the covenant of the Lord of osts, sitting upon the Cherubims: and the two sons f Heli, Ophiji and Phinees, were with the ark ol be covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord was come into the camp, aii Israel shouted with a great shout; and the earth rang again. 6 And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout: and they said: What is this noise of a great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they un- tlerstood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, saying: God is come into the camp. And sighing, they said: 8 Wo to us: for there was no such great joy yes- terday and the day before: Wo to us. Who shall deliver us from the hand of these high Gods? these are the Gods that struck Egypt with all the plagues in the desert 9 Take courage, and behave like men, ye Phi- listines: Jest you come to be servants to the He- brews, as they have served you: take courage, and ſight. 10 So the Philistines fought; and Israel was overthrown: and every man fled to his own dwell- ing: and there was an exceeding great slaughter ; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. ll And the ark of God was taken : and the two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were slain. 12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Silo the same day, with his clothes rent, and his head strewed with dust. 13 And when he was come, Heli, sat upon a stool over-against the way watching. For his heart was fearful for the ark of God. And when the man was come into the city, he told it: and all the city cried out. 14 And Heli heard the noise of the cry: and he said: What meaneth the noise of this uproar f but he made haste, and came, and told Heli. 15 Now Heli was ninety and eight years old; and ...is eyes were dim, and he could not see. 16 And he said to Heli: I am he that came from the battle, and have fled out of the field this day. And he said to him : What is there done, my §Oll ſº 17 Aud he that brought the news answered, and said: Israel is fled before the Philistines; and there hits been a great slaughter of the people: moreover hy sons, Ophni and Phinees, are dead: and the ark ol G d is taken. 18 And when he had named the ark” of God, he fell from his stool backwards by the door, and broke his neck, and died. For he was an old man, and far advanced in years. And he judged Israel fortv years. 19 And his daughter-in-law the wife ºf Phinees, was big with child, and near her time : and hearing the news that the ark of God was taken, and her fa- ther-in-law, and her husband, were dead, she bowed herself, and fell in labour: for her pains come upon her on a sudden. 20 And when she was upon the point of death, they that stood allout her said to her : Fear not for thou hast borne a son. She answered them nor, nor gave heed to them. — — — …--— —- - -----, - - - ---------- . . T T T ~ : Tº T T 21 And she called the child Ichabod,t saying: The glory is gone from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and for her father-in-law, and for her husband : 22 And she said: The glory is departed from Is- rael, because the ark of God was taken CHAP. V. Dagon twice falleth down before the ark. The Philistines are grievously afflicted, wherever the ark cometh. AND the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azctus. 2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. e 3 And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold, Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place. 4. And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold : 5 And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place. For this cause neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day. 6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians: And he destroyed them, and afflicted Azotus and the coasts thereof with emerods. And in the villages and fields in the midst of that coun- try, there came forth a multitude of mice; and there was the confusion of a great mortality in the city. 7 And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: The ark of the God offsraj shino, stay with us: or his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 8 And sending, they gathered together all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel. And the Gethites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about. And they carried the ark of the God of 15rael about. 9 And while they were carrying it about, the * Mamed the ark, &c. There is great reason, by all these circum- stances, to hope that Heli died in the state of grace; and by his ten- poral punishinents escaped the eternal. ºf * Ichaboit That is, Where is the glory or, there is no glory. We see how much the Israelites lamented the loss of the ark, which was but | the symbol of God's presence amongst them. How much more ought Christians to latment the loss of God himself, when by sin they have drove him out of their souls 2 - - 2 4 CHAP VI, Vll. hand of the ſlord came upon every city with an exceeding great slaughter: and he smote the men of every city, both small and great; and they had emerods in their secret parts. And the Gethites ºted together, and made themselves seats of SK HITS. 10 Therefore they sent the ark of God into Ac- caron. And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, the Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people. 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people. 12 For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy. The men also that did not die, were afflicted with the emerods: and the cry of every city went up to heaven. CHAP. VI. The ark is sent back to Bethsames: where many are slain for looking, through curiosity, into it. OW the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord P tell us how we are to send it back to its place. And they said: 3 |f you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty; but render unto him what you owe for sin, and then you shall be healed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you. 4. They answered: What is it we ought to ren- der unto him for sin P and they answered: 5 According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you shall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice : for the same plague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make the likeness of your emerods, and the iikeness of the mice, that have destroyed the land: and you shall give glory to the God of Israel, to see if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land. 6 Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they departed P 7 Now therefore take and make a new cart: and two kine that have calved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 8 And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart: and the vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into a little box, at the side thereof: and send it away that it may go. 9 And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts towards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we shall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happen. ed by chance. 10 They did therefore in this manner: and taking two kine, that had sucking calves, they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11. And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box that had in it the golden mice and the likeness of the emerods. 12 And the kine took the straight way that it'ad eth to Bethsames: and they went along the way, lowing as they went, and turned not aside neither to the right hand nor to the left: and the lords of the Philistines followed them as far as the borders of Bethsames. 13 Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley ; and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. . 14 And the cart came into the field of Josue a Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone, and they cut in pieces the wood of the cart, and laid the kine upon it a holocaust to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at the side of it, where- in were the vessels of gold; and they put them, upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims that day to the Lord. 16 And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to Accaron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistiues returned for sin to the Lord : For" Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one: 18 And the golden mice according to the num- ber of the cities of the Philistines, of the five pro- vinces, from the fenced city to the village that was without the wall, and to the great Aijel (the stone) whereon they set down the ark of the Lord, which was till that day in the field of Josue the Bethsamite. 19 But he slew of the men of Bethsames, be- cause they had seen” the ark of the Lord: and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be able to stand before the Lord this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying: The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord: come ye down and fetch it up to you. CHAP W II, The ark is brought to Cariathiarim. By Samuel's eachor ſatiºn, the people cast array their idols, and serve God alone. The Lord defeateth the Philistines, while Samuel offereth sacrifice ND the men of Cariathiarim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and carried it into the house of Abimadab in Gabaa:f and they sanctified Eleazar his son, to keep the alk of the Lord. # In Gabaa. That is, on the hill, for Gabaa signifieth a bill Yºº- * Seen; and curiously looked into. It is likely this plague reached to all the neighbouring country, as well as the city of Bethsames. Z_2^T * * ~ S-> 215 1. KlNGS 2 And it came to pass, that from the day the ark ºf the Lord abode in Cariathiarim days were multi- lied (for it was now the twentieth year) and all the |. of Israel rested following the Lord. 3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying: If you turn to the Lord with all your heart, put away the strange gods from among you, Baalim and Astaroth: and prepare your hearts unto the i,ord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. | Then the children of Israel put away Baalim and Astaroth, and served the Lord only. 5 And Samuel said: Gather all Israel to Masphath, that I may pray to the Lord for you. 6 And they gathered together to Masphath: and they drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and they fasted on that day, and they said there: We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Masphath. 7 And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Masphath ; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And they said to Samuel : Cease not to cry to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered || it whole for a holocaust to the Lord : and Samuel º to the Lord for Israel : and the Lord heard l II). 10 And it came to pass, when Samuel was of ſering the holocaust, the Philistines began the battle against Israel : but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and terri- fied them : and they were overthrown before the face of Israel. ll And the men of Israel going out of Masphath pursued after the Philistines, and made slaughter of them till they came under Bethchar. 12 And Samuel took a stone, and laid it between Masphath and Sen : and he called the place, The Stone of help. And he said : Thus far the Lord liath helped us. 13 And the Philistines were humbled ; and they did not come any more into the borders of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philis- ſincs, all the days of Samuel. - 14 And the cities, which the Philistines had aken from Israel, were restored to Israel, from Ac- tai on to Geth, and their borders: and he delivered Israel from the hand of the Philistines: and there was peace between Israel and the Amorrhites. (j| 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his J|t: " 16 And he went every year about to Bethel and to Galgal and to Masphath; and he judged Israel in the foresaid places. 17 And he returned to Ramatha : for there was his house, and there he judged lsrael: he built also there an altar to the Lord. CHAP. VI. I. Samuel growing old, and his sons not wasking in his ways, the people desire a king. ND it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his first-born son was Joel. and the name of the second was Akia, judges in Bersabee. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways: but they turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and per- verted judgment. 4. Then all the ancients of Israel being assem bled, came to Samuel to Ramatha. 5 And they said to him : Behold, thou art old , and thy sons walk not in thy ways: malie us a king, to judge us, as all nations have. 6 And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say : Give us a king, to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel : Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected * thee, but me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all their works, they have done from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day : as they have forsaken me, and served strange gods, so do thcy also unto thee. 9 Now therefore hearken to their voice: but yet testify to them, and ſoretel them the right of the king, that shall reign over them. 10 Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had desired a king of him, 11 And said: This will be the right of the king, that shall reign over you : He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make then his horsemen, and his running footnen to run be- fore his chariots. 12 And he will appoint of them to be his tribunes, and centurions, and to plough his fields,and to rear his coln, and to make him aims and chariots. 13 Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks, and bakers. - 14 And he will take your fields, and your vine- yards, and your best olive-yards, and give them to his servants. 15 Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants. 16...Your servants also and handmaids, and you goodliest young men, and your asses he will take away, and put them to his work. 17 Your flocks also he will tithe ; and you shal, be his servants. * Rejected, &c. The government of Israel hitherto has been a theoc- racy; in which God himself immediately ruled, by laws which he had ºnasted, and by judges extraordinarily raised up by himself: and therefore he coinſ lains that his people rejected him, in desiring a shange of government. 216 . *S -------- - -------- - - - - - - - - - - - --→--> -- -- -----------> - * ~ * 2-tºſſils 2&_* -º- t The right. That is, the manner (misphai) after which he sham Fre . having no one to control him, when he has the power in hia hands *= *C. CHAP Ix 18 And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom you have chosen to your- Selves: and the Lord will not hear you in that day, because you desired unto yourselves a king. 19 But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said: Nay: but there shall be a king over us: - 20 And we also will be like all nations: and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles for us. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the peo- ple, and rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel: Let every man go to his city. CHAP. IX. Saul seeking his father's asses, cometh to Samuel, by whom he c º 2 is entertained. Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Cis, the son of Abiel, the son of Seror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphia, the son of a man of Jemini, valiant and strong. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and goodly man : and there was not among the children of is...", goodlier person than he from his shoulders and upward he appeared above all the people. 3 And the asses of Cis, Saul's father, were lost: and Cis said to his son Saul: Take one of the Servants With thee, and arise, go, and seek the asses. And when they had passed through mount Ephraim, 4 And through the land of Salisa, and had not found them, they passed also through the land of Salim ; and they were not there ; and through the land of Jemini, and found them not. 5 And when they were come to the land of Suph, Saul said to the servant that was with him : Come, let us return, lest perhaps my father forget the asses, and be concerned for us. 6 And he said to him : Behold, there is a man of God in this city, a famous man : all that he saith, tometh certainly to pass. Now therefore let us go thither ; perhaps he may tell us of our way, for which we are come. - 7 And Saul said to his servant: Behold, we will go; but what shall we carry to the man of God P the bread is spent in our bags: and we have no present | make to the man of God, nor any thing at :l l. 8 The servant answered Saul again, and said : Behold, there is found in my hand the fourth part of a sicle of silver: let us give it to the man of God, that he may tell us our way. ow in time past in Israel when a man went to consult God, he spoke thus: Come, let us go to the seer. For he that is now called a prophet, in time past was called a seer.” 10 And Saul said to his servant: Thy word is Very good i, come, let us go. And they went int. the city, where the man of God was. 11 And when they went up the ascent othe city they found maids coming out to draw water: aid they said to them: Is the seer here? 12. They answered, and said to them : He is. behold, he is before you, make haste now: for he came to-day into the city, for there is a sacrifice # of the people to-day in the high place.f 13 As soon as you come into the city, you shali immediately find him, before he go up to the high place to eat : for the people will not eat till he come : because he blesseth the victim, and after- wards they eat that are invited. Now therefore go up, for to-day you shall find him. 14 And they went up into the city. And when they were walking in the midst of the city, behold, Samuel was coming out over-against them, to go up to the high place. 15 Now the Lord had revealed to the ear ol Samuel the day before Saul came, saying: 16 To-morrow about this same hour I will send thee a man of the land of Benjamin ; and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Phi- ſistines : for I have looked down upon my people, because their cry is come to me. 17 And when Samu, I saw Saul, the Lord said to him : Behold the man, of whom I spoke to thee: this man shall reign over my people. 18 And Saul came to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said: Tell me, I pray thee, where is the house of the seer P - 19 And Samuel answered Saul, saying : ] an the seer: go up before me to the high place, tha you may eat with me to-day, and I will let thee go in the morning ; and tell thee all that is in thy heart. 20 And as for the asses, which were lost three days ago, be not solicitous, because they are found. And for whom shall be all the best things of Israel P Shall they not be for thee and for all thy father’s house P 21 And Saul answering, said: Am not l a son o Jeminiof the least tribe of Israel, and my kindred the last among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken this word to me? * ..? ster. Because of his seeing by divine light hidden things and tnings to come. Ji sacrifice. The law did not allow of sacrifices in any other place, but at the tabernacle, or temple, in which the ark of the covenant was kept; but Samuel, by divine dispensation, offered sacrifices in other places. For which dispensation this reason may be alleged, that the house of God in Silo, having lost the ark, was now cast off; as a figure of the reprobation of the Jews, Psal. lxxvii. 60, 67. And in Cariathiarim where the ark was, there was neither tabernacle, nor altar. † The high place. Excelsun. The excelsa, or high places, so often nets tioned in scripture, were places of worship, in which were a ſtars for sacrifice. These were sometimes employed in the service of the true God, as in the present case; but more frequently in the service of idols; and were called Excelsa, which is commonly (though perhaps not so accurately) rendered high places; not because they were always upon hills, for the very worst of all, which was that of Topheth or Geen. nom (Jeremiah xix.) was in a valley ; but because of the high altars, and pillars, or monuments erected there, on which were set up the idols or images of their deities. Q 17 Ş| 4 I. KINGS. 22 Then Samuel taking Saul and his servant, brought them into the parlour, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited; for there were about thirty men. 23 And Samuel said to the cook: Bring the por- jon, which I gave thee, and commanded thee to st 1 it apart by thee. 24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and set it | cfore Saul. And Samuel said: Behold what is left; set it before thee, and eat: because it was kept of purpose for thee, when I invited the people. And Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And they went down from the high place into the town ; and he spoke with Saul upon the top of the house: and he prepared a bed for Saul on the top of the house; and he slept. 26 And when they were risen in the morning, and it began now to be ſº Samuel called Saul on the tºp of the house, saying: Arise, that I may let thee go. And Saul arose: and they went out both of them, to wit, he and Samuel. 27 And as they were going down in the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul: Speak to the servant to go before us, and pass on: but stand thou still wiń. that I may tell thee the word of the Lord. CHAP. X. Saul is anointed. He prophesieth, and is changed into another man. Samuel calleth the people together, to make a king : the lot falleth on Saul. ND Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: Be- hold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be prince ovºr his inheritance: and thou shalt deliver his people Jut of the hands of their enemies, that are round about them. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that God hath anointed thee to be prince. 2. When thou shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men by the sepulchre of Rachel in the borders of Benjamin to the south: and they shall say to thce: The asses are found which thou went- est to seek: and thy father thinking no more of the asses, is concerned for you, and saith: What shall I do for my son? 3 And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and shalt come to the oak of Thabor, there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel,” one carrying three kids, and another carry- ing three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. Q 4 And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves; and thou shalt take them at their hand. 5 Aſter that thou shalt come to the hill of God, f where the garrison of the Philistines is: and when thou shalt be come there into the city, thou shalt meet a company of prophets f coming down from the high place, with a psaltery and a timbrel, and pipe, and a harp before them: and they shall La prophesying. 6 And the spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee: and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shall be changed into another man. 7 When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy hand shall find; for the Lord is with ſhee. 8 And thou shalt go down before me to Galgal ś (for I will come down to thee,) that thou mayst offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of peace' seven days shalt thou wait, till I come to thee; and I will show thee what thou art to do. 9 So when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto him another heart: and all these things came to pass that day. 10 And they came to the foresaid hill; and be- hold, a company of prophets met him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them. 11 And all that had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and prophesied, said to each other: What is this that hath happened to the son of Cis? is Saul also among the prophets? 12 And one answered another, saying: And who is their father? || therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets? 13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 And Saul’s uncle said to him, and to his ser- vant: Whither went you? They answered: To seek the asses: and not finding them we went to Samuel. 15 And his uncle said to him: Tell me what Samuel said to thee. 16 And Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the asses were found. But of the matter of the king- dom of which Samuel had spoken to him, he told him not. 17 And Samuel called together the people to the Lord in Maspha: 18 And he said to the children of Israel: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I brought up is- rael out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. 19 But you this day have rejected your God, who only hath saved you out of all your evils and your tribulations: and you have said: Nay: but set a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes, and by your families. 20 And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel: and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin. 21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindreds thereof: and the lot fell upon the kindred %|| || * Bethel. Where there was at that time an altar of God; it being one of the places where Samuel judged Israel. t The hill of God. Gabaa, in which there was also at that time, a high place or altar i. Prophets. . These were men whose office it was to sing hymns and oraises to God: for such in holy writ are called prophets, and theirsing- ing praises to God is called prophesying. See 1 Paralipon. alias 1 thronicles xv. 22. and xxv. 1. Now there were in those days colle- ges, or schools for training up these prophets; and it secms there was one of these schools at this hill of God; and another at Naioth in Ra- matha. See 1 Samuel xix. 20, 2 ſ, &c. | Galgal. Here also by dispensation was an altar of God. * | Their father. That is, their teacher or superior. As much as to say, Who could bring about such a wonderful change as to make Saul a prophet? º ? I { U HA!" XI, XII. of Metri, and it came to Saul the son of Cis. They sought him therefore, and he was not found. 22 And after this they consulted the Lord whether he would come thither. And the Lord answered: Behold, he is hidden at home. 23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in the midst of the people: and he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders and up- ward. 24. And Samuel said to all the people: Surely you see him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people cried and said: God save the king. 25 And Samuel told the people the law of the kingdom, and wrote t in a book, and laid it up be- fore the Lord: And Samuel sent away all the peo- ple, every one to his own house. 26 Saul also departed to bis own house in Gabaa: and there went with him a party of the army, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But the children of Belial said: Shall this fellow be able to save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present; but he dissembled, as though he heard not. CHAP. XI. Saul defeateth the Ammonites, and de-avereth Jabes Galaad. ANP it came to pass about a month after this, that Naas the Ammonite came up, and began to fight against Jabes Galaad. And all the men of Jabes said to Naas: Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. - 2 And Naas the Ammonite answered them : On this condition will I make a covenant with you, ‘hat I may pluck out all your right eyes, and make you a reproach in all Israel. 3 And the ancients of Jabes said to him: Allow us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the coasts of Israel: and if there be no one to defend us, we will come out to thee. 4. The messengers therefore came to Gabaa of Saul: and they spoke these words in the hearing of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. 5 And behold, Saul came, following oxen out of the field: and he said: What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabes. 6 And the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, when he had heard these words: and his anger was exceedingly kindled. - 7 And taking both the oxen, he cut them in pieces, and sent them into all the coasts of Israel by mes- sengers, saying: Whosoever shall not come forth, and follow Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell upon the people; and they went out as one man. 8 And he numbered them in Bezec : and there were of the children of Israel three hundred thou- sand, and of the men of Juda thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers that came: Thus shall you say to the men of Jabes Galaad: To-morrow when the sun shall be hot, you shall have relief. The messengers therefore ame, and told the men of Jabes: and they were glad. 10 And they said: l n the morning we will come out to you: and you shall do what you please with UlS. 11 And it came to pass, when the morrow wa come, that Saul put the people in three companies and he came into the midst of the camp in the morn- ing watch, and he slew the Ammonites until the day grew hot: and the rest were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. 12 And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men, and we will kill them. 13 And Saul said: No man shall be killed this day, because the Lord this day hath wrought salva- tion in Israel: 14 And Samuel said to the people: come and let us go to Galgal, and let us renew the kingdom there. 15 And all the people went to Galgal: and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Galgal; and they sacrificed there victims of peace before the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel re- joiced exceedingly. CHAP. XII , Samuel’s integrity is acknowledged. God showeth by a sign jrom heaven that they had done ill in asking for a king. ND Samuel said to all Israel: Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now the king goeth before you: but I am old and grey-headed : and my sons are with you having then conversed with you from my youth un til this day, behold, here I am. 3 Speak of me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whether I have taken any man’s ox, ol ass: If I have wronged any man, if I have oppressed any man, if I have taken a bribe at any man’s hand: and I will despise it this day, and will restore it to yOil. 4 And they said: Thoti hast not wronged us, no oppressed us, nor taken aught at any man’s hand. 5 And he said to them: The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found any thing in my hand. And they said: He is witness. 6 And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord who made Moses and Aaron, and brought oui fa. thers out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand up, that I may plead in judgment against you before the Lord, concerning all the kindness of the Lord, which he hath shown to you, and to your fathers: 8 How Jacob went into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the Lord: and the lord sent Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place: 9 And they forgot the Lord their God: and he de- livered them into the hands of Siscra captain of the army of Hasor, and into the hands of the Philis. times, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against thº. % 1. KINGS. ;0 But afterwards they cried to the Lord, and said: We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Astaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And the Lord sent Jerobaal and Badan,” aud Jephte, and Samuel, and delivered you from the haud of your enemies round about; and you dwelt securely. 12 But seeing that Naas king of the children of Animon was come against you, you said to me: Nay, but a king shall reign over us. whereas the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now therefore your king is here, whom you have chosen and desired: behold, the Lord hath given you a king. 14. If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not provoke the mouth of the Lord; then shall both you, and the king who reigneth over you, be followers of the Lord your God. 15 But if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but will rebel against his words, the hand of the flord shalf be ºlpon you, and upon your fa- thers. r 16 Now then stand, and see this great thing which the Lord will do in your sight. 17 Is it not wheat-harvest f to-day? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain: and you shall know and see that you yourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring a king over you. 18 And Samuel cried unto the Lord: and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. 19 And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel: Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king. 20 And Samuel said to the people: Fear not; you have done all this evil: but yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. - 21 And turn not aside after vain things, which shall never profit you, nor deliver you, because they are vain. 22 And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because the Lord hath sworn to make you his people. 23 And far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you, and I will teach you the good and right way. 24. Therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with your whole heart; for you have seen the great works which he hath done among you. 25 But if you will still do wickedly, both you and your king shall perish together. *— * Jerobaal and Badan. That is, Gedeon, and Samson, called here Badan or Bedan, because he was of Dan. f Wheat-harvest. At which time of the year it never thunders or rains in those countries. ====<= = CHAP XII 1. The war between Saul and the Philistines. The distress of the Israelites. Saul offereth sacrifice before the coming of Sa muel : for which he is reprorº.d. SA). was a child of one yearſ when he began to reign ; and he reigned two years over lsrael. 2 And Saul chose him three thousand men of is- rael: and two thousand were with Saul in Machmas, and in mount Bethel; and a thousand with Jona than in Gabaa of Benjamin: and the rest of th: people he sent back every man to their dwellings. 3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Phi- listines which was in Gabaa. And when the Phi- listines had heard of it, Saul sounded the trumpet over all the land, saying: Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard this report: Saul hath smitten the garrison of the Philistines: and Israel took courage against the Philistines. And the peo- ple were called together after Saul to Galgal. 5 The Philistines also were assembled to fight against Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a multitude of people be- sides, like the sand on the sea-shore for number. And going up they camped in Machmas at the east of Bethaven. 6 And when the men of Israel saw that they were straitened (for the people were distressed.) they hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in dens, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews passed over the Jor- dan into the land of Gad and Galaad. And when Saul was yet in Galgal, all the people that followed him were greatly afraid. - 8 And he waited Seven days according to the ap- pointment of Samuel; and Samuel came not to Galgal; and the people slipt away from him. 9 Then Saul said: Bring me the holocaust, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the holocaust 10 And when he had made an end of offering the holocaust, behold, Samuel came: and Saul went forth to meet him, and salute him. 11 And Samuel said to him : What hast thon done P Saul answered : Because I saw that the people slipt from me, and thou wast not come ac- cording to the days appointed, and the Philistine, were gathered together in Macinmas, É said: Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Galgal; and I have not appeased the face of the Lord. Forced by necessity, I offered the holocaust. 13 And Samuel said to Saul: Thou hast done foolishly, and hast not kept the commandments o the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. And if thou hadst not done thus, the Lord would now have established thy kingdom over Israel for ever 14 But thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man according to his own ! Of one year. That is, he was good and like an innocent child, and for two years continued in that innocency. $230 Ş| 4 % N % R 2sº q. CHAP. XIV. heart, and him hath the Lord commanded to be prince over his people, because thou hast not ob- served that which the Lord commanded. to Gabaa of Benjamin. And the rest of the people went up after Saul, to meet the people who fought against them, going from Galgal to Gabaa in the mill of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people, 'hat were found with him, about six hundred men. !6 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, were in Gabaa of Benjamin : but the Philistines encamped in Machmas. 17 And there went out of the camp of the Phi- listines three companies to plunder. One company went towards the way of Ephra to the land of Sual. 18 And another went by the way of Bethoron: and the third turned to the way of the border, above the valley of Seboim towards the desert. 19 Now theme was no smith to be found in all the land of Israel; for the Philistines had taken this precaution, lest the Hebrews should make them swords or spears. 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his ploughshare, and his spade, an; his axe, and his rake. their forks, and their axes were blunt, even to the goad, which was to be mended. 22 And when the day of battle was come, there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jona- than, except Saul and Jonathan his son. 23 And the army of the Philistines went out in order to advance further in Machmas. . CHAP. XIV. Jonathan attacketh the Philistines. A miraculous victory. Saul’s unadvised oath, by which Jonathan is put in danger of rtis life, but is delivered by the people. OW it came to pass one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore | nis armour: Come, and let us go over to the garri- son of the Philistines, which is on the other side of yonder place. . But he told not this to his father. 2 And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Ga- baa under the pomegranate-tree, which was in Ma- gron: and the people with him were about six hun- dred men. 3 And Achias the son of Achitob brother of Icha- bod the son of Phinees, the son of Heii the priest of the Lord in Silo, wore the ephod. And the peo- jle knew not whither Jonathan was gone. 4. Now there were between the ascents, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the garrison of the Philistines, rocks standing up on both sides, and steep cliffs like teeth on the one side, and on the other; the name of the one was Boses, and the name of the other was Sene: 5 One rock stood out toward the north over- against Machmas, and the other to the south over- against Gabaa. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore So that their shares, and their spades, and his armour: Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be the Lord will do ſo." º | us: because it is easy for the Lord to save either by 15 And Samuel arose, and went up from Galgal] many, or by few. 7 And his armour-bearer said to him : Do all tha pleaseth thy mind: go whither thou wilt, and I will be with thee wheresoever thou hast a mind. 8 And Jonathan said: lehold, we will go over to these men. And when we shall be seen by them, 9 If they shall speak thus to us: Stay till we come to you: let us stand still in our place, and not go up to them. 10 But if they shall say: Come up to us, let us go up, because the Lord hath delivered then, into our hands: this shall be a sign” unto us. 11 So both of them discovered themselves to the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said: Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes wherein they were hid. 12 And the men of the garrison spoke to Jona- than, and to his armour-bearer, and said: Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jona- than said to his armour-bearer: Let us go up ; fol- low me; for the Lord hath delivered them into the hands of Israel. 13 And Jonathan went up creeping on his hands and feet, and his armour-bearer after him. And some fell before Jonathan, others his armour-bearer slew as he followed him. 14 And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was of about twenty men within half an acre of land, which a yoke of oxen is wont to plough in a day. 15 And there was a miracle in the camp, through the fields: yea, and all the people of their garrison, who had gone out to plunder, were amazed, and the č. trembled : and it happened as a miracle from OCl. 16 And the watchmen of Saul, who were in Ga- baa of Benjamin, looked, and behold, a multitude overthrown, and fleeing this way and that. 17 And Saul said to the people that were with him : Look, and see who is gone from us. And when they had sought, it was found that Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there. 18 And Saul said to Achias : Bring the ark of the Lord. (For the ark of God was there that day with the children of Israel.) 19 And while Saul spoke to the priest, there arose a great uproar in the camp of the i2hilistines. and it increased by degrees, and was heard more º: And Saul said to the priest: Draw in thy 3: Il Ol. 20 Then Saul and all the people that were with him, shouted together, and they came to the place o the fight: and behold, every man’s sword was turn- ed upon his neighbour; and there was a very great slaughter. 21 Moreover the Hebrews that had been with * This shall be a sign. It is likely Jonathan was instructed by divine inspiration to make choice of this sign: otherwise the observation of omens is superstitious and sinful. % * S §| 4 I. KINGS. the Philistines yesterday and the day before, and went up with º into the camp, returned to be with the Israelites, who were with Saul and Jona- than. 22 And all the Israelites that had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, hearing that the Philistines fled, joined themselves with their countrymen in , the fight. And there were with Saul about ten thou- sand men. 23 And the Lord saved Israel that day. And the fight went on as far as Bethaven. 2]. And the men of Israel were joined together that day: and Saul adjured the people, saying: Cursed be the man that shall eat food till evening, ſill I be revenged of my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food : 25 And all the common people came into a forest, in which there was honey upon the ground. 26 And when the people came into the forest, behold, the honey dropped ; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people: and he put forth the end of the rod, which he had in his hand, and dipped it in a honey-comb: and he carried his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened. 28 And one of the people answering, said: Thy father hath bound the people with an oath, saying: Cursed be the man that shall eat any food this day. (And the people were faint.) 29 And Jonathan said : My father hath troubled the land: you have seen yourselves that my eyes are enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey : 30 llow much more if the people had eaten of the prey of their enemies, which they found f had there not been made a greater slaughter among the Philistinies P 31 So th:2y smote that day the Philistines from Machmas to Aialon. And the people were wea- tied exceedingly. 32 And falling upon the spoils, they took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground : and the people ate them with the blood. 33 And they told Saul that the people had sinned against the Lord, eating with the blood. And he said: You have transgressed; roll here to me now a great Stone. 34 And Saul said: Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them to bring me every man his Ox and his ram, and slay them upon this stone, and eat; and you shall not sin against the Lord in eating with the blood. So all the people brought cvery man his ox with him till the night, and slew them there. 35 And Saul built an altar to the Lord; and he then first began to build an altar to the Lord. 36 And Saul said: Let us fall upon the Philis- times by night, and destroy them till the morning light: and let us not leave a man of them. And the people said: Do all that seemeth good in thy eyes. And the priest said: Let us draw near hither unto God. 37 And Saul consulted the Lord: Shall I pursue after the Philistines f wilt thou deliver them into the hands of Israel ? And he answered i im not that day. 38 And Saul said: Bring hither all the corners of the people: and know, and see by whom this sin hath happened to-day. 39 As the Lord liveth who is the saviour of Is. rael, if it was done by Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. In this none of the people gainsaid him. 40 And he said to all Israel: Be you on one side, and I with Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people answered Saul: Do what seenleth good in thy eyes. - 41 And Saul said to the Lord: O Lord God of Israel, give a sign, by which we may know, what the meaning is, that thou answerest not thy servant to- day: If this iniquity be in me, or in my son Jona than, give a proof: or if this iniquity be in thy peo- ple, give holiness. And Jonathan and Saul were taken; and the people escaped. 42 And Saul said: Cast lots between me, and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.” 43 And Saul said to Jonathan : Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said: I did but taste a little honey with the end of the .. which was in my hand. and behold, I must it? . 44 And Saul said: May God do so and so to me, º still more; for dying thou shalt die, O Jo- 113th:1:1. 45 And the people said to Saul: Shall Jonathan then die, who hath wrought this great salvation in israel? this must not be. As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; fol he hath wrought with God this day. So the peo- ple delivered Jonatham, that he should not die. 46 And Saul went back, and did not pursue af. ter the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own places. & 47 And Saul having his kingdom established over Israel, fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and Edom, and the kings of Soba, and the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he overcame. 48 And gathering together an army, he defeated Amalec, and delivered Israel from the hand of them that spoiled them. 49. And the sons of Saul, were Jonathan, and Jessui, and Melchisua: and the names of his two daughters, the name of the first-born was Meioh and the name of the younger Michol. 50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Achinoam the daughter of Achimaas; and the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, the cousin-german of Saul. 51 For Cis was the father of Saul: and Ner the father of Abner, was son of Abiel. 52 And there was a great war against the rhi- listines all the days of Saul. For whomsoever * Jonathan was taken. Though Jonathan was excused from sin, through ignorance of the prohibition, yet God was plcased on this oc- {j} .) A 92.2 casion to let the lot fall upon him, to shew unto all the great obligation of obedience to princes and parents. *. % s % § CHAP Saul saw to be a valiant man, and fit for war, he took him to himself. CHAP. XV. Saul is sent to destroy Amalec : he spareth their king and the best of their cattle : for which disobedience he is cast off by the Lord. ND Samuel said to Saul : The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over his people Israel : now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the lord : 2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have reckon- ed up all that Amalec hath done to Israel: how he | posed them in the way when they came up out of a £ W \ {. 3'Now therefore go, and smite Amalec, and ut- terly destroy all that he hath : spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his : but slay both man and woman, child” and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4. So Saul commanded the people, and number- ed them as lambs: two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda. 5 And when Saul was come to the city of Ama- tec, he laid ambushes in the torrent. 6 And Saul said to the Cimite : Go, depart and get ye down from Amalec: lest I destroy thee with him. For thou hast shewn kindness to all the chil- dren of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Cimite departed from the midst of Amalec. 7 And Saul Smote Amalec from Hevila, until thou comest to Sur, which is over-against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive : but all the common people he slew with the edge of the sword. 9 And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flocks of sheep and of the herds, and the garments, and the rams, and all that was beau- tiful, and would not destroy them : but every thing that was vile and good for nothing, that they de- stroyed. - "O And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, Saying: I I It repenteth me that I have made Saul king: for he hath forsaken me, and hath not exccuted my commandments. And Samuel was grieved ; and he cried unto the Lord all night. . 12 And when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul ºn the morning, it was told Samuel, that Saul was come to Carmel, and had erected for himself a tri- umphant arch, and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord out of the choicest of the spoils which he had brought ſm, in Amalec. 13 And when Samuel was come to Saul, Saul said to him Blessed be thou of the Lord : I have fulfilled the word of the Lord. 14 And Samuel said: What meaneth then this #!eating of the flocks, which Soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds, which I hear P , child. The great master r. life and death (who cuts off one half of all mankind whilst they are children) has been pleased sometimes w ordain that children should be put to the sword, in detestation of XV. 15 And Saul said: They have brougn: thent, from Amalec: for the people spared the best of th sheep and of the herds that they might be sacrifice, to the Lord thy God: but the rest we have slain. .16 And Samuel said to Saul: Suffer me, and 1 Will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said to him : Speak. 17 And Samuel said: When thou wast a little one, in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel: 18 And the Lord sent thee on the way, and said. Go, and kill the sinners of Amalec: and thou shalt fight against them until thou hast utterly destroyed them. 19 Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord ; , but hast turned to the prey, and has done evil in the eyes of the Lord P 20 And Saul said to Samuel : Yea I have heark- ened to the voice of the Lord, and have walked ir the way by which the Lord sent me; and have brought Agag the king of Amalec : and Amalec | have slain. 21 ºut the people took of the spoils sheep and oxen, as the first-fruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal. 22 And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire ho locausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed P For obedience is better than sacrifices; and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams. Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to re- bel; and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch therefore as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said to Samuel : I have sinned, be cause I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, fearing the people, and obey- ing their voice. ** 25 But now bear, I beseech thee, my sin ; and re turn with me, that I may adore the Lord. 26 And Samuel said to Saul : ] will not return with thee, because thou last rejected the word of the Lord ; and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And Samuel turned about to go away : but he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle; and it rent. 28 And Samuel said to him : The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day; and hath given it to thy neighbour who is better than thee. 29 But the triumpher in Israel will not spare, and will not be moved to repentance: for he is not a man that he should repent. 30 Then he said: I have sinned : yet honou me now before the ancients of my people, and lº- fore Israel, and return with me, that I may adore the Lord thy God. the crimes of their parents, and that they might not live to follow the same wicked ways. But without such ordinance of God it is not al. lowable, in any wars, how just soever, to kill children. 2 1. KINGS. 31 So Samuel tuned again after Saul : and Saul adored the Lord. 32 And Samuel said: Bring hither to me Agag the king of Amalec. Aud. Agag was presented to him very ſat, and trembling... And Agag said: Doth bitier death separate in this manner? 33 And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed him in pieces before the Lord in Galgal. 34 And Samuel departed to Ramatha : but Saul went up to his house in Gabaa. 35 And Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death :* nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, because the Lord repented that he had made him king over Israel. CHAP. XVI. Samuel in sent to Bethlehem, where he amointeth David : who is & taken into Saul’s family. AND the Lord said to Samuel : How long wilt **- thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from leigning over Israel P fill thy horn with oil, and come. that I may send thee to Isai the Bethle- hemite : for I have provided me a king among his S()llS. 2 And Samuel said : How shall I go 2 for Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me. And the Lord said: Thou shalt take with thee a calf of the herd, and thou shalt say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3 And thou shalt call Isai to the sacrifice: and I will show thee what thou art to do ; and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall show to thee. 4. Then Samuel did as the Lord had said to him. And he came to Bethlehem ; and the ancients of the city wondered, and meeting him, they said: Is thy coming hither peaceable? 5 And he said: It is peaceable : I am come to offer sacrifice to the Lord ; be ye sanctified, and some with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Isai and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And when they were come in, he saw Eliab, and said: Is the Lord’s anointed before him P 7 And the Lord said to Samuel : Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature ; because l have rejected him ; nor do I judge accord- ing to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart. 8 And Isai called Abimadab, and brought him be- fore Samuel. And he said : Neither hath the Lord thosen this. wº 9 And Isai brought Samma, and he said of him : Neither hath the Lord chosen this. !" Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samuel : and Samuel said to lsai: The Lord hath uot chosen any one of these. ! ! And Samuel said to Isai: Are here all thy &nns P He answered: There remaineth yet a young one, who keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to * ---sºme 2 : * ~ * ~ *-a= * Suw Satº no more till the day of his death That is, he went no more to see turn : lic visited him no more Y. %24 --> --~~~ 3ºE <> ~~ Isai : Send, and fetch him : for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 He sent therefore, and brought him. Now he was ruddy and beautiful to behold und of a comely face. And the Lord said: Arise, and anoint him ; for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anoint. ed him in the midst of his brethren : and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day for- ward : and Samuel rose up, and went to Ramatha. 14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from: Saul: and an evil spirit from the Lordt troubled him. 15 And the servants of Saul said to him Be- hold, now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord give orders; and thy servants who are before thee, will seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil spirit from the Lord is upon thee, he may play with his hand, and thou mayst bear it more easily. 17 And Saul said to his servants: Provide me then some man that can play well, and bring hi'i, to me. 18 And one of the servants answering, said: Be- hold, I have seen a son of Isai the Bethlehemite a skilful player, and one of great strength, and a man fit for war, and prudent in his words, and a comely person : and the Lord is with him. 19 Then Saul sent messengers to Isai, saying Send me David thy son, who is in the pastures. 20 And Isai took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid of the flock, and sent them by the hand of David his son to Saul. - 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him : and he loved him exceedingly, and made him his armour-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Isai, saying: Let David stand before me: for he hath found favour in my sight. 23 So whensoever the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David took his harp, and played with |. hand : and Saul was refreshed, and was better, for the evil spirit departed from him.f CHAP. XVII. War with the Philistines. Goliath challengeth Israel. - slain by David. NOW the Philistines gathering together their troops to battle assembled at Socho of Juda: and camped between Socho and Azeca in the bor- ders of Dommim. 2 And Saul and the children of Israel being ga He we | thered together came to the valley of Terebinth . and they set the army in array to fight against thi Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side ; and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side : and there was a valley between them. 4 And there went out a man base-born from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Geth. whose height was six cubits and a span : e # From the Lord. An evil spirit, by divine permission, and for his puni himent, either possessed or obsessed him. i Departed from him. Chased away by David's devotion CHAP XVII # 5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head : and he was clothed with a coat of mail with scales: and the weight of his coat of mail was five thousand sicles of trass : 6 And he had greaves of brass on his legs ; and a hu. kler of brass covered his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s heam ; and the head of his spear weighed six hun- dred sicles of iron : and his armour-bearer went be- fore him. 8 And standing he cried out to the bands of Is- rael, and said to them : Why are you come out prepared to fight P am not l a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul P Choose out a man of you, and let him come down and fight hand to hand. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, we will be servants to you : but if I prevail against him, and kill him, you shall be servants, and shall Sel" Ve U.S. 10 And the Philistine said: I have defied the bands of Israel this day: Give me a man, and let him fight with me hand to hand. 11 And Saul and all the Israelites hearing these words of the Philistine were dismayed, and great- ly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Juda before-mentioned, whose name was Isai, who had eight sons, and was an old man in the days of Saul, and of great age among men. 13 And his three eldest sons followed Saul to the battle : and the names of his three sons that went to the battle, were Eliab the first-born, and the second Abimadab, and the third Samma. 14 But David was the youngest. So the three eldest having followed Saul, 15 David went, and returned from Saui, to feed his father’s flock at Bethlehem. "6 Now the Philistine came out morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Isai said to David his son: Take for thy brethren an ephi of fruinenty, and these ten loaves; and run to the camp to thy brethren, 18 And carry these ten little cheeses to the tri- bune: and go see thy brethren, if they are well : and learn with whom they are placed. 19 But Saul, and they, and all the children of Israel were in the valley of Terebinth fighting against the Philistines. w 20 David therefore arose in the morning, and gave the charge of the flock to the keeper; and went away loaded as Isai had commanded him. And he came to the place of Magala, and to the army, which was going out to fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel had put themselves in array : and the Philistines who stood against them were pre- pared. 22 And David leaving the vessels which he had brought, under the care of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the place of the battle, and asked if all things went well with his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, that base-born man, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine, of Geth, showed himself coming up from the camp of _-------e. *IR- * --— £- –––– --- - - - 22–2- - S- the Philistines: and he spoke according to the sams words; and David heard them. 24 And all the Israelites when they saw the man fled from his face, fearing him exceedingly. 25 And some one of Israel said: Have you seen this man that is come up, for he is come up to defy Israel. And the man that shall slay him, the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house free from tribute in Israel. 26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying: What shall be given to the man that shall kill this Philistine, and shall take away the reproach from Israel f for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him the same words, saying: These things shall be given to the man that shall slay him. 28 Now when Eliab his eldest brother heard this, when he was speaking with others, he was angry with David, and said: Why camest thou hither ? and why didst thou leave those few sheep in the desert? I know thy pride, and the wickedness of thy heart; that thou art come down to see the battle. 29 And David said: What have i done P is there not cause to speak P 30 And he turned a little aside from him to ano- ther, and said the same word. And the people an- swered him as before. 31 And the words which David spoke were heard, and were rehearsed before Saul. 32 And when he was brought to him, he said to him: Let not any man’s heart be dismayed in him: l thy servant will go, and will fight against the Phi- listine. 33 And Saul said to David : Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine, nor to fight against him: for thou art but a boy; but he is a warrior from his youth. 34 And David said to Saul: Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, or a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the flock: 35 And I pursued after them, and struck them. and delivered it out of their mouth : and they ros. up against me: and I caught them by the throat and I strangled; and killed them. 36 For I thy servant have killed both a lion and a klear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now and take away the reproach of the people: for who is this uncir- cumcised Philistine, who hath dared to curse the army of the living God? 37 And David said: The Lord who delivered int: out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Phi- listine. And Saul said to David: Go; and the lord be with thee. 38 And Saul clothed David with his garments, and put a helmet of brass upon his head, and armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David haviº girded his sword upon his 4% 1. KINGS. armour, began to try if he could walk in armour: for he was not accustomed to it. And David said to Saul. I cannot go thus, for I am not used to it. And he laid them off: 40 And he took his staff, which he had always • in his hands: and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them into the shepherd's scrip, which he had with him: and he took a sling in hisk hand, and went forth against the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on, and drew nigh against David, and his armour-bearer before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked, and beheld Uavid, he despised him: for he was a young man, ruddy, and of a comely countenance. 43 And the Philistine said to David: Am I a dog, that utout comest to me with a staff? And the Phi- listine cursed David by his gods. 44 And he said to David: Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. 45 And David said to the Philistine: Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield : but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou hast defied - 46 This day: and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from thee: and I will give the carcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air, and to the heasts of the earth ; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know, that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for it is his battle, and he will deliver you into our hands. 48 And when the Philistine arose, and was com- ing, and drew high to meet David, David made laste, and ran to the fight to meet the Philistine. 49 And he put his hand into his scrip, and took a stone, and cast it with the sling; and fetching it about struck the Philistine in the forehead : and he fell on his face upon the earth. 50 And David prevailed over the Philistine, with a sling and a stone : and he struck, and slew the Philistine. And as David had no sword in his hand, 51 He ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head. And the Philistines secing that their champion was dead, fled away. 52 And the men of Israel and Juda rising up shouted, and pursued after the Philistines till they came to the valley and to the gates of Accaron : and there fell many wounded of the Philistines in the way of Seraim, and as far as Geth, and as far as AC caron. 53. And the children of Israel returning, after they had pursued the Philistines, fell upon their Callip. - 54 And David taking the head of the Philistine, brought it to Jerusalem. but his armour he put in his [{*1\t. 55 Now at the time that Saul saw David going Uut against the Philistines, he said to Abner the vaptain of the army : Of what family is this young 296 ^*. <> Sº man descended, Abner 7 And Abner said: As thy soul liveth, O king, I know not. 56 And the king said: Inquire thou, whose son this young man is. - 57 And when David was returned, after the Phi listine was slain, Abner took him, and brought him in before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him : Young man, of what family art thou? And David said: I am the son ol thy servant Isai the Bethlehemite. CHAP. XVIII. The friendship of Jonathan and Davvu. The envy of Saul, and his design upon David’s life. He marries hixu to his daughter Michol. AND it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David : and Jonathan loved him as his own Sou!. 2 And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father’s house. - 3 And David and Jonathan made a covenant for he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the coat with which he was clothed, and gave it to David, and the rest of his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 5 And David went out to whatsoever business Saul sent him; and he behaved himself prudently : and Saul set him over the soldiers; and he was ac- ceptable in the eyes of all the people, and especially in the eyes of Saul’s servants. 6 Now when David returned, after he slew the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet king Saul, with timbrels of joy, and cornets. 7 And the women sung as they played: and they said: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was exceeding angry, and this word was displeasing in his eyes: and he said: They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given but a thousand; what can he have more but the kingdom P 9. And Saul did not look on David with a good eye from that day and forward. 10 And the day after the evil spirit from God came upon Saul; and he prophesied” in the midst of his house. And David played with his hand as at 9ther times. And Saul held a spear in his hand, ll And threw it, thinking to mail JDavid to the wall; and David stepped aside out of his presence twice. - 12 And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from himself. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him a captain over a thousand men; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved wisely in all his wav, and the Lord was with him. * Prophesied. Acted the prophet in a mad Inanuer sº h CHAP. XIX. *— 15 And Saul saw that he was exceeding pru- dent, and began to beware of him. 16 But all Israel and Juda loved David; for he came in and went out before them. 17 And Saul said to David: Behold my elder daughter Merob, her will I give thee to wife: only be a valiant man, and fight the battles of the Lord. Now Saul said within himself: Let not my hand be upon him ; but let the hands of the Philistines be upon him. 18 And David said to Saul: Who am I, or what is my life, or my father’s family in lsrael, that I should be son-in-law of the king 19 And it came to pass at the time when Me- rob the daughter of Saul should have been given to 1)avid, that she was given to Hadriel the Mo- lathite to wife. 20 But Michol the other daughter of Saul loved David. And it was told Saul; and it pleased him. 21 And Saul said: I will give her to him, that she may be a stumbling-block to him, and that the nand of the Philistines may be upon him. And | Saul said to David : In two things thou shalt be my son-in-law this day. 22 And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately, saying: Behold, thou pleasest the king, and all his servants love thee. Now therefore be the king’s son-in-law. - 23 And the servants of Saul spoke all these words in the ears of David. And David said: Doth it seem to you a small matter to be the king’s son-in- law f But I am a poor man, and of small ability. 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying: Such words as these hath David spoken. 25 And Saul said: Speak thus to David : The king desireth not any dowry, but only a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. Now Saul thought to deliver Da- vid into the hands of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants had told David the words that Saul had said, the word was pleasing in the eyes of David, to be the king’s son-in-law. 27 And after a few days David rose up, and went with the men that were under him : and he slew of the Philistines two hundred men, and brought their foreskins, and numbered them out to the king, that he might be his son-in-law. Saul therefore gave him Michol his daughter to wife. 28 And Saul saw, and understood that the Lord was with David. And Michol the daughter of Saul oved him. - 29 And Saul began to fear David more: and Saul became David’s enemy continually. 30 And the princes of the Philistines went forth: | and from the beginning of their going forth, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul: and his name became very famous. CHAP. XIX. Other attempts of Saul upon David's life. He cometh to Sa- muel. Saul's messengers and Saul himself prophesy. ND Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But | ºhan the son of Saul loved 1javid exceed Ingly. 2 And Jonathan told David, saying: Sanl my father seeketh to kill thee: wherefore look to thy self, I beseech thee, in the morning; and thou shall abide in a secret place, and shalt be hid. 3. And I will go out, and stand beside my fathe: in the field where thou art: and I will speak of thee to my father; and whatsoever I shall see, I will tell thee. 4 And Jonathan spoke good things of David, to Saul his father; and said to him: Sin not, O king, against thy servant David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and his works are very good towards thee. - 5 And he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine: and the Lord wrought great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoice. Why therefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood by killing David, who is without fault? 6 And when Saul heard this he was appeased with the words of Jonathan, and swore: As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain. 7 Then Jonathan called David, and told him all these words: and Jonathan brought in David to Saul: and he was before him, as he had been yes- terday and the day before. 8 And the war began again: and David went out and fought against the Philistines, and defeated |. with a great slaughter: and they fled from his AC62. 9 And the evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul: and he sat in his house, and held a spear in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10 And Saul endeavoured to mail David to the wall with his spear. And David slipt away out of the presence of Saul: and the spear missed him, and was fastened in the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. 11 Saul therefore sent his guards to David’s house to watch him, that he might be killed in the morning. And when Michol, David’s wife, had told him this, saying: Unless thou save thyself this night, to-morrow thou wilt die: 12 She let him down through a window. And he went and fled away, and escaped. 13 And Michol took an image, and laid it on the bed, and put the goat skin with the hair at the head of it, and covered it with clothes: 14 And Saul sent officers to seize David: and it was answered that he was sick. 15 And again Saul sent to see David, saying Bring him to me in the bed, that he may be slain. 16 And when the messengers were come in, they found an image upon the bed, and a goal skin at its head. 17 And Saul said to Michol: Why hast thou deceived me so, and let my enemy go and flee away? And Michol answered Saul: Because he said to me: Let me go, or else I will kill thee. 18 But David fled, and escaped; and came to Samuel in Ramatha, and told him all that Saul had 227 I. KINGS. done to him: and he and Samuel went and dwelt in Najoth.* i.e. - 19 And it was told Saul by some, saying: Behold, JDavid is in Najoth in Ramatha. 20 So Saul sent officers to take David: and when they saw a company of prophets prophesying,f and Samuel presiding over them, the § of the Lord came also upon them : and they likewise began to prophesy. 21 And when this was told Saul, he sent other messengers: but they also prophesied. And again Saul sent messengers the third time : And they pro- phesied also. And Saul being exceeding angry, 22 Went also himself to Ramatha, and came as far as the great cistern, which is in Socho : and he asked, and said: In what place are Samuel and J)avid P And it was told him : Behold, they are in Najoth in Ramatha. 23 And he went to Najoth in Ramatha: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him also ; and he went on, and prophesied till he came to Najoth in Ramatha. - 24 And he stripped himself also of his garments, and prophesied with the rest before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and night. This gave occasion to a proverb: What is Saul too among the nrophets? CHAP. XX. Saul being obstinately bent upon killing David, he is sent away by Jonathan. UT David fled from Najoth, which is in Rama- tha, and came and said to Jonathan: What have I done? what is m iniquity, and what is my sin against thy father, that he seeketh my life f 2 And he said to him God forbid ; thou shalt not die: for my father will do nothing great or little, without first telling me: hath then my father hid this word only from me? no, this shall not be. 3 And he swore again to favid. Andijavid said: Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight: and he will say: Let not Jona- than know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there is but one step (as I may say) between me and death. # And Jonathan said to David : Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee. 5 And David said to Jonathan: Behold, to-mor- row is the new moon;f and I according to custom am wont to sit beside the king to eat: let me go then, that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day. e 6 If thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him : David asked me that he might run to Bethlehem, his own city: because there are solemn sacrifices there for all his tribe. 7 If he shall say, It is well: thy servant shall | have peace: but if he be angry, know that his ma lice is come to its height. 8 Deal mercifully then with thy servant: for thou hast brought me thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee. ut if there be any iniquity in me, do thou kill me; and bring me not in to thy father. - © 9 And Jonathan said: Far be this from thee. for if I should certainly know that evil is determined by my father against thee, I could do no otherwise than tell thee. 10 And David answered Jonathan : Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly concerning me f 11 And Jonathan said to David : Come, and let us go out into the field. And when they were both of them gone out into the field, 12 Jonathan said to David : O Lord God of Is- rael, if I shall discover my father’s mind, to-morrow or the day after, and there be any thing good for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and | make it known to thee, 13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayst go in peace, * the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my ather. 14 And if I live, thou shalt show me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die, 15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them fom the earth: may he take away Jonathany from his house, and may the Lord require itſ at the hands of David’s enemies. 16 Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David : and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies. 17 And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him : for he loved him as his own soul. 18 And Jonathan said to him: To-morrow is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed: 19 For thy seat will be empty till after to-morrow. So thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place, where thou must be hid on the day when r is law- ful to work: and thou shalt remain beside the stone, which is called Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows near it, aud Willºloo as if I were exercising myself at a IIl? Iſ K. 21. And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go, and fetch me the arrows. 22 If I shall say to the boy: Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them up: come thou to me, because there is peace to thee, and there is no N * Nºjoth. It was probably a school or college of prophets, in or near Itamatha, under the direction of Samuel. sº tº ſº * Prophesying. That is, singing praises to God by a divine impulse God was pleased on this occasion that both Saul's messengers and himself should experience the like impulse, that he might understand, by this instance of the divine power, how vain are the designs of man e e r (; od lºotects. against him whom l 228 f Tomorrow is the new moon. The neomenia, or first day of the moon, kept according to the law, as a festival; and therefore Saul feasted on that day; and expected the attendance of his family. * May he take away Jonathan, &t It is a curse upon himself, if he should not be faithful to his promise | Require it, &c. . That is, revenge it upon David's enemies and upon me, if I should fail of my word given to him. % N CHAP. XXI. evil, as the Lord liveth. But if I shall speak thus to the boy" Behold, the arrows are beyond thee: go in peace, for the Lord hath sent thee away. 23 And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me for eWer. 24 So David was hid in the field: and the new moor came, and the king sat down to eat bread. 25 And when the king sat down upon his chair according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side ; and David's place appeared empty. 26 And Saul said nothing that day; for he thought it might have happened to him, that he was not clean, nor purified. 27 And when the second day after the new moon was come, David’s place appeared empty again. And Saul said to Jonathan his son: Why cometh not the son of Isai to meat neither yesterday, nor to-day? 28 And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem. 29 And he said: Let me go, for there is a solemn sacrifice in the city ; one of my brethren hath sent (or me : and now if I have found favour in thy eyes, I will go quickly, and see my brethren. For this cause he came not to the king's table. 30 Then Saul being angry against Jonathan, said to him : Thou son of a woman that is the ravisher of a man, do I not know that thou lovest the son of Isai to thy own confusion, and to the confusion of thy shameless mother? 31 For as long as the son of Isai liveth upon earth, thou shalt not be established, northy king- dom. Therefore now presently send, and fetch him to me: for he is the son of death.* 32 And Jonathan answering Saul his father, said: Why shall he die P What hath he done? 33 And Saul caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David. 34 So Jonathan rose from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was grieved for David, be- cause his father had put him to confusion. 35 And when the morning came, Jonathan went into the field according to the appointment with David, and a little boy with him. 36 And he said to his boy: Go, and fetch me the arrows which I shoot. And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond the boy. 37 The boy therefore came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot: and Jonathan cried after the boy, and said: Behold, the arrow is there further beyond thee. 38 Ant, Jonathan cried again after the boy, saying: Make haste speedily, stand not. And Jonathan s boy gathered up the arrows, and brought them to his Iſla Ster: 39. And he knew not at all what was doing for only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him: Go, and carry them into the city, 41 And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was toward the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice: and kissing one another, they wept together, but David more. 42 And Jonathan said to David: Go in peace: and let all stand that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying: The Lord be be- tween me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. 43 And David arose, and departed : and Jonathan went into the city. CHAP. XXI. David receiveth holy bread of Achimelech the priest ; and jeigneth himself mad before Achis king of Geth. AND David came to Nobef to Achimelech the priest: and Achimelech was astonished at David's coming. And he said to him: Why art thou alone, and no man with thee P 2 And David said to Achimelech the priest: The king hath commanded me a business, and said: Let no man know the thing for which thou art sent by me, and what manner of commands l have given thee : and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore if thou have any thing at hand, though it were but five loaves, give me, or whatsoever thou canst find. 4 And the priest answered David, saying: I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread, if the young men be clean, f especially from women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said to him: Truly, as to what concerneth women, we have refrained ourselves from yesterday and the day be- fore, when we came out, and the vessels' of the young men were holy. . Now this way is defiled,ſ but it shall also be sanctified iſ this day in the vessels, 6 The priest therefore gave him hallowed bread. for there was no bread there, but only the loaves of proposition, which had been taken away from be- fore the face of the Lord, that hot loaves might be Set up. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, within the tabernacle of the Lord : and his name was Doeg an Edomite, the chiefest of Saul’s herdsmen. - 8 And David said to the Achimelech: Hast thou here at hand a spear, or a sword? for I brought not * * The son of death. That is, one that deserveth death, and shall sure- y be put to death. # JNobe. A city in the tribe of twenjamin, to which the tabernacle of the Lord had been translated from Silo. I ºf the young men be clean, &c If this cleanness was required of them that were to eat that bread, which was but a figure of the bread if life which we receive in the blessed sacrament; how clean ought Christians to be when they approach to our tremendous mysteries? And what reason hath the church of God to admit none to be her mi- nisters to consecrate and daily receive this most pure sacrament, but such as devote themselves to a life of perpetual purity ? } The vessels, i. e. the bodies, have been holy, that is, have been kept from impurity. | Is defiled. Is liable to expose us to dangers of uncleanness. Be sanctified &c. That is, we shall take care, notwithstanding these dangerous circumstances, to keep our vessels holy, that is, to keep our bodies from every thing that may defile us. “ . . . . A 229 . ... ." ~ ***.*. . - , , ºr 1. KINGS my own sword, n or my own weapons with me: for the king’s business required haste. 9 And the priest said: Lo, here is the sword of Goliah the Philistine whom thou slewest in the val- ley of Terebinth, wrapped up in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take this, take it; for here is no other but this. And David said: There is none like that; give it me. 10 And David arose, and fled that day from the face of Saul; and came to Achis the king of Geth: 1 | And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their dances, say- ing: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 But David laid up these words in his heart; and was exceedingly afraidatthe face of Achis the king of Geth. 13 And he changed his countenance before them, and slipt down between their hands: and he stum- bled against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard. 14 And Achis said to his servants: You saw the man was mad: why have you brought him to me f 15 Have we need of madmen, that you have brought in this fellow, to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house? CHAP. XXII. Many resort to David. Doeg accuseth Achimelech to Saul. He ordereth him and all the other priests of Nobe to be slain. Abiathar escapeth. D AVID therefore went from thence, and fled to the cave of Odollam. And when his brethren and all his father's house had heard of it, they went down to him thither. 2 Andall that were in distress, and oppressed with debt, and under aſſliction of 1 mind, gathered them- selves unto him: and he beca.me their prince: and there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David departed from thence into Maspha of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab: Let my father and my mother tarry with you, I beseech thee, till I know what God will do for me. 4 And he left them under the eyes of the king of Moab; and they abode with him all the days that 1)avid was in the hold.* 5 And Gad the prophet said to David: Abide not in the hold; depart, and go into the land of Juda. à. David departed, and came into the forest of aret, 6 And Saul heard that David was seen, and the men that were with him. Now whilst Saul abode in Gabaa, and was in the wood, which is by Rama, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him, 7 He said to his servants that stood about him: Hear me now, we sons of Jemini; will the son of Isai give every one of you fields, and vineyards, and make you all tribunes and centurions: 8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one to inform me, especially when even my son hath entered into league with the son of Isai? There is not one of you that pitieth my case, nor that giveth me any information: because my son hath raised up my servant against me, plotting against me to this day. 9 And Doeg the Edomite who stood by, and was the chief among the servants of Saul, answering, said: I saw the son of Isai, in Nobe, with Achime- lech the son of Achitob the priest. 10 And he consulted the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliah the Philistine. - 11 Then the king sent to call for Achimelech the priest the son of Achitob, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nobe: and they came all of them to the king. 12 And Saul said to Achimelech: Hear, thou son of Achitob. He answered: Here l am, my lord 13 And Saul said to him : Why have you con- spired against me, thou, and the son of Isai, and thouhast given him bread and a sword, and hast con- sulted the Lord for him, that he should rise up against me, continuing a traitor to this day? 14 And Achimelech answering the king, said : And who amongst all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and goeth forth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house? 15 Did I begin to-day to consult the Lord for him? far be this from me: let not the king suspect such a thing against his servant, or any one in all my father’s house: for thy servant knew nothing of this matter, either little or great. - 16 And the king said: Dying thou shalt die, Achi- melech, thou and all thy father’s house. 17 And the king said to the messengers that stood about him: Turn, and kill the priests of the Lord ; for their hand is with David, because they knew that he was fled, and they told it not to me. And the king's servants would not put forth their hands against the priests of the Lord. 18 And the king said to Doeg: Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned. and fell upon the priests, and slew in that day eighty five men that wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nobe the city of the priest he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, chil- dren, and sucklings, and Ox and ass, and sheep with the edge of the sword. 20 But one of the sons of Achimelech the son of Achitob, whose name was Abiathar, escaped, and fled to David, 21 And told him that Saul had slain the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar: I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that without doubt he would tell Saul: I have been the occa- sion of the death of all the souls of thy father's house. - 23 Abide thou with me; fear not: for he that seeketh my life, seeketh thy life also: and with me ſºº - …” ". . . . . . . . ," wº- The keld. The strong hold, or fortress of Maspha. 230 |thou shalt be saved. CHAP. XXIII, XXIV. CHAP. XXIII. David relieveth Ceila besieged by the Philistines. He feeth into the desert of Ziph. jonathan and he confirm their former covenant. The Ziphites discover him to Saul, who pursuing close after him, is called away by an invasion from the Philistines. ND they told David, saying: Behold, the Philistines A fight against Ceila ; and they rob the barns. 2 Therefore David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said to David : Go, and thou shalt Smite the Philistines, and shalt save Ceila. 3 And the men that were with David, said to him : Behold, we are in fear here in Judea ; how much more if we go to Ceila against the bands of the Philistines. 4 Therefore David consulted the Lord again. And he answered, and said to him : Arise, and go to Ceila : for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. 5 David therefore, and his men, went to Ceila, and fought against the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great slaughter of them : and David saved the inhabitants of Ceila. 6 Now at that time, when Abiathar the son of Achi- melech fled to David to Ceila, he came down having an ephod * with him. 7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Ceila: and Saul said: The Lord hath delivered him into my hands, and he is shut up, being come into a city, that hath gates and bars. 8 And Saul commanded all the people to go down to fight against Ceila, and to besiege David, and his men. 9 Now when David understood, that Saul secretly pre- pared evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest : Bring hither the ephod. Io And David said: O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath heard a report, that Saul designeth to come to Ceila, to destroy the city for my sake: ** I I Will the men of Ceila deliver me into his hands P and will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, tell thy servant. And the Lord said : He will come down. 12 And David said: Will the men of Ceila deliver me, and my men, into the hands of Saul? And the Lord said: They will deliver thee up. 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hun- dred, arose; and departing from Ceila, wandered up and down uncertain where they should stay : and it was told Saul that David was fled from Ceila, and had escaped : Wherefore he forbore to go out. 14 But David abode in the desert in strong holds: and he remained in a mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him always: but the Lord delivered him not into his hands. 15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the desert of Ziph in a wood. I6 And Jonathan the son of Saul arose, and went to * An ephod, or the ephod. That is, the vestment of the high priest, with the urim and thummim, by which the Lord gave his oracles. David into the wood, and strengthened his hands in God: and he said to him : I 7 Fear not, for the hand of my father Saul shall not find thee, and thou shalt reign over Israel, and I shall be next to thee: yea, and my father knoweth this. I8 And they two made a covenant before the Lord : and David abode in the wood : but Jonathan returned to his house. I9 And the Ziphites went up to Saul in Gabaa, saying: Lo, doth not David lie hid with us in the strong holds of the wood, in mount Hachila, which is on the right hand of the desert. 20 Now therefore come down, as thy soul hath desired to come down ; and it shall be our business to deliver him into the king's hands. 21 And Saul said : Blessed be ye of the Lord : for you have pitied my case. 22 Go therefore, I pray you, and use all diligence, and curiously inquire, and consider the place where his foot is, and who hath seen him there: for he thinketh of me, that I lie craftily in wait for him. 23 Consider and see all his lurking holes wherein he is hid, and return to me with the certainty of the thing, that I may go with you. And if he should even go down into the earth to hide himself, I will search him out in all the thousands of Juda. 24 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: and David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain at the right hand of Jesimon. 25 Then Saul and his men went to seek him : and it was told David ; and forthwith he went down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon ; and when Saul had heard of it, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain : and David and his men were on the other side of the moun- tain : and David despaired of being able to escape from the face of Saul : and Saul and his men encompassed David and his men round about to take them. 27 And a messenger came to Saul, saying : Make haste to come ; for the Philistines have poured in themselves upon the land. 28 Wherefore Saul returned, leaving the pursuit of David, and went to meet the Philistines. For this cause, they called that place the Rock of division. CHAP. XXIV. Saul seeketh David in the wilderness of Engaddi : he goeth into a cave where David hath him in his power. HEN David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds of Engaddi. 2 And when Saul was returned from following the Phil- istines, they told him, saying: Behold, David is in the desert of Engaddi. 3 Saul therefore took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went out to seek after David, and his men, even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessi- ble only to wild goats. 23.I I. KINGS. 4 And he came to the sheep-cotes which were in his way. And there was a caye, into which Saul went, to ease nature: now David and his men lay hid in the inner part of the cave. 5 And the servants of David said to him; Behold the day, of which the Lord said to thee: I will de- liver º enemy unto thee, that thou mayst do to him as it shall seem good in thy eyes. Then David arose, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul's; robe. 6 After which David's heart struck him,” because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. 7 And he said to his men: The Lord be merci- ful unto me, that I may do no such thing to my mas- ter the Lord’s anointed, as to lay my hand upon him, . because he is the Lord’s anointed. 8 And David stopped his men with his words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rising up out of the cave, went on his way. 9 And David also rose up after him ; and going out of the cave, cried after Saul, saying: My lord the king. And Saul looked behind him; and Da- º bowing himself down to the ground, worship- }{2( l io And said to Saul: Why dost thou hear the words of men that say: David seeketh thy hurt? ! I Behold, this day thy eyes have seen, that the ſ ord hath delivered thee into my hand, in the cave; and I had a thought to kill thee;f but my eye hath spared thee. For I said: I will not put out my mand against my lord, because he is the Lord's anointed. 12 Moreover see and know, O my father, the hem of thy robe in my hand, that when I cut off the hem of thy robe, I would not put out my hand against thce. Reflect, and see, that there is no evil In my hand, nor inquity: neither have I sinned against thee: but thou liest in wait for my life, to take it away. 13 The ford judge between me and thee; and the Lord revenge me of thee:f but my hand shall not be upon thee. - 1. As also it is said in the old proverb: From the wicked shall wickedness come forth : therefore my hand shall not be upon thee. After whom dost thou come out, O king of Israel P 15 After whom dost thou pursue P after a dead dog, after a flea. 16 But the Lord judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and judge my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand. 17 And when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, Saul said: Is this thy voice, my son David F And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept : 18 And he said to David : Thou art more just than : for thou hast done good to me; and I have rewarded thee with evil. -º- * Heart struck him, viz. with remorse, as fearing he had done amiss. # M thought to kill thee. That is, a suggestion, to which I did not tunsent. i Revenge me of thee, or as it is in the Hebrew, will revenge me. The ‘meaning is, that he refers his whole cause to God, to judge and pun- 232 Aeº.-------- ~~ &LE –2 Z_*T | cº-ºc <= *E=- ſ tº 19 And thou hast shown this day what good things thou hast done to me; how the Lord de- livered me into thy hand, and thou hast not killed me. 20 For who, when he hath found his enemy, will let him go well away ? But the Lord reward thee for this good turn, for what thou hast done to me this day. 21 And now as I know that thou shalt surely he king, and have the kingdom of Israel in thy hand : 22 Swear to me by the Lord, that thou wilt not destroy my seed after me, nor take away my name from the house of my father. 23 And David sworeto Saul. So Saul wenthome and David and his men went up into safer places, CHAP. XXV. The death of Samuel. David, provoked by Nabal, threateneth (w destroy him ; but is appeased by Abigail. ND Samuel died: and all Israel was gathered together, and they mourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose, and went down into the wilderness of Pharan. 2 Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were in Carmel: and the man was very great; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and it happened that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal ; and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a prudent and very comely woman ; but her hus- band was churlish, and very bad, and ill natured: and he was of the house of Caleb. 4 And when David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal was shearing his sheep, * 5 He sent ten young men, and said to them Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace. 6 And you shall say: Peace be to my brethren and to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace to all that thou hast. - 7 I heard that thy shepherds that were with us in the desert were shearing: we never molested them, neither was there aught missing to them of the flock at any time, all the while they were with us in Carmel. 8 Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Now therefore let thy servants find favour in thy eyes. for we are come in a good day; whatsoever thy hand shall find, give to thy servants, and to thy son David. 9. And when David's servants came, they spoke to Nabal all these words in David’s name; and then held their peace. 10 But Nabal answering the servants of David, said: Who is David P and what is the son of Isai º servants are multiplied now-a-days who flee from their masters. • 11 : Shall. I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh of my cattle, which i have killed ſº ish ... his justice: yet so as to keep himself in the mean time, from all personal hatred to Saul, or desire of gratifying his own passion, by seeking revenge. So far from it, that when Saul was af terwards slain, we find, that instead of rejoicing at his death, he mourn ed most bitterly for him. <--> ar-—- Sº- CHAP. AXV. my shearers, and give to men whom I know not whence they are? 12 So the servants of David went back their way; and returning, came and told him all the words that he said. . 13 Then David said to his young men: Let every man gird on his sword. And they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on his sword: and there followed David about four hun- dred mel, : and two hundred remained with the bag- 39(62. É #. But one of the servants told Abigail the wife of Nabal, saying: Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our master; and he rejected them. - 15 These men were very good to us, and gave us no trouble : neither did we ever lose any thing all the time that we conversed with them in the desert. 16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheen. *} Wherefore consider, and think what thou hast to do ; for evil is determined against thy husband, and against thy house; and he is a son of Belial, so that no man can speak to him. 18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hun- dred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dry figs, and laid them upon asses : 19 And she said to her servants: Go before me: Pi. behold, I will follow after you: but she told not her husband Nabal. 20 And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the foot of the mountain, David and his men came down over-against her, and she met them. ,” 21 And David said: Truly in vain have I kept all that belonged to this man in the wilderness, and nothing was lost of all that pertained unto him ; and he hath returned me evil for good. 22 May God do so and so, and add more to the foes of David, if I leave” of all that belong to him till the morning any that pisseth against the wall. 23 And when Abigail saw David, she made haste, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David, on her face, and adored upon the ground. 24 And she fell at his feet, and said: Upon me let this iniquity be, my lord: let thy handmaid speak, I beseech, in thy ears ; and hear the words of thy servant. © g 25 Let not my lord the king, I pray, regard this naughty man Nabal ; for according to his name,f he is a fool, and folly is with him : but I thy handmaid did not see thy servants, my lord, whom thou sentest. 26 Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, who hath withholden thee from coming to blood, and hath saved thy hand to thee : and now let thy enemies be as Nabal, and all they that seek evil to my lord. 27 Wherefore receive this blessing, which thy handmaid hath brought to thee, my lord, and give it to the young men that follow thee, my lord. 28 Forgive the iniquity of thy handmaid; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a faithful house: because thou, my lord, fightest the battles of the Lord : Let not evil therefore be found in hee al the days of thy life. 29. For if a man at any time shall rise, and per secute thee, and seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be kept, as in the bundle of the living, with the Lord thy God: but the souls of thy enemies shall be whirled, as with the violence and whirling of a sling. 30 And when the Lord shall have done to thee, my lord, all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have made thee prince over Israel, 31 This shall not be an occasion of grief to thee and a scruple of heart to my lord, that thou hast shed innocent blood, or hast revenged thyself: and when the Lord shall have done well by my lord, thou shalt remember thy handmaid. 32 And David said to Abigail : Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me ; and blessed be thy speech: 33 And blessed be thou, who hast kept me to-day, from coming to blood, and revenging me with my own hand. 34. Otherwise as the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, who hath withholden me, from doing thee any evil; if thou hadst not quickly come to meet me, there had not been left to N. by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. 35 And David received at her hand all that she had brought him ; and said to her: Go in peace into thy house; behold, I have heard thy voice, and have honoured thy face. 36 And Abigail came to Nabal: and behold, he had a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry: for he was very drunk: and she told him nothing less or more until morning. 37 But early in the morning when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife told him these words: and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. 39 And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: Blessed bef the Lord, who hath judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Na- bal, and hath kept his servant from evil: and the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his head. Then David sent and treated with Abigail, that he might take her to himself for a wife 40 And David’s servants came to Abigail to Car- mel, and spoke to her, saying: David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife. 41 And she arosc, and bowed herself down with f Blessed be, &c. joy for the death of Nabal (which would have argued a rancour of heart,) but because he saw that God had so visibly taken his cause in hand, in punishing the injury done to him; whilst by a merciful provi dence he kept him from revenging himself David praiseth God, on this occasion, not out of * If I leave, &c. David certainly sinned in his designs against Na- bal and his family, as he himself was afterwards sensible, when he blessed God for hundering him from executing the revenge he had proposed. & + His name JN'abal in Hebrew signifies a fool. ſº - sº- ºs-2- º exegrº" Yºº-º- === 2=3|->=> <=== —º Wº: . <> - - • . - • 233 e. % N I. KINGS. her face to the earth ; and said: Behold, let thy ser- want be a handmaid, to wash the ſect of the servants of my lord. 42 And Abigail arose, and made haste, and got upon an ass; and five damsels went with her her waiting maids; and she followed the messengers of !)avid, and became his wife. 43 Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahei: and they were both of them his wives. 44 But Saul gave Michol his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti, the son of Lais, who was of Gallim. CHAP. XXVI. Saul goeth wut again after David; who cometh by night where Saul and his men are asleep, but suffereth him not to be touched. Saul again confesseth his fault, and promiseth peace. ND the men of Ziph came to Saul in Gabaa, saying: Behold, David is hid in the hill of Hachila, which is over-against the wilderness. 2 And Saul arose, and went down to the wilder- ness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen }. of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of ||) Il. § And Saul camped in Gabaa Hachila, which was over-against the wilderness in the way; and David abode in the wilderness. And seeing that Saul was come after him into the wilderness, 4. He sent spies, and learned that he was most certainly come thither. 5 And David arose secretly, and came to the place where Saul was ; and when he had beheld the place wherein Saul slept, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the rest of the multitude round about him, 6 David spoke to Achimelech the Hethite, and Abisai the son of Sarvia the brother of Joab, saying: Who will go down with me to Saul into the camp? And Abisai said: I will go with thee. 7 So David and Abisai came to the people by night, and found Saul lying and sleeping in the tent, and his spear fixed in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people sleeping round about him. 8 And Abisai said to David: God hath shut up thy enemy this day into thy hands: now then I will run him through with my spear even to the earth at once; and there shall be no need of a second time. 9 And David said to Abisai: Kill him not; for who shall put forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and shall be guiltless P 10 And David said: As the Lord liveth, unless the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down to battle, and perish: 11 The Lord be merciful unto me, that I extend|| not my hand upon the Lord’s anointed. But now take the spear, which is at his head, and the cup of water; and let us go. 12. So David took the spear, and the cup of water, which was at Saul’s head; and they went away: and no man saw it, or knew it, or awaked: but they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord was ſallen upon them. 13 And when David was gone over to the other side, and stood on the top of the hill afar off, and a good space was between thºn, :--S __-------- −— ` Nº Tº ~ - H -Eºs-ºs-Es. Kl- 14 David cried to the people, and to Abner the soil of Ner, saying: Wilt thou not answer, Abner P And Abner answering, said: Who art thou, that criest, and disturbest the king? - 15 And David said to Abner: Art not thou a man? and who is like thee in Israel? why then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to kill the king thy lord. 16 This thing is not good, that thou hast done: as the lord liveth you are the sons of death, whº have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now where is the king’s spear, and the cup of water, which was at his head P 17 And Saul knew David’s voice, and said: Is this thy voice, my son David P And David said: It is my voice, my lord the king. 18 And he said: Wherefore doth my lord perse. cute his servant P What have l done Por what evil is there in my hand? 19 Now therefore hear, I pray thee, my lord the king, the words of thy servant: If the Lord stil thee up against me, let him accept of sacrifice: but if the sons of men, they are cursed in the sight of the Lord, who have cast me out this day that I should not dwell in the inheritance of the Lord saying: Go, serve strange gods. 20 And nowletnot my blood beshed upon the earth before the Lord: for the king of Israelis come out to Seekaflea, as the partridgeishunted in the mountains. 21 And Saul said: I have sinned; return, my SOIl David; for I will no more do thee harm, bº. Çause, my life hath been precious in thy eyes this day: for it appeareth that I have done foolishly, and have been Ignorant in Very many things. ki 22 And David answering, said: Behold the ins's Spear; let one of the king's servants come Over and fetch it. 23 And the Lord will reward every one according to his justice, and his faithfulness: for the Lord hiſ delivered thee this day into my hand; and I would no!, put forth my hand against the Lord’s anointed. . 24 And as thy life hath been much set by this day II, hyºyes; so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the lºrd, and let him deliver me from all distress. 25 Then Saul said to David: Blessed art thou, my son David; and truly doing thou shalt do, and Prevailing thou shalt prevail. And David went on his way; and Saul returned to his place. - CHAP. XXVII. David goeth again to .4chis king. Q. Geth, and obtaineth of him the e . . city of Sireleg. ND David said in his heart. I shall one day or other fall into the hands of Sami; is it nº hettº, fºr me to flee, and to be saved in the land ºf the Philistines, that Saul may despair of nue, and §ease to seek me in all the coasts of Israel? iwiji flee then out of his hands. 2 And David arose, and went away, both he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achis the son of Maoch, king of Geth. 3 And David dwelt with Achis at Geth, he and his men; every man with his household, and David With his two wives, Achinoam the Jezraheliºs and Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel. ar-—- *– CHAP. XXVIII. 4. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Geth: and he sough: no more after him. 5 And David said to Achis: If l have found favour in thy sight, let a place begiven me in one of the cities of this country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with theef .. 6 Then Achis gave him Sicelegthat day: for which reason Siceleg belongeth to the kings of Juda unto this day. 7 And the time that David dwelt in the country f the Philistines, was four months. o 8 And David and his men went up, and pillaged ſessuri,” and Gerzi, and the Amalecites: for these were of old the inhabitants of the countries, as men go to Sur, even to the land of Egypt. 9 And David wasted all the land, and left neither man nor woman alive; and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the ap- parel; and returned, and came to Achis. 10 And Achis said to him: Whom hast thou gone against to-day P David answered: Against the south of Juda, and against the south of Jerameel, and against the south of Cenir. l l And David saved neither man nor woman, neither brought he any of them to Geth, saying: Lest they should speak against us. So did David, and such was his proceeding all the days that he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achis believed David, saying: He hath done much harm to his people lsrael: therefore he shall be my servant for ever. CHAP. XXVIII. The Philistines go out to war against Israel. saken by God, hath recourse to a witch. to him. AND it came to pass in those days, that the Phi- listines gathered together their armies, to be repared for war against Israel : and Achis said to §§ : Knowing now know thou, that thou shalt go out with me to the war, thou, and thy men. 2 And David said to Achis: Now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life for ever. 3 Now Samuel was dead: and all Israel mourned for him,and buried him in Ramatha his city. And Saul had put ºway all the magicians and soothsayers out of the land. º 4 And the Philistines were gathered together, and came and camped in Sunam: and Saul also gathered together all Israel, and came to Gelboe. 5 And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and was afraid; and his heart was very much dismayed. 6 And he consulted the Lord: and heanswered him not, neither by dreams, nor by priests, nor by prophets. 7 And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a wo- ºr mºssº-º * Pillaged Gessuri, &c. These probably were enemies of the people of Urod; and soºne, if not all of them, were of the number of those whom God had ordered to be destroyed; which justifies David's proceedings in their regard. Though it is to be observed here, that we are not un- ler an obligation of justifying every thing that he did; for the scripture ui relating what was done, doth not say that it was well done. And even much as are true servants of God, are not to be imitated in all they do. * Iſadersteed that it was Samuel. It is the more common opinion of Saul being for- Samuel appeareth z man that hatha divining spirit; and I will goto her, and inquire by her. And his servants said to him: There is a woman that hath a divining spirit at Endor. 8. Then he disguised himself, and put on other clothes: and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by might; and he said to her: Divine to me by thy divining spirit, and bring me up him whom I shall tell thee. - 9 And the woman said to him: Behold, thou knowest all that Saul hath done, and how he hath rooted out the magicians and soothsayers from the land: why them dost thou lay a snare for my life, to cause me to be put to death P 10 And Saul swore unto her by the Lord, saying: As the Lord liveth, there shall no evil happen to thee for this thing. 11 And the woman said to him: Whom shall I bring up to thee ? And he said: Bring me up Samuel 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me P for thou art Saul. 13 And the king said to her: Fear not: what hast thou seen F And the woman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 &nd he said to her: What form is he of? And she said: An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel :f and he bowed himself with his face to the ground, and adored. 15 And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I should be brought up f And Saul said, I am in great distress: for the Philistines fight against me; and God is departed from me, and would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayst show me what I shall do. 16And Samuel said: Why askestthoume,seeing the º has departed from thee, and is gone over tothy FIVal 17 For the Lord will do to thee as he spoke by me: and he will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David: 18 Because thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord, neither didst thou execute the wrath of his in- dignation upon Amalec. Therefore hath the Lord dome to thee what thou sufferest this day. 19 And the Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines: and to-mor- row thou and thy sons shall be with me:f and the Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. 20 And forthwith Saul fell all along on the ground. for he was frightened with the words of Samuel. and there was no strength in him ; for he had eaten no bread all that day. 21 And the woman came to Saul (for he was theholy fathers, and interpreters, that the soul of Samuel appeared in- deed : and not, as some have imagined,an evil spirit in his shape. Not that the power of her magic could bring him thither, but that God was pleased,for the punishmentof Saul,that Samuel himself should denounce unto him the evils that were falling upon him. See Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 23 t With me. That is, in the state of the dead, and in another world. though not in the same place. ºR, % 1. KINGs. - very much troup.ed) and said to him: flehold, thy' handmaid hath obeyed thy voice ; and I have put my life in my hand: and l hearkened unto the words which thou spokest to me. 22 Now therefore hear thou also the voice of thy handmaid; and let me set before thee a morsel of bread, that thou mayst eat and recover strength, and be able to go on thy journey. 23 But he refused and said: I will not eat. But his servants and the woman forced him: and at length hearkening to their voice, he arose from the ground, and set upon the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the mouse ; and she made haste, and killed it: and taking meal kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread, 25 And set it before Saul, and before his servants. And when they had eaten they rose up, andwalked all that night CHAP. XXIX. Duvid goung with the Philistines is sent back by their princes. NTOW all the troops of the Philistines were ga- thered together to Apec: and Israel also camped by the fountain which is in Jezrahel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines marched with their hundreds and their thousands: but David and his men were in the rear with Achis. 3 And the princes of the Philistines said to Achis: What mean these Hebrews P And Achis said to the princes of the Philistines: Do you not know David, who was the servant of Saul the king of Israel, and hath been with me many days, or years; and I have found no fault in him, since the day that he fled over to me until this day P 4. But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and they said to him: Let this man return, and abide in his place, which thou hast appointed him. and let him not go down with us to battle, lest he be an adversary to us, when we shall begin to fight: for how can he otherwise appease his master, but with our heads? 5 Is not this David, to whom they sung in their dances, saying: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 6 Then Achis called David, and said to him: As the Lord liveth, thou art upright and good in my sight: and so is thy going out, and thy coming in with me in the army: and I have not found any evil in thee, since the day that thou camest to me unto this day: but thou pleasest not the lords. 7 Return therefore, and go in peace; and offend ilot the eyes of the princes of the Philistines. 8 And David said to Achis: But what have I done, and what hast thou found in me thy servant, from the day that I have been in thy sight until this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9 And Achis answering said to David: I know that thou art good in my sight, as an Angel of God: but the princes of the Philistines have said. He shall not go up with us to the battle. 10 Therefore arise in the morning, thou, and the servants of thy Lord, who camewith thee: and when º you are up before day, and it shall begin to be light, go on your Way. they might set forward in the morning, and returned to the land of the Philistines: and the Philistines went up to Jezrahel. CHAP XXX The Amalecites burn Siceleg, and carry off the prey; David pursueth after them, and recovereth all out of their hands. NOW when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day, the Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and had smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire: 2 And had taken the women captives that were in it, both little and great: and they had not killed any person, but had carried them with them, and went on their way. 3 So when David and his men came to the city and found it burnt with fire, and that their wives and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives, 4 David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voices, and wept till they had no more tears 5 For the two wives also of David were taken cap- tives, Achinoam the Jezrahelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly afflicted, for the people had a mind to stone him, for the soul of every man David took courage in the Lord his God. 7 And he said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech: Bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I pursue after these robbers, and shall I overtake them, or no? And the Lord said to him : Pursue after them : for thou shalt surely overtake them, and recover the prey. - º 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him ; and they came to the torrent Besor: and some being weary stayed there. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men for two hundred stayed, who being weary could not go over the torrent Besor. 11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David : and they gave him bread to eat, and water to drink, - 12. As also a piece of a cake of figs, and two bunches of raisins. And when he had eaten them, his spirit returned, and he was refreshed: for he had not eaten bread, nor drunk water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him: To whom dost thou belong P or whence dost thou come P and whither art thou going? He said: I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amelecite: and my master left me, because l began to be sick three days ago 14 For we made an invasion on the south side of Cerethi, and upon Juda, and upon the south of Caleb” and we burnt Siceleg with fire. 15 And David said to him: Canst thou bring me to this company? And he said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, nor deliver me into II So David and his men arose in the night, that was bitterly grieved for his sons and daughters; but *** -ºs- * , " ' *:::::::::::::: * º' ºr . ... • *-*. . . . * * *- ". . CHAP. XXX1. the hands of my master, and I will bring thee to 29 And that were in Rachal, and that were in the this company. , And David swore to him. cities of Jerameel, and that were in the cities of Ceni, 16 And when he had brought him, behold|| 30 And that were in Arama, and that were in they were lying spread upon all the ground, eating,|the lake Asan, and that were in Athach, and drinking, and as it were keeping a festival day, 31 And that were in Hebron, and to the rest that for all the prey, and the spoils which they had taken || were in those places, in which David had abode ; * the land of the Philistines, and out of the landſ with his men. Of J Ulúal. 17 And David slew them from the evening unto CHAP. XXXI. he evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, but four hundred young men, who Israel is defeated by the Philistines: Saul and his sons are stain had gotten upon camels, and fled. AND the Philistines fought against Israel: and 18 So David recovered all that the Amalecites|- *- the men of Israel fled from before the Philis- nad taken : , and he rescued his two wives. times, and fell down slain in mount Gelboe. 19 And there was nothing missing small or great, . . 2 And the Philistines fell upon Saul, and upon neither of their sons or their daughters, nor of the his sons: and they slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, spoils: and whatsoever they had taken, David re-|and Melchisua, the sons of Saul. covered all. 3 And the whole weight of the battle was turned 20 And he took all the flocks and the herds; and ||upon Saul : and the archers overtook him ; and he made them go before him : and they said: This is ||was grievously wounded by the archers. the prey of David. 4. #. Saul said to his armour-bearer : Draw 21 And David came to the two hundred men, who ||thy sword, and kill me: lest these uncircumcised -- Jeing weary had stayed, and were not able to follow|come, and slay me, and mock at me. And his ar- David, and he had ordered them to abide at the tor-|| mour-bearer would not : for he was struck with ex- rent Besor: and they came out to meet David, and ||ceeding great fear. Then Saul took his sword, the people that were with him. And David coming||and fell upon it. ..o the people, saluted them peaceably. 5 And when his armour-bearer saw this, to wit, 22 Then all the wicked and unjust men that had |that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and gone with David, answering, said: Because they |died with him. came not with us, we will not give them any thing|| 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his ar- of the prey which we have recovered: but let every||mour-bearer, and all his men that same day together. man take his wife and his children, and be content-|| 7 And the men of Israel, that were beyond the ed with them, and go his way. valley, and beyond the Jordan, seeing that the 23 But David said: You shall not do so, my|Israelites were fled, and that Saul was dead, and brethren, with these things, which the Lord hath|his sons, forsook their cities, and fled : and the Phi- given us, who hath kept us, and hath delivered the |listines came, and dwelt there. robbers that invaded us into our hands: 8 And on the morrow the Philistines came to 24 And no man shall hearken to you in this matter.|strip the slain: and they found Saul and his three Butequal shall be the portion of him that went|sons lying in mount Gelboe. down to battle, and of him that abode at the bag- || 9 And they cut off Saul’s head, and stripped him gage: and they shall divide alike. of his armour, and sent into the land of the Philis- 25 And this hath been dome from that day for-|tines round about, to publish it in the temples o ward, and since was made a statute and an crdi-] their idols, and among their people. nance, and as a law in Israel. 10 And they put his armour in the ucumple of As- 26 "Then David came to Siceleg, and sent pre-|taroth: buthis body they hung on the wall of Bethsan sents of the prey to the ancients of Juda his neigh- 11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabes Galaae bours, saying: Rº: a blessing of the prey of the ||had heard all that the Philistines hand done to Saul, enemies of the Lord. •, 12 All the most valiant men arose, and walked 27 To them that were in Bethel, and that were ||all the night, and took the body, of Saul, and the in Ramoth to the south, and to them that were ||bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethsan : and In Jether they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there. 28 And to them that were in Aroer, and that 13 And they took their bones, and buried them were in Sephamoth. and that were in Esthamo, in the wood of Jabesºnd fasted seven days. Žº - sº. -- *** mº -- - @º Yº! | --> -NS=2.32" THE SECOND Book OF SAMUEL, OTHERWISE CALLED THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS. This vook relates the transactions from the death of Saul until the end of David's reign, being a history for the space of about 4t years CHAP. I. Oavid mourneth for the death of Saul and Jonathan : he or- dereth the man to be slain who pretended he had killed Saul. OW it came to pass, after Saul was dead, that David returned from the slaughter of the Ama- lecites, and abode two days in Siceleg. 2 And on the third day, there appeared a man who came out of Saul’s camp, with his garments rent, and dust strewed on his head : and when he came to David, he fell upon his face, and adored. 3 And David said to him : From whence comest thou? And he said to him : I am fled out of the camp of Israel. 4 And David said unto him : What is the matter that is come to pass P tell me. are fled from the battle, and many of the people are fallen and dead: moreover Saul and Jonathan his son are slain. 5 And David said to the young man that told him: How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead P 6 And the young man that told him, said: I came by chance upon mount Gelboe, and Saul lean- ed upon his spear: and the chariots and horsemen drew nigh unto him, 7 And looking behind him, and seeing me, he called me. And I answered: Here am I. 8 And he said to me: Who art thou: And I said to him : I am an Amalecite. 9 And he said to me: Stand over me, and kill me: for anguish is come upon me, and as yet my whole life is in me. 10 So standing over him, I killed him :* for I knew that he could not live after the fall: and I took the diadem that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to thee my lord. 11 Then David took hold of his garments and i. them. and likewise all the men that were with |Ill] . 12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted un- til evening for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the JLord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man that told him : Whence art thou? He answered: I am the son of a stranger of Amalec. 14 David said to him : Why didst thou not fear to pu.. out thy hand to kill the Lord’s anointed P zº * I killed him. This story of the young Amalecite was not true, as may easily be proved by comparing it with the last chapter of the forefining book. He said: The people ||. 15 And David calling one of his servants, , said Go near, and fall upon him. And he struck him so that he died. 16And David said to him: Thy blood he upon thy own head : for thy own mouth hath spoken against thee, saying: I have slain the Lord's anointed 17And David made this kind of lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son. 18 (Also he commanded that they should teach the children of Juda the use of the bow, as it is written in the Book of the just.) And he said: Consider, O Israel, for them that are dead wound ed on thy high places. e 19 The illustrious of Israel are slain upon thy mountains: how are the valiant fallen!. 20 Tell it not in Geth; publish it not in the streets of Ascalon: lest the daughters of the Philistines re. joice; lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. . . . - 21 Ye mountains of Gelboe, let neither dew, nor rain come upon you, neither be they fields of first fruits: for there was cast away the shield of the valiant, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been apointed with oil. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the valiant, the arrow of Jonathan never turned back, and the sword of Saul did not return, empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan, lovely and comely in their life, even in death they were not divided : they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. 24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with scarlet in delights, who gave orna- ments of gold for your attire. 25 How are the valiant fallen in battle? Jonathar slain in the high places f 26 I grieve for thee, my brother Jonathan, , ex ceeding beautiful, and amiable to me above the love of women. As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee. 27 How are the valiant fallen, and the weapons of war perished P - CHAP. II. David is received and anointed king of Juda. Isboseth the son of ;fººt. over the rest of Israel. A battle between Abner (1720, JOCIO, AND after these things David consulted the lord, saying: Shall I go up into one of the cities of Juda P And the Lord said to him: Go up. And David said: Whither shall I go up 2 And he ans- wered him : Into Hebron. e & 2 So David went up, and his two wives, Aghi. noam the Jezrahelitess. and Abigail the wife of Na- bal of Carmel : e º 3 And the men also that were with him. David 238 CHAP. III. brought up every man with his household: and they abode in the towns of Hebron. tº 4 And the men of Juda came, and anointed David there, to be king over the house of Juda. And it was told David, that the men of Jabes Galaad had buried Saul 5 David therefore sent º to the men of Jabes Galaad, and said to them: Blessed be you to the Lord, who have shown this mercy to your mas- ter Saul, and have buried him. 6 And now the Lord surely will render you mercy and truth; and I also will requite you for this good turn, because you have done this thing. 7. Let your hands be strengthened, and be ye men of valour: for although your master Saul be dead, ū. the house of Juda hath anointed me to be their IIlg. . 8 But Abner the son of Ner, general of Saul’s army, took Isboseth the son of Saul, and led him about through the camp, 9 And made him king over Galaad, and over Gessuri, and over Jezrahel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all lsrael. 10 Isboseth the son of Saul was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel; and he reigned ºrs” and only the house of Juda followed David. | 1 And the number of the days that David abode, reigning in Hebron over the house of Juda, was seven years and six months. - 12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Isboseth the son of Saul, went out from the camp to Gabaon. 13 And Joab the son of Sarvia, and the servants of David went out, and met them by the pool of Ga- baon. And when they were come together, they sat down over-against one another; the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side. 14 And Abner said to Joab : Let the young men rise, and play before us. And Joab answered : Elet them rise. - 15 Then there arose and went over twelve in number of Benjamin, of the part of Isboseth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And every one catching his fellow by the head, thrust his sword into the side of his adversary; and they fell down together: and the name of the place was called, The field of the valiant, in Gabaon. 17 And there was a very fierce battle that day: and Abner was put to flight, with the men of Israel, by the servants of David. 18 And there were the three sons of Sarvia there, Joab, and Abisai, and Asael: now Asael was a most swift runner, like one of the roes that abide in the woods. g - 19 And Asael pursued after Abner, and turned ''. to the right hand nor to the left from following A Uller, 20 And Abner looked behind him, and said: Art thou Asael ? And he answered : I am. 21 And Abner said to him : Go to the right hand, or to the left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take thee his spoils. But Asael would not leave off following him close. 22 And again Abner said to Asael: Go off, and do not follow me, lest I be obliged to stab thee to the ground, and I shall not be able to hold up my face to Joab thy brother. 23 But he refused to hearken to him, and would not turn aside: wherefore Abner struck him with his spear with a back stroke in the groin, and thrust him through; and he died upon the spot: and all that came to the place where Asael fell down and died, stood still. 24 Now while Joab and Abisai pursued after Abner, the sun went down: and they came as far as the hill of the aqueduct, that lieth over-against the valley by the way of the wilderness in Gabaon. 25 And the children of Benjamin gathered them- Selves together to Abner: and being joined in one body, they stood on the top of a hill. 26 And Abner cried out to Joab, and said: Shall thy sword rage unto utter destruction? knowest thou not that it is dangerous to drive people to despair how long dost thou defer to bid the people cease from pursuing after their brethren P 27 And Joab said: As the Lord liveth, if thou hadst spoke sooner, even in the morning the people Yºlº have retired from pursuing after their bre th Tell. 28 Then Joab sounded the trumpet: and all the army stood still, and did not pursue after Israel any farther, nor fight any more. 29 And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plains: and they passed the Jordan, and having gone through all łº, came to the Camp. 30 And Joab returning, after he had left Abner, assembled all the people: and there were wanting of David’s servants nineteen men, beside Asael. 31 But the servants of David had killed of Ben- jamin, and of the men that were with Abner, three hundred and sixty, who all died. 32 And they took Asael, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father in Bethlehem: and Joab, and the men that were with him, marched all the night; and they came to Hebron at break of day. CHAP. III. David groweth daily stronger. Abner cometh over to him: he is treacherously slain by Joab. OW there was a long war between the house of Saulf and the house of David : David pros- pering and growing always stronger and stronger. but the house of Saul decaying daily. 2 And sons were born to David in Hebron : and his first-born was Amnon of Achinoam the Jezra- helitess: 3 And his second Cheleab of Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel ; and the third Absalom the sor * He reigned two years,viz. Before he began visibly to decline; but All i. he reigned seven years and six months: for solong David reigned wn Hebron # There was a long war between the house of Saul, &c. Rather a strife or emulation than a war with arms; it lasted five years and a half. 230 II. KINGS. of Maacha the daughter of Tholmai king of Ges- SUI". 4 And the fourth Adonias the son of Haggith: and the fifth Saphathia the son of Abital: 5 And the sixth Jethraam of Egla the wife of |)avid: these were born to David in Hebron. 6 Now while there was war between the house pf Sau, and the house of E)avid, Abner the son of Ner ruled the house of Saul. 7 And Saul had a concubine named Respha, the daughter of Aia. And Isboseth said to Abner: 8 Why didst thou go in to my father’s concubine P And he was exceedingly angry for the words offsho. seth, and said: Am I a dog's head against Juda this day, who have shown mercy to the house of Saul thy father, and to his brethren and friends, and have not delivered thee into the hands of David, and nast thou sought this day against me to charge me with a matter concerning a woman P 9 So do God to Abner, and more also, unless as the Lord hath sworn to David, so I do to him, 10 That the kingdom be translated from the house of Saul, and the throne of David be set up over Israel, and over Juda, from Dan to Bersabee. | l And he could not answer him a word, because tie feared him. 12 Abner therefore sent messengers to David for inimself, saying: Whose is the land P and that they should say: Make a league with me, and my hand shall be with thee; and I will bring all Israel to thee. 13 And he said: Very well; I will make a league with thee; but one thing l require of thee, saying: Thou shalt not see my face before thou bring Michol the daughter of Saul: and so thou shalt come, and SC (2 II) C. 14 And David sent messengers to Isboseth the son of Saul, saying: Restore my wife Michol, whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 15 And Isboseth sent, and took her from her hus- band Phaltiel, the son of Lais. 16 And her husband followed her, weeping, as far as Bahurim: and Abner said to him: Go, and return. And he returned. 17 Abner, also spoke to the ancients of Israel, saying: . Both yesterday and the day before you sought for David that he might reign over you. 18 Now then do it: because the Lord hath spoken to David, saying: By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from #. hands of the Philistines, and of all their enemies. 19 And Abner spoke also to Benjamin. And he went to speak to David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to all Benjamin. 20 And he came to David in Hebron with twen- ty men: and David made a feast for Abner, and his men that came with him. 21 And Abner said to David: I will rise, that I may gather all Israel unto thee my lord the king, and may enter into a league with thee, and that thou maySt reign over all as thy soul desireth. Now when 1)avid had brought Abner on his way, and he was gº ºut in 1)CaCC, | $40 22 Immediately David’s servants and Joab came, after having slain the robbers, with an exceeding great booty: and Abner was not with David in He- bron, for he had now sent him away, and he was gone in peace. º 23 And Joab and all the army that was with him came afterwards: and it was told Joab, that Abne the son of Ner came to the king; and he hath sent him away; and he is gone in peace. 24. And Joab went in to the king, and said: Wha. hast thou done P Behold, Abner came to thee: Wh" didst thou send him away, and he is gone and de parted P w 25 Knowest thou not Abner the son of Ner, thal to this end he came to thee, that he might deceive thee, and t2 know thy going out, and thy coming in, and to know all thou doest? * 26 Then Joab going out from David, sent mes. sengers after Abner, and brought him back from the cistern of Sira, David knowing nothing of it. 27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate, to speak to him treacherously: and he stabbed him there in the groin, and he died, in revenge of the blood of Asael his brother. 28 And when David heard of it, after the thing was now done, he said: I, and my kingdom are in nocent before the Lord for ever of the blood of Ab- ner the son of Ner: . 29 And may it come upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father’s house : and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue of seed, or that is a leper, or that holdeth the distaff, or that falleth by the sword, or ulat wanteth bread. 30 So Joab and Abisai his brother slew Abner, because he hath killed their brother Asael at Ga baon in the battle. 31 And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him : Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloths, and mourn before the funeral of Abner. And king David himself fol. lowed the bier. 32 And when they had buried Abner in Hebron, king David lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave. of Abner; and all the people also wept. 33 And the king mourning and lamenting over Abner, said: Not as cowards are wont to die, hath Abner died. - 34 Thy hands were not bound, nor thy fee loaden with fetters: but as men fall before the chil- dren of iniquity, so didst thou fall. And all he people repeating it wept over him. 35 And when all the people came to take meal with David, while it was yet broad day, David swore, saying: So do God to me, and more also, it I taste bread or any thing else before sun-set. 36 And all the people heard, and they were pleased: and all that the king did seemed good in the sight of all the people. 37 And all the people, and all Israel understood that day that it was not the king's doing, that Ab- ner the son of Ner, was slain. 38 The king also said to his servants: Do you CHAP. IV. V. not know that a prince and a great man is slain this day in Israel? © ſº #3 But I as yet am tender, though anointed king: and these men the sons of Sarvia are too hard for me: the Lord reward him that doeth evil according to his wickedness. CHAP. Iv. Isboseth is murdered by two of his servants: David punisheth the murderers. AND Isboseth the son of Saul heard that Abner was slain in Hebron: and his hands were weak- ened; and all Israel was troubled. tº 2. Now the son of Saul had two men captains of his bands; the name of the one was Baana, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rem. mon a Berothite of the children of Benjamin : for Beroth also was reckoned in Benjamin. . . 3 And the Berothites, fled into Gethaim, and were sojourners there until that time. 4. And Jonathan the son of Saul had a son that was lame of his feet: for he was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan from Jezra- hel. And his nurse took him up, and fled; and as she made haste to flee, he fell, and became lame: and his name was Miphiboseth. 5 And the sons of Remmon the Berothite, Re- chab and Baana coming, went into the house of Isboseth in the heat of the day: and he was sleeping upon his bed at noon: And the door-keeper, of the house, who was cleansing wheat, was fallen asleep. o gº 6 And they entered into the house secretly taking ears of corn: and Rechab and Baana his brother stabbed him in the groin, and fled away. 7 For when they came into the house, he was sleeping upon his bed in a parlour; and they struck him, and killed him: and taking away his head, they went off by the way of the wilderness, walking all night. - g "gººd they brought the head of Isboseth to David to Hebron: and they said to the king : Behold the head of Isboseth the son of Saul thy enemy who sought thy life: and the Lord hath revenged my i. fºe king this day of Saul, and of his seed. 9 But David answered Rechah and Baana his brother, the sons of Remmon the Berothite, and said to them: As the Lord liveth, who hath deli- wered tny soul out of all distress, . º 10 The man that told me, and said: Saul is dead, who thought he brought good tidings, I apprehend- ed, and slew him in Siceleg, who should have been rewarded for his news. 11 How much more now when wicked men have slain an innocent man in his own house, upon his bed, shall I not require his blood at your hand, and take you away from the earth F 12 And David commanded his servants, and they slew them : and cutting off their hands and feet, hanged them up over the pool in Hebron: but the head of Isboseth they took and buried in the se- aulchre of Abner in Hebron. l CHAP. V. David is anointed king of all Israel. He taketh Jerusalem, und duelleth there. He defeateth the Philistines. HEN all the tribes of lsrael came to David in Hebron, saying: Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. - 2 Moreover yesterday also and the day before when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that did lead out and bring in Israel: and the Lord said to thee: Thou shalt feed my people Israel; and thou shalt be prince over Israel. 3 The ancients also of lsrael came to the king to Hebron : and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed Da vid to be king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Juda seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned three and thirty years over all Israel and Juda. 6 And the king and all the men that were with him went to Jerusalem to the Jebusites the inhabi. tants of the land: and they said to David : Thou shalt not come in hither unless thou take away the blind and the lame that say: David shall not come in hither. - 7 But David took the castle of Sion ; une same is the city of David. 8 For David had offered that day a reward to whosoever should strike the Jebusites, and get up to the gutters of the tops of the houses, and take away the blind and the lame that hated the soul of David: therefore it is said in the proverb: The blind and the lame shall not come into the temple. 9 And David dwelt in the castle, and called it, The city of David; and built round about from Mello and inwards. 10, And he went on prospering and growing up and the Lord God of hosts was with him. 11 And Hiram the king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and ma- sons for walls: and they built a house for David. 12 And David knew that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom over his people Israel. 13 And David took more concubines and wives of Jerusalem,” after he was come from Hebron: and there were born to David other sons also and daugh t{}]'S : 14 And these are the names of them, that were born to him in Jerusalem, Samua, and Sobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, 15 And Jeballar, and Elisua, and Nepheg, 16 And Japhia, and Elisama, and Elioda, and Eliphaleth. 17 And the Philistines heard that they had anointed David to be king over Israel: and they all came to seek David: and when David heard of it, he went down to a strong hold 6- * - - e a- -sº * David took more concubines and wives of Jerusalem. Not harlots, but wives of an inferior condition: for such in scripture are styled concu- bines. - Q41 II. KlNGS. | 8 And the Philist nes coming spread themselves' in the valley of Raphaim. 19 And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go up to the Philistines?, and wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the Lord said to David: Go up : for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thy hand. 20 And David came to Baal Pharisim: and de- feated them there, and he said: The Lord hath divided my enemies hefore me, as waters are divided. Therefore the name of the place was called Baal Pharisim. © 21 And they left there their idols; which David and his men took away. 22 And the Philistines came up again, and spread themselves in the valley of Raphaim. 23 And David consulted the Lord Shall I go up against the Philistines, and wilt thou deliver them into my hands P. He answered: Go not up against them ; but fetch a compass behind them, and thou shalt come upon them over-against tile pear trees. 24. And when thou shalt hear the sound of one going in the tops of the pear trees, then shalt thou join battle: for then will the Lord go out before thy face to strike the army of the Philistines. 25 And David did as the Lord had commanded him: and he smote the Philistines from Gabaa until thou come to Gezar. CHAP. VI. Pavid fetchetn the wºrk from Cariathiarim. Oza is struck dead for touching it. It is deposited in the house of Obededom: and from thence is carried to David’s house. ND David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went, with all the people that were with him of the men of Juda, to fetch the ark of God, upon which the name of the Lord of hosts is invoked, who sitteth over it upon the che- rubims. 3 And they laid the ark of God upon a new cart; and took it out of the house of Abimadab, who was in Gabaa:* and Oza and Ahio, the sons of Abina- dali, drove the new cart. 4 And when they had taken it out of the house of Abimadab, who was in Gabaa, Ahio having care of the ark of God went before the ark. 5 But David and all Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of wood, on harps and lutes and timbrels and cornets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the floor of Nachon, Oza put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: because the oxen kicked, and made it lean aside. 7 And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled against Oza; and he struck him for his rashness: and he died there before the ark of God. 3 And David was grieved because the Lord had struck Oza: and the name of that place was called, The striking of Oza, to this day. * Gabda;, The hill of Cariathiarim, where the ark had been in the hºuse of Abinadab, from the time of its being restored back by the W'Wallistines, 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that dav, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord come to me! 10 And he would not have the ark of the Lord brought in to himself into the city of David: but he caused it to be carried into the house of Obededom the Gothite. 11 And the ark of the lord abode in the nous of Obededom the Gethite three months: and tº Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household. 12 And it was told king David, that the Loi. had blessed Obededom, and all that he had, becaust of the ark of God. . So David went, and brought away the ark of God out of the house of Obededom into the city of David with joy. And there were with David seven choirs,t and calves for victims. 13 And when they that carried the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a ram 14 And David danced with all his might before the Lord: and David was girded with a limen ephod. 15 And David and all the house of Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet. 16 And when the ark of the Lord was come into the city of David, Michol the daughter of Saul, looking out through a window, saw king David leap- ing and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought the ark of the Lord, and Set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle, which David had pitched for it: and David off red holocausts and peace-offerings before the Lord. 18 And when he had made an end of offering holocausts and peace-offerings, he blessed the peo- ple in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 And he distributed to all the multitude of Israel. both men and women, to every one, a cake of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and fine flour fried with oil and all the people departed every one to his house 20 And David returned to bless his own house. and Michol the daughter of Saul coming out to meet David, said: How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, uncovering himself before the handmaids of his servants, and was naked, as if one of the buffoons should be naked. 21 And David said to Michol: Before the Lord, who chose me rather than thy father, and than all his house, and commanded me to be ruler over the people of the Lord in Israel, 22 I will both play and make myself meaner than I have done: and l will be little in my own eyes: and with the handmaids, of whom thou speakest, I shall appear more glorious. - 23 Therefore Michol the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. CHAP. VII. David's purpose to build a temple is rewarded with the promis, of great blessings in his seed: His prayer and t hanksgiving AND it came to pass when the king sat in his :*house, and the Lord had given him reston every side from all his enemies, # Choirs. Or companies of musicians. CHAP VIII. Yºre 2 He said to Nathan the prophet: Dost thou see that I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God .s lodged within skins? 3 And Nathan said to the king: Go, do all that is in thy heart: Because the Lord is with thee. 4. But it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: 5 Gº, and say to my servant David : Thus saith the Lord: Shalt thou build me a house to dwell in f 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt even to this day; but have walked in a tabernacle, and in a tent. 7 In all the places that I have gone through with all the children of Israel, did I ever speak a word to any one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar 8 And now thus shalt thou speak to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee out of the pastures from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel: - 9 And I have been with thee wheresoever thou hast walked, and have slain all thy enemies from be- fore thy face: And I have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are on the earth.; 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel: and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more : neither shal, the º of iniquity afflict them any more as they did efore, * 11 From the day that I appointed Judges over my people Israel; and I will give thee rest from all thy enemies. And the Lord foretelleth to thee, that the Lord will make thee a house. 12 And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels: and I will establish his kingdom.” 13. He shall build a house to my name; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and if he commit any iniquity, I will cor- rect him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. . - 15 But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face. 16 And thy house shall be faithful, and thy king- dom for ever before thy face: and thy throne shall be firm for ever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David 18 And David went in, and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? 19 But yet this hath seemed little in thy sight, O Lord God, unless thou didst also speak of the house ºf thy servant for a long time to come: for this is the law of Adam, O Lord God. * I will establish his kingdom. This prophecy partly relateth to Solo- mon : but much more to Christ, who is called the son of David in - - <> .*.* *~ 20 And what can David say more unto thee? fo thou knowest thy servant, O Lord God: 21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thy own heart thou hast done all these great things; so that thou wouldst make it known to thy servant. 22 Therefore thou art magnified, O Lord God, because there is none like to thee; neither is there any God besides thee, in all the things that we have heard with our ears. 23 And what nation is there upon earth, as thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for them great and terrible things, upon the earth, be- fore the face of thy people, whom thou redeemedst to |yself out of Egypt, from the nations and their g()(1S. 24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be an everlasting people: and thou, O Lord God, art become their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, raise up for ever the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerninghis house; and do as thou hast spoken, 26 That thy name may be magnified for ever, and it may be said: The Lord of hosts is God over Israel. And the house of thy servant David shall be established before the Lord, 27 Because thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant, saying: I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee. 28 And now, O Lord God, thou art God, and thy words shall be true: for thou hast spoken to thy Ser- vant these good things. 29 And now begin, and bless the house of thy servant, that it may endure for ever before thee: be- cause thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it; and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever. CHAP. VIII. David’s victories, and his chief officers. - A\} it came to pass after this that David defeated the Philistines, and brought them down, and David took the bridle of tribute out of the hand of the Philistines. - 2 And he defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the earth: and he measured with two lines, one to put to death, and one to save alive: and Moab was made to serve David under tribute. 3 David defeated also Adarezer the son of Rohob king of Soba, when he went to extend his dominion over the river Euphrates. - 4 And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen : and houghed all the chariot-horses: and only re- served of them for one hundred chariots. 5 And the Syrians of Damascus came to succou Adarezer the king of Soba : and David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 And David put garrisons in Syria of Damas- scripture, and who is the builder of the true .. which is the º church, his everlasting kingdom, ºch shall never fail s 2 `-- 16 11. KINGS. cus. and Syria served David under tribute: and the Lord preserved David in all his enterprises, whither- soever he went. 7 And IDavid took the arms of gold, which the servants of Adarezer wore, and brought them to Je- rusalem. 8 And cut of Bete, and out of Beroth, cities of Adarezer, king David took an exceeding great quan- tity of brass. 9 And Thou the king of Emath heard that David had defeated all the forces of A larezer, 10 And Thou sent Joram his son to king David, to salute him, and to congratulate with him, and to return him thanks: because he had fought against Adarezer, and had defeated him. For Thou was an enemy to Adarezer; and in his hand were vessels of gold, and vessels of silver, and vessels of brass: ll And king David dedicated them to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had dedi- cated of all the nations, which he had subdued : 12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalec, and g | spoils of Adarezer, the son of Rohob king of () ()&l. 13 David also made himself a name, when he ..eturned after taking Syria in the valley of the salt-pits, killing eighteen thousand: 14 And he put guards in Edom, and placed there a garrison: and all Edom was made to serve David: and the Lord preserved David in all enterprises he went about. - º 15 And David reigned over all Israel: and David did judgment and justice to all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Sarvia was over the army: and Josaphat the son of Ahilud was re- corder:” 17 And Sadoc the son of Achitob, and Achime- lech the son of Abiathar, were the priests: and Sa- raias was the scribe :t 18 And Banaias the son of Joiada was over the Cerethi and Phelethi:f and the sons of David were the princes.S CHAP. IX. David’s kindness to Miphiboseth for the sake of his father Jonathan. ND David said: Is there any one, think you, left of the house of Saul, that I may show kind- ness to him for Jonathan’s sake? - 2 Now there was of the house of Saul, a ser- vant named Siba: and when the king had called him to him, he said to him: Art thou Siba? And he answered: I am Siba thy servant. 3 And the king said: Is there any one left of the house of Saul, that I may show the mercy of God into him? And Siba said to the king: There is a scn of Jonathan left, who is lame of his feet. 4. Where is he? said he. And Siha said to the king: Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lodabar. 5 Then king David sent, and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodabar. 6 And when Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul was come to David, he fell on his ſage, and worshipped. And David said: Miphiboseth? And he answered: Behold thy servant. e 7. And David said to him: Fear not, for I will surely show thee mercy for Jonathan thy father's sake; and I will restore the lands of Saul thy fa ther; and thou shalt eat bread at my table always. 8 He bowed down to him, and said: Who am 1 thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am? 9 Then the king called Siba the servant of Saul, and said to him: All that belonged to Saul, and all his house, I have given to thy master’s son 10 Thou therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him: and thou shalt bring in food for thy master’s son, that he may be maintain- ed: and Miphiboseth the son of thy master shall al- ways eat bread at my table. And Siba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 And Siba said to the king: As thou my lord the king hast commanded thy servant, so will thy servant do: and Miphiboseth shall eat at my table, as one of the sons of the king. 12 And Miphiboseth had a young son whose name was Micha: and all the kindred of the house of Si- ba served Miphiboseth. 13 But Miphiboseth dwelt in Jerusalem; because he eat always of the king's table: and he was lame of both feet. CHAP. X. The Ammonites, shamefully abuse the ambassadors of I)avid. they hire the Syrians to their assistance : but are overthrown by their allies. NI) it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died; and Hanoi his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said: I will show kindness to Ha- non the son of Daas, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent his servants to comfort him But when the servants of David were come into the land of the children of Ammon, , 3 The princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanon their lord: Thinkest thou that for the honour of thy father, David hath sent comforters to thee; and hath not David rather sent his servants to thee to search, and spy into the city, and overthrow it? 4. Wherefore Hanon, took the servants of David, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut away one half of their garments even to the buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When this was told David, he sent to meet them; for the men were sadly put to confusion: and David commanded them, saying: Stay at Jericho, till your beards be grown; and then return. 6 And the children of Ammon seeing that they Yºr- * Recorder: or Chancellor. Scribe: or Secretary. The Cerethi and Phelsthi. The king's guards. for the death of his father. z->– "Sº * Princes. Literally, priests. Cohen. So called, nour, and not from exercising the priestly functions. by a title of ho- - 244 CHAP. XI. had done an injury to David, sent and hired the Sy- rians of Rohob, and the Syrians of Soba, twenty thousand footmen, and of the king of Maacha a thousand men, and of Istob twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard this, he sent Joab and the whole army of warriors. - 8 And the children of Ammon came out, and set their men in array at the entering in of the gate: but the Syrians of Soba, and of Rohob, and of Istob, and of Maacha were by themselves in the field. 9 Then Joab seeing that the battle was prepared against him, both before and behind, chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10 And the rest of the people he delivered to || Abisai his brother, who set them in array against the children of Ammon. 11 And Joab said: If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children º Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will help thee. - - 12 Be of good courage; and let us fight for our people, and for the city of our God: and the Lord will do what is good in his sight. 13 And Joab and the people that were with him, began to fight against the Syrians: and they imme- diately fled before him. - * - 14 And the children of Ammon seeing that the Syrians were fled, they fled also before Abisai, and entered into the city: and Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 15 Then the Syrians seeing that they had fallen before Israel, gathered themselves together. - 16 And Adarezer sent and fetched the Syrians, that were beyond the river, and brought over their army: and Sobach, the captain of the host of Ada- rezer, was their general. - 17 And when this was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and Came to Helam: and the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought against him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel: and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven hundred cha- riots, and forty thousand horsemen; and smote So- bach the captain of the army, who presently died. 19 And all the kings that were auxiliaries of Ada- lezer, seeing themselves overcome by Israel, were afraid, and fled away eight and fiftv thousand men before Israel. And they made peace with Israel, and served them: and the Syrians were afraid to help the children of Ammon any more. CHAP. XI. (Javid falleth into the crime of adultery with Bethsabee, and nºt finding other means to conceal it, causeth her husband Urias to be slain, then marrieth her, who beareth him a son. A. it came to pass at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth to war, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they spoiled the children of Ammon, and be: sieged Rabba : but David remained in Jerusalem. 2 In the mean time it happened that David arose trom his bed after noon, and walked upon the roof 2-,” - of the king's house. and he saw from the roof of his house awoman washing herself, over-against him and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And the king sent and inquired who the woman was. And it was told him, that she was Bethsabee the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urias the Hethite. 4 And David sent messengers, and took her: and she came in to him, and he slept with her: and pre sently she was purified from her uncleanness: 5 And she returned to her house having conceiv ed. And she sent, and told David, and said: I have conceived. - 6 And David sent to Joab, saying: Send me Urias the Hethite. And Joab sent Urias to David. 7 And Urias came to David. And David asked how Joab did, and the people, and how the war was carried on. - 8 And David said to Urias: Go into thy house. and wash thy feet. And Urias went out from the king’s house: and there went out after him a mess of meat from the king. - 9 But Urias slept before the gate of the king's house, with the other servants of his lord, and went not down to his own house. " * 10 And it was told David by some that said : Urias went not to his house. And David said to Urias: Didst thou not come from thy journey? whv didst thou not go down to thy house? 11 And Urias said to David: The ark of God and Israel and Juda dwell in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide upon the face of the earth: and shall I go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to sleep with my wife f by thy wel- fare, and by the welfare of thy soul, I will not do this thing. - 12 Then David said to Urias: Tarry here to-day. and to-morrow l will send thee away. Urias tal- ried in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And T)avid called him to eat and to drink be-, fore him: and he made him drunk: and he went out in the evening, and slept on his couch with the ser- vants of his lord; and went not down into his house. 14 And when the morning was come, David §. a letter to Joab; and sent it by the hand of Flas, 15 Writing in the letter: Set ye Urias in the front of the battle, where the fight is strongest: and leave ye him, that he may be wounded, and die. 16. Wherefore as Joab was besieging the city, he put Urias in the place where he knew the bravest IIlêIn WeI'é. - 17 And the men coming out of the city, fought against Joab; and there ...i Some of the people of the servants of David; and Urias the Hethite was killed also. 18 Then Joab sent, and told David all things con- cerning the battle. 19 And he charged the messenger, saying: When thou hast told all the words of the battle to the king, 20 Iſ thou see him to be angry, and he shall say: Why did you approach so near to the wall to fight? knew you not that many darts are thrown from above off the wall? S-> 245 II, KINGS. 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerobaal? did no a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, and slew him in Thebes? W. did you go near the wall? Thou shalt say: Thy Sel'Vºl Ilt ū. the Hethite is also slain. 22 So the messenger departed, and came and told David all that Joab had commanded him. 23 And the messenger said to David: The men prevailed against us; and they came out to us into the field: and we vigorously charged and pursued them even to the gave of the city. 24 And the archers shot their arrows at thy ser- vants from off the wall above: and some of the king's servants are slain: and thy servant Urias the I lethite is also dead. 25 And David said to the messenger: Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing discourage thee: for various is the event of war: and sometimes one, sometimes another is consumed by the sword: en- courage thy warriors against the city, and exhort them, that thou mayst overthrow it. 26 And the wife of Urias heard that Urias her husband was dead, and she mourned for him. 27 And the mourning being over David, sent and brought her into his house: and she became his wife, and she bore him a son: and this thing which David had done, was displeasing to the Lord. CHAP. XII. Nathan’s parable. David confesseth his sin, and is forgiven: yet so as to be sentenced to most severe temporal punishments. The death of the child. The birth of Solomon. The taking of Rabbath. 4 AND the Lord sent Nathan to David: and when +\- he was come to him, he said to him: There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor. - 2 The rich man had exceeding many sheep and ſ).XCI) 3 But the poor man had nothing at all but one fittle ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nour- ished up; and which had grown up in his house to- gether with his children, eating of his bread, and łrinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom: and it was unto him as a daughter. * - - 4 And when a certain stranger was come to the rich man, he spared to take of his own sheep and oxen, to make a feast for that stranger, who was come to him, but took the poor man’s ewe, and dress- ed it for the man that was come to him. 5 And David’s anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death. 6 He shall restore the ewe four-fold; because he lid this thing, and had no pity. • * 7 And Nathan said to l)avid: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel: and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul; * - - *w- - | 8 And gave thee thy master's house and thy mas ter’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and Juda: and if these things be little, shall add far greater things unto thee. 9 Why therefore hast thou despised he word of the Lord, to do evil in my sight? Thou hast kill- |ed Urias the Hethite with the sword, and hast takeſ his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Therefore the sword shall never de part from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be thy wiſe. 11 Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will raise" up evil against thee out of thy own house: and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbour: and he shall lie with thy wives ºn the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and in the sight ol the sun. 13 And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David: The Lord hath also taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die. 14 Nevertheless, because thou hast given occa sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee, shall surely die. 15 And Nathan returned to his house. The Lord also struck the child which the wife of Urias had borne to David; and his life was despaired of. 16 And David besought the Lord for the child and David kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the ground. 17 And the ancients of his house came, to make him rise from the ground; but he would not : neither did he eat meat with them. 18. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died ; and the servants of David feared to tell him, that the child was dead. For they said : Behold, when the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how much more will he afflict himself, if we tell him that the child is dead P 19 But when David saw his servants whispering, he understood that the child was dead : and he said to his servants: Is the child dead? They ans- wered him : He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the ground, and wash- ed, and anointed himself; and when he had chang- |ed his apparel, he went into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: and then he came into his owni” house, and he called for bread, and ate. 21, And his servants said to him : What thing is this that thou hast done f thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive: but when the child was dead, thou didst rise up, and eat bread. 22 And he said: While the child was yet alive, | fasted and wept for him : for I said: Who know eth whether the Lord may not give him to me. and the child may live f * I will raise, &c. All these evils, inasmuch as they were punish- ments, came upon David by a just judgment of God, for his sin, and 'tierefore God says, I will raise &c. but inasmuch as they were sins, 246 –- Lºis ==– <--~~~~$1. & Cº. & sº- ~~ - on the part of Absalom and his associates, Ged was not the autho-o. them, but only permitted them Tress CHAP. XIII. 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Shall I be able to bring him back any more ? I shall o to him rather: but he shall not return to me. 24 And David comforted Bethsabee his wife, and went in unto her, and slept with her: and she bore a son ; and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him. 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the pro- phet, and called his name, Amiable to the Lord,” because the Lord loved him. 26 And Joab fought against Rabbath of the chil- dren of Ammon, and laid close siege to the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, saying: I have, fought against Rabbath, and the city of wa- terst is about to be taken. 28 Now therefore gather thou the rest of the peo- ple together, and besiege the city, and take it: lest when the city shall be wasted by me, the victory be ascribed to my name. 29 Then David gathered all the people together, and went out against Rabbath ; and after fighting, he took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, set with most precious stones; and it was put upon David's head : and the spoils of the city which were very great, he carried away. 31 And bringing forth the people thereof, he saw- ed them, and drove over them chariots armed with iron : and divided them with knives, and made them pass through brick-kilns : so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon : and David returned with all the army to Jerusalem. CHAP. XIII. 4mmon ravisheth Thamar: for which Absalom killeth him, and fleeth to Gessur. ND it came to pass after this, that Amnon the A son of favid loved the sister of Absalom the son of David, who was very beautiful, and her name was Thamar. 2 And he was exceedingly fond of her, so that he fell sick for the love of her : for as she was a vir- gin, he thought it hard to do any thing dishonestly with her. 3 Now Amnon had a friend, named Jonadab the son of Semmaa the brother of David, a very wise mau :f 4 And he said to him : Why dost thou grow so lean from day to day, O son of the king f why dost thou not tell me the reason of it f And Ammon said to him. I am in love with Thamar the sister of my hrother Absalom. 5 And Jomadab said to him : Lic down upon thy 'yed, and feign thyself sick : and when thy father shall come to visit thee, say to him : Let my sister hama:, I pray thee, come to me, to give me to eat, * make me a mess, that I may eat it at her all (i. 6 So Amnon lay down, and made as if he were sick: and when the king came to visit him, Am- egº Gº-ººms non said to the king: I pray thee, let my sister Tha. mar come, and make in my sight two little messes, that I may eat at her hand. 7 Then David sent home to Thamar, saying, Come to the house of thy brother Amnon, and make him a mess. 8 And Thamar came to the house of Amnon h brother: but he was laid down ; and she took m and tempered it: and dissolving it in his sight, made little messes. 9 And taking what she had boiled, she poured out, and set it before him : but he would not eat: and Amnon said: Put out all persons from me. And when they had put all persons out, 10 Amnon said to Thamar: Bring the mess in- to the chamber, that I may eat at thy hand. And Thamar took the little messes which she had made, and brought them into her brother Amnon in the chamber. ll And when she had presented him the meat, he took hold of her, and said: Come lie with me, my sister. 12 She answered him : Do not so, my brother, do not force me : for no such thing must be done in Israel. Do not thou this folly. 13 For I shall not be able to bear my shame ; anu thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel : but ra- }. speak to the king, and he will not deny me to thlee. 14 But he would not hearken to her prayers; but being stronger, overpowered her, and lay with her 15 Then Ammon hated her with an exceedin great hatred : so that the hatred where with he . her was greater than the love with which he had loved her before. And Amnon said to her: Arise, and get thee gone. 16 She answered him ; This evil which now thou doest against me, in driving me away, is great- er than that which thou didst before. And he would not hearken to her : 17 But calling the servant that ministered to him he said: Thrust this woman out from me ; an shut the door after her. 18 And she was clothed with a long robe : for the king's daughters that were virgins, used such kind of garments. Then his servant thrust her out, and shut the door after her. 19 And she put ashes on her head, und rent her long robe, and laid her hands upon her head, and went on crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said to her: Hath thy brother Amnon lain with theef but now, sister, hold thy peace; he is thy brother; and afflict not thy heart for this thing. So Thamar remained pining away in the house of Absalom her brother. 21 And when king David heard of these things, he was exceedingly grieved : and he would not af- flict the spirit of his son Amnon, for he loved him, because he was his first-born. 22 But Absalom spoke not to Amnon neither •=º * Arniable to the Lord. Or beloved of the Lord. In Hebrew Jedidiah. # The city of waters. Rabbath the royal city of the Ammonites, was called the city of waters, from being encompassed with waters. That is, a crafty and subtle man: for the coun. f A very wise man. sel he gave on this occasion shews that his wisdom was but carnal and worldly. 247 W. KINGS. good nor evil for Absalom hated Amnon because me had ravished his sister Thamar. ge 23 And it came to pass after two years, that the sheep of Absalom were shorn in Baalhasor, which is near Ephraim : and Absalom invited all the king's sons: 24 And he came to the king, and said to him: Behold, thy servant’s sheep are shorn : let the king, I pray, with his servants come to his servant. 25 And the king said to Absalom : Nay, my son, do not ask that we should all come, and be charge- able to thee. And when he pressed him, and he would not go, he blessed him. 26 And Absalom said : If thou wilt not come, at least let my brother Amnon, I beseech thee, come with us. And the king said to him : It is not necessary that he should go with thee. 27 But Absalom pressed him, so that he let Am- non and all the king’s sons go with him. And Alºon made a feast as it were the feast of a j Ilºſ. 3; And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying : Take notice when Amnon shall be drunk with wine, and when I shall say to you : Strike him, and kill him, fear not: for it is I that command you: take courage, and be valiant men. 29 And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon, as Absalom had commanded them. And all the king's sons arose, and got up every man upon his mule, and fled. * 30 And while they were yet in the way, a rumour came to David, saying: Absalom hath slain all the king's sons ; and there is not one of them left. 31 Then the king rose up, and rent his garments, and fell upon the ground: and all his servants, that stood about him, rent their garments. 32 But Jomadab the son of Semmaa, David’s brother, answering, said: Let not my lord the king think, that all the king's sons are slain : Amnon only is dead ; for he was appointed by the mouth of Absalom from the day that he ravished his sister Thamar. - 33. Now therefore let not my lord the king take this thing into his heart, saying: All the king's sons are slain: for Amnon only is dead. 34. But Absalom fled away : and the young man that kept the watch, lifted up his cyes, and looked : and behold, there came much people by a by-way on the side of the mountain. 35 And Jonadab said to the king: Behold, the King's sons are come: as thy servant said, so it JS. 36 And when he made an end of speaking, the king's sons also appeared : and coming in, they 'ifted up their voice, and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very much. 37 But Absalom ſled, and went to Tholomai the son of Ammiud the king of Gessur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 And Absalom after he was fled, and come in- to Gessur, was there three years. And king David ceased to pursue after Absalom, because he was comforted concerning the death of Amnon. CHAP. XIV. Joab procureth Absalom's return, and his admittance to the king’s presence. AN D Joab the son of Sarvia, understanding that the king’s heart was turned to Absalom, 2 Sent to Thecua, and fetched from thence a wise woman: and said to her : Feign thyself to be c mourner, and put on mourning apparel; and be not anointed with oil, that thou maySt be as a woman that had a long time been mourning for one dead. 3 And thou shalt go in to the king, and shall speak to him in this manner. And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Thecua was come in to the king, she fell before him upon the ground. and worshipped, and said: Save me, O king. . 5 And the king said to her : What is the matter with thee P. She answered: Alas, I am a widow woman; for my husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them : and the one struck the other, and slew him. 7 And behold the whole kindred rising against thy handmaid, saith: Deliver him that hath slain his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he slew, that we may destroy the heir : and they seek to quench my spark which is left, and will leave my husband no name, nor re mainder upon the earth. 8 And the king said to the woman : Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. 9 And the woman of Thecua said to the knng Upon me, my lord, be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father: but may the king and his throne be guiltless. 10 And the king said: If any one shall say aught against thee, bring him to me; and he shal; not touch thee any more. 11 And she said: Let the king remember the Lord his God, that the next of kin be not multiplied to take revenge; and that they may not kill my son. And he said: As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. 12 Then the woman said : Let thy handmaid speak one word to my lord the king. And he said Speak. - 13 And the woman said: Why hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God, and why hath the king spoken this word, to sin, and not bring home again his own exile P 14. We all die; and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth: neither will God have a soul to perish, but recalleth, meaning that he that is cast off should not altogether perish 15 Now therefore I am come to speak this word to my lord the king, before Jhe people. And thy handmaid said: I will speak to the king ; it may be le king will perform the request of his hand. II] all Cls 16 And the king hath hearkened to me to deliv- er his handmaid out of the hand of all that would ------→ {{ . ºs- 2-, *Nº. 248 CHAP. XV. destroy me and my son together out of the inheri- tance of God. 17 Then let thy handmaid say, that the word of my lord the king be made as a sacrifice. For even as an Angel of God, so is my lord the king, that he is neither moved with blessing nor cursing: where- fore the Lord thy God is also with thee. 18 And the king answering, said to the woman: Hide not from me the thing that I ask thee. And the woman said to him, . Speak, my lord the king. 19 And the king said : Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? The woman answered, and said: By the health of thy soul, lord my king, it is ne ther on the left hand, nor on the right in all these things, which my lord the king hath spoken : for thy servant Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy handmaid. 20 That I should come about with this form of speecn, thy servant Joab commanded this: but thou, lord my king, art wise, according to the wisdom of 8.I. Angel of God, to understand all things upon eartſl. 21 And the king said to Joab: Behold, I am ap- peased and have granted thy request: Go, there- fore, and fetch back the boy Absalom 22 And Joab falling down to the ground upon his face, adored, and blessed” the king: and Joab said: This day thy servant hath understood, that I have found grace in thy sight, lord my king: for thou hast fulfilled the request of thy servant. 23 Then Joab arose, and went to Gessur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24. But the king said: Let him return into his house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned into his house, and saw not the king’s face. 25 But in all Israel there was not a man so come- ly, and so exceeding beautiful as Absalom : from the sole of the foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he polled his hair (now he was polled once a year, because his hair was burden- some to him) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred sicles, according to the common weight. 27 And there were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Thamar, and she was very beautiful. 98 And Absalom dwelt two years in Jerusalem, anti saw not the king's face. - 29 He sent there'ore to Joab, to send him to the king: but he would not come to him. And when he had sent the second time, and he would not come to him, 30 He said to his servants: You know the field of Joab near my field, that hath a crop of barley: go now and set it on fire. So the servants of Absa- ſonset the corn onfire. And Joah's servants com- ing with their garments rent, said: The servants of Absalom have set part of the field on fire. 31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to his house, and said: Why have thy servants set my corn on fire? egº, sº * Blessed. That is, praised, and gave thanks to the king. 32 And Absalom answered Joab : I sent to theo beseeching thee to come to me, that I might send thee to the king, to say to him : Wherefore am I come from Gessur ! it had been better for me to be there: I beseech thee therefore that I may see the face of the king: and if he be mindful of my iniqui- ty, let him kill me. 33 So Joab going in to the king, told him all i and Absalom was called for, and he went in to the king, and prostrated himself on the ground before him: and the king kissed Absalom. - CHAP. XV. Absalom's policy and conspiracy. David is obliged to flee. Now after these things. Absalom made himself chariots, and horsemen, and fifty men, to run before him. * ~ * * 2 And Absalom rising up early, stood by the en- trance of the gate: and when any man had business to come to the king’s judgment, Absalom called him to him, and said: Of what city art thou? He answered, and said: Thy servant is of such a tribe of Israel. 3 And Absalom answered him : Thy words seem to me good and just. But there is no man appoint- ed by the king to hear thee. And Absalom said. 4 O that they would make me judge over the land, that all that have business might come to me, that I might do them justice. 5 Moreover when any man came to him to salute him, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kiss- ed him. 6 And this he did to all Israel that came for judg- ment, to be heard by the king: and he enticed the hearts of the men of Israel. 7 And after forty years, Absalom said to king David: Let me go, and pay my vows which I have vowed to the Lord in Hebron. 8 For thy servant made a vow, when he was in Gessur of Syria, saying: If the Lord shall bring me again into Jerusalem, I will offer sacrifice to the Lord. (s 9 And king David said to him: Go in peace. And he arose, and went to Hebron. 10 And Absalom sent spies into all the tribes of Israel, saying: As soon as you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, say ye: Absalom reigneth in Hebron. | 1 Now there went with Absalom two hundred men out of Jerusalem that were called, going with simplicity of heart, and knowing nothing of the de- Slºll. **, Absalom also sent for Achitophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city Gilo. And while he was offering sacrifices, there was a strong con: spiracy; and the people running together increased with Absalom. 13 And there came a messenger, to David, say ing: All Israel with their whole heart followeth Absalom. 14. And David said to his servants that were with him in Jerusalem: Arise, and let us flee: for we shall not escape else from the face of Absaloin make haste to go out, lest he come and overtake & 249 | 7. KINGS. us and bring ruin upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. 15 And the king's servants said to him: What- soever our lord the king shall command, we thy ser- wants will willingly execute. 16 And the king went forth, and all his house- hold, on foot: and the king left ten women his con- ºubines” to keep the house. | 7 And the king going forth and all Israel on foot, stood afar off from the house: 18 And all his servants walked by him: and the bands of the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and all the Gethites, valiant warriors, six hundred men who had followed him from Geth. on foot, went before the king. 19 And the king said to Ethai the Gethite: Why comest thou with us? return and dwell with the king, for thou art a stranger, and art come out of thy own place. 20 Yester lay thou camest; and to-day shalt thou ... he forced to go forth with us P. but I shall go whither I am going: return thou, and take back thy brethren with thee; and the i,ord will show thee mercy, and 21 And Ethai answered the king, saying: As the | ord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth: in what place soever thou shalt be, lord my king, either in death, or in life, there will thy servant be. 22 And David said to Ethai: Come, and pass over. And Ethai the Gethite passed, and all the men that were with him, and the rest of the people. 23 And they all wept with a loud voice; and all the people passed over: the king also himself went over the brook Cedron: and all the people march- ed towards the way that looketh to the desert. 24 And Sadoc the priest also came, and all the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God: and Abiathar went up, till all the people that was come out of the city had done passing. - 25 And the king said to Sadoc: Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find grace in the sight of the Lord, he will bring me again, and he will show me it, and his tabernacle. 26 But if he shall say to me: Thou pleasest me not: I am ready, let him do that which is good be- fore him: 27 And the king said to Sadoc the priest: O seer, return into the city in peace: And let Achimaas thy som, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons, be with you. 28 Behold, I will lie hid in the plains of the wil- derness, till there come word from you to certify me. 29 So Sadoc and Abiathar carried back the ark of God into Jerusalem: and they tarried there. 30 But David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, going up and weeping, walking barefoot, and with his head covered: and all the people that were with him, went up with their heads covered weeping.t * Concubines. That is, wives of an inferior degree. f Weeping, &e. David on this occasion wept for his sins, which he .* - - ----- - - - - - - *- - - - - - - - - --- — 2-ºr-T - -S - - - - - - - - - ----- 3–--> --~~~
Fr-P *** * *- - --> º ~~ knew were the cause of all his sufferings. 250 31 And it was told David that Achitophel also was in the conspiracy with Absalom, and David said: Infatuate, O Lord, I beseech thee, the coun sel of Achitophel. 32 And when David was come to the top of the mountain, where he was about to adore the Lord, behold Chusai the Arachite, came to meet him with his garment rent, and his head covered with earth 33 And David said to him ' If thou come with me, thou wilt be a burden to une: 34. But if thou return into the city, and will say to Absalom: I am thy servant, O king: as I have been thy father’s servant, so I will be thy ser- vant: thou shalt defeat the counsel of Achitophel. 35 And thou hast with thee Sadoc and Abiathar the priests: and what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests. - 36 And there are with them their two sons Achi- maas the son of Sadoc, and Jonathan the son of thing that you shall hear. | 37 Then Chusai the friend of David went into -- i-º-º-º-º-º: |the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem. CHAP. XVI. Siba bringeth provisions to David. Semei curseth him. Ab salom defileth his father’s wives. ND when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Siba the servant of Miphiboseth came to meet him, with two asses, laden with two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs, and a vessel of WIll (2. 2 And the king said to Siba: What mean these things? And Siba answered: The asses are for the king’s household to sit on ; and the loaves and the figs for thy servants to eat, and the wine to drink, if any man be faint in the desert. 3 And the king said: Where is thy master’s son? And Siba answered the king: He remained in Je- rusalem, saying: To-day will the house of Israel re- store me the kingdom of my father. 4 And the king said to Siba: I give thee all that belonged to Miphiboseth. And Siba said: I be- seech thee, let me find grace before thee, lord mykins. 5 And king David came as far as Bahurim ; and behold, there came out from thence a man of the kindred of the house of Saul named Semei, the son of Gera; and coming out he cursed as he went on. 6 And he threw stones at David, and at all the servants of king Dayid: and all the people, and all the warriors walked on the right, and on the left side of the king. 7 And thus said Semei when he cursed the king Come out, coine out, thou man of blood, and thou man of Belial. 8 The Lord hath repaid thee for all the blood of the house of Saul: because thou hast usurped the kingdom in his stead, and the Lord hath given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and be. hold, thy evils press upon thee, because thou art a man of blood. ~ :=- S- CHA l’. XV’ll. 9 And Abisai the son of Sarvia said to the king: Why should this dead dog cºurse my lord the king? I will go, and cut off his head. 10 And the king said: What have l to do with you, ye sons of Sarvia P 1,et him alone, and let him curse: for the Lord hath bid him curse” David : and who is he that shall dare say, why hath i.e done so P 11 And the king said to Abisai, and to all his ser- vants: Behold, my son, who came forth from my wowels, seeketh my life: how much more now a son of Jemini? let him alone, that he may curse as the Lord hath bidden him: 12 Perhaps the Lord may look upon my afflic- tion; and the Lord may render me good for the cursing of this day. - 13 And David and his men with him went by the way. And Semei by the hill’s side, went over against him, cursing and casting stones at him, and scattering earth. 14 And the king and all the people with him came weary, and refreshed themselves there. 15 But Absalom and all his people came into Je- rusalem; and Achitophel was with him. 16 And when Chusai the Arachite, David’s friend, was come to Absalom, he said to him: God save thee, O king; God save thee, O king. 17 And Absalom said to him: Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? 18 And Chusai answered Absalom: Nay: for I will be his, whom the Lord hath chosen, and all this people, and all Israel; and with him will I abide. 19 Besides this, whom shall I serve? is it not the king’s son? as I have served thy father, so will I serve thee also. 20 And Absalom said to Achitophel : Consult what we are to do. 21 And Achitophel said to Absalom: Go in to the concubines of thy father, whom he hath left to keep the house: that when all Israel shall hear that thou hast disgraced thy father, their hands may be strengthenedi with thee. gs 22 So they spread a tent frr Absalom on the top of the house: and he went in to his father’s concu- bines before all Israel. 23 Now the counsel of Achitophel, which he gave ºn those days, was as if a man should consult God: so was all the counsel of Achitophel, both when he was with David, and when he was with Absalom. CHAP. XVII. Achitopel’s counsel is defeated by Chusai ; who sendeth intelli- gence to David. Achitophel hangeth himself ND Achitophel said to Absalom: I will choose +* me twelve thousand men; and I will arise and pursue after David this night. 2 And coming upon him (for he is now weary, | will defeat him: and when all nd weak-handed) * FIsth bid him curse. Not that the Lord was the author of Semei's un, which proceeded purely from his own malice, and the abuse of his free-will; but that knowing and suffering his malicious disposition to break out on this occasion, he ruade use of him as his instrument to pupiah David for his sins. ld ====<= == the people is put to flight that is witn him, I will kill the king who will be left alone. 3 And I will bring back all the people, as if they were but one man: for thou seekest but one man and all the people shall be in peace. 4 And his saying pleased Absalom. and all the ancients of Israel. * 5 But Absalom said: Call Chusai the Arac'hite, and let us hear what he also saith. 6 And when Chusai was come to Absalom, Al, Salom said to him: Achitophel hath spoken aſtel this manner: shall we do it or no? what coul,sel dost thou give? 7 And Chusai said to Absalom: The counsel that Achitophel hath given this time is not good. 8 And again Chusai said: Thou knowest thy fa- ther, and the men that are with him, that they are very valiant, and bitter in their mind, as a bear raging in the wood when her whelps are taken away: and thy |e: is a warrior, and will not lodge with the peo- |)16. w 9 Perhaps he now lieth hid in pits, or in some other place where he listeth : and when any one shall fall at the first, every one that heareth it shall say: There is a slaughter annong the people that ſol- lowed Absalom. w 10 And the most valiant man whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall melt for fear : for all the people of Israel know thy father to be a valiant man, and that all who are with him are valiant. 1 I But this seemeth to me to be good counsels Let all Israel be gathered to thee, from Dan to Ber- Sabee, as the sand of the sea which cannot be num bered: and thou shalt be in the midst of them. 12 And we shall come upon him in what place soever he shall be found: and we shall cover him, as the dew falleth upon the ground : and we shall not leave of the men that are with him not so much 31S OH]6. 13 And if he shall enter into any city, all Israe shall cast ropes round about that city; and we wil. draw it into the river, so that there shall not be found so much as one small stone thereof. 14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said. The counsel of Chusai the Arachite is better than the counsel of Achitophel : and by the will of thr Lord the profitable counsel of Achitophel was de. fººd, that the Lord might bring evil upon Absa. OH]]. 15 And Chusai said to Sadoc and Abathar the priest: Thus and thus did Achitophel counsel Ab- salom and the ancients of Israel: and thus and thus did I counsel them. 16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying: Tarry not this night in the plains of the wilderness; but without delay pass over: lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that is with him. p # Their hands may be strengthened, &c. The people might apprehend lest Absalom should be reconciled to his father, and therefore they followed him with some fear of being left in the lurch, till they saw such a crime committed as seemed to make a reconciliation in pos. sible. 251 II. Ki NGS. 17 And Jonathan and Achimaas stayed by the fountain Rogel : and there went a maid and told them : and they went forward, to carry the message to king David; for they might not be seen, nor enter into the city. 18 But a certain boy saw them, and told Absalom: but they making haste went into the house of a certain man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they went down into it. 19 And a woman took, and spread a covering over the mouth of the well, as it were to dry sodden barley: and so the thing was not known. 20 And when Absalom's servants were come into the house, they said to une woman : Where is Achi- maas and Jonathan P and the woman answered them : They passed on in haste, after they had tast- ed a little water. But they that sought them, when they found them not, returned into Jerusalem. 21 And when they were gone, they came up out of the well, and going on told king David, and said: Arise, and pass ſuickly over the river: for this man- ner of counsel has Achitophel given against you. 22 So David arose, and all the people that were with him ; and they passed over the Jordan, until it grew light ; and not one of them was left that was not gone over the river. 23 But Achitophel seeing that his counsel was not followed, saddled his ass, and arose, and went home to his house and to his city: and putting his house in order, hanged himself; and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. 2]. But David came to the camp :* and Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Is- racl with him. 25 Now Absalom appointed Amasa in Joab's stead over the army : and Amasa was the son of a man who was called Jethra of Jezrael, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Naas, the sister of Sar- via who was the mother of Joab. 26 And Israel camped with Absalom in the land of Galaad. & gº 27 And when David was come to the camp, So- bi the son of Naas of Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammihel of Loda- bar, Berzellai the Galaadite of Rogelim, 28 Brought him beds, and tapestry, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and parch- ed corn, and beans, and lentils, and fried pulse, 29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and fat calves: and they gave to David and the people that were with him, to eat : for they suspected that the 1, ople were faint with hunger and thirst in the wild': aess. CHAP. XVIII. 45se-lon. is defeated, and slain by Joab. David mourneth for him. ND David having reviewed his people, ap- pointed over them captains of thousands and of hundreds, 2 And sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abisai the son of Sarvia, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ethai, who was of Geth: and the king said to the people: I also will go forth with you. 3 And the people answered : Thou shalt not go forth : for if we flee away, they will not much mind us or if half of us should fall, they will not greatly care: for thou alone art accounted for ten thousand : it is better therefore that thou shouldst be in the city H to Succour us. 4 And the king said to them. What seemeth good to you, that will I do. And the king stood by the gate; and all the people went forth by their troops, by hundreds and by thousands. dº º 5 And the king commanded Joab, and Abisai, and Ethai, saying : Save me the boy Absalom. And all the people heard the king giving charge to all the princes concerning Absalom. 6. So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. * 7 And the people of Israel were defeated there by David’s army: and a great slaughter was made that day, of twenty thousand men. 8 And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the country : and fliere were many more of the people whom the forest consumed f than whom the sword devoured that day. 9 And it happened that Absalom met the servants of David, riding on a mule: and as the mule went under a thick and large oak, his head stuck in the oak : and while he hung between the heaven and the earth, the mule on which he rode passed on. 10 And one saw this, and told Joab, saying: I saw Absalom hanging upon an oak. 11 And Joab said to the man that told him : If thou sawest him, why didst thou not stab him to the ground, and I would have given thee ten sicles of silver, and a belt P 12 And he said to Joab : If thou wouldst have laid down in my hands a thousand pieces of silver would not lay my hands upon the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee, and Abisai, and Ethai, saying: Save me the boy Absalom. 13 Yea, and if I should have acted bold'y against my own life, this could not have been hid from the king: and wouldst thou have stood by me P 14 And Joab said: Not as thou wilt, but I will set upon him in thy sight. So he took three lauces in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absa- lom ; and whilst he yet panted for life, sticking on the oak, 15 Ten young men, armour-pearers of Joab, ran up, and striking him slew him. 16 And Joab sounded the trumpet, and kept back the people from pursuing after Israel in their flight, being willing to spare the multitude. 17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the forest: and they laid an exceeding great heap of stones upon him: but all lsrael fled to their own dwellings. • To the camp. The city of Mahanaim, the name of which in He- brew signifies The camp. It was a city of note at that time, as appears from its having been chosen by Isboseth for the place of his residence. † Consumed, viz. by pits and precipices. 352 CHAP XIX. 18. Now Absalom had reared up for himself, in his life-time, a pillar, which is in the king's valley: for he said: I have no son ;” and this shall be the monument of my name. And he called the pillar by his own name, and it is called The hand of Ab- Salom, to this day. 19 And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said: I will run and tell the king, that the Lord hath done judg- ment for him from the hand of his enemies. 20 And Joab said to him: Thou shalt not be the messenger this day, but shalt bear tidings another day: this day. I will not have thee bear tidings; because the king's son is dead. 21 And Joab said to Chusi : Go, and tell the king what thou hast seen. Chusi bowed down to Joab, and ran. 22 Then Achimaas the son of Sadoc said to Joab again: Why might not I also run after Chusif And Joab said to him : Why wilt thou run, my son f thou wilt not be the bearer of good tidings. 23 Heanswered: But what if I run ? And he said to him : Run. Then Achimaas running by a near- er way passed Chusi. 24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman that was on the top of the gate upon the wall, liſting up his eyes, saw a man running alone. & 25 And crying out, he told the king: and the king said : If he be alone, there are good tidings in his mouth. And as he was coming apace, and draw- 1ng nearer, 26 The watchman saw another man running; and crying aloud from above, he said: I see another man running alone. And the king said: He also is good messenger. - 27 And the watchman said: The running of the foremost seemethto melike the running of Achimaas the son of Sadoc, And the king said: He is a good man, and cometh with good news. 28 And Achimaas crying out, said to the king: God save thee, O king. And falling down before the king with his face to the ground, he said: Bles- sed be the Lord thy God, who hath shut up the men º have lifted up their bands against the lord my § 1119. 29 And the king said: Is the young man Absa- lom safe f And Achimaas said: I saw a great tumult, Oking, when thy servant Joab sent me thy servant: - know nothiag else. | 30 And the king said to him : Pass, and stand 16' re. 31. And when he had passed, and stood still, Chusi, appeared: and coming up he said: I bring §ood tidings, lord my king; for the Lord hath judged or thee this day from the hand of all that have risen up against thee. 82, And the king said to Chusi : Is the young man Absalom safe? and Chusianswering him, said: Let the enemies of the Lord my king, and all that rise against him unto evil, be as the young mas lS. 33 The king therefore being much moved, wen up to the high chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went he spoke in this mi mmer : My son Absalom, Absalom my son: who wo ºld f grant me that I might die for thee, Absalom n y son, my son Absalom' CHAP. XIX. David, at the remonstrances of Joab, ceasetn his mourning. He is invited back and met by Semei and Miphiboseth : a strife between the men of Juda and the men of Israel. ND it was told Joab, that the king wept and mourned for his son: 2 And the victory that day was turned into mourn- ing unto all the people: for the people heard say that day: 'The king grieveth for his son 3 And the people shunned the going into the city that day, as a people would do that hath turned their backs, and fled away from the battle. 4 And the king covered his head, and cried with a loud voice: O my son Absalom, O Absalom my son, O my son! 5 Then Joab going into the house to the king, said: Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, that have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines. 6 Thou lovest them that hate thee; and thou hatest them that love thee : and thou hast shewn this day that thou carest not for thy nobles, nor for thy servants: and I now plainly perceive that iſ Ab- Salom had lived, and all we had been slain, then it would have pleased thee. 7 Now therefore arise, and go out, and speak to the satisfaction of thy servants: for I swear to thee by the Lord, that if thou wilt not go forth, there will not tarry with thee so much as one this might and that will be worse to thee than all the evils that have befallen thee from thy youth until now. 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate : and it was told to all the people that the king sat in the ate : and all the people came before the king: but srael fled to their own dwellings. 9 And all the people were at strife in all the tribes of Israel, saying: The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines: and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in the battle: how long are you silent, and bring not back the king? ll And king David sent to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests, saying: Speak to the ancients of Juda, saying: Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? (For the talk of all Israel was come to the king in his house.) * No on. ...The sons mentioned above, chap. xiv. ver, 27. were dead "hen this pillar was erected; unless we suppose he raised this pillar before they were born. **ho would, &c. David lamented the death of Absalom, because º of the wretched state in which he died; and therefore would have been glad to have saved his life, even by dying for him. In which he was a figure of Christ weeping, praying, and dying for his rebell ºus children, and even for them that crucified him. 9ſº 11. Klſ\GS. 12 You are my urethren : you are my bone, and my flesh, why are you the last to bring back the king? 13 And say ye to Amasa: Art not thou Iny bone, and my flesnº So do God to me, and add more, iſ thou be not the chief captain of the army before me always in the place of Joab. 14 And me inclined the heart of all the men of Ju- (la, as it were of one man : and they sent to the king, saying: Return thou, and all thy servants. 15 And the king returned, and came as far as ſie Jordan. and all Juda came as far as Galgal to meet the k.ug, and to bring him over the Jordan. 16 And Semei the son of Gera the son of Jeinini of Bahurin, made laste, and went down with the mºn of Juda to meet king I)avid, 17 With a thousand men of Benjamin, and Siba the servant of the house of Saul: and his ſiſteen Sons, and twenty servants were with him: and going over the Jordan, 18 They passed the fords before the king, that they might help over the king's household, and do according to his commandment. A 10 Semei the son of Gera falling down before the king, when he was come over the Jordan, 19 Said to him: Impute not to me, my lord, the iniquity; nor remember the injuries of thy servant on the day that thou, lord my king, wentest out of Jerusalem; nor lay it up in thy heart, O king. 20 For I thy servant acknowledge my sin: and therefore I am come this day the first of all the house of Joseph, and am come down to meet my lord the king. 21 But Abisai the son of Sarvia answering, said: Shall Semei for these words not be put to death, be- cause he cursed the Lord’s anointed P 22 And David said: What have to do with you, ye sons of Sarvia? why are you a satan this day to me? shall there any man be killed this day in Israel? do not I know that this day I am made king over Israel? 23 And the king said to Semei: Thou shalt not die. And he swore unto him. 24. And Miphiboseth the son of Saul, came down to meet the king: and he had neither washed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his gar- ments, from the day that the king went out, until the day of his return in peace. 25 And when he met the king at Jerusalem, the king said to him: Why camest thou not with me, Mithiboseth? 26 And he answering, said: Lord my king, my servant despised me: for I thy servant spoke to him to saddle me an ass, that I might get on, and go with the king: for I thy servant am lame. 27 Morcover he hath also accused me thy ser- want to thee, my lord the king: but thou my lord the king art as an Angel of God; do what pleaseth thee. 28 For all of my father’s house were no better than worthy of death before my lord the king; and thou hast set me thy servant among the guests of thy ta- ble: what just complaint therefore have I? or what right to cry any more to the king f 29 Then the king said tº, h m: Why speakest thou J -- *H any more? what I have said is determined: thou and Siba divide the possessions. 30 And Miphiboseth answered the king: Yea, let him take all, for as much as my lord the king is returned peaceably into his house. 31 Berzellai also the Galaadite, º; down from Rogelim, brought the king ºver the Jordan, being ready also to wait on him beyond the river. 32 Now Berzellai the Galaadite was of a grew age, that is to say, fourscore years old : and he pro- vided the king with sustenance when he abode in the camp: for he was a man exceeding rich. 33 And the king said to Berzellai: Come with me, that thou mayst rest secure with me in Jerusalem. 34 And Berzellai said to the king: How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am this day fourscore years old: are my senses quick to discern sweet and bitter? or can meat or drink delight thy servant? or can I hear any more - the voice of singing-men and singing-women? why should thy servant be a burden to the Lord my king? 36 I thy servant will go on a little way from the Jordan with thee: I need not this recompense. 37 But I beseech thee let thy servant return, and die in my own city, and be buried by the sepulchre of my father, and of my mother. But the e s thy servant Chamaam, let him go with thee, lord my king; and do to him whatsoever seemeth good to thee 38 Then the king said to him: Let Chamaam go over with me; and I will do for him whatsoeve" shall please thee: and all that thou shalt ask of me, thou shalt obtain. 39 And when all the people and the king had pass. ed over the Jordan, the king kissed Berzellai, and blessed him: and he returned to his own place. 40 So the king went on to Galgal, and Chamaam. with him. Now all the people of Juda had brought the king over, and only half of the people of Israel were there. 41 Therefore all the men of Israel running to. gether to the king, said to him: Why have our bre. thren the men of Juda stolen thee away, and have brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all the men of David with him? . 42 Aid all the men of Juda answered the men of Israel: Because , the king is nearer to me: why art thou angry for this matter f have we eaten any thing of the king’s, or have any gifts been given us? 43 And the men of Israel answered the men ol Juda, and said: I have ten parts in the king more than thou; and David belongeth to me more than tº thee: why hast thou done me a wrong, and why was it not told me first, that I might bring back my king F. And the men of Juda answered more harshly than the men of Israel. CHAP. XX. Setia's rebellion. Amasa is slain by Joab Abela is besieged but upon the citizens casting over the wall the head of Seba, Joab departeth with his army. A. ND there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Seba, the son of Bochri. a CI A l’. XXI. man of Jemim, . and he sounded the trumpet, and said: We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of 1sai: return to thy dwellings, O Israel. 2 And all Israel departed from David, and follow- ed Seba the son of Bochri: but the men of Juda stuck to their king from the Jordan unto Jerusalem. 3 And when the king was come into his house at Jerusalem, he took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, allowing them provisions: and he went not in unto them; but they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood. 4 And the king said to Amasa: Assemble to me all the men of Juda against the third day; and be thou here present. 5. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Juda: but he tarried beyond the set time which the king had appointed him. 6 And David said to Abisai: Now will Seba the son of Bochri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou therefore the servants of thy lord, and pur- sue after him, lest he find fenced cities, and escape U. S. 7 So Joab's men went out with him, and the Ce- rethi, and the Phelethi: and all the valiant men went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Seba the son of Bochri. 8 And when they were at the great stone which is in Gabaon, Amasa coming met them. And Joab had on a close coat of equal length with his habit; and over it was girded with a sword hanging down to his flank, in a scabbard, made in such manner as to come out with the least motion, and strike. 9 And Joab said to Amasa: God save thee, my rother And he took Amasa by the chim with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amiasa did not take notice of the sword, which Joab had: and he struck him in the side, and shed out his boweis to the ground, and gave him not a second wound; and he died. And Joab, and Abisai his brother pursued after Seba the son of Bochri. ll. In the mean time some men of Joab’s com- any stopping at the dead body of Amasa, said: Be- hold he that would have been in Joaki's stead the companion of David. 12 And Amasa embrued with blood, lay in the midst of the way. A certain man saw this that all the people stood still to look upon him; so he re- moved Amasa out of the high-way into the field, and covered him with a garment, that they who pass- cq might not stop on his account. 13 And when he was removed out of the way, all the people went on following Joab to pursue after Seba the son of Bochri. - 14 Now he had passed through all the tribes of Isrºl unto Abela and Bethma; chu:* and all the chosen men were gathered together unto him. 15 And they came, and besieged him in Abela, and in Bethmaacha: and they cast up works round the city: and the city was besieged: and all the &ºm. - - * ºbela and Bethmaucha. Cities of the tribe of Nephtall people that were with Joab, laboured to throw down the walls. 16 And a wise woman cried out from the city. Hear, hear, and say to Joab: Come near hither, and I will speak with thee. 17 And when he was come near to her, she said to him: Art thou Joab P And he answered: I am And she spoke thus to him: Hear the words of thv handmaid. He answered: I do hear. 18 And she again said: A saying was used in the old proverb: They that inquire, let them inquire in Abela: and so they made an end. 19 Am not I she that answer truth in Israel, and thou seekest to destroy the city, and to overthrow a mother in Israel? Why wilt thou throw down the inheritance of the Lord? 20 And Joab answering, said: God forbid, God forbid that I should; I do not throw down, nor de- Stroy. 21 The matter is not so; but a man of mount Ephraim, Seba the son of Bochri by name, hath liſt- ed up his hand against king David: deliver him only, and we will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab: Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee from the wall. 22 So she went to all the people, and spoke to them wisely: and they cut off the head of Seba the son of Bochri, and cast it out to Joab. And he sound- ed the trumpet: and they departed from the city, every one to their home : and Joab returned to Je- rusalem to the king. 23 So Joab was over all the army of Israel: and Banaias the son of Joiada was over the Cerethites and Phelethites: 24. But Aduram over the tributes: and Josaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder. 25 And Siva was scribe: and Sadoc and Abia. thar, priests. 26 And Ira the Jairite was the priest of David. CHAP. XXI. A famine of three years, for the sin of Saul against the Gaba on- ites, at whose desire seven of Saul’s race are crucified. JVar again with the Philistines. ND there was a famine in the days of David for three years successively: and David consulted the oracle of the Lord: And the Lord said : It is for Saul, and his bloody house, became he slew the Ga. baonites. 2 Then the king calling for the Gabaonites, said to them. (Now the Gabaonites were not of the chil- drem of Israel, but the remains of the Amorrhites: and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to slay them out of zeal, as it were fol the children of Israel and Juda.) 3 David therefore said to the Gabaonites: What shall I do for you? and what shall be the atonement for you, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord? 4 And the Gabaonites said to him: We have no contest about silver and gold, but against Saul and against his house: neither do we desire that any map ? 5 II. KlWGS be slain of Israel. And the king said to them : What will you then that I should do for you? 5 And they said to the king: The man that crush- ed us and oppressed us unjustly, we must destroy in such manner that there be not so much as one eft of his stock in all the coasts of Israel. 6 Let seven men of his children be delivered unto us, that we may crucify them to the Lord in Gabaa of Saul, once the chosen of the Lord. And the king said: I will give them. 7 And the king spared Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord, that had been between David and Jona- than the son of Saul. - 8 So the king took the two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni, and Miphiboseth; and the five sons of Michol” the daughter of Saul. whom she bore to Hadriel the son of Berzellai, that was of Molathi, 9 And gave them into the hands of the Gabaon- ites: and they crucified them on a hill before the Lord : and these seven died together in the first days º the harvest, when the barley began to be reap- C(l. 10 And Respha the daughter of Aia took hair- cloth, and spread it under her upon the rock from the beginning of the harvest, till water drópped upon them out of heaven: and suffered neither the birds to tear them by day, nor the beasts by night. ll And it was told David, what Respha the daughter of Aia, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabes Galaad, who had stolen them from the street of Bethsan, where the Philistines had hanged them when they had slain Saul in Gelboe. 13 And he brought from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son: and they gather- ed up the bones of them that were crucified. 14 And they buried them with the bones of Saul, and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in the side, in the sepulchre of Cis his father: and they did all that the king had commanded: and God showed mercy again to the land after these things. 15. And the Philistines made. war again against Israel: and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David growing faint, 16 Jesbibenob, who was of the race of Arapha, ſhe iron of whose spear weighed three hundred ounces, being girded with a new sword, attempted to kill băvić: 17 And Abisai the son of Sarvia rescued him, and striking the Philistine killed him. Then David’s men swore unto him, saying: Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, lest thou put out the lamp of !srael. !8 Tuere was also a second battle in Gob against *=mºus * * =sr- * Of Michol. They were the sons of Merok who was married to liadriel : , but they are here called the sons of Michol, because she adopted theim and brought them up as her own the Philistines: then Sobochai of Husathi slew Sapa of the race of Arapha of the family of the giants 19 And there was a third battle in Gob agains the Philistines, in which Adeodatus the son of the Forestſ an embroiderer of Bethlehem slew Goliath the Gethite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 A fourth battle was in Geth; where there was a man of great stature, that had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, four and twenty in all, and he was of the race of Arapha. 21 And he reproached Israel: and Jonathan the son of Samaa the brother of David slew him. 22. These ſour were born of Arapha in Geth. and they fell by the hand of David, and of his ser- VarltS. - CHAP. XXII. King David’s psalm of thanksgiving for his deliverance from all his enemies. AN D David spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: 2 And he said: The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my saviour. 3. God is my strong one, in him will I trust: Iny shield, and the horn of my salvation: he lifteth me up, and is my refuge: my saviour, thou wilt delive me from iniquity. 4 I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised: and I shall be saved from my enemies. 5 For the pangs of death have surrounded me the floods of Beliel have made me afraid. 6 The cords of hell compassed me: the snares of death prevented me. - 7 In my distress I will call upon the Lord; and I will cry to my God: and he will hear my voice out of his temple; and my cry shall come to his ears. 8 The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and shaken, because he was angry with them. - 9 A smoke went up from his nostrils, and a de vouring fire out of his mouth: coals were kindled by it 10 He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 11 And he rode upon the cherubims, and flew, and siid upon the wings of the wind. - 12 He made darkness a covering round about him: dropping waters out of the clouds of the heavens. 13. By the brightness before him, the coals of fire were kindled. 14 The Lord shall thunder from heaven: and the most High shall give forth his voice. 15 He shot arrows, and scattered them lightning and consumed them. 16 And the overflowings of the sea appeared. and # Adeodatus the son of the Forest So it is rendered in the Latin Vul gat, by giving the interpretation of the Hebrew names which are El. hanan the son of Jaare. w - - 256 CHAP. XXIII. the foundations of the world wºre laid open at the re- huke of the Lord, at the blast of the spirit of his wrath. 17 He sent from on high, and took me, and drew ume out of many waters. 18 He delivered me from my most mighty enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. tº º 19. He prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my stay. 20 And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because I pleased him. 21 The Lord will reward me according to my instice: and according to the cleanness of my hands he will render to me. 22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his judgments are in my sight: and his precepts I have not removed from me. 24. And I shall be perfect with him; and shall keep myself from my iniquity. 25 And the Lord will recompense me according to my justice: and according to the cleanness of my mands in the sight of his eyes. 26 With the holy one thou wilt be holy; and with the valiant perfect. 27 With the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted. 28 And the poor people thou wilt save: and with thy eyes thou wilt humble the haughty. 29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and thou, O Lord, wilt enlighten my darkness. 30 For in thee I will run girded: in my God I will leap over the wall. 31 God, his way is immaculate; the word of the º is tried by fire: he is the shield of all that trust *ll ſl 1 (I). 32 Who is God but the Lord: and who is strong but our God? - 33 God who hath girded me with strength, and made my way perfect. 34 Making my feet like the feet of harts, and set- ting me upon my high places. 35 He teacheth my hands to war: and maketh my arms like a bow of brass. 36 Thou hast given me the shield of my salvation: and thy mildness hath multiplied me. 37 Thou shalt enlarge my steps under me: and my ankles shall not fail. 38 I will pursue after my enemies, and crush them; and will not return again till I consume them. 39 I will consume them, and break them in pieces, so that they shall not rise: they shall fall under my feet. 40 Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: thou hast made them that resisted me to bow under me. 4l My enemies thou hast made to turn their back to me; them that hated me, and I shall destroy them. 42 They shall cry, and there shall be none to sa to the Lord, and he shall not hear them. 43 I shall beat them as small as the dust of the earth; I shall crush them, and spread them abroo.) like the mire of the streets. 44 Thou wilt save me from the contradictions of my people: thou wilt keep me to be the head of the Gentiles: the people which I know not, shall serve me 45 The sons of the stranger will resist me. at the hearing of the ear they will obey me. 46 The strangers are melted away, and shall be straightened in their distresses. - 47 The Lord liveth; and my God is blessed: and the strong God of my salvation shall be exalted. 48 God who givest me revenge, and bringest down people under me: .49 Who bringest me forth from my enemies, and liſtest me up from them that resist me; from the wicked man thou shalt deliver me. 50 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name; 51 Giving great salvation to his king, and showing mercy to David his anointed, and to his seed for ever CHAP. XXIII. The last words of David. A catalogue of his valiant men. NTOW these are David's last words. David the son of Isai said: The man to whom it was ap- pointed concerning the Christ of the God of Jacob, the excellent psalmist of Israel said: 2 The Spirit of the Lord hath spoken by me, and his word by my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said to me, the strong one of Israel spoke, the ruler of men, the just ruler in the fear of God. 4. As the light” of the morning, when the sun riseth, shineth in the morning without clouds, and as the grass springeth out of the earth by rain; 5 Neither is my housef so great with God, that he should make with me an eternal covenant, firm in all things and assured. For he is all my salvation, and all my will: neither is there aught thereof that springeth not up. 6 But transgressors shall all of them be plucked up as thorns, which are not taken away with hands. 7 And if a man will touch them, he must be arm- ed with iron, and with the staff of a lance: but they shall be set on fire, and burnt to nothing. - 8 These are the names of the valiant men of Da- vid. Jesbahamſ sitting in the chair was the wisest chief among the three: he was like the most tendel little worm of the wood, who killed eight hundred men at Olle OnSet. O 9. After him was Eleazer the son of Dodoš the Ahohite, one of the three valiant men that were with David when they defied the Philistines, and they were there gathered together to battle. * As the light, &c. So shall be the kingdom of Christ. | Neither is my house, &c. As if he should say: This everlasting co- venant was not due to my house; but purely owing to his bounty, who is all my salvation, and my will ; that is, who hath always saved me. and granted me what I beseeched of him ; so that I and my house, through his blessing, have sprung up, and succeeded in all things. : Jesbahain, the son of Hachamoni. For this was the name of this bºro, as appears from 1 Chron xl. JMost tender, &c. He appeared like one tender and weak, but was indeed most valiant and strong." ſt seems the Latin has here given the interpretation of the Hebrew name of the hero, to whom Jesbahan was like, instead of the name it self, which was Adino the Ezuite, one much renowned of old for his valour # Dodo In Latin, Patrui ejus, which is the interpretation of the Hebrew name Dodo. The same occurs in ver. 24. % N II. KINGS. 10 And when the men of Israel were gone away, he stood and smote the Philistines till his hand was weary, and grew stiff with the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day: and the people that were there fled away, returned to take spoils of them that were slain. - 11 And after him was Semma the son of Age of Arari. And the Philistines were gathered together in a troop: for there was a field full of lentils. And when the people were fled from the face of the Philistines, 12 He stood in the midst of the field, and defend- ed it, and defeated the Philistines: and the Lord gave a great victory. 13 Moreover also before this the three who were princes among the thirty, went down and came to David in the harvest time into the cave of Odol- lam: and the camp of the Philistines was in the valley of the giants. 14, And David was then in a hold: and there . a garrison of the Philistines then in Bethle- ) (* [I] . k 15 And David longed, and said: O that some man would give me a drink of the water out of the cistern, that is in Bethlehem by the gate. 16 And the three valiant men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the cistern of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and brought it to David: but he would not drink, but of ſered it to the Lord, 17 Saying: The Lord be merciful to me, that I may not do this: shall I drink the blood of these men that went, and the peril of their lives? therefore he would not drink. T. things did these three mighty men. 18 Abisai also the brother of Joab the son of Sar- via, was chief among three: and he lifted up his spear against three hundred, whom he slew : and he was renowned among the three, 19 And the noblest of three, and was their chief: but to the three first he attained not. 20 And Banaias the son of Joiada a most valiant inan, of great deeds, of Cabscel: he slew the two lions of Moab; and he went down, and slew a lion in the midst of a pit, in the time of sliow. 2! He also slew an Egyptian, a man worthy to be a sight, having a spear in his hand : but he went down to him with a rod, and forced the spear out of the hand of the Egyptian, and slew him with his own spear. 22 These things did Banaias the son of Joiada. 23 And he was renowned among the three va- fiant men, who were the most honourable among the thirty : but he attained not to the first three: and l), vid made him of his privy council. 24. Asael the brother of Joab was one of the thirty, Elehanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Seunma of Harodi, Elica of Harodi, 26 Heles of Phalti, Hira the son of Acces of Thecua, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mohonnai of Husati, 28 Selmon the Ahobite, Maharai the Netopha- hite, 29 Heled the son of Baana, also a Netoſ hathite, Ithai the son of Ribai of Gabaath of Ine children of Benjamin, tº e 30 Banaia the Pharathonite, Heddai of the tor- rent Gaas, 31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Beromi, 32 Eliaba of Salaboni. The Sons of Jassen, Jona- than 33 Semma of Orori, Aliam the son of Sarar the Arorite, tº gº 34 Eliphelet the son of Aashai the son of Macha- ti, Eliam the son of Achitophel the Gelonite, 35 Hesrai of Carmel, Pharai of Arbi, 36 Igaal the son of Nathan of Soba, Bonni of Gadi, 37 Selec of Ammoni, Naharai the Berothite, ar- mour-bearer of Joab the son of Sarvia, 38 Ira the Jethrite, Gareb also a Jethrite 39 Urias the Hethite; thirty and seven in all. CHAP. XXIV. David numbereth the people: God send th a pestilence, which is stopt by David’s prayer and sacrifice. ND the anger of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and stirred up * jºid among them, saying: Go, number Israel and Juda. 2 And the king said to Joab the general of his army : Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Bersabee : and number ye the people, that I may know the number of them. 3 And Joab said to the king: The Lord thy God increase thy people, and make them as many more as they are now; and again multiply them a hun- dred-fold in the sight of my lord the king: but what meaneth my lord the king by this kind of thing : - *But the king’s words prevailed over the words of Joab, and of the captains of the army: and Joab, and the captains of the soldiers went out from the ºute of the king, to number the people of Is- Tºl (*1. 5 And when they had passed the Jordan, they came to Aroer to the right side of the city, which is in the vale of Gad. 6 And by Jazer they passed into Galaad, and to the lower land of Hodsi; and they came into the woodlands of Dan. And going about by Sidon, 7 They passed near the walls of Tyre, and all the land of the Hewite, and the Chanaanite, and they came to the south of Juda into Bersabee: 8 And having gone through the whole land, aſ ter nine months and twenty days, they came to Jeſu salem. 9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number o the people to the king : and there were found of Is rael eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and of Juda five hundred thousand fight ing men. - 10 But David's heart struck him, after the people * Stirred up, &e. This stirring up was not the doing of God, but vi Satan; as it is expressly declared 1 Chron Kxi. 1. 258 CHAP. I. were numbered :* and David said to the Lord: l nave sinned very much in what I have done: but I pray thee, O Lord, to take away the iniquity of thy servant, because I have done exceeding fool- tshly. † And David arose in the morning: and the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet and the seer of David, saying: 12 Go, and say to David: Thus saith the Lord : I give thee thy choice of three things: choose one of (hem which thou wilt, that I may do it to thee. 13 And when Gad was come to David, he told him, saying: Either seven years of famine shall come to thee in thy land: or thou shalt flee three months before thy adversaries, and they shall pur- sue thee: or for three days there shall be a pesti- lence in thy land. Now therefore deliberate, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. 14 And David said to Gad: I am in a great strait: but it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men. 15 And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning unto the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan to Bersabee seventy thousand men. 16 And when the Angel of the Lord had stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord had pity on the affliction; and said to the Angel that slew the people: It is enough : now hold thy hand. And the Angel of the Lord was by the thrashing- floor of Areuna the Jebusite. * David's heart struck him after the º: were numbered. That is, he was touched with a great remorse for the vanity and pride which had put him upón numbering the people. 17 And David said to the Lord, when he saw the Angel striking the people: it is I, I am he that have sinned; I have done wickedly : these that are the sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I beseech thee, be turned against me, and against my father's house. 18 And Gad came to David that day, and said: Go up, and build an altar to the Lord in the thrash- ing floor of Areuna the Jebusite. 19 And David went up according to the word ol Gad, which the Lord had commanded him. 20 And Areuma looked, and saw the king and his servants coming towards him : 21 And going out he worshipped the king, bow- ing with his face to the earth, and said: Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said to him: To buy the thrashing floor of thee, and build an altar to the Lord, that the plagu e, which rageth among the people, may cease. 22 And Areuna said to David: Let my lord the king take, and offer, as it seemeth good to him: thou hast here oxen for a holocaust, and the wain, and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 All these things Areuna as a king gave to the king: and Areuna said to the king: The Lord thy God receive thy vow. 24 And the king answered him, and said: Nay, but I will buy it of thee at a price; and I will not offer to the Lord my God holocausts free-cost. So David bought the floor, and the oxen, for fifty sicles of silver: - 25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered holocausts and peace-offerings: and the Lord became merciful to the land; and the plague was stayed from Israel. THE THIRD BOOIK OF EQINGS. This and the following book are called by the holy fathers the third and fourth book of Kings; but by the Hebrews the first and second. . They contain the history of the kingdoms of Is- rael and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon, to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seems most pro- bable they were not written by one man, nor at one time : but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who re- corded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralipomenon, alias 2 Chronicles ix. 29. xii. 15. xiii. 22. xx. 34. xxvi. 22. xxxii. 32. CHAP. l. &ing David growing old, Abisag a Sunamitess is brought to him. Adonias pretending to reign, Nathan and Bethsabee obtain that Solomon should be declared and anointed king. Now king David was old, and advanced in years: and when he was covered with clothes, he was not warm. 2 His servants therefore said to him: Let us seek for our lord the king a young virgin; and let her stand before the king, and cherish him, and sieep in his bosom, and warm our lord the king. 3 So they sought a beautiful young, woman in all the coasts of Israel: and they found Abisaga Sun- amitess, and brought her to the king. 4 And the damsel was exceeding beautiful: and she slept with the king, and served him; but the king did not know her. o 5 And Adonias the son of Haggith exalted him. self, saying: I will be king. And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before III]. 6 Neither did his father rebuke him at any time. saying: Why hast thou done this? And he also was very beautiful, the next in birth after Absalom. 7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Saivia, and with Abiathar the priest, who furthered Ado- mias’s side. 8 But Sadoc the priest, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Semei, and |Adonias. Rei, and the strength of David's army was not with 259 R 17 *— ====<== = --> ...sº N III. KINGS. 9 And Adonias having slain rams and calves, and all ſat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which was near the fountain Rogel, invited all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Juda the king's 3(ºr Van tS ’ 10 But Nathan the prophet, and Banalas, and all the valiant men, and Solomon his brother he invited not, ii"And Nathan said to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon : Hast thou not heard that Adonias the son of Haggiſh reigneth, and our lord David knoweth it In Ot 12 Now then come, take my counsel, and save thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon. I 13 Go, and get thee into king David, and say to him: Didst thou not, my lord Oking, swear to me thy handmaid, saying: Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit in my throne P why then doth Adonias reign f 14 And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come in after thee, and will fill up thy words. 15 So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber: now the king was very old ; and Abisag the Sunamitess ministered to him. 16 Bethsabee bowed herself, and worshipped the king. And the king said to her : What is thy will P 17 She answered and said: My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid by the Lord thy God, say- ing: Solomon thy son shall reign after me ; and he shall sit on my throne. 18 And behold, now Adonias reigneth : and thou, my lord the king, knowest nothing of it. 19 He hath killed oxen, and all fat cattle, and many rams, and invited all the king’s sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the general of the army; but Solomon thy servant he invited not. 20 And now my lord, O king, the eyes of all Is- racl are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them who ||h shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee. 21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 22 As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came. 23 And they told the king, saying: Nathan the prophet is here. And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing down to the ground, 24 Nathan said: My lord, O king, hast thou said: Let Adonias reign after me, and let him sit upon my throne f - 25 Because he is gone down to-day, and hath killed oxen, and fatlings, and many rams, and invit- Pd all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest : and they are eating and drinking before him, and saying: God save king Adonias: 26 But me thy servant, and Sadoc the priest, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and Solomon thy servant, he hath not invited. - 27 Is this word come out from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me thy servant who should sit on the throne of my lord thºing after him P 28 And king David answered, and said: Call to me Bethsabee. And when she was come in tº the king, and stood before him, © 29 The king swore, and said: As the Loru liveth, who hath delivered my soul out of all distress, 30 Even as I, swore to thee, by the Lord the God of Israel, saying: Solomon thy son shall, reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, so will I do this day. 3] And Bethsabee bowing with her face to the earth, worshipped the king, saying: May my lord David live for ever. 32 King David also said: Call me Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaias the son of Joiada. And when they were come in before the king, 33 He said to them : Take with you the ser vants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my mule; and bring him to Gihon. 34 And let Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and you shall sound the trumpet, and shall say: God save king Solomon. 35 And you shall come up after him: and he shall come, and shall sit upon my throne; and he shall reign in my stead : and I will appoint him to be ruler over lsrael and over Juda. - - 36 And Banaias the son of Joiada answered the king, saying: Amen: so say the Lord the God of my lord the king. - 37 As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his throme higher than the throne of my lord king David. 38 So Sadoc the priest, and Nath..an the prophet went down, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gi- OIl. 39 And Sadoc the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God save king Solomon. - 40 And all the multitude went up after him: and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy: and the earth rang with the noise of their cry. 41 And Adonias, and all that were invited by him heard it, and now the feast was at an end: Joab also hearing the sound of the trumpet, said: What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar 2 42 While he yet spoke, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came : And Adonias said to him : Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news. 43 And Jonathan answered Adonias: Not so : § our lord king David hath appointed Solomon 1Ilg, 44 And hath sent with him Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaias the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi; and they have set him upon the king’s mule. 45 And Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the pro- phet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they w • * $ 3.” • *: 35"::"…tº 3. [...sº ##: ..- * : , - -- CHAP. II. are gone up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that you have heard. oreover Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the kingdom. - 47 And the king’s servants going in, have blessed our lord king David, saying : May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored in his bed: 48 And he said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes Seeing it. 49 Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid: and they all arose, and every man went his way. 50 And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose, and went, and took hold on the horn of the altar. 51 And they told Solomon, Saying: Behold, Adonias, fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not kill his ser- vant with the sword. 52 And Solomon said: If he be a good man, ..here shall not so much as one hair of his head fall É the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall Ulle. 53 Then king Solomon sent and brought him out from the altar: and going in he worshipped king iºn: and Solomon said to him : Go to thy OUIS62, CHAP. II. David, after giving his last charge to Solomon, dieth. Adonias ; put to death ; Abiathar is banished: Joab na Semei are SºCl272, AN D the days of David drew nigh that he should die: and he charged his son Solomon, saying: 2 I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage, and show thou thyself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and observe his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses: that thou mayst un- derstand all thou doest, and whithersoever thou shalt turn thyself: 4 That the Lord may confirm his words, which he hath spoken of me, saying: If thy children shall take heed to their ways, and shall walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from thee a man on the throne of Israel. 5 Thou knowest also what Joab.” the son of Sarvia hath done to me; what he did to the two captains of the array of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to hellf in peace. 7 But show ºãº to the sons of Berzellai the * Joab. These instructions given by David to his son, with relation to Joab and Semei, proceeded not from any rancour of heart, or private pique, b it from a zeal for justice that crimes so public and heinous might aot pass unpunished Galaadite, and let them eat at thy table: for they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom thy brother. 8 Thou hast also with thee Semei the son of Gera, the son of Jemini of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to the camp; but because he came down to meet me when I pas sed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord *}”; I will not kill thee with the sword: 9. Do not thou hold him guiltless. But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him : and | shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood tº. € 1. 10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11 And the days that David reigned in Israel, were forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years; in Jerusalem thirty-three. 12 And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David: and his kingdom was strengthened ex- ceedingly. 13 And Adonias the son of Haggith came to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon. And she said to him : Is thy coming peaceable P He answered Peaceable. 14 And he added: I have a word to speak with thee. She said to him: Speak. And he said: 15 Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had preferred me to be their king : but the kingdom is transferred, and is become my bro ther’s : for it was appointed him by the Lord. 16 Now therefore I ask one petition of thee; turn not away my face. And she said to him : Say on. 17 And he said: I pray thee speak to king Solo- mon (for he cannot deny thee any thing) to give me Abisag the Sunamitess to wife. 18 And Bethsabee said: Well, l will speak for thee to the king. 19 Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king’s mother and she sat on his right hand. 20 And she said to him : I desire one small peti tion of thee; do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother ask: for I must not turn away thy face. 21 And she said: Let Abisag the Sunamitess ºw: given to Adonias thy brother to wife. 22 And king Solomon answered, and said to his mother: Why dost thou ask Abisag the Sunamites" for Adonias? ask for him also the kingdom : for he is my elder brother, and hath Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Sarvia. 23 Then king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying So and so may God do to me, and add more, iſ ºniº hath not spoken this word against his own II62, 24 And now as the Lord liveth, who hath esta. # To hell. This word hell doth not here signify the place or state of damnation; but the place and state of the dead. 261 —º r – º 'º, • * , -º-; F. sº - 3. * * * * * r * * *z . ~ * * * ". . ººrrºr -- . -: * > * - - - -, ºr * * *. r - - ... " - - 111. KlNGS. plished me, and placed me upon the thronſ of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised. Adonias shall be put to death this ay 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Ba- naias the son of Joiada, who slew him, and he died. 26 And the king said also to Abiathar the priest: Go to Anathoth to thy lands; for indeed thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst carry the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and hast endured trouble in all the troubles my father endured. 27 So Solomon cast out Abiathar, from being the riest of the Lord, that the word of the Lord might e fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Silo. 28 And the news came to Joab, because Joab had turned after Adonias, and had not turned after Soiomon: and Joab fied into the tabernacie of the Lord, and took hold on the horn of the altar. 29 And it was told king Solomon, that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and was by the altar: and Solomon sent Banaias the son of Joiada, saying: Go, kill him. 30 And Banaias came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him : Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said: I will not come forth; but here will die. Banaias orought word back to the king, saying: Thus saith Joab, and thus he answered me. 31 And the king said to him: Do as he hath said: and kill him, and bury him, and thou shalt remove the innocent blood which hath been shed by Joab, from me, and from the house of my father. 32 And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, because he murdered two men, just and better than himself: and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing it, Abner the son of Ner, general of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, general of the army of Juda. 33 And their blood shall return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever. But to David, and his seed, and his house, and to his throne, be peace for ever from the Lord. 3| So Banaias the son of Joiada went up, and setting upon him slew him: and he was buried in his house in the desert. 35 And the king appointed Banaias the son of Joiada in his room over the army: and Sadoc the priest he put in the place of Abiathar. 36 The king also sent, and called for Semei, and said to him Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there: and go not out from thence any whither. 37 For on what day soever thou shalt go out, and shalt pass over the brook Cedron, know that thou shalt be put to death : thy blood shall be upon thy own head : 38 And Semei said to the king: The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy ser- 㺠do. And Semei dwelt in Jerusalem many ayS. 39 And it came to pass after three years, that the servants of Semei ran away to Achis the son of Maacha the king of Geth: and it was told Semei, that his servants were gone to Geth. . . . - 40 And Semei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Achis to Geth, to seek his servants: and he brought them out of Geth. © 41 And it was told Solomon that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and was come back, 42 And sending he called for him, and said to him: Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before : On what day soever thou shalt go out, and walk abroad any whither, know that thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is good. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I laid upon thee? 44 And the king said to Semei: Thou knowest aii the evil, of which thy heari is conscious, whi thou didst to David my father: the Lord hath re- turned thy wickedness upon thy own head : 45 And king Solomon shall be blessed: and the throme of David shalfbe established before the Lord for ever. 46 So the king commanded Banaias the son of Joiada; and he went out, and struck him ' and he died. CHAP. III. Solomon marrieth Pharao's daughter. He sacrifices in Gabaon. in the choice which God gave him, he preferreth wisdom. His wise judgment between the two harlots. AN D the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon: and he made affinity with Pha- rao the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 2. But yet the people sacrificed in the high places:* for there was no temple built to the name of the Lord until that day. - 3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David his father; only he sacrificed in the high places, and burnt incense. 4. É. went therefore to Gabaon, to sacrifice there: for that was the great high place: a thousand victims for holocausts did Solomon offer upon that altar in Gabaon. 5 And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee. - 6 And Solomon said: Thou hast shewn great mercy to thy servant David my father, even as he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and , thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father. and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in. • High ſº That is, altars where they worshºped the Lord, but aot according to the ordinance of the law; which allowed of no other places for sacrifice but the temple of God. Among these high places ſº U T-----e. —2 a 2-T - - Lº- that of Gabaon was the chiefest, because there was the tabernacle º the testimony, which had been removed from Silo to Nobe, and from Nobe to Gabaon. ** * . . . . Yaº & ºr ---ºº: ++ xsº:*::::->Esz:Tºº *** * : * ~ *g, *:::::::::::::: gº º - - ‘. . . - . . . .” - - - . . . ." ". . . . . . . . " ... ... : - - - -. --- l- ? – 1- - - - L WW II |U| || * CHAP. IV. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of the people whis h thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people thy people which is so numerous. 10 And the word was pleasing to the Lord that Solomon had asked such a thing. - 11 And the Lord said to Solomon: Because thou mast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thy- self long life nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern judg- lmſ?nt 12' Behold, I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understand- ing heart; insomuch that there hath been no one like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee. 13 Yea, and the things also which thou didst not ask, I have given thee : to wit, riches and glory, so that no one hath been like thee annong the kings in all days heretofore. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my precepts and my commandments, as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days. 15 And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream : and when he was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered Holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace-offerings, and made a great feast for all his ServantS. 16 Then there came two women that were har- lots, to the king, and stood before him : 17 And one of them said: I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the chamber. 18. And the third day, after that I was delivered, she also was delivered; and we were together, and no other person with us in the house, only we two. 19 And this woman’s child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid him. 20 And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I thy handmaid was asleep, and laid it in her bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead : but considering him more diligently when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore. 22 And the other woman answered : It is not so as thou sayest: but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary she said: Thou liest: for my child liveth; and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king. 23 Then said the king: The one saith: My child is alive; and thy child is dead. And the other an- swerctii: Nay, but thy child is dead; and mine liveth. 24. The king therefore said : Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king, * †iathar. By this it appears that Abiathar was not altogether de- woºed from the high-priesthood; but only banished to his country! 25, Div 2, said he, the living child in twe and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26 But the woman, whose child was alive, said to the king : (for her bowels were moved upon her child:) I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it. . But the other said: Lel it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27 The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof. . 28. And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged : and they feared the king, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment CHAP. IV. Solomon’s chief officers. His riches and wisdom. ND king Solomon reigned over all Israel: 2 And these were the princes which he had Azarias the son of Sadoc the priest : 3 Elihoreph, and Ahia, the sons of Sisa, scribes Josaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder: * * 4 Banaias the son of Joiada, over the army: and Sadoc and Abiathar” priests. 5 Azarias the son of Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud the son of Nathan, priest, the king’s friend : 6 And Ahisar governor of the house : and Ado- miram the son of Abda over the tribute. 7 And, Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and for his household : for every one provided necessaries, each man his month in the year. 8 And these are their names: Ephraim. 9 Bendecar, in Macces, and in Salebim, and in Bethsames, and in Elon, and in Bethanan. 10 Benhesed in Aruboth : his was Socho, and all the land of Epher. 11 Benabimadab, to whom belonged all Nephath. º : he had Tapheth the daughter of Solomon iſ, WIf €. 12 Bana the son of Ahilud, who governed Tha mac, and Mageddo, and all Bethsan, which is by Sarthana beneath Jezrael, from Bethsan unto Abel mehula over-against Jecmaan. 13 Bengaber, in Ramoth Galaad : he had he towns of Jair the son of Manasses in Galaad : he was chief in all the country of Argob, which is in º threescore great cities, with walls and brazen bolts. - 14 Ahinadab the son of Addo was chief in Ma Iłal II] . 15 Achimaas in Nephtali: he also had Basemat's the daughter of Solomon to wife. l º Baana the son of Husi, in Aser an I in Ba Oth. 17 Josaphat the son of Pharue, in Issachar. 18 Semei the son of Ela in Benjamin. 19 Gaber the son of Uri, in the land of Galaad, in the land of Sehon the king of the Amorrhites and of Benhur, in mount house, and by that means exckuded from the exercise of his ſuno- tions. 263 III. KINGS. Og the king of Basan, over all that were in that and. | º Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude ; eating and drinking, and rejoicing. g 21 And Solomon had undcr him all the king- doms from the river” to the land of the Philistines even to the border of Egypt.: and they brought him oresents, and served him all the days of his life. 22 And the provision of Solomon for each day, was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 23 Ten ſat oxen, and twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams, besides venison of harts, roes, and buffles, and fatted fowls. ,’ 24 For he had all the country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the kings of those countries : and he had peace on every side round about. 25 And Juda and Israel dwelt without any fear, every one under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon. 26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and twelve thousand for the saddle. 27 And the foresaid governors of the king fed them: and they furnished the necessaries also for king Solomon's table, with great care in their time. 28 They brought barley also and straw for the horses, and beasts, to the place where the king was, according as it was appointed them. 29 And God gave to Solomon wisdom and un- derstanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals, and of the º 31 And he was wiser than all men ; wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda the sons of Mahol; and he was renowned in all nations round about. 32 Solomon also spoke three thousand parables:t and his poems were a thousand and five. 33 And he treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who heard of his wisdom. CHAP. V. Hiram king of Ture agreeth to furnish timber and workmen for building the temple: the number of workmen and overseers. ANP Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon: for he heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram had always been David’s friend. © 2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: 3 Thou knowest the will of David my father, and that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that were round about him, until the Lord put them under the soles ºf his feet. * = • The river. Euphrates. tº • Three thousand parables, &c. These works are all lost, excepting 4. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest round about: and there is no adversary nor evil oc- CUlſ. TCI) Cé. 5 Wherefore I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying: Thy son, whom I will set upon the throne in thy place, he shall build a house to my name. 6 Give orders therefore that thy servants cut me down cedar trees out of Libanus ; and let my ser- vants be with thy servants : and I will give thee the hire of thy servants whatsoever thou wilt ask; for thou knowest how there is not among my people a man that has skill to hew wood like to the Sidonians. 7 Now when Hiram had heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced exceedingly, and said: Bles- sed be the Lord God this day, who hath given to David a very wise son over this numerous people. 8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have heard all thou hast desired of me; and I will do all thy desire concerning cedar trees, and fir trees. 9 My servants shall bring them down from Liba- nus to the sea, and I will put them together in floats in the sea, and convey them to the place, which thou shalt signify to me; and will land them there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt allow me necessaries, to furnish food for my household. 10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees, according to all his desire. 11 And Solomon allowed Hiram twenty thou- sand measures of wheat, for provision for his house, and twenty measures of the purest oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram every year. 12 And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon ; and they two made a league together. "3 And king Solomon chose workmen out of all 1:... ºl; and the levy was of thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand every month by turns, so that two months they were at home : and Adoniram was over this levy. 15 And Solomon had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountain : 16 Besides the overseers who were over every work, in number three thousand, and three hundred that ruled over the people, and them that did the work. 17 And the king commanded, that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them : 18 And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram hewed them : and the Giblians prepared timber and stones to build the house. CHAP. VI. The building of Solomon’s temple. ANP it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Zio (the some part of the parables extant in the book of " Ioverbs, ana } , º, chief poem called the Canticle of Canticles %26 * rº" ºr---ºx-ºf, ºr ºr -º- -º-º-º-; -º-º-º-º: s -- ºr . .” - sº 4. -s ºr -*. *.x -º-º: r , ... -- *:::::::: :*:::: *...* sº.2 - . *...*::::: s: ... : "-ºl" . . ~~ :-. :- - - - → *; . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...": " : * : *- ºx - - - - - - - :r - • * : *. ". . . . . . . ~~ ... ;--T., ". . a '..…” - CHAP. VI. same is the second month,) he began to build a house to the Lord. * > e 2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. 3 And there was a porch before the temple, of twenty cubits in length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it was ten cubits m breadth before the face of the temple. 4 And he made in the temple oblique windows. 5 And upon the wall” of the temple he built floors round about,f in the walls of the house round about the temple and the oracle :f and he made sides round about. 6 The floor that was underneath, was five cubits in breadth; and the middle floor was six cubits in breadth; and the third floor was seven cubits in breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that they might not be fasten- ed in the walls of the temple. 7 And the house when it was in building, was built of stones hewed and made ready:S so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building. 8The door for the middle side was on the righthand of the house: and by winding stairs they went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third. 9 So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar. 10 And he built afloor overall the house five cubitsin height: and he covered the house with timber ofcedar. 11 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: - 12 This house, which thou buildest, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in them, I will fulfil my word to thee, which I spoke to Da- vid thy father. 13 And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it. 15 And he built the walls of the house on the in- side, with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roofs, he covered it with boards of cedar on the inside : and he cover- ed the floor of the house with planks of fir. 16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the top; and made the inner house of the oracle to be the Holy of Holies. 17 And the temple itself before the doors of the onacle was forty cubits long. 18 And all the house was covered within with ce- dar, have the turnings, and the joints thereof artful- ly wrought, and carvings projecting out. all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all. tº- 19 And he made the oracle in the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he covered with cedar. 21 And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold. 22 And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold : the whole altar of the ora- cle he covered also with gold. 23 And he made in the oracle two cherubims ºf olive-tree, of ten cubits in height. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing. 25 The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims: 26 That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub. • 27 And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the cherubims stretched forth their wings; and the wing of the one touched one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the othe, wall: and the other wings in the midst of the tem- ple touched one another. 28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. 29 And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm-trees, and divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from the wall. 30 And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold within and without. 31 And in the entrance of the oracle he made little doors of olive-tree, and posts of five corners. 32 And two doors of olive-tree : and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and figures of palm- trees, and carvings very much projecting; and he overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm-trees, and the other things with gold. 33 And he made in the entrance of the temple, posts of olive-tree four-square : 34 And two doors of fir-tree, one of each side and each door was double, and so opened with fold- ing leaves. - 35 And he carved cherubims, and palm-trees, and carved work standing very much out: and he ºf aid all with golden plates in square work by TU 162. 36 And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar. * Upon the wall, i.e. joining to the wall # He built floors round about, Chambers or cells adjoining to the tem- e, for the use of the temple and of the priests, so contrived as to be tween the inward and outward wall of the temple, in three stories, sºme above another. f The oracle. The inner temple or holy of holies, where God gave his oracles. * * * * * @ * Made ready, &c. So the stones for the building of God's eternal temple in the heavenly Jerusalem, (who are the faithful) must first be hewn and polished here by many trials and sufferings, before they can be admitted to have a place *: celestial structure. 5 III. KINGS. 37 In the fourth year was the house of the Lord ſounded in the month Zio. 38 And in the eleventh year in the month Bul (which is the eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in all the appurtenan- ces thereof: and he was seven years in building it. CHAP. VII. Solomon’s palace, his house in the forest, and the queen's house : : 100? # the two pillars : the sea (or laver) and other ves- 86°l 3, A ND Solomon built his own house in thirteen ears, and brought it to perfection. 2 He built also the house of the forest of Liba- nus: the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits; and four º between pillars of cedar: for he had cut cedar-trees into pillars. 3 And he covered the whole vault with boards of cedar; and it was held up with five and forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars, 4 Set one against another, 5 And looking one upon another, with equal space between the pillars: and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal. 6 And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and thirty cubits in breadth; and another oorch before the greater porch; and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars. 7. He made also the porch of the throne, wherein is the seat of judgment; and covered it with cedar- wood from the floor to the top. 8 And in the midst of the porch, was a small house where he sat in judgment, of the like work. He made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (whom Solomon had taken to wife) of the same work as this porch. - 9 All of costly stones, which were sawed by a certain rule and measure both within and without; from the foundation to the top of the walls, and with- out unto the great court. 10 And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of ten cubits or eight cubits : ll And above there were costly stones of equal measure hewed, and in like manner of cedar: 12 And the greater court round with three rows of hewed stones, and one row of planed cedar, more- over also in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house. 13 And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre, 14. The son of a widow-woman of the tribe of Nephtali, whose father was a Tyrian, an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was coine to king Solomon, he wrought all his work. 15 Aud he cast two pillars in brass ; each pillar was eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars. | 16 He made also two chapters of molten bass; to be set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits; and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: & 17 And a kind of net-work, and chain-work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapters of the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and seven nets on the other chapiter. 18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about each net-work to cover the chapiters, that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and in like man ner did he to the other chapiter. 19.And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily-work, in the porch, of four cubits. , x- 20 And again other chapiters in the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of the pillar over-against the net-work: and of pomegran tes there were two hundred in rows round about the other chapiter. - 21 And he set up the two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin.” in like manner he set up the second pillar, and call- ed the name thereof Booz. e 22 And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily- work: so the work of the pillars was finished. 23 He made also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about ; the height of it was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. 24 And a graven work under the brim of it comi- passed it, for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures. 25 And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east: and the sea was above upon them ; and their hinder parts were all hid within. 26 And the laver was a hand-breadth thick; and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the . º, a crisped lily: it contained two thousand ateS. 27 And he made ten bases of brass; every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high. 28 And the work itself of the bases, was inter- graven: and there were gravings between the join- Ings. - - 29 And between the little crowns and the ledges were lions, and oxen, and cherubims; and in the joinings likewise above: and under the lions, and oxen as it were bands of brass hanging down. 30 And every base had four wheels, and axle- trees of brass : and at the four sides were underset- ters under the laver molten, looking one against another. - # Two thousand bates. That is, about ten thousand gallons. ... This was the quantity of water which was usually put into it: but it was capable, if brim full, of holding 3000. See 1 Paralip. iv. 5 7 * * **ś. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .--CA ºr . . . . * * * " Jachin. That is, firmly established. Booz. That is, in it is strength. (3y recording these names in holy writ, the Spirit of God would have us understand the invincible firmness, and strength of the pillars on which the true temple of God, which is the Church, is established. $66 * -- i.e., CHAP. VIII. %| 31 The mouth also of the laver within, was in the top of the chapiter and that which appeared without, was of one cubit all round; and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces be- tween the pillars were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels, which were at the four| corners of the base, were joined one to another un- º º base the height of a wheel was a cubit and ſºl Ila 33 And they were such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axletrees, and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all cast. 34 And the four undersetters that were at every cornel of each base, were of the base itself cast and joined together. 35 And in the top of the base there was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself. 36 He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass, and in the corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm-trees, in likeness of a man standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round about. 37 After this manner he made ten bases, of one casting and measure, and the like graving. 38 He made also ten lavers of brass: one laver contained four bases, and was of four cubits: and upon every base, in all ten, he put as many lavers. 39 And he set the ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea he put on the right side of the temple over-against the east southward. 40 And Hiram made cauldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord. - 41 The two pillars and the two cords of the cha- piters, upon the chapiters of the pillars: and the two net-works, to cover the two cords, that were upon the top of the pillars. 42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two net-works: two rows of pomegranates for each net- work, to cover the cords of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars. b 43 And the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the 31S62S. - - 44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea. 45 And the cauldrons, and the shovels, and the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king iºn for the house of the Lord, were of fine TaSS. 46 In the plains of the Jordan did the king cast º in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sar- ‘llan. 47 And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for ºxceeding great multitude the brass could not be weighed. 48 And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table . gold, upon which the loaves of proposition should e Set: 49 And the golden candlesticks, five on the right | Yºº--------- hand, and five on the left, over-against the oracle, ol pure gold : and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps Over them of gold : and golden snuffers, 50 And pots, and flesh-hooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold , and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold. 51 And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the Lord ; and brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver and the gold, and the vessels; and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord. CHAP. VIII. The dedication of the temple : Solomon’s prayer and sacrifices. HEN all the ancients of Israel with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel were assembled to king Solo- mon in Jerusalem ; that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David. that is, out of Sion. 2 And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon on the festival day in the month of Etha- ninn, the same is the seventh month. 3 And all the ancients of Israel came ; and the priests took up the ark, 4 And carried the ark of the Lord, and the taber nacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them. 5 And king Solomon, and all the multitude of is- rael, that were assembled unto him, went with him before the ark: and they sacrificed sheep and oxen that could not be counted or mbered. 6 And the priests brought he ark of the cove- nant of the Lord into its . . . o. into the oracle of the temple, into the holy ...) es under the wings of the cherubims. 7 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the ark, and the staves thereof above. 8 And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out ; and there they have been unto this day. Now in the ark there was nothing else” but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant, with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. 12 Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud. * Nothing else, &c. There was nothing else but the tables of the law within the ark. But on the outside of the ark, or near the arº. were also the rod of Aaron, and a golden urn, with manna Heb. ix. 8 sº 267 III. KINGS . 13 Building I have built a house for thy dwell- ing, to be thy most firm throne for ever. 14 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the pºembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel St000. 15 And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David º and with his own hands hath accomplish- ed it, saying: '6 Since the day that I brought my people Israel out on Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might hº lºſe but I chose David to be over my people ST:1(21. 17 And David my father would have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel: 18 And the Lord said to David my father : Whereas thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same ſº in thy mind. 19 Navertheless thou shalt not build me a house: but thy son, that shal. come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name. 20 The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke: and I stand in the room of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord pro- mised ; and have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel. 21 And I have set there a place for the ark wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made § our fathers, when they came out of the land of gypt. & 22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven; 23 And said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that have walked before thee with all their heart: 24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my fa- ther, what thou hast promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast per- formed, as this day proveth. 25 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father what thou hast spoken to him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight. 26 And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy ser- want David my father. - 27 Is it then to be thought that God should in- deed dwell upon earth? for if heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built? 28 But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth be- fore thee this day: , 29 That th] eyes may be open upon this house night and day; upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou maysthear- ken to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth in this place to thee. G º 30 That thou mayst hearken to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoevel they shall pray for in this place; and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, show them mercy. tº o 31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound, and come because of the oath, before thy altar to thy house, - 32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head; and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice. 33 If thy people Israel shall fly before their ene- mies (because they will sin against thee) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come, and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house: 34. Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. 35 If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their af- flictions: 36 Then hear thou them in heaven; and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and show them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession. 37 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew, iſ their enemy afflict them besieging the gates, what- soever plague, whatsoever infirmity, 38 Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house, 39. Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling; and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart, (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men) 40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers. & 41 Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far coun- try for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear every where of thy great name and thy mighty hand, 42 And thy stretched-out arm) so when he shall come, and shall pray inthis place, 43 Then hear thou in heaven in the firmament of thy dwelling-place; and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the º of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel; and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built. CHAP. IX. tºg 44. If thy people go out to war against their ene- mies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way, of the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built to thy name: . 45 And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them. 46 Hut if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away cap- tives into the land of their enemies far or near, 47 Then if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being converted, make Sup- plication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned; we have done unjustly; we have commit- ted wickedness: - 48 And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led captives; and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fa- Jhers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name: 49 Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them: 50 Ånd forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they | have transgressed against thee: , and gave them mercy before them that have made them captives, º) that they may have compassion on them: 51 For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron. tº 52 That thy eyes may be open to the supplica- tion of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee. 53 For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance from among all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses thy servant, when *::: broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord 54 And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven. 55 And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of "srael with a loud voice, saying: º 56 Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was twith our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off: 58 But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his com- mandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judg- ments which he commanded our fathers. 59 And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, be migh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for bis servant, and for his people Israel day by day: 60 That all the people of the earth may know | that the Lord he is God, and there is no other be sides him. 61 Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day. 62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offer- ed victims before the Lord. 63. And Solomon slew victims of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and the children of Israel dedica- ted the temple of the Lord. 64. In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace-offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace-of- ferings. 65 And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days. 66 And on the eighth day he sent away the people and they blessed the king, and went to their dwell- ings rejoicing and glad in heart for all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people. CHAP. IX. The Lord appeareth again to Solomon: he buildeth cities. ha sendeth a fleet to Ophir. AN D it came to pass when Solomon had finished - the building of the house of the Lord, and the . house, and all that he desired and was pleased to do, 2 That the Lord appeared to him the second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon. - 3 And the Lord said to him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there always. 4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in simplicity of heart,” and in uprightness; and wilt do all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances, and my judgments: 5 I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised David thy father, say- ing: There shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel. 6 But if you and your children revolting shall turn away from following me; and will not kee my commandments, and my ceremonies, Whi." have set before you; but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them: 7 I will take away Israel from the lace of the land which I have given them: and the temple * As thy father walked, in simplicity of heart. That is, in the sincerity and integrity of a single heart. as opposite to all double dealing and deceit. III. KINGS. which I have sanctificq to my name, I will cast out of my sight: and Israel shall be a proverb, and a by- word among all people. 8 And this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house? 9 And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adcred them, and worshipped them : therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. 0 And when twenty years were ended, after Solomon had built the two houses, that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, l 1 (Hiram the king of Tyre furnishing Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and gold according to all he had need of) then Solomon gave Hiram twen- ty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him: and they pleased him not: 13 And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul,”-unto this day. 14 And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold. 15 This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusa lem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer. 16 Pharao the king of Egypt came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Cha- naanite that dwelt in the city; and gave it for a dowry to his daughter Solomon's wife. 17 So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether, 18 And Balath, and Palmira in the land of the wilderness. 19 And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified; the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people that were left of the Amorr- hites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hewites, and jeńsites, that are not of the children of Israel; 21 Their children, that were left in the land, to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able § destroy; Solomon made tributary unto this (!3 V. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made not any to be bond-men: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses. 23 And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon: and they had people under them, and had charge over the ap- pointed works. 24 And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had suilt for her; then did he build Melio. * Chabel. That is, dirty or displeasing. 25 Solomon also offered three times every veal holocausts, and victims of peace-offerings upon the altar which he had built to the Lord: and he burnt incense before the Lord ' and the temple was finished. º - 26 And king Solomon made a fleet in Asionga. ber, which is by Ailath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. - 28 And they came to Ophir: and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of ...i. CHAP. X The queen of Saba cometh to king Solomon: his ricnes und glory ND the queen of Saba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions. 2 And entering into Jerusalem with a great uain, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart. 3 And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him : there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not an- swer her. 4 And when the queen of Saba saw all the wig- ; of Solomon, and the house which he had u1ſt, 5 And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cup-bearers, and the holo- causts which he offered in the house of the Lord ; she had no longer any spirit in her: 6 And she said to the king: The report is true. which I heard in my own country, 7 Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wis- dom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy º and thy works, exceed the fame which I ltºll'Ol. 8 Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy ser- vants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom. 9 Blessed be the Lord any God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set 㺠upon the throne of Israel; because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice. 10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon. 11 (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine-trees, and precious stones. - 12 And the king made of the thyine-trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's | 270 i § CHAP. XI. house, and cutterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine-trees as these brought, nor seen Into this day.) - 13 And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him; besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country with her ServailtS. 14 And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred sixty-six ta- lents tº gold : - 15 sides that which the men brought him that were r the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country. 16 And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield: 17 And three hundred targets of fine gold : three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus. 18 King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand. 20 And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom. 21 Moreover all the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold : there was no silver; nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon: 22 For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephant’s teeth, and apes,and peacocks. 23 And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and wisdom. 24 And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart. 25. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments and armour and spices, and horses and mules every year. 26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand four hundred cha- riots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he be- stowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jeru- salem as stones; and cedars to be as common as sycar ºres which grow in the plains. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt and Coa: for the king's merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price. 29 And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And aſter this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria sell | CHAP. XI. Solomon by means of his wives falleth into idolatry : God rute- ºn adversaries, Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam’: Solomon 262ſ ſº. A\º king Solomon loved many strange women besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon. and of the Hethites: 2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them ; neither shall any of them come in to yours: for they will most certainly turn away your heart to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon join- ed with a most ardent love. - 3 And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart. 4 And when he was now old, his heart was turn- ed away by women to follow strange gods: and his heart was not perfect with the i. his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 But Solomon worshipped Astarthe the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch the idol of the Am- monites. 6 And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David his father. 7 Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over-against Jerusa- lem, and for Moloch the idol of the children of Am- OIl. 8 And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sa- crifice to their gods. 9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon : be- cause his mind was turned away from the Lord the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange gods: but ; kept not the things which the Lord commanded III]. 11 The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, i will divide and rend thy kingdom; and will give it to thy servant. 12 Nevertheless in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 13 Neither will I take away the whole kingdom: but I will give one tribe” to thy son for the sake of David my servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen. - 14 And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solo- mon, Adad the Edomite of the king’s seed, in Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the general of the army was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom, 16 (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,) one tribe. Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe horses Adºº - 27 1 t 2 2 III. KINGS 17 Then Adad ſled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy. | 8 And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan: and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt to Pharao the king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and assigned him land. 19 And Adad found great favour before Pharao; insomuch that he gave him to wife, the own sister of his wife Taphnes the queen. 20 And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son (tenubath: and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pha- rao among his children. 21 And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab tile general of the army was dead, he said to Pharao: Let me de- part, that I may go to my own country. 22 And Pharao said to him: Why what is want- ing to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing: yet Ibe- seech thee to let me go. 23 God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Adarezer the king of Soba : 24 And he gathered men against him: and he occame a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba : and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there: and they made him king in Damascus. 25 And he was an adversary to Israel, all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel: and he reigned in Syria. 26 Jeroboam also the son of Nabat an Ephrathite of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this is the cause of his rebellion against him, that Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph. 29 So it came to pass at that time, that Jerobo- am went out of Jerusalem: and the prophet Ahias the Silomite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field. 30 And Ahias taking his new garment, where- with he was clad, divided it into twelve parts: 31 And he said to Jeroboam: Take to thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: ehold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes. 32 But one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of my servant David, and Jerusalem the city, which ! have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: 33 Because he hath forsaken me, and hath adored Ast arthe the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chamos the god of Moab, and Moloch the god of the chil- dren of Ammon ; and hath not walked in my ways, to do justice before me, and to keep my precepts and iudgments, as did David his father. | 64. Yet I will lot take away all the kingdom ou. of his hand : but I will make him prince all the day. of his life, for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my pre- Cer)ts. & º; But I will take away the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give thee ten tribes: 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant David before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there. 37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth: and thou shalt be king over Israel. 38 If then thou wilt hearken to all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do what is right before me, keeping my commandments and my precepts, as David my servant did : I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful house, as I built a house for David: and I will deliver Is- rael to thee: 39 And I will for s afflict the seed of David. but yet not forever. 40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam but he arose, and fled into Egypt to Sesac the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solo- II].OIl. 41 And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom; behold, they are al" written in the Book of the words* of the days of Solomon. 42 And the days that Solomon reigned in Jeru salem over all Israel, were forty years. 43 And Solomon sleptſ with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead. CHAP XII. Roboam following the counsel of young men alienateth from him: the minds of the people. . They make Jeroboam king over ten tribes : he setteth up idolatry. AN D Roboam went to Sichem: for thither were all Israel come together to make him king. 2. But Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned out of Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel: and they spoke to Roboam, saying: 4 Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now therefore do thou take off a little of the grievous ser- vice of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us; and we will serve thee. 5 And he said to them : Go till the third day, and come to me again. And when the people was gone 6 King Roboam took counsel with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived : and he said: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people? * The Rook of the words, &c. This book is lost, with divers other mentioned in holy writ: . . f Solomon slept, &c. That is, died. He was then about 58 wears of age having reigned 40 years. CHAP. XIII. % 7 They said to im: If thou wilt yield to this peo- ple to-day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always. . . 8 But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him; and consulted with the young men, that had been brought up with him, and stood before him. 9 And he said to them: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have said to me: Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter? 10 And the young men that had been brought up with him, said: Thus shalt thou speak to this peo- ple, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy; do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My little finger is thicker than the back º my father. 11 And now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke : my father beat you with whips; but I will beat you with scor- )1OIlS. I 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Ro- boam the third day, as the king had appointed, say- ing: Come to me again the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men, which they had given him. 14 And he spoke to them according to the coum- sel of the young men, saying: My father made your yoke heavy; but I will add to your yoke : my father beat you with whips; but ſ". beat you with scorpions. - 15 And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was turned away from him, to make good his word, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias the Silonite, to Jeroboam the son of Nabat. 16 Then the people seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying: What oortion have we in David P or what inheritance in the son of Isai P Go home to thy dwellings, O Is- rael: now, David, look to thy own house. So Is- rael departed to their dwellings. 17 But as for all the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them. 18 Then king Roboam sent Aduran, who was over the tribute: and all Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get him up into his chariot: and he fled to Jerusalem : 19 And Israel revolted from the house of David unto this day. - 20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and made him king over all Israel : and there was none that fol- lowed the house of David but the tribe of Juda only.” 21 And Roboam came to Jerusalem and Éa. thered together all the house of Juda, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred fourscore thousand chosen men for war, to fight against the house of Israel, and to bring the kingdom again under Roboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of the Lord came to Semeias the man of God, saying: 23 Speak to Roboam the son of Solomon, the king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying: 24 Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: let every man return to his house ; for this thing is from me. They hearkened to the word of the Lord ; and returned from their journey, as the Lord had commanded them. 25 And Jeroboam built Sichem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt there; and going out from thence, he built Phenuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem ; and the heart of this people will turn to their lord Roboam the king of Juda; and they will kill me, and return to him. 28 And finding out a device, he made two golden calves,t and said to them : Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other in Dan :f 30 And this thing became an occasion of sin for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan 31 And he made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the man- ner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda.. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Be- thel, to sacrifice to the calves, which he had made : and he placed in Bethel priests of the high places, which he had made. 33 And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eightli month, which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went up on the altar to burn incence. CHAP. XIII. A prophet sent from Juda to Bethel foretelleth the birth of J. sias, and the destruction of Jeroboam’s altar. Jeroboam’s hand offering violence to the prophet, withereth, but is resto: ed by the prophet’s prayer : the same prophet is deceived by another prophet, and slain by a lion. A\} behold, there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the Lord, to Bethel, when * Juda only. Benjamin was a small tribe, and so intermixed with the tribe of Juda (the very city of Jerusalem being partly in Juda, partly in Benjamin) that they are here counted but as one tribe. f Bethel and Dan. Bethel was a c ty of the tribe of Ephraim in the southern part of the dominions of Jeroboam, about six leagues from Jerusalem: Dan was in the extremity of his dominions to the north. In micked the Egyptians, among whom he had sojourned, who worship- # Golden calves. 'Tis likely, by making his gods in this form, he mi- ped their Apis and their Osiris under the form of a bullock. | the confines of Syria. 273 III. KINGS. Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense. 2 And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord : Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name: and he shall immolate up on thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee : and he shall burn men’s bones upon thee. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken : Be- hold, the aitar shali be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And when the king had heard the word of the nian of God, which he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hoid on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him withered : and ha was not able to draw it back again to him. 5 The altar also was rent: and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God : Intreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God besought the face of the Lord ; and the king's hand was restored to him ; and it became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God : Come nome with me to dine; and I will make thee pre- SentS. 8 And the man of God answered the king : If thou wouldst give me half thy house, I will not go * thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this AC62 · p 9 For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord commanding me : Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou cameSt. 10 So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel. ll Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel : and his sons came to him ; and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel : and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them : What way went he f His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out of Juda. 13 And he said to his sons: Saddle me the ass. And when they had saddled him, he got up, 14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine-tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of God that camest from Juda? He answered : I am. 15 And he said to him: Come home with me, to eat bread. 16 But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee; neither will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place : - 17 Because the Lord spoke to me in the word of the Lord, saying ; Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest. 18 He said to him : I also am a prophet like un- to thee: and an Angel spoke to me” in the word of the Lord, saying : Bring him back with thee in- to thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink wa 4. r. as a-h I ryºb R A Jºl A. L. E. UV- I e Al J. J. 5 19 And brought him back with him : so he eat bread, and drank water in his house. 20 And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back: 21 And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord : Because: thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, 22 And hast returned and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead, body shall not be brought into the sepul: chre of thy fathers. - 23, And when he had eaten and drunk, he sad- º his ass for the prophet, whom he had brought alCK. 24 And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him :f and his body was cast in the way: and the ass stood by him; and the lion stood by the dead body. 25 And behold, men Chart ºf Y is ºf 7 ſº Ud W. W. V. V. A w \-Z Vºl. - A.A. W. A. El Al A-r is. o P.": by saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. . And they came and told it in the city wherein that old prophet dwelt. , 26 And when, that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord: and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion ; and he hath torn him, and killed him ac- jºins to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to ll II). 27 And he said to his sons: Saddle me an ass. And when they had saddled, - 28 And when he was gone, he found the deadbody cast, in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten of the dead bº, '...". the ; nd the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass; jº. back, brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mouº for him. 30 And he laid his dead body in his own sepu. chre : and they mourned over him, saying: Alas alas! my brother. 31 And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the * An Angel spoke to me, &c. This old man of Bethel was indeed a pro- phet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of God; the more be- rause he pretended a revelation for what he did. Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that * Killed him. he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with a 'l its circum stances, was not mortal. 274 CHAP. XIV sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones : 32 For assuredly the word shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria. - 33 After these words Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high pla- ces: whosoever would, he filled his hand ; and he was made a priest of the high places. - 31, And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam. sin, and was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth. CHAP. XIV. Ahias prophesieth the destruction of the family of Jeroboam. He dieth, and is succeeded by his son Nadab. The King of Egypt taketh and pillageth Jerusalem. Roboam dieth ; and his son Abiam succeedeth. AT that time Abia the son of Jeroboam fell sick. - 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife : Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias the prophet is, who told me, that I should reign over this people. 3 Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him : for he will tell thee what shall become of this child. 4. Jeroboam’s wife did as he told her; and rising up went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias: but he could not see ; for his eyes were dim by rea- son of his age. 5 And the Lord said to Ahias : Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son that is sick : thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and made as if she were another woman, 6 Ahias heard the sound of her feet coming in at the door; and said : Come in, thou wife of Jero- boam: why dost thou feign thyself to be another ? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 7 Go, and tell Jeroboam : Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel: 8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee, and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my command- ments, and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was well pleasing in my sight: 9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee; and hast made thee strange gods and molten ; to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me Yehind thy back : ... 10 Therefore behold, I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam ; and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pºsseth against the wall, and him that is shu, up. and the last :1: Israe! and wiłł sweep away the remnant of the nouse of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean. 11 Them that shall die of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat ; and them that shall die in the field, the birds of the air shall devour: for the Lord hath spoken ut. 12 Arise thou therefore, and go to thy house and when thy feet shall be entering into the city the child shall die, 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and shall bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall be laid in a sepulchre; because in his regard there is found a good word from the Lord the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 And the Lord hath appointed himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jerobo- am in this day, and in this time: 15 And the Lord God shall strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water: and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river: because they have made to themselves groves, to provoke the Lord. - 16 And the Lord shall give up Israel for the sins of Jeroboam, who hath sinned, and made Israel to sin 17 And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and depart- ed, and came to Thersa: and when she was com- ing in to the threshold of the house, the child died : 18 And they buried him. And all Israel mourn- ed for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahias the prophet. 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought; and how he reigned, behold, they are writ- ten in the Book of the words of the days of the king- of Israel.” 20 And the days that Jeroboam reigned, were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fa- thers: and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. 21 And Roboam the son of Solomon reigned in Juda: Roboam was one and forty years old wher. he began to reign : and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naama an Ammonitess. 22 And Juda did evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoked him above all that their fathers had done, in their sins which they committed. 23 For they also built them altars and statues and groves, upon every high hill, and under every grecm tree : 24. Theie were also the effeminate f in the land. |and they did according to all the abominations of the people whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. 25 And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the king's treasures, and carried * The Book of the worls of the days of the kings of Israel. This book which is often mentioned in the book of kings, is long since lost. For as to the books of Paralipomenon or Chronicles (which the Hebrews call 18 . Z_2^T ~~ the words of the days) they were certainly written after the book on kings; since they frequently refer to them. e # The effeminate. Catamites, or men addicted to unnatural lust. 275 º sº ~T- * –," 111. KINGS. all of as also the shields of gold which Solomon had made : 27 And Roboam made shields of brass instead of them, and delivered them into the hand of the captains of the shield-bearers, and of them that kept watch before the gate of the king's house. 28 And when the king went into the house of the Lord, they whose office it was to go before him, carried them: and afterwards they brought them back to the armoury of the shield-bearers. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Roboam, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda. 30 And there was war between Roboam and Je- roboam always. 31 And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David : and his mo- ther’s name was Naama an Ammonitess: and Abiam | his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XV. The acts of Abiam and of Asa kings of Juda ; and of Nadah and Basa kings of Israel. OW in the eighteenth year of the reign of Je- roboam the son of Nabat, Abiam reigned over Juda. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Maacha” the daughter of Abes- salom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 4. But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem : 5 Because David had done that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the º of his life, except the matter of Urias the He- [h]te. 6 But there was war between Roboam and Je- roboam all the time of his life. 7 And the rest of the words of Abiam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P And there was war between Abiam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abiam slept with his fathers: and they buried him in the city of David : and Asa his son reigned in his stead. 9 So in the twentieth year cf Jeroboam king of Israel, reigned Asa king of Jutta, 10 And he reigned one and forty years in Jerusa- rem. His mother’sf name was Maacha, the daugh- ter of Abessalom. ll And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David his father: 12 And he took away the effe minate out of the land : and he removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made. 13 Moreover he also removed his mother Ma acha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrat- ed to him : and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and burnt it by the torren Cedron: 14 But the high places; he did not take away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days: 15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and he had vowed, into the house of the Lord, silver and gold, and vessels. $ 16 And there was war between Asa, and Baas: king of Israel all their days. * 17 And Baasa king of Israel went up against Juda, and built Rama, that no man might go out or come in, of the side of Asa king of Juda. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold that re- mained in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and deliver- ed it into the hands of his servants; and sent them to Benadad son of Tabremon the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying: 19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: therefore f have sent thee presents of silver and gold: and I desire thee to come, and break thy league with Baasa king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 20 Benadad hearkening to king Asa, sent the captains of his army against the cities of Israel: and they smote Ahion, and Dan, and Abeldomum Ma- acha, and all Cenneroth; that is, all the land ol Nephtali. 21 And when Baasa had heard this, he left of building Rama, and returned into Thersa. 22 But king Asa sent word into all Juda, saying: Let no man be excused : and they took away the stones from Rama, and the timber thereof, where- with Baasa had been building: and with them king Asa built Gabaa of Benjamin, and Maspha. 23 But the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his strength, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Judaſ' But in the time of his old age, he was diseased in his feet. 24 And he slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jo- saphat his son reigned in his place. 25 But Nadab the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel the second year of Asa king of Juda: and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin. * JMaacha, &c. She is called elsewhere Michaia, daughter of Uriel; but it was common in those days for the same person to have two Q3 IT (*S. * His mother, &c. That is, his grandmother; unless we suppose, which is not improbable, that Maacha here named is different from the Mancha mentioned, ver, 2. t The high places. There were “º or high places of two different 6 kinds. Some were set up, and dedicated to the worship of idols, or strange gods; and these Asa removed, 2 Paralipom. xiv. 2.; others were only, altars of the true God, but were erected contrary to the law, which allowed of no sacrifices but in the temple; and these were not removed by Asa. Perfect with the Lord Asa had his famits but never forsook the worship of the Lord. e CHAP. XVI. 27 And Baasa the son of Ahias of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and slew him in Gebbethon, which is a city of the Philistines: for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gebbethon. 28 So Baasa slew him in the third year of Asa king of Juda, and reigned in his place. 28 And when he was king he cut off all the house of Jeroboam : he left not so much as one soul of his seed, till he had utterly destroyed him; according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias the Silonite : 30 Because of the sin of Jeroboam, which he had sinned, and wherewith he had made Israel to sin, and for the offence wherewith he provoked the Lord the God of Israel. 31 But the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasa the king of Israel all their days. 33 In the third year of Asa king of Juda, Baasa the son of Ahias reigned all over Israel, in Thersa, four and twenty years. 34 And he did evil before the Lord, and walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in his sins, where- with he made Israel to sin. CHAP. XVI. His son Ela is slain, and all Of the reign of Amri fa- Jehu prophesieth against Baasa. kis family destroyed by Zambri. ther of Achab. HEN the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani, against Baasa, saying: 2 Forasmuch as I have exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins : - 3 Behold, I will cut down the posterity of Baasa, and the posterity of his house : and I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat. 4 Him that dieth of Baasa in the city, the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls of the air shall devour. 5 But the rest of the acts of Baasa, and all that he did, and his battles, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel P 6 So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was bu- .." Thersa: and Ela his son reigned in his stead. 7 And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu the son of Hananithe prophet against Daasa, and against his house and against all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam : for this cause he slew him, that is to say, Jehu the son of Hanani, the prophet. 8 in the six and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Ela the son of Baasa resigned over Israel in Thersa two years. * In the one and thirtieth year, &c. Amri began to reign in the seven end twentieth year of Asa; but had not quiet possession of the king- 9 And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen, rebelled against him : now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the house of Arsa the governor of Thersa. 10 And Zambri rushing in, struck him, and slew him in the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda: and he reigned in his stead. 11 And when he was king, and sat upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa: and he left not one thereof to piss against a wall, and all his kinsfolks and friends. 12 And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa according to the word of the Lord, that he had ºn to Baasa in the hand of Jehu the pro- phet, 13 For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela his son, who sinned, and made Israel to sin, pro- voking the Lord the God of Israel with their vani- tleS. 14 But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel P 15 In the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Zambri reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon a city of the Philistines. 16 And when they heard that Zambri had rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was general over Israel in the camp that day. 17 And Amri went up, and all Israel with him from Gebbethon : and they besieged Thersa. 18 And Zambri seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace, and burnt himself with the king’s house: and he died 19 In his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jero- boam, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to Sill. 20 But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and tyranny, are they not written in the Bººk of the words of the days of the kings of Is- Tael 21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri. 22 But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni the son of Gineth : and Thebni died, and Amri reigned. 23 In the one and thirtieth year” of Asa king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel, twelve years : in Thersa he reigned six years. 24. And he bought the hill of Samaria of Somer for two talents of silver: and he built upon it: and he called the city which he built Samaria after the name of Seiner the owner of the hill. 25 And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord. and acted wickedly above all that were before him. 26 And he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in his sins wherewith he dom fill the death of his competitor Thebni, which was in the one and thirtieth year of Asa's reign. 277 III. KINGS. made Israel to sin; to provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger with their vanities.” 27 Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the bat- tles he ſought, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel ? 28 And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Achab his son reigned in is stead. 29 Now Achab the son of Amri reigned over Is- rael in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda. And Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years. 30 And Achab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. 31 Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat : but he also took to wife Jezabel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sido- nians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored (ll II). 32 And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria : 33 And he planted a grove : and Achab did more to provoke the Lord the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him. 34. In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho : in Abiram his first-born he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son Segub he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spok in the hand of Josue the son of Nun. CHAP. XVII. Elias shutteth up the heaven from raining. He is fed by ra. vens, and afterwards by a widow of Sarephta. He raiseth the widow’s son to life. ND Elias the Thesbite of the inhabitants of Galaad said to Achab : As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth. 2 And the word of the Lord came to him, saying: 3 Get thee hence, and go towards the east; and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over- against the Jordan: 4 And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5. So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over-against the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening: and he drank of the torrent. 7. But after some time the torrent was dried up ; for it had not rained upon the earth. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying: 9 Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians,t and dwell there : for I have commanded a widow- woman there to feed thee. 10 He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the Widow-woman gathering sticks: and he called her, ~ ºr º-sº w - - - - * With their vanities. That is their idols, their golden calves, vain, “lae. dot eitfu, ‘hings Q79. 2.2"T and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And when she was going to fetch it, he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. 12 And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse; behold, I ain gathering two sticks, that I may go in and Aress it. for me and my son, that we may it, and die 13 And Elias said to her: Fear not, but go, and do as thou hast said; but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth-cake, and bring it to me; and after make for thyself and thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel. The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth. 15 She went, and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house and from that day 16 The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias. 17 And it came to pass after this, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick: and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elias: What have 1 to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son P 19 And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a sort maintained, so as to kill her son P 21 And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times; and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body. 22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: ano the ful of the child returned into him: and he re- V : V (*C1. 23 And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God: and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true. - CHAP. XVIII. Elias cometh before Achab. He convinceth the false prophet, by bringing fire.”om "eaven: he obtaineth rain by his player AFTER many days, the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go, and f Surephta of the Sidonians. That is, a city of the Sidonians N. "Sº º CHAP. XVIII. show thyse f to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth. 2 And Elias went to show himself to Achab: and there was a grievous famine in Samaria. 3 And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much. 4. For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water. 5 And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish. 6 And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them : Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself. 7 And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him : and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias P 8 And he answered: I am. Inaster: Elias is here. 9 And he said: What have l sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me? 10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered : He is not here ; he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found. - li And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy tnaster: Elias is here. 12 And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of lie Lord will carry thee into a place that I know unt: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy. 13 Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jazebel killed the prophets of the Lord : how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water P Go, and tell thy 14 And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy mas- ter: Elias is here: that he may kill me. 15 And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will show myself unto him. - 16 Abdias therefore went to meet Achah, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias. 17 And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel P 18 And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Raalim. 19 Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me al Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel’s table. 20 Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel. 21 And Elias coming to all the people, said: How loug do vou halt between two sides P. If the Lord be God, follow h.m. ; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. 22 And Elias said again to the people: I only re- main a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let two bullocks be given us: and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it ov wood, and put no fire under it. 24 Call ye on the names of your gods; and I will call on the name of my Lord : and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all this people answering, said: A very good proposal. 25 Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal. Choose you one bullock, and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods; but put no fire under. 26 And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till moon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made. 27 And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a god; and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey; or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked. 28 So they cried with a loud voice; and cut them- selves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. 29 And after mid-day was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice ; and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed: 30 Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down : 31 And he took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be thy name. 32 And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar. 33 And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood; 34 And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt-offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And thov did so the third time. 35 And the water ran round about the altar: and the trench was filled with water. - 36 And when it was now time to offer the holo- caust, Elias the prophet came near, and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, show this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant; and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. 37 Hear me. O Lord, hº me; that this people III. KING S. may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again. 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell; and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust; and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God. 40 And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal; and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there. 41 And Elias said to Achab: Goup, eat, and drink: ſor there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel: and casting himself down upon the earth, put his face between his knees: 43 And hc said to his servant : Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: |{eturn seven times. 4'', And at the seventh time : Behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man’s foot. And he said. Go up, and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot, and go down, lest the rain prevent thee. 45 And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold, the heavens grew dark with clouds and wind; and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up, went away to Jezrahel: 46 And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias: and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achab, ill he came to Jezrahel. CHAP. XIX. Elias fleeing from Jezabel is fed by an Angel in the desert ; and by the strength of that food walketh forty days, till he cometh to Horeb, where he hath a vision of God. ND Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, 1 * and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to-morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them. 3 Then Elias was afraid : and rising up he went whithersoever he had a mind and he came to Ber- sabee of Juda, and left his servant there: 4 And he went forward, one day’s journey into une desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper-tree, he requested for his soul that he might die;” and said: It is enough for me, Lord; take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers. 5 And he cast himself down, and slept in the sha- dow of the juniper-tree: and behold, an Angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him : Arise, and €at. 6 He looked, and behold, there was at his head a hearth-cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank; and he fell asleep again. 7 And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him : Arise, eat ; for thou hast yet a great way to go. 8 And he arose, and ate, and drank; and walked in the strength of that foodf forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb. 9 And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave : and behold, the word of the Lord came unto #. and he said to him : What doest thou here, 1&1S : 10 And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars; they have slain thy pro- phets with the sword; and I alone am left;f and they seek my life to take it away. 11 And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount, before the Lord: and behold, the Lord passeth ; and a great and strong wind before the Lord overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: The Lord is not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake: . 12 And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire: and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air. - sº 13 And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth stood in the en- tering in of the cave; and behold, a voice unto him, saying: What doest thou here, Elias P And he an- swered : t 14 With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars; they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left; and they seek my life to take It away. 15 And the Lord said to him : Go, and return on thy way through the desert to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16 And thou shalt anoint Jehu the son of Namsi to be king over Israel: and Eliseus the son of Sa- phat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room. - 17 And it shall come to pass, that whosoevel shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu ; and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus. Ş 18 And I will leave me seven thousand men it * That he might die. Elias requested to die, not out of impatience or rusillaninity, but out of zeal against sin; and that he might no longer . witness of the miseries of his people, and the war they were wag- ing against God and his servants. See ver. 10. † In the strength of that food, &c. This bread with which Elias was ſed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life which we re- reive in the blessed sacrament; by the strength of which we are to be surported in our journey through the wilderness of this world till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity. i I alone am left, viz. of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, on the ten tribes : for in the kingdom of Juda religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition under the kings Asa and Josaphal. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then lºnown to Elias. See chap. xx. 13, £3,35. * Shall be slain by Eliseus. Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword; but he is here joined with Hazael and Jeau, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, be cause he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, 280 CHAPTER XX. lsrael, whose knees have not been bowed before i Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him kissing the hands. º 19 And Elias departing from thence, found Eli- seus the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen; and he was one of them that were plough- ing with twelve yoke of oxen; and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he forthwith left the oxen, and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I Fº thee, kiss my father and my mother; and then I will follow thee. And he said to him Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee. 21 And returning back from him, he took a yoke| of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people ; and they ate; and rising up he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him. CHAP. XX. The Syrians besiege Samaria : they are twice defeated by Achab: who is reprehended by a prophet for letting Bena- dad go. A Nº Benadad king of Syria gathered together all his host: j there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up he fought against Samaria, and besieged it. 2 And sending messengers to Achab king of is- tael into the city, 3 He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine: and thy wives and thy goodliest children are mine. - 4 And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord O king, I am thine, and all that I have. - b And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy chil- dren thou shalt deliver up to me. 6 To-morrow therefore at this same hour l will send my servants to thee: and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away. - 7 And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he lay- eth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold : and I said not may. 8 And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him. 9 Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad : Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant, at first, I will do : but this thing I cannot do. 10 And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again, and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria slall suffice for landfuls for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of 1srael answering, said: Tell him : Let not the girded” boast himself as the un- girded. 12 And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it. 13 And behold, a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord : Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude? behold, I will deliver them into thy hand this day; that thou mayst know that I am the Lord. 14 And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shal) begin to fight? And he said: Thou. 15 So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two : and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand : - 16 And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him. 17 And the servants of the princes of the pro- vinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria. 18 And he said: Whether they come for peace, them alive. 19 So the servants of the princes of the pro vinces went out, and the rest of the army followed 20 And every one slew the man that came against him : and the Syrians fled; and Israel pur- sued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen. 21 But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians wi.h a great slaughter. 22 (And a prophet coming to the king of Israt I, said to him : Go, and strengthen thyself, and know r, and see what thou doest : for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.) 23 But the servants of the king of Syria said to him : Their gods are gods of the hills ; therefore they have overcome us : but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains; and we shall overcome them. 24 Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead : 25 And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots which thou hadst before : and we will ſigh. and the vengeance he would execute against Israel; and anointed the latter ov one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab. * Let not the girded, &c. Let him not boast before the victory it !. then be time to glory when he putteth off his armour, having overcome his adversary. - take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take º -: * 281 III. KINGS. against them in the plains; and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their coun- sel, and did so. 26 Wherefore at the return of the year, Bena- dad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphec, to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped goats: but the Syrians filled the land. 28 (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord : Because the Syrians have said: "The Lord is God of the hills, out is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this reat multitude into thy hand, and you shall know i. I am the Lord 29 And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days : and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Is- racl slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand foot- men in one day. 30 And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thou- sand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber. • 31 And his servants said to him : Behold, we nave heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloths on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives. 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came the king of Is- rael, and said to him: Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive, he is my brother. 33 The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy orother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him: and he liſted him up into his chariot. 34 And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou måke thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria: and having made a league I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go. 35 Then a certain man of the sons of the pro- Jhets said to his companion in the word of the ord: Strike me. But he would not strike. 36 Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold, thou shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion ſtrund him, and slew him. 37 Then he ſound another man, and said to |. Strike me. And he struck him, and wounded ! Ill. 38 So the prophet went and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy sºut went out to fight hand over-against them, like two little flocks of" to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 40 And whilst I in the hurry turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him : This is thy judg- ment, which thyself hast decreed. 41. But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face: and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets. 42 And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord. Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria. CHAP. XXI. Naboth, for denying his vineyard to king Achab, is by Jezabel’s commandment, falsely accused, and stoned to death. For which crime Elias denounceth to Achab the judgments of God: upon his humbling himself, the sentence is mitigated. AND after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, 'ho was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vine- yard near the palace of Achab king of Samaria. 2 And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is migh, and joining to my house; and will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 Naboth answered him: The Lord be merci- ful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers. * 4.And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jez- rahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting him- self upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread. 5. And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him : What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread? 6 And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard. - 7 Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer: I will give thee the vineyard of Na. both the Jezrahelite. - 8 So she wrote letters in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city. and that dwelt with Naboth. 9 And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast; and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people: 10 And suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him ; and let them bear false witness, that he hath CHAP. XX | 1. clasphemed God and the king; and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die. , 11 And the men of his city the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jeza- bel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them : 12 They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people. º 13 And bringing two men sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and, the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death. º 14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15, And, it came to pass, when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise, and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. g 16 And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down into the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take pos- session of it. - 17 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying: - 18 Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold, he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it: 19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying : Thus saith the Lord : Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add : Thus saith the Lord : In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also. 20 And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy. He said: I have found thee, be- i. thou art sold, to do evil in the sight * of the AOFOI. • 21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee: and I will cut down thy posterity; and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel. 22 And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to SIIl. 23 And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying. The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel. 24. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him : but if he die in the field the birds of the ai shall eat him. - 25 Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on, 26 And he became abominable ; insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the lord dest.oyed before the face ºf the children of Israel. 27 And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put hair-cloth upon his flesh, and fasted. and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying. 29 Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. CHAP. xxii. Achab believing his false prophets, rather than Micheas, is slain in Ramoth-Galaad. , Ochozias succeedeth him. Good king Josaphat dieth : and his son Joram succeedeth him. ANP there passed three tween Syria and Israel. 2 And in the third year, Josaphat king of Juda came down to the king of Israel. 3 (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not that Ramoth-Galaad is ours, and we § to take it out of the hand of the king of yria : 4 And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth-Galaad P 5 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As l am, so art thou : my people and thy people are one and my horsemen, thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day the word of the Lord. 6 Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men: and he said to them : Shall I go to Ramoth-Galaad to fight, or shall I for- bearf They answered: Go up; and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. - 7 And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him P 8 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: Micheas the son of Jemla; but I hate him ; for he doth not prophesy good to me, but evil And Josaphat said: §. not so, O king. 9. Then the king of Israel called a eunuch, and said to him : Make haste, and bring hither Micheas the son of Jemla. 10 And the king of Israel, and Josapnat king of Juda, sat each on his throne clothed with royal robes, in a court by the entrance of the gate of jºia: and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord : With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it. 12 And all the prophets prophesied in like man- ner, saying: Go up to Ramoth-Galaad, and pros- per ; for the Lord will deliver it into the king's hands. 13 And the messenger, that went to call Miche as, spoke to him, sayin; Behold, the words of the years without war be. * Sold to do evil in the sight, &c. That is, so addicted to evil, as if thou hadst sold thyself to the devil, to be his slave to work all kind of avil - Yºº- ---T _* asº * **. 111. KINGS. rophets with one mouth declare good things to the tº let thy word therefore be like to theirs, and speak that which is good. | 4 |3tit Micheas said to him : As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak. 15 So he came to the king : and the king said to him : Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth-Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him : Go up,” and prosper: and the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hands. 16 But the king said to him : I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord. 17 And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd ; and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace. 18 (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesied no good to me, but always evil P) 19 And he added, and said : Here thou there- fore the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left: 20 And the Lord said :f Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth-Galaad P And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood be: fore the i,ord, and said : I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him : By what means ? 22 And he said : I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt pre- vail: go forth, and do so.f 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here ; and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. 24 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek; and said : Hath | jhe spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee . 25 And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chambers within a chamber to hide thyself. 26 And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas, and let him abide with Amon the governor of the city, and with Joas the son of Amalech: 27 And tell them : Thus saith the king : Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of aſ- fliction, and water of distress, till I return in peace. 28 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people. 29 So the king of Israel, and Josaphat king o' Juda went up to Ramoth-Galaad. 30 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat Take armour, and go into the battle, and put on th; own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle. 31 And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of his chariots. Saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, bu against the king of Israel only. tº 32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel: and making a violent assault they fought against him : and Josaphat cried out. 33 And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of Israel: and they turn- ed away from him. 34. And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel between the lungs and the stomach. ut he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am greviously wounded. 35 And the battle was fought that day; and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Sy- rians; and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36 And the herald proclaimed through all the army before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country. 37 And the king died, and was carried into Sa- maria: and they buried the king in Samalia. 38 And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria: and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken. 39 But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 40 So Achab slept with his fathers: and Ocho- zias his son reigned in his stead. 41 But Josaphat the son of Asa began to reign . Juda in the fourth year of Achab king of Is- T< i. 42 He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Salai. 43 And he walked in all the way of Asa his fa- ther: and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. 44 Nevertheless he took not awayſ the nigh Yºze * Go up, &c. This was spoken ironically, and by way of jesting at the flattering speeches of the false prophets: and so the king under- stood it, as appears by his adjuring Micheas, in the following verse, to tell hirn the truth, in the name of the Lord. # The Lord said, &c. God standeth not in need of any counsellor; nor are we to suppose that things pass in heaven in the manner here described : but this representation was made to the prophet, to be de- Wvered by him in a manner adapted to the common ways and notions »f men. i Go fºrth, and de so This was not a command ; but a permission 1 acº'T for God never ordaineth lies; though be often permitteth the lying spirit to deceive those who love not the truth. 2 Ş. ii. 10. And in this sense it is said in the following verse, The Lord haſh given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets. * Go into a chamber, &c. This happened when he heard the king was slain, and justly apprehended that he should be punished ſor his false prophecy. | He took not away, &c. . He left some of the high places, viz. those in which they worshipped the true God; but took away all others 3 Paralip. xvii. 6, and note ver, 14: of chap. xv. 3 Kings. - -> —º 284 CHAP. l. places: for as yet the people offerek sacrifices and hurnt incense in the high places. | : And Josaphat had peace with the king of Stale is 46 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his battles, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Judaf º 47 And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa his father, he took out of the land. 48 And there was then no king appointed in Edom. 49 But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold : but they could not go : for the ships were broken in Asiongaber. 50 Then Ochozias the son of Achab said to Jo- saphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not. 51 And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David his fatner and Joram his son reigned in his stead. 52 And Ochozias the son of Acnab began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat king of Juda: and he reigned ov.” Israel two years. 53 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. 54. He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done. * Would not. He had been reprehended before for admitting sterb a partner; and therefore would have no more to do with him. THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS. CHAP. I. Qcnozras sendeth to consult Beelzebub: Elias foretelleth his death ; and causeth fire to come down from heaven, upon two captains and their companies. AN D Moab rebelled against Israel, aſter the 4 *- death of Achab. 2 And Ochozias fell through the lattices of his upper chamber which he had in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, saying to them : Go, consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my illness. 3 And an Angel of the Lord spoke to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria; and say to them: s there not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron P 4. Wherefore thus saith the Lord : From the bed, on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down : but thou shalt surely die. And Elias went aWay. 5 And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them: Why are you come back P 6 But they answered him : A man met us, and said to us: Go, and return to the king that sent ou; and you shall say to him : Thus saith the i.i. Is it because there was no God in Israel that thou sendest to Beelzebub the god of Accaron P Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou art gone up ; but thou shalt surely die. 7 And he said to them : What manner of man was he who met you, and spoke these words? 8 But they said: A hairy man, with a girdle of leather about his loins And he said: It is Elias the Thesbite. | 9 And he sent to him a captain of fifty, and the fifty men that were under him. And he went up to him ; and as he was sitting on the top of a hill, said to him ; Man of God, the king hath command ed that thou come down. 10 And Elias answering, said to the captain of fifty: If I be a man of God, let fire” come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him, and the fifty, that were with him. 11 And again he sent to him another captain of fifty men, and his fifty with him. And he said to him: Man of God, thus saith the king: Make haste, and come down. 12 Elias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him, and his fifty. 13 Again he sent a third captain of fifty men, and the fifty that were with him. And when he was come, he fell upon his knees before Elias, and besought him, and said: Man of God, despise not my life, and the lives of thy servants that are with €. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven, and con- sumed the two first captains of fifty men, and the fifties that were with them : but now I beseech thee to spare my life. 15 And the Angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with him ; fear not. He arose therefore, and went down with him to the king, 16 And said to him : Thus saith the Lord: Be. cause thou hast sent messengers to consult Beelze- bub the god of Accaron, as though there were not a * Let fire, &c. Elias was inspired to call for fire from heaven upon whese captains, who came to apprehend him; not out of a desire to tratify any private passion: but to punish the insult offered to reli- | gion, to confirm his mission, and to show how vain are the eſſorts of men against God, and his servants, whom he willeth to protect 99 ſº IV. KINGS. God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word, therefore from the bed on which thou art gone |. thou shalt not come down : but thou shalt surely (I 162. 17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elias spoke: and Joram his brother reigned in his stead, in the second year of Joram” the son of Josaphat king of Juda: because he had IIC SOI). 18 But the rest of the acts of Ochozias which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel ? CHAP. II. Eliseus will not part from Elias. The water of the Jordan is di- vided by Elias’s cloak. Elias is taken up in a fiery chariot, and his double spirit is given to Eliseus. Eliseus healeth the '#. by casting in sult. Boys are torn by bears for mocking 1, 1862tts. A ND it came to mass, when the Lord would take| 4 * up Elias into heavent by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. 2 And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, be- cause the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him : As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth : I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel, The sons of the prophets,f that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him : Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy mas- ter from thee? And he answered : I also know it : hold your peace. 4. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will . leave thee. And when they were come to Je- T1C110, 5 The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him : Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee P And he said: I also know it: hold your YC:\C62. 6 And Elias said to him : Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on to- gether. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets fol- lowed them, and stood in sight at a distance : but they two stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elias took his mantle, and folded it to- gether, and struck the waters ; and they were di- vided hither and thither: and they both passed over on dry ground. 9 And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for shee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eli- * The second year of Joram, &c., Counted from the time that he was associated to the throne by his father Josaphat. # Heaven. By heaven here is meant the air, the lowest of the heavenly regions. | seus said. I beseech thee that in int may be th’ double spil it.} 10 And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing : nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it. 11 And as they went on, walking and talking to gether, behold, a fiery chariot, and fiery horses part- ed them both asunder : and Elias went up by whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Eliseus saw him, and cried : My father, my father, the chariot, of Israel, and the drive. thereof. And he saw him no more : and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces. - 13 And he took up the mantle of Elias, that ſel' from him : and going back he stood upon the bank of the Jordan: i4 And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him : and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now, the God of Elias P And he struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither: and Eliseus passed OV tº T. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - – - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - – – – 15 And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over-against him, seeing it, said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground, 16 And they said to him : Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some moun- º or into some valley. And he said: Do not S{2}l (H. 17 But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men : and they sought three days, but found him not. 18 And they came back to him ; for he abode at Jericho: and he said to them: Did I not say to you . Do not send. 19 And the men of the city said to Eliseus: Be- hold, the situation of this city is very good, as thou my lord seest: but the waters are very had, and the ground barren. 20 And he said : Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it, 21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it; and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters; and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness. - 22 And the waters were healed unto this day according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke 23 And he went up from thence to Bethel. and as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city, and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald-head : go up, thou bald-head. * * $ Double spirit. A double portion of thy spirit, as thy eldest son and heir ; or thy spirit which is double in comparison of that which God usually imparteth to his prophets. || They worshipped him, viz. With an inferior, yet a religious venera- tion, not for any temporal, but spiritual excellency. t The sons of the prophets. That is, the disciples of the prophets; who seem to have had their schools, like colleges or communities, in Beth- } el, Jericho, and other places in the days of Elias and Eliseus. 4786 __--> 3|TE: CHAP. III, IV. 2A. And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them” in the name of the Lord : and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys. .25. And from thence he went to mount Carmel ; and from thence he returned to Samaria. CHAP. III. The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, fight against the king of Moab. They want water, which Eliseus procureth without rain: and prophesieth victory. The king of Moab is overthrown : his city is besieged : he sacrificeth his first-born son : so the Israelites raise the siege. A\º Joram the son of Achab reigned over Is- rael in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jo- saphat king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his-mother : for he took away the sta- tues of Baal, which his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin ; nor did he depart from them. ! 4. Kºw Mesa king of Moab nourished many sheep: and he paid to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams with their fleeces. • 5 And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel. 6 And king Joram went out that day from Sama- ria, and mustered all Israel. 7 And he sent to Josaphat king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is revolted from me; come with me against him to battle. And he answered: I will come up : he that is mine, is thine; my people, thy people; and my horses, thy horses. 8 And he said: W. way shall we he answered : By the desert of Edom. 9 So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom went: and they fetched a compass of seven days journey : and there was no i. for the army, and for the beasts that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab 11 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may beseech Jhe Lord by him P And one of the servants of the king of Israel answer- ed: Here is Eliseus the son of Saphat, who pour- ed water on the hands of Elias. 12 And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat ; of Juda, and the king of Edom went down to } | {l. 13 And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee P go to the prophets of thy ſatner, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him. Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab P go up P But 14 And Eliseus said to him: As the [lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat king of Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee. 15 But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him ; and he said: 16 Thus saith the Lord : Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches. 17 For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain : and yet this channel shall be filled with waters : and you shall drink, you and you families, and your beasts. 18 And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover he will deliver also Moab into your hands. . 19 And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the springs of waters; and every goodly field you shall cover with stones. 20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifices used to be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom ; and the country was filled with water. 21 And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight against them, gathered to- gether all that were girded with a belt upon them, and stood in the borders. 22 And they rose early in the morning: and the sun being now up, and shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over-against them red, like blood. 23 And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have fought among themselves ; and they . killed one another: go now, Moab, to the SpołIS. 24 And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel rising up defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went and smote Moab. 25 And they destroyed the cities: and they filled every goodly field, evo man casting his stone : and they stopt up all the spil.gs of waters; and cut down all the trees that bore fruit; so that Brick-walls only remained ;f and the city was beset by the slingers, and a great part thereof destroyed. 26 And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break in upon the king of Edom : but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt- offering upon the wall: and there was great indig- nation in Israel: and presently they departed from him, and returned into their own country. CHAP. IV. Miracles of Eliseus. He raiseth a dead child to life. NOW a certain woman of the wives of the pro- phets cried to Eliseus, saying : Thy servant my husband is dead: and thou knowest that thy calf worship,) who had trained up their children in A Prejudice agains the true religion and its ministers. + Brick-walls only remained : It was the proper ºrame • the capita city of the Moaoites. In Hebrew, Kir-Haraseth. 287 * Cursed them. This curse, which was followed by so visible a judg- ment of God, was not the effect of passion, or of a desire of revenging aimself; but of zeal for religion, which was insulted, by these boys, & the person of the prophet; and of a divine inspiration ; God pun- bitig in this manner the inhabitants of Bethel (the chief seat of the _-ºr-TT —º £3.5-> C @:Sºs 2C2'T IV. KINGS. serv ºut was one that feared God: and behold, the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him, . 2 And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me do ſo theef Tell me, what hast thou in thy house P And she answered : I thy handmaid have notning in my house but a little oil, to anoint me. 3 And he said to her : Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels not a few. And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons: and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full, take them away. 5 So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in. 6 A. when the vessels were full, she said to her son: Bring me yet a vessel. And he answered: I have no more. And the oil stood. 7 And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor: and thou and thy sons live of the rest. 8 And there was a day when Eliseus passed by Sunam : now there was a great woman there, who detained him to eat bread: and as he passed often that way, he turned into her house to eat bread. 9 And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often passeth by us. 10 Let us therefore make him a little chamber, and put a little bed in it for him, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that when he cometh to us he may abide there. 1 l Now there was a certain day when he came, and turned in to the chamber, and rested there. 12 And he said to Giezi his servant: Call this Sunamitess. And when he had called her, and she stood before him, 13. He said to his servant: Say to her : Behold, thou hast diligently served us in all things: what wilt thou have me to do for thee P hast thou any business, and wilt thou that I speak to the king, or to the general of the army P and she answered : I dwell in the midst of my own people. 14 And he said : What ...iſ for her ? And Giezi said: Do not ask; for she hath no son, and her husband is old. 15 Then he bid him call her : and when she was called, and stood before the door, 16 He said to her : At this time, and this same hour, if life accompany, thou shalt have a son in thy womb. But she answered: Do not, I beseech thee, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid. 17 And the woman conceived, and brought forth a soil in the time, and at the same hour, that Eliseus had said. 18 And the child grew. And on a certain day, when he went out to his father, to the reapers, 19. He said to his father: My head acheth; my head acheth. But he said to his servant. Take him, and carry him to his mother. 20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, she set him on her knees until noon: and then he died. o 21 And she went up, and laid him upon the bed of the man of God, and shut the door; and going Out 32 She called her husband, and said. Send with me, I beseech thee, one of thy servants, and an ass that I may run to the man of God, and come *1931 Il. sº And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to-day is neither new moon nor sabbath. She an- swered: I will go. 24 And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and make haste ; make no stay in going. And do that which I bid thee. 25 So she went forward, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel : and when the man of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi his servant : Behold that Sunamitess. 26 Go therefore to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? And she answered: Well. 27 And when she came to the man of God to the mount, she caught hold on his feet: and Giez: came to remove her. And the man of God said: Let her alone; for her soul is in anguish : and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 28 And she said to him : Did I ask a son of my lord P did I not say to thee: Do not deceive me? 29 Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not:* and if any man salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 30 But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed her. 31 But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child:f and there was no voice nor sense: and he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen. 32 Eliseus therefore went into the house : and behold, the child lay dead on his bed : 33 And going in he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord. 34 And he went up, and lay upon the child: and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he bowed himself upon him ; and the child's flesh grew Wà l’II). 35 Then he returned, and walked in the house, once to and fro: and he went up, and lay upon num and the child gaped seven times, and opened his yes 36 And he called Giezi, and said to him : Call * Salute him not. He that is sent to raise to life the sinner spiritu- ally dead, must not suffer himself to be called off, or diverted from his entcry rise, by the salutations or ceremonies of the world. * St. Augustine considers a great mystery in this miracle wrought by the prophet Eliseus, thus: By the staff sent by his servant is figured the rod of Mosas or the Old Law which was not sufficient to bring she then that I dol mankind to life, then dead in sin. It was necessary that Christ him. self should come, and by taking on human nature, become flesh of our flesh, and restore us to life. In this Eliseus was a figure of Christ, as it was necessary that he should conne himself to bring the dead child to life, and restore him to his nowher, who is here, in a mystical sense a figure of the Church. 288 CHAP. V. this Sunamitess. And she being called, went in to him ; and he said : Take up thy son. { } 37 She came, and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground; and took up her son, and went out. 38 And Eliseus returned to Galgal ; and there; was a famine in the land ; and the sons of the pro- pnets dwelt before him. And he said to one of his servants: Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39 And one went out into the field to gather wild herbs: and he found something like a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds of the field,” and filled his mantle; and coming back, he shred them into the pot of pottage: for he knew not what it was. 40 And they poured it out for their companions to eat; and when they had tasted of the pottage, they cried out, saying: ń. is in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat thereof. 41 But he said: Bring some meal. And when they had brought it, he cast it into the pot, and said: Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was now no bitterness in the pot. 42 And a certain man came from Baalsalisa, bringing to the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new corn in his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat. 43 And his servant answered him : How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men f He said again : Give to the people, that they may eat : for thus saith the Lord : They shall eat ; and there shall be left. 44. So he set it before them : and they ate ; and there was left according to the word of the Lord. CHAP. V. Naaman the Syrian is cleansed of his leprosy. He professeth his belief in one God, promising to serve him. Giezi taketh gifts of Naaman; and is struck with leprosy. AAMAN, general of the army of the king of -I-V Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance to Syria; and he was a valiant man, and rich, but a leper. 2. Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited upon Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said to her mistress: I wish my mas- ter had been with the prophet that is in Samaria ; he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath. 4. Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told nim, saying: Thus and thus said the girl from the land of lsrael. 5 And the king of Syria said to him : Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed ; and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of laiment: 6 And brought the letter to the king of Israel, in | these words: When thou shalt receive this letter know that I have sent to thee Naaman my Servant. lat thou mayst heal him of his leprosy. 7 And when the king of Israel had read the let- ter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sen' to me, to heal a man of his leprosy F mark, and see how he seeketh occasions against me. 8 And when Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his gar- ments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments P let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus. 10 And Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying. Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan ; and thy flesh shall recover health ; and thou shalt be clean. ll Naaman was angry, and went away, saying: I thought he would have come out to me, and standing would have invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me. 12 Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean P. So as he turned, and was going away with indignation, 13 His servants came to him, and said to him Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it: how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt be clean P 14. Then he went down, and washed in the Jor- dan seven times, according to the word of the man of God: and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child ; and he was made clean. 15 And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came, and stood before him, and said: In truth I know there is no other God in all the earth, but only in lsrael : I beseech thee therefore take a blessingſ of thy servant. 16 But he answered: As the Lord liveth, before whom l stand, I will receive none. And when he pressed him, he still refused. 17 And Naaman said: As thou wilt; but I be- seech thee, grant to me thy servant, to take from hence two mules burden of earth: for thy servant will not henceforth offer holocaust, or victim to other gods, but to the Lord. 18 But there is only this, for which thou shalt intreat the Lord for thy servant; when my mastel goeth into the temple of Remmon, to worship, and he leaneth upon my hand, if I bow down in the tem- ple of Remmon, when he boweth down in the same |. that the Lord pardon me thy servant for this thl 119ſ. 19 And he said to him: Go in peace.f. So he departed from him in the spring time of the earth. * Wild gourds of the field. Colocynthidas. They are extremely bitter, and therefore are called the gall of the earth; and are poisonous if ta- ken in a great quantity. | •A blessing A present. Go in weace. What the prophet here allowed, was not an outward conformity to an idolatrous worship; but only a service which by his office he owed to his master: who on all public occasions, leaned on him : so that his bowing down when his master bowed himself down. was not in effect adoring the idols; nºr was it so understood by the standers by, since he publicly professed himself a worshipper of the 289 % IV. KINGS. 20 But Giezi the servant of the man of God aid: My master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving of him that which he brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take some thing of him. 2I And Giezi followed after Naaman: and when he saw him running after him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said: Is all well ? 22 And he said: Well: my master hath sent me to thee, saying: Just now there are come to me from In Ount É. two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. - 23 And Naaman said: It is better that thou take two talents. And he forced him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of gar- ments; and laid them upon two of his servants: and they carried them before him. 21. And when he was come, and now it was the evening, he took them from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and sent the men away; and they departed. 25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Eliseus said: Whence comest thou, Giezif He answered: Thy servant went lio whither. 26 But he said: Was not my heart present, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet theef So now thou hast received money, and received gar- ments, to buy olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants. 27 But the leprosy of Naaman shall also stick to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from him a leper as white as snow. CHAP. VI. Eliseus maketh iron to swim upon the water: he leadeth the Sy. rians that were sent to apprehend him, into Samaria, where their eyes being opened, they are courteously entertained. The Syrians besiege Samaria ; the famine there causeth a woman to eat her own child. Upon this the king commandeth Eliseus to be put to death. ND the sons of the prophets said to Eliseus: Behold, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us: 2 Let us go as far as the Jordan, and take out of the wood, every man a piece of timber, that we may build us there a place to dwell in. And he said: Go. 3 And one of them said: But come thou also with Jhy servants. He answered: I will come. 4. So he went with them. . And when they were come to the Jordan, they cut down wood. 5 And it happened, as one was feiling some tim- ber, that the head of the axe fell into the water: and he cried out, and said: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, for this same was borrowed. 6 And the man of God said: Where did it fall P and he showed him the place. Then he cut off a piece of wood, and cast it in thither, and the iron SW&Ill. 7 And he said: Take it up. And he put out his hand, and took it. © 8 And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place let us lay ambushes. . 9 And the man of God sent to the king of lsrael, saying: Beware that thou pass not to such a place for the Syrians are there in ambush. º 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and prevented him, and looked well to himself there not once nor tW1Ce. 11 And the heart of the king of Syria was trou- bled for this thing. And calling together his ser- vants, he said: Why do you not tell me who it is that betrays me to the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said: No one, my lord O king: but Eliseus the prophet, that is in Is- rael, telleth the king of Israel all the words that thou speakest in thy privy chamber. 13 And he said to them : Go, and see where he is, that I may send, and take him. And they told him, saying: Behold, he is in Dothan. 14. Therefore he sent thither horses and chariots, and the strength of an army: and they came by night, and beset the city. tº C 15 And the servant of the man of God rising early, went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him, say ing: Alas, alas, alas, my lord; what shall we do P 16 But he answered: Fear not: for there are more with us than with them. 17 And Eliseus prayed, and said: Lord, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant; and he saw : and behold, the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire. round about Eliseus. e 18 And the enemies came down to him: but Eliseus prayed to the Lord, saying: Strike, I be- seech thee, this people with blindness.” And the Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus. 19 And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way: neither is this the city: follow me, and I will show you the man whom you seek. So he led them into Samaria. 20 And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Fº opened their eyes; and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them? 22 And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. !" -J. A lº only true and living God; but it was no more than doing a civil office to the king his master, whose leaning upon him obliged him to bow at the same time that he bowed. * Illindness. The blindness here spoken of was of a particular kind, which hindered them from seeing the objects, that were really before them; and represented other diſſerent objects to their imagination; so that they no longer perceived the city of Dothan, nor were able te know the person of Eliseus; but were easily led by him, whom they took to be another man, to Samaria. So that he truly told them, this is not the way, neither is this the city, &c. because he spoke with relatios to the way, and to the city, which was represented to them 2 º'T Tº… — sº Sº- ...sº <> CHAP. W 11. 23 And a great provision of meats was set be- fore them; and they ate and drank: and he let them go ; and they went away to their master; and the rollbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. 24 And it came to pass after these things, that Benadad king of Syria gathered together all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria : and so long did the siege continue, till the head of an ass was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth art of a cabe of pigeons' dung, for five pieces of silver. 26 And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying: Save me, my lord O king. 27 And he said: If the Lord doth not save thee, how can I save thee P out of the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press P And the king said to her: What aileth theef And she answered: 28 This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day: and we will eat my son to- |]] () TOVV. 29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day: Give thy son, that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son. 30 When the king heard this, he rent his gar- ments, and passed by upon the wall. And all the people saw the hair-cloth which he wore within next to his flesh. - 31 And the king said: May God do so and so to ine, and may he add more, if the head of Eliseus the son of Saphat shall stand on him this day. 32 But Eliseus sat in his house; and the ancients sat with him. So he sent a man before: and be- ‘ore that messenger came, he said to the ancients: Jo you know that this son of a murderer hath sent o cut off my head P Look then, when the messen- ger shall come, shut the door, and suffer him not to come in : for behold, the sound of his master’s fect is behind him. 33 While he was yet speaking to them, the mes- senger appeared, who was coming to him. And he said: Behold, so great an evil is from the Lord : what shall I look for more from the Lord? CHAP. VII. Eliseus prophesieth a great plenty, which presently ensueth upon the sudden flight of the Syrians; of which four lepers bring the news to the city. The incredulous nobleman is trod to death. ND Eliseus said: Hear ye the word of the Lord: Atº Thus saith the Lord: To-morrow about this time a bushel of fine flour shall be sold for a stater,” and two bushels of barley for a stater, in the gate of Samaria. 2 Then one of the lords, upon whose bond the king, leaned, answering the man of God, Sand: If the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, can Jiat possibly be which thou sayest? And he said: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes; but shalt not eat thereof. 3 Now there were four lepers, at the entering in * JI stater. It is the same as a sicle or shekel. | 9 --- Nº. "- <><=- º - 22-2T > Sl- of the gate: and they said one to another: Whal mean we to stay here till we die P - 4. If we will enter into the city, we shall die with famine: and if we will remain here, we must also die : come, therefore, and let us run over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we shal' live: but if they kill us, we shall but die. 5 So they arose in the evening to go to the Sy. rian camp. And when they were come to the first !. of the camp of the Syrians, they found no man, tilele. 6 For the Lord had made them hear, in the camp of Syria, the noise of chariots, and of horses, and of a very great army: and they said one to another: Behold, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hethites, and of the Egyptians: and they are come upon us. 7 Wherefore they arose, and fled away in the dark, and left their tents, and their horses and asses in the camp; and fled, desiring to save their lives. 8 So when these lepers were come to the begin- ning of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank: and they took from thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it : and they came again, and went into another tent, and carried from thence in like manner, and hid it. 9 Then they said one to another : We do not well: for this is a day of good tidings. If we hold our peace, and do not tell it till the morning, we sha. be charged with a crime: come, let us go, and tel, it in the king’s court. 10 So they came to the gate of the city, and told them, saying: We went to the camp of the Syrians: and we found no man there, but horses, and asses tied, and the tents standing. 11 Then the guards of the gate went, and told it within in the king's palace. 12 And he arose in the night, and said to his ser- vants: I tell you what the Syrians have done to us: They know that we suffer great famina: and there- fore they are gone out of the camp, and lie hid in the fields, saying: When they come out of the city we shałi take them alive; and then we may get into the city. 13 And one of his servants answered : Let us take the five horses that are remaining in the city (because there are no more in the whole multitude of Israel, for the rest are consumed,) and let us send, and see. 14. They brought therefore two horses, and the king sent into the camp of the Syrians, saying: Go, and see. 15 And they went after them as far as the Jordan and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their fright: and the messengers returned, und told the king. 16 And the people going out, pillaged the camp of the Syrians: and a bushel of fine flour was sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley ſor a stater according to the word of the Lord. 17 And the king appointed that lord on whose hand he leancil, to stand ". the gate: and the peo: 29 IV. KINGS. p e Iroq upon him in th9, entrance of the gate; and ine died, as the man of God had said, when the king came down to him. 18 And it came to pass according to the word of the man of God, which he spoke to the king, when he said: Two bushels of barley shall be for a stater, and a bushel of fine flour for a stater, at this very time to-morrow in the gate of Samaria. 19 When that lord answered the man of God, and said: Although the Lord should make flood- gates in heaven, could this come to pass which thou sayest? And he said to him: Thou shalt see with thy eyes; and shalt not eat thereof. 20 And so it fell out to him as it was foretold : ºle people trod upon him in the gate ; and he (11001. CHAP. VIII. After seven years’ famine foretold by Eliseus, the Sunamitess re- turning home, recovereth her lands and revenues. Eliseus foreshoweth the death of Benadad king of Syria, and the reign of Hazael. Joram’s wicked reign in Juda. He dieth, and his son Ochozias succeedeth. AND Eliseus spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying: Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoeyer thou cinst findſ for the lord hath called a famine; and It shall come upon the land seven years. 2 And she arose, and did according to the word of the man of God: and going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days. 3 And when the seven years were ended, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to speak to the king for her house, and for her lands. 4 And the king talked with Giezi the servant of the man of God, saying: Tell me all the great things that Eliseus hath done. 5 And when he was telling the king how he had raised one dead to life, the woman appeared, whose son he had restored to life, crying to the king for her house, and her lands. And Giezi said: My lord O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Eliseus raised to life. 6 And the king asked the woman: and she told him. And the king appointed her a eunuch, saying: Restore her all that is hers, and all the reventies of the lands, from the day that she left the land, to .nis present. 7 Eliseus also came to Damascus: and Benadad king of Syria was sick: and they told him, saying: The man of God is come hither. 8 And the king said to Hazael : Take with thee prest nts, and go to meet the man of God, and con- sult the Lord by him, saying: Can I recover of this my illness? 9 And Hazael went to meet him, taking with aim presents, and all the good things of Damascus, the-burdens of forty camels. And when he stood * Tell him : thou shalt recover. By these words the prophet signified that the king's disease was not mortal; and that he would recover, if * viºlence were used. Or be might only express himself in this mān- ael, by way of giving Ilazael to understand that he knew both what 292 --> → <--~~~ before him, he said: Thy son Benadad the king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying: Can I recover ol this my illness f 10 And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover:* but the Lord hath shewn me that he shall surely die. 11 And he stood with him, and was troubled so far as to blush: and the man of God wept 12 And Hazael said to him: Why doth my lord weep 2 And he said: Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel. Their strong cities thou wilt burn with fire; and their young inen thou wilt kill with the sword; and thou wilt dash their children, and rip up their pregnant women. 13 And Hazael said: But what am I thy servant a dog, that I should do this great thing f And Eliseus said: "The Lord hath shown me that thou shalt be king of Syria. 14 And when he was departed from Eliseus, he came to his master, who said to him : What said Eliseus to theef And he answered: He told me: Thou shalt recover. 15 And on the next day, he took a blanket, and poured water on it, and spread it upon his face; and he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead. 16 in the fifth year of Joram son of Achab king of Israel, and of Josaphati king of Juda, reigned Jo- ram son of Josaphat king of Juda. 17 He was two and thirty years old when he be- gan to reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusa- len). 18 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had walked: for the daughter of Achab was his wife ; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. 19 But the Lord would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he had promised him, to give him a light, and to his children always. 20 In his days Edom revolted, from being under Juda, and made themselves a king. 21 And Joram came to Seira, and all the chariots with him : and he arose in the night, and defeated the Edomites that had surrounded him, and the cap- tains of the chariots' hut the people fled into their tellt S. 22 So Edom revolted from being under Juda, unto this day. Then lobua also revolted at the same time. p 23 But the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David and Ocho- zias his son reigned in his stead. 25 In the twelfth year of Joram son of Achah king of Israel, reigned Ochozias son of Joram king of Juda. t 26 Ochozias was two and twenty years old when he would say and do; that he would indeed tell the king he should re- cover; but would be himself the instrument of his death. # And of Josaphat, &c. That is, Josaphat being yet aiive wºn some time before his death made his son Joram king, as David had done he- fore by his son Solomon. Yº- Ş| 4% CHAP. IX. tie “egan to reign : and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter* of Amri king of Israel. 27 And he walked in the ways of the house of A "hab : and he did evil before the Lord, as did the House of Achab: for he was the son-in-law of the house of Achab. 28 fle went also with Joram son of Achab, to { ght against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth- (talaad : and the Syrians wounded Joram : 29 And he went back to be healed, in Jezrahel: because the Syrians had wounded him in Ramoth when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down tº visit Joram the son of Achab in Jezrahel ; be- cause he was sick there. CHAP. IX. Jehu is anointed king of Israel, to destroy the house of Achab and Jezabel. He killeth Joram king of Israel, and Ochozias /cing of Juda. Jezabel is eaten by dogs. A Nº. Eliseus the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him : Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Galaad. 2 And when thou art come thither, thou shalt see Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Namsi : and going in thou shalt make him rise up from amongst his lorethren, and carry him into an inner chamber. 3 Then taking the little bottle of oil, thou shalt Yout it on his head, and shalt say: Thus saith the i.a. I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door, and flee ; and shalt not stay there. - 4. So the young man the servant of the prophet went away to Ramoth-Galaad, 5 And went in thither: and behold, the captains of the army were sitting; and he said: I have a word to thee, O prince. And Jehu said: Unto whom of us all? And he said: To thee, O prince. 6 And he arose, and went into the chamber: and he poured the oil upon his head, and said: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over Israel, the people of the Lord. 7 And thou shalt cut off the house of Achab thy master: and I will revenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the lord at the hand of Jezabel. - 8 Aud I will destroy all the house of Achab: and I will cut off from Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the meanest in Israel. 9 And I will make the house of Achab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias. 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of 't ºrallel: and there shall be no one to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled. | | Then Jehu went forth to the servants of his ſerd. and they said to him: Are all things well ? why * Dan'ghter. That is, grand daughter; for she was daughter of Achah son of Amri, ver. 18 ſ came this mad man to thee! And he said to thena You know the man, and what he said. 12 But they answered: It is false; but rather de thou tell us. And he said to them : Thus and hus did he speak to me: and he said: Thus saith the Lord : I have anointed thee king over Israel. 13 Then they made haste, and taking every mas his garment, laid it under his feet, after the manner of a judgment-seat: and they sounded the trumpet. and said: Jehu is king. 14 So Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Nams conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth-Galaad, he and all Israel fighting with Ha- Zael king of Syria : 15 And was returned to be healed in Jeziahel of his wounds; for the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it please you, let no man go forth or º º of the city ; lest he go, and tell in Jez !" 25 And Jehu said to Badacer his captain: Take him, and cast him into the field of Naboth the Jez rahelite: for I remember, when I and thou sitting in a chariot followed Achab this man’s father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him, saying. 26 If I do not requiºhee in this field, saith the IV. KINGS. Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of will we make us a king: do thou all that pleaseth his children, which I saw yesterday, saith the Lord. |t|1. e. e So n w take him, and cast him into the field, ac-|| 6 And he wrote letters the second time to , them, cordiug to the word of the Lord. saying: If you be mine, and will obey me, take the 27 But Öchozias king of Juda seeing this, fled|heads of the sons of your master, and come to me to by the way of the garden-house; and Jehu pursued ||Jezrahel by to-morrow this time. Now the king's him, and said: Strike him also in his chariot. And ||sons, being seventy men, were brought up with the they struck him in the going up to Gaver, which is || chief men of the city. by Jeblaam: and he fled into Mageddo, and died || 7 And when the letters came to them, they took there, the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put 28 And his servants laid him upon his chariot, their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to and carried him to Jerusalem: and they buried him ||Jezrahel. o © in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. ||... 8 And a messenger came, and told him, saying. 29 In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Achab, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. Ochozias reigned over Juda: And he said: Lay ye them in two heaps by the en- 30 And Jehu came into Jezrahel. ... But Jezabel |tering in of the gate until the morning. hearing of his coming in, painted her face with stibic 9 And when it was light, he went out, and stone, and adorned her head; and looked out of a ||standing said to all the people : You are just: if I window conspired against my master, and slew him, who 31 At Jehu coming in at the gate; and said: Can ||hath slain all these ? there be peace for Zambri, that hath killed his master? 10 See therefore now that there hath not ſalien 32 And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, to the ground any of the words of the Lord, which and said: Who is this f And two or three eunuchs] the Lord spoke concerning the house of Achab: lowed down to him. and the Lord hath done that which he spoke in the 33 And he said to them : Throw her down head-||hand of his servant Elias. long; and they threw her down ; and the wall was ! 1 So Jehu slew all that were left of the house sprinkled with her blood; and the hoofs of the hor- of Achab in Jezrahel, and all his chief men, and ses trod upon her. - his friends, and his priests, till there were no re- 34 And when he was come in, to eat and to drink, iſ mains left of him. he said: Go, and see after that cursed woman, and 12 And he arose, and went to Samaria : and bury her : because she is a king's daughter. when he was come to the shepherd's cabin in the 35 And when they went to bury her, they found|way, - nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremi- 13. He met with the brethren of Ochozias king ties of her hands. - of Juda, and he said to them : Who are you ? And 36 And coming back they told him. And Jehu || they answered : We are the brethren of Ochozias: said: It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by ||and are come down to salute the sons of the king. his servant Elias the Thesbite, saying: In the field ||and the sons of the queen. of Jezrahel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel: 14 And he said: , Take them alive. And they 37. And the flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon | took them alive, and killed them at the pit by the the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel; so ||cabin, two and forty men; and he left not any of that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same|them Jezabel? 15 And when he was departed thence, he found CHAP. X. Jonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him Jehu destroyeth the house of Achab ; abolisheth the worship of and he blessed him. And he said to him : Is thy Baal ; and killeth the worshippers : but sticks to the calves of heart right aS my heart is with thy heart P And Jo- Jeroboam. Israel is afflicted by the Syrians. madab said: It is. If it be, said he, give me thy ND Achab had seventy sons in Samaria : so hand. He gave him his hand. And he lifted him Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the |up to him into the chariot, chief men of the city, and to the ancients, and to 16 And said to him : Come with me, and ste them that brought up Achab’s children, saying: my zeal for the Lord. So he made him ride in 2. As soon as you receive these letters, ye that his chariot, have your master's sons, and chariots, and horses, 17 And brought him into Samaria. And he and fenced cities, and armour, * º slew all that were left of Achab in Samaria, to a 3 Choose the best; and him that shall please you ||man, according to the word of the Lord which he most of your master’s sons ; and set him on his fa- spoke by Elias. ther’s throne, and fight for the house of your master. 4. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said: Behold, two kings could not stand before him; and how shall we be able to resist? 5 Therefore the overseers of the house, and the rulers of the city, and the ancients, and the tutors sent to Jehu, saying: We are thy servants; what- soever thou shalt commºd us we will do: neither 18 And Jehu gathered together all the people, and said to them : Achab worshipped Baal a little ; but I will worship him more.” 19 Now therefore call to me all the prophets of * I will worship him more. Jehu sinned in thus pretending to wer ship Baal, and causing sacrifice to be offered to him; becºmic evil is not to be done, that good may come of it. Rom. iii. 8 = CHAP. XI. f B-tal. and all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting; for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal : whosoever shall be wanting shall not live. Now Jehu did this craftily, that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. 20 And he said: Proclaim a festival for Baal. And he called, * 21 And he sent into all the borders of Israel; Aud all the servants of Baal came : there was not »ne left that did not come. And they went into the temple of Baal : and the house of Baal was filled, from one end to the other. 22 And he said to them that were over the ward- rehe : Bring forth garments for all the servants of Baal. And they brought them forth garments. 23 And Jehu and jº, the son of Rechab went to the temple of Baal, and said to the wor- shippers of Baal: Search, and see that there be not any with you of the servants of the Lord, but that there be the servants of Baal only. 24 And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-l offerings: but Jehu had prepared him four score men without, and said to them : If any of the men escape, whom I have brought into your hands, he that letteth him go shall answer life for life. 25 Arid it came to pass, when the burnt-offering was ended, that Jehu commanded his soldiers and captains, saying: Go in, and kill them; let none escape. And the soldiers and captains slew them with the edge of the sword, and cast them out ; and they went into the city of the temple of Baal, 26 And brought the statue out of Baal's temple, and burnt it, 27 And broke it in pieces. They destroyed also the temple of Baal, and made a jakes in its place unto this day. 28 So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel: 29 But yet he departed not from the sins of Je- roboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin : nor did he forsake the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan. 30 And the Lord said to Jehu : Because thou hast diligently executed that which was right and pleasing in my eyes, and hast done to the house of Achab according to all that was in my heart: thy children shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. - 31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin. 32. In those days the Lord began to be weary of 'sfael : and Hazael ravaged them in all the coasts of Israel, 33 From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Galaad, and Gad, and Ruben, and Manasses, from Aroer, which is upon the torrent Arnon, and Galaad, and Basan. 34. But the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that ‘ic did, and his strength, are they not written in the º: of the words of the days of the kings of IS- Tael 35 And Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria : ed in his stead. 36 And the time, that Jehu reigned over Israel. in Samaria, was eight and twenty years. CHAP. XI. . Athalia's usurpation and tyranny. Joas is made king. Atka lia is slain. ANP Athalia the mother of Ochozias seeing that her son was dead, arose, and slew all the royal seed. 2. But Josaba the daughter of king Joram, sist r of Ochozias, took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, out of the bed-chamber with his nurse; and hid him from the face of Athalia: so that he was not slain. 3 And he was with her six years hid in the º of the Lord. And Athalia reigned over the &ll] Cl. 4 And in the seventh year Joiada sent, and tak- ing the centurions and the soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and made a covenant with them : and taking an oath of then in the house of the Lord, showed them the king’s SOIl . 5 And he commanded them, saying: This is the thing that you must do: 6. Let a third part of you go in on the sabbath, and keep the watch of the king’s house. And let a third part be at the gate of Sur: and let a third part be at the gate behind the dwelling of the shield- bearers: and you shall keep the watch of the house of Messa. 7 But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. 8 And you shall compass him round about, hav- ing weapons in your hands: and if any man shall enter the precinct of the temple, let him be slain , and you shall be with the king coming in and go- ing out. 9 And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada the priest had commanded them : and taking every one their men, that went in on the sab- bath, with them that went out in the sabbath, came to Joiada the priest. 10 And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which were in the house of the Lord. 11 And they stood, having 2very one their wea- pons in their hands, from the .ight side of the ten ple, unto the left side of the altar, and of the tem ple, about the king. 12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put the diadem upon him, and the testimony,” and they made him king, and anointed him; and clapping their hands, they said: God save the king. 13 And Athalia heard the noise of the people run. and Joachaz his son reign |ning: and going in to the people into the temple ot the Lord, ſº e 14. She saw the king standing upon a tribunal.1 *** * * The testimony. The book of the law. t J1 tribunal. A tribune, * place elevated above the rest. IV. KIN US. as the manner was, and the singers, and the trum- pets near him, and all the people of the land re- oicing, and sounding the trumpets: and she rent her garments, and Cried: A conspiracy, a conspiracy. 15 But Joiada commanded the centurions that were over the army, and said to them: Have her ortn witnout the precinct of the temple; and who- soever shall follow her, let him be slain with the sword For the priest had said: Let her not be slain in the temple of the Lord. 16 And they laid hands on her; and thrust her out Ly the way by which the horses go in, by the palace; and she was slain there. 17 And Joiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord, and between the king and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went into the temple of Baal, and broke down his altars; and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly; they slew also Mathan the priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest set guards in the house of the Lord. 19 And he took the centurions, and the bands of the Cerethi and the Phelethi, and all the people of the land: and they brought the king from the house of the Lord: and they came by the way of the gate of the shield-bearers into the palace: and he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 And all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword in the king's house. 21 Now Joas was seven years old when he began to reign. CHAP. XII. The temple is repaired. Hazael is bought off from attacking Jerusalem. Joas is slain. IN the seventh year of Jehu, Joas began to reign: * and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. The .lane of his mother was Sebia of Bersabee. 2 And Joas did that which was right before the Lord, all the days that Joiada the priest taught him. 3 But yet he took not away the high places: for the people still sacrificed, and burnt incense in the nigh places. | And Joas said to the priests: All the money of the sanctified” things, which is brought into the temple of the Lord by those that pass, which is of ferred for the price of a soul,f and which of their own accord, and of their own free heart they bring into the temple of the Lord: 5 let the priests take it according to their order, and repair the house, wheresoever they shall see any thing that wanteth repairing. 6 Now till the three and twentieth year of king oas, the priests did not make the repairs of the temple. 7 And king Joas called Joiada the high priest and uſe priests, saying to them: Why do you not repair the temple? Take you therefore money no more ac- cording to your order; but restore it for the repºring of the temple. 8 And the priestswere forbidden to take any more money of the people, and to make the repairs of the house. 9 And Joiada the high priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the top, and set it by the altar at the right hand of them that came into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the doors put therein all the money that was brought to the tem- ple of the Lord. - 10 And when they saw that there was very much money in the chest, the king's scribe, and the high priest came up, and poured it out, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord: 11 And they gave it out by number and measure into the hands of them that were over the builders of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters, and the masons that wrought in the house of the Lord, - 12 And made the repairs; and to them that cur stones, and to buy timber, and stones, to be hewed, that the repairs of the house of the Lord might be completely finished, wheresoever there was need of expenses to uphold the house. 13 But there were not made of the same money for the temple of the Lord, bowls or flesh-hooks, of censers, or trumpets, or any vessel of gold and sil- ver of the money that was brought into the temple. of the Lord ; - 14 For it was given to them that did the work, that the temple of the Lord might be repaired. 15 And they reckoned not with the men that re- ceived the money to distribute it to the workmen ; but they bestowed it faithfully. 16 But the money for trespass, and the money for sins, they brought not into the temple of the Lord : because it was for the priests. 17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Geth, and took il, and set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 Wherefore Joas king of Juda took all the sanc- tified things, which Josaphat, and Joram, and Ocho- zias, his fathers the kings of Juda had dedicated to holy uses, and which he himself had offered : and all the silver that could be found in the treasures of the temple of the Lord, and in the king’s palace; and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went off from Jerusalem. 19 And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all tha he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Judaf 20 And his servants arose, and conspired among themselves, and slew Joas in the house of Mello in the descent of Sella. 21 For Josachar the son of Semaath, and Joza- bad the son of Somer his servant struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city ºf David:f and Amasias his son reigned in his Stead. Wºr- -----—-------- ºw- * Sanctified. That is, dedicated to God's service. | The price of a soul. That is, the ordinary oblation, which every •rul was to offer by the law. Erol. v v «. -------> 2-2" ---TE=< *śs f The city of David. He was buried in the same citywith his fathers but not in the sepulchres of the kings 2 Paralip. x6v. 29t; C H A P. X | | |, XIV. CHAP. XIII. The reign of Joachaz and of Joas kings of Israel. The last acts and death of Eliseus the prophet: a dead man is raised to life by the touch of his bones. N the three and twentieth year of Joas son of Ochozias king of Juda, Joachaz the son of Jehu reigned over lsrael in Samaria, seventeen years. 2 Aud he did evil before the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israeſ to sin; and he departed not from them. 3 And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel: and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael the king of Syria, and into the hand of Benadad the son of Hazael all days. 4. But Joachaz besought the face of the Lord ; and the Lord heard him: for he saw the distress of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them: 5 And the Lord gave Israel a saviour: and they were delivered out of the hand of the king of Syria: and the children of Israel dwelt in their pavilions as yesterday and the day before. 6 But yet they departed not from the sins of Je- roboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them : and there still remained a grove” also in Sa- maria. . 7 And Joachaz had no more left of the people than fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thou- sand footmen: for the king of Syria had slain them, and had brought them low as dust by thrashing in the barn floor. 8 But the rest of the acts of Joachaz, and all that he did, and his valour, are they not written in º: Bºok of the words of the days of the kings of srael : 9 And Joachaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joas his son reigned in his stead. 10 In the seven and thirtieth year of Joas king of Juda, Joas the son of Joachaz reigned over ls- rael in Samaria sixteen years. 11 And he did that which is evil in the sight of the Lord : he departed not from all the sins of Jero- ooam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin ; but me walked in them. 12 But the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, and his valour wherewith he fought against Amasias king of Juda, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel P 13 And Joas slept with his fathers: and Jero- boam sat upon his throne. But Joas was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 14 Now Eliseus was sick of the illness whereof he died: and Joas king of Israel went down to him, and wept before him, and said: O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the guider thereof. 15 And Eliseus said to him: Bring a bow and arrows. Aud when he had brought him a bow and arrows, * A grove; dedicated to the worship of idols. }. If thou hadst smitten, &c. By this it appears that God had revealed wo the prophet that the king should overcome the Syrians as many ====== –-> 2-cºſirº- 2–~~ 22- . S- 16 He said to the king of Israel: Put thy hand upon the bow. And whºm he had put his hand Eliseus put his hands over the king's hands, 17 And said: Open the window to the east. And when he had opened it, Eliseus said: Shoot an ar. row. And he shot. And Eliseus said: "The ar. row of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of the deliyerance from Syria; and thou shalt strike the Syrians in Aphec, till thou consume them. 18 And he said: "Take the arrows. And wher. he had taken them, he said to him: Strike with an arrow upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stood still. - 19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said: If thou hadst smittent five or six or Seven times, thou hadst smitten Syria even to utter destruction: but now three times shalt thou smite it. 20 And Eliseus died: and they buried him. And the rovers from Moab came into the land the same year. - 21 And some that were burying a man, saw the royers, and cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. . And when it had touched the bones of Flºus, the man came to life, and stood upon his €6t. 22 Now Hazael king of Syria afflicted Israel all the days of Joachaz : 23 And the Lord had mercy on them, and re- turned to them because of his covenant, which he had made with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob: and he would not destroy them, nor utterly cast them away, unto this present time. 24 And Hazael king of Syria died: and Benadad his son reigned in his stead. 25 Now Joas the son of Joachaz, took the ci- ties out of the hand of Benadad the son of Hazael, which he had taken out of the hand of Joachaz his father by war: three times did Joas beat him; and he restored the cities to Israel. CHAP. XIV. Amasias reigneth in Juda: he overcometh the Edomites : but is overcame by Joas king of Israel. Jeroboam the second reign- eth in Israel. IN the second year of Joas son of Joachaz king of Israel, reigned Amasias son of Joas king of Juda. 2 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign: and nine and twenty years he reigned in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Joadan of Jerusalem. 3 And he did that which was right before the Lord, but yet not like David his father. He did according to all things that Joas his father did : 4. But this only, that he took not away the high places: for yet the people sacrificed, and burnt in- cense in the high places. 5 And when he had possession of the kingdom. he put his servants to death that had slain the king his father: times as he should then strike on the ground; but as he had not aſ the same time revealed to him how often the king would strike, the prophet was concerned to see that he struck but thrice. 297 IV. KINGS. forest, that are in Libanus, passed and trod down 6 But the children of the murderers he dio not put to death according to that which is written in the Book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying. The fathers shall not be put to death for the children; neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: but every man shall die for his own sins. 7 I le slew of Edom in the valley of the Salt- its ten thousand men, and took the rock by war, and called the name thereof Jectehel, unto this day. 8 Then Amasias sent messengers to Joas, son of Joachaz, son of Jehu king of Israel, saying: Come, let us see one another.” 9 And Joas king of Israel sent again to Amasias king of Juda, saying A thistle of Libanus sent to a cedar-tree, which is in Libanus, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And the beasts of the the thistle. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Thou hast beaten and prevailed over Edom; and thy heart hath lifted thee up : be content with the glory, and sit at home: why provokest thou evil, that thou shouldst fall, and Juda with theef 11 But Amasias did not rest satisfied. So Joas king of Israel went up: and he and Amasias king of Juda saw one another in Bethsames a town in Juda. 12 And Juda was put to the worse before Israel: and they ſled every man to their dwellings. 13 But Joas king of Israel took Amasias king of Juda the son of Joas, the son of Ochozias, in Beth- sames, and brought him into Jerusalem : and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of ºn to the gate of the corner, four hundred lll) ltS. 14 And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels, that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the king's treasures, and hostages; and re- turned to Samaria. 15 But the rest of the acts of Joas, which he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought against Ama- slas king of Juda, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel f 16 And Joas slept with his fathers, and was ouried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel: and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. 17 And Amasias the son of Joas king of Juda lived, after the death of Joas son of Joachas king of Israel fifteen years. 18 And the rest of the acts of Amasias, are they | not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 19 Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem : and he fled to Lachis. And they sent ifter him to Lachis, and killed him there. 20 And they brought him away upon horses: and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David. 21 And all the people of Juda took Azarias, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amasias. 22 He built Elath, and restored it to Juda, after that the king slept with his fathers. e 23 In the fifteenth year of Amasias son ºf Joas king of Juda, reigned Jeroboam the son of Jºaº king of Israel in Samaria, one and forty years: 24 And he did that which is evil before the Lord He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the borders of Israel from the entrance of Emath, unto the sea of the wilderness, according to the word of the Lord the God of Is- rael, which he spoke by his servant Jonas the son of Amathi, the prophet, who was of Geth, which is in Opher.f 26 For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel that it was exceeding bitter; and that they were con-----|--------- sumed even to them that were shut up in prison, and the lowest persons; and that there was no one to help Israel. 27 And the Lord did not say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he º them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of OżS. * 28 But the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought, and how he restored Damascus, and Emath to Juda in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? - 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers the kings of Israel: and Zacharias his son reigned in *is stead. CHAP. XV. The reign of Azarias, and Joalham in Juda: and of Zacharias Sellum, Manahem, Phaceia, and Phacee, in Israel. N the seven and twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, reigned Azariasſ son of Amasias, king of Juda. 2 He was sixteen years old, when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fifty years in Jeru- salem: the name of his mother was Jechelia of Je- rusalem. - 3 And he did that which was pleasing before the . according to all that his father Amasias had O]] 62. 4. But the high places he did not destroy: for the .. sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places. 5 And the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leperS unto the day of his death; and he dwelt in a free house apart: but Joatham the king’s son go. verned the palace, and judged the peopleof the land. 6 And the rest of the acts of Azarias, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 7 And Azarias slept with his fathers: and they egºs * Let us see one another. This was a challenge to fight. f Opher In the tribe of Zabulon. f isarios Otherwise called Ozias. W.M. leper. In punishment of his usurping the priestly function º Paralip. KXVI. 298 Ş| 4 % N Yºº- CHAP. XVI. buried him with his ancestors in the city of David : and Joath:um his son reigned in his stead. 8 In the eight and thirtieth year of Azarias king ef Juda, reigned Zacharias son of Jeroboam over Israel, in Samaria six months: 9 And he did that which is evil before the Lord, Hs his ſathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Is- tae t , sin. - 10 And Sellum the son of Jabes conspired against him, and struck him publicly, and killed him; and reigned in his place. ! I Now the rest of the acts of Zacharias, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of she kings of Israel? 12 This was the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Jehu, saying: Thy children to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass. 13 Seiium the son of Jabes began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias king of Juda; and reigned one month in Samaria. 14 And Manahem the son of Gadi went up from Thersa: and he came into Samaria, and struck Sel- lum the son of Jabes in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. 15 Aud the rest of the acts of Sellum, and his conspiracy, which he made, are they not written in ". º of the words of the days of the kings of Sl’a €I ſº 16 Then Manahem destroyed Thapsa and all that were in it, and the borders thereof from Ther- sa, because they would not open to him: and he slew all the women thereof that were with child, and ripped thern up. º 17 in the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias king of Juda, reigned Manahem son of Gadi over Israe ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did that which was evil before the Lord : he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin all his days. 19 And Phul king of the Assyrians came into the land ; and Manahem gave Phul a thousand ta- lents of silver, to aid him, and to establish him in .he kingdom. - 20 And Manahem laid a tax upon Israel, on all that were mighty and rich, to give the king of the Assyrians, each man fifty sicles of silver: so the king of the Assyrians turned back, and did not stay in the land. 21 And the rest of the acts of Manahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 22 And Manahem slept with his fathers: and Phacºia his son reigned in his stead. 23 In the fiftieth year of Azarias king of Juda, reigned Phaceia the son of Manahem over Israel in Samaria two years. 24 And he did that which was evil before the | Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made israel to sin. 25 And Phacee the son of Romelia, his captain conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the tower of the king's house, near Argob. and near Arie, and with him fifty men of the soils of the Galaadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead. 26 And the rest of the acts of Phacºia, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel P 27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azarias king of Juda reigned Phacee the son of Romelia over Israel in Samaria twenty years. 28 And he did that which was evil before the Lord : he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sim. 29. In the days of Phacee king of Israel, came Theglathphalasar king of Assyria, and took Aion, and Abel Domum, Maacha, and Janoe, and Cedes and Asor, and Galaad, and Galilee, and aii the land of Nephtali; and carried them captives into Assyria. 30 Now Osee son of Ela conspired, and formed a plot against Phacee, the son of Romelia, and struck him, and slew him ; and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Joatham” the son of Ozias. 31 But the rest of the acts of Phacee, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of 1srael ? 32 In the second year of Phacee the son of Ro- melia king of Israel, reigned Joatham son of Ozias king of Juda. 33 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign ; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Jerusa, the daughter of Sadoc. 34 And he did that which was right before the Lord: according to all that his father Ozias had done, so did he. 35 But the high places he took not away: the people still sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high !". he built the highest gate of the house of the _Ol'Ol. 36 But the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 37 In those days the Lord began to send into Juda Rasin king of Syria, and Phacee the son of Romelia. 38 And Joatham slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David his father: and Achaz his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XVI. The wicked reign of Achaz: the kings of Syria and Israel was against him: he hireth the king of the Assyrians to assist him he causeth an altar to be made after the pattern of that of Damascus. IN the seventeenth year of Phacee the son of Ro: melia, reigned Achaz the son of Joatham king of Juda. 2 Achaz was twenty years old when he began to -º-º-º-º: * In the twentieth year of Joatham. That is in the twentieth year, from the beginning of Joathain's reign. The sacred writer chooses rather - to follow here this date, than to speak of the years of Achaz, who had not yet been menuoned. 299 | V. KINGS. upon it : but the altar of brase shall be ready at my & reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem : he did not that which was pleasing in the sight of the lord his God, as David his father. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel: moreover he consecrated also his son, making him pass through the fire according to the idols of the nations: which the Lord destroyed before the chil- dren of Israel. \ He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high ſºlates, and on the hills, and under every green {rCe. 5 Then Rasin king of Syria, and Phacee son of Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to fight: and they besieged Achaz, but were not able to overcome him. 6 At that time Rasin king of Syria restored Aila to Syria, and drove the men of Juda out of Aila: and the Edomites came into Aila, and dwelt there unto this day. 7 And Achaz sent messengers to Theglathpha- lasar king of the Assyrians, saying: I am thy ser- vant and thy son : come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are risen up together against II 162. 8 And when he had gathered together the silver and gold that could be found in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s treasures, he sent it for a present to the king of the Assyrians. - 9 And he agreed to his desire: for the king of the Assyrians went up against Damascus, and laid it waste : and he carried away the inhabitants thereof to Cyrene : but Rasin he slew. 10 And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Theglathphalasar king of the Assyrians: and when he had seen the altar of Damascus, king Achaz sent to Urias the priest a pattern of it, and its likeness according to ail the work thereof. 1 | And Urias the priest built an altar: according to all that king Achaz had commanded from Damas- cus, so did Urias the priest, until king Achaz came from Damascus. 12 And when the king was come from Damas- cus, he saw the altar, and worshipped it; and went up, and offered holocausts, and his own sacrifice; 13 And offered libations, and pour, d the blood of the peace-offerings, which he had offered, upon the altar. 14 But the altar of brass that was before the Lord, he removed from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the tem- ple of the Lord : and he set it at the side of the al- tar toward the north. 15 And king Achaz commanded Urias the priest, saying: Upon the great altar offer the morning hol- tocaust, and the evening sacrifice, and the king’s holocaust, and his sacrifice, and the holocaust of the whole people of the land, and their sacrifices, and their libations: and all the blood of the holocaust, and all the blood of the victim thou shalt pour out |leasure. 16 So Urias the priest did according to all that king Achaz had commanded him. 17 And king Achaz took away the grºven bases, and the laver that was upon them : and he took down the sea from the brazen oxen that he la it up and put it upon a pavement of stone. 18 The Musach” also for the sabbath, which he had built in the temple, and the king’s entry from without, he turned into the temple of the Lord, be- cause of the king of the Assyrians. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Achaz, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 20 And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David : and Eze- chias his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XVII. The reign of Osee. The Israelites for their sins are carried into captivity: other inhabitants are sent to Samaria, who make a miacture of religion. N the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda, + Osee the son of ki. reigned in Samaria over Israel nine years. 2 And he did evil before the Lord: but not as the kings of Israel that had been before him. 3 Against him came up Salmanasar king of the Assyrians: and Osee became his servant and paid him tribute. - 4 And when the king of the Assyrians found that Osee, endeavouring to rebel, had sent messengers to Sua the king of Egypt, that he might not pay tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had done every year, he besieged him, bound him, and cast him into prison. 5 And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years. 6 And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria : and he placed them in Hala, and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sin- ned against the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of º king of Egypt; and they worshipped strange gCOS. 8 And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner. 9 And the children of Israel offended the Lord their God with things that were not right; and built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 10 And they made them statues and groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree: 1 l And they burnt incense there upon altars af. ter the manner of the nations which the Lord had amºs- * Musack. The covert, or pavilion, or tribune for the king. * In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda. He began to reign be- fore; but was not in quiet possession of the kingdom till the twelfth year of Achaz. 300 * CHAP. XVII. removed from their ſaee and they did wicked things, provoking the Lord. 12 And they worshipped abominations, concern- ing which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do this thing. - 13 And the Lord testified to them in Israel and in Juda by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers; and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets. 14 And they hearkened not, but hardened their mecks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord their God. 15 And they rejected his ordinances and the co- venant that he made with their fathers, and the tes- timonies which he testified against them: and they followed vanities, and acted vainly: and they fol- lowed the nations that were round about them, con- cerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do as they did. 16 And they forsook all the precepts of the Lord their God: and made to themselves two molten calves, and groves, and adored all the host of hea- ven: and they served Baal; 17 And consecrated their sons, and their daugh- ters through fire: and they gave themselves to divi- nations, and soothsayings: and they delivered them- selves up to do evil before the Lord to provoke fll II). 18 And the Lord was very angry with lsrael, and removed them from his sight: and there remained only the tribe of Juda. 19 But neither did Juda itself keep the com- mandments of the Lord their God: but they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought. 20 And the Lord cast off all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the º of spoilers, till he cast them away from his *!C62 . 21 Even from that time, when Israel was rent from the house of David, and made Jeroboam son of Nabat their king; for Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and made them commit a great S! Il. 22 And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done: and they de- Jarted not from them, 23 Till the Lord removed Israel from his face, as he had spoken in the hand of all his servants the rophets: and Israel was carried away out of their nd to Assyria, unto this day. 24 And the king of the Assyrians brought people from Babylon, and from Cutha, and from Avah, and from Emath, and from Sepharvaim; and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. 25 And when they began to dwell there, they feared not the Lord: and the Lord sent lions among then. which killed them 26 And it was told the king of the Assyrians. and it was said: The nations which thou hast re moved, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria, know not the ordinances of the God of the land : and the Lord hath sent lions among them: and be- hold, they kill them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. 27 And the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence captive: and let him go, and dwell with them: and let him teach them the or- dinances of the God of the land. 28 So one of the priests, who had been carried away captive from Samaria, came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should worship the Lord. 29 And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the temples of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their ci- ties where they dwelt. 30 For the men of Babylon made Sochothbenoth; and the Cuthites made Nergel: and the men of Emath made Asima. 31 And the Hewites made Nebahaz and Tharthac. And they that were of Sepharvaim burnt their chil- dren in fire, to Adramelech and Anamelech the gods of Sepharvaim; 32 And nevertheless they worshipped the Lord And they made to themselves, of the lowest of the people, priests of the high places: and they placed them in the temples of the high places. 33 And when they worshipped the Lord, they served also their own gods according to the cus- tom of the nations out of which they were brought to Samaria: 34. Unto this day they follow the old manner: they fear not the Lord; neither do they keep his ceremo, nies, and judgments, and law, and the command- ment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he surnamed Israel: 35 With whom he made a covenant, and chang ed them, saying: You shall not fear strange gods, nor shall you adore them, nor worship them, nor sacrifice to them. - 36 But the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power, and a stretch- ed-out arm, him shall you fear; and him shall you adore; and to him shall you sacrifice. 37 And the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do them always: and vou shall not fear strange gods. 38 And the covenant that le made with you, you . not forget: neither sli ill ye worship strang, O(|S. § 39 But fear the Lord your God; and he shall de- liver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 But they did not hearken, but did according to their old custom. 41 So these nations feared the Lord, but never- theless served also their idols: their children also and grand children, as their fathers did, so do they unto this day. 301 Yºº- ====== Asºº º | W. KIN(xS. ( ; IAP. XV || |. The reign of Ezerhias: he abolisheſh idolatry, and prospſ reth. Sennacherib cometh up against him. Rahsaces soliciteth the people to revolt ; and blasphemºth the Lord. N the third year of Osee the son of Ela king of Is- raci reigned Ezechias the son of Achaz king of (titi.i. 2 lit was five and twenty years old when he be- an “o reign : and he reigned nine and twenty years to je ſusalem : the name of his mother was Abi the daughtºr of Zachalias. 3 And he did that which was good before the Loril, according to all that David his father had done. 4. He destroyed the high places, and broke the statues in pieces, and cut down the groves, and broke the brazen serpent, which Moses had made: for till that time the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called its name Nohestan.” 5 Ile trusted in the Lord the God of Israel: so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Juda, nor any of them that were before him : 6 And he stuck to the Lord, and departed not from his steps, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses. 7 Wherefore the Lord also was with him : and in all things, to which he went forth, he behaved himself wisely. And he rebelled against the king of the Assyrians, and served him not. 8 He smote the Philistines as far as Gaza, and all their borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 9 in the º year of king Ezechias, which was the seventh year of Osce the son of Ela king of Is- rael, Salmanasar king of the Assyrians came up to Samaria, and besieged it, 10 And took it. i. after three years, in the sixth car of Ezechias, that is, in the ninth year of Osee ing of Israel, Samaria was taken: | | And the king of the Assyrians carried away Israel into Assyria, and placed them in Hala and in Habor by the rivers of Gozan in the cities of the Medes: .2 Because they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant : all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, they would not hear nor do. 13 In the fourteenth year of king Ezechias, Sen- nacherib king of the Assyrians came up against the fenced cities of Juda: and took them. 14 Then Ezechias king of Juda sent messengers to the king of the Assyrians to Lachis, saying: have offended ; depart from me: and all that thou shalt put upon me, I will bear. the Assyrians put a tax upon Ezechias king of Juda, ºf three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Ezechias gave all the silver that was found in the nause of the Lord, and in the king's treasures. * And he culled its name Nohestan. That is, their brass, or a little brass. So he called it in conten ot, because they had made an idol of it. *3 () ) And the king of ſ 16 At that time Ezechias broke the doors of tilt temple of the Lord, and the plates of gold which he had fastened on them, and gave them to the king of the Assyrians. 17 And the king of the Assyrians sent Tharthar, and Rabsaris, and Rahsaces from Lachis to king Ezechias with a strong army to Jerusalem: and they went up and came to Jerusalem : and they stºod by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the way of the ſuller’s field. 18 And they called for the king: and there w "I t out to them Eliacim the son of He lecias who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the recorder. 19 And Rabsaces said to them: Speak to Eze, hits: Thus saith the great king, the king of the Assy- rians: What is #. confidence, wherein thou trust est? 20 Perhaps thou hast taken counsel, to prepart thyself for battle. On whom dost thou trust, that thou darest to rebel P 21 Dost thou trust in Egypt, a staff of a broken reed, upon which iſ a man lean, it will break, and go into his hand, and pierce it? So is Pharao king of Egypt, to all that trust in him. 22 But iſ you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and altars Ezechias hath taken away; and hath commanded Juda and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? 23 Now therefore come over to my master the king of the Assyrians; and I will give you two thou- sand horses, and see whether you be able to have riders for them. 24. And how can you stand against one lord ol the least of my master's servants P Dost thou trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen f 25 Is it without the will of the Lord that i aim come up to this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up to this land, and destroy it. 26 Then Eliacim the son of Helcias, and Sobna, and Joahe said to Rabsaces: We pray thee, speak to us thy servants in Syriac: for we understand that tongue: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people that are uſ on the wall. 27 And Rabsaces answered them, saying: Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee, to speak these words, and not rather to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their urine with you? - 28 Then Rabsaces stood. and cried ont with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said: Heal the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians. 29 Thus saith the king: Let not Ezechias de- ceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 30 Neither let him make you trust in the Jord, saying: The Lord will surely deliver us; and this city shall not be given into the mand of the king of the Assyrians. 31 Do not hearken to Ezechias. For thus saith, the king of the Assyrians: Do with me that whiſ I, is for your advantage, and come out to me: and every -s: CH A P. XIX. man of you shall eat of his own vineyard, and of his ºwn fig-tree: and you shall drink water of your own c:SJerils, * 32 Till I come, and take you away to a land, |ike to your own land, a fruitful land, and plentiful in wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olives, and oil and honey; and you shall live and not die. Hearken not to Ezechias, who deceiveth you, aying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Have any of the gods of the nations deliver- _d their land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34. Where is the god of Emath, and of Arphad P where is the god of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Avaf have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who are they among all the gods of the na- tions, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord may deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 36 But the people held their peace, and answer- ed him not a word: for they had received com- mandment from the king that they should not an- swer him. 37 And Eliacim the son of Helcias, who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the recorder came to Ezechias, with their garments rent; and told him the words of Rab- SąC{2S. CHAP. XIX. Exechius is assured of God’s help by Isaias the prophet. The King of the Assyrians still threateneth and blasphemeth. Eze- chias prayeth : and God promiseth to protect Jerusalem. An Angel destroyeth the army of the Assyrians. Their king re- turneth to Ninive; and is slain by his own sons. ND when king Ezechias heard these words, he rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliacin), who was over the house, and Sobhā the scribe, and the ancients of the priests Covered with sackcloths, to Isaias the prophet the son of Amos : 3 And they said to him: Thus saith Ezechias: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: the children are come to the birth; and the woman in travail hath not strength. 4 lt may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and to reprove with words, which the Lord thy God hath heard: and do thou offer prayer for the rem- nants that are found. 5 So the servants of king Ezechias came to Isaias. 6 And Isaias said to them : Thus shall you say to your master: Thus saith the Lord : Be not afraid, for the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphem- ed me. 7 Behold, I will send a spirit upon him; and he shall hear a message, and shall return into his own country. and I will make him fall by the sword in is own country. the Assyrians besieging Lobna: for he had beald that he was departed from Lae this. 9 And when he heard of Thuraca king of Ethio pia: Behold, he is come out to fight with thee; and was going against him, he sent messengers to Ez. chias, saying: 10 Thus shall you say to Ezechias king of Juda. Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thoutrustest. and do not say : Jerusalem shall not be deliver. into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. 1 I Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all countries; how they have laid them waste: and canst thou alone be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered any ol them, whom my fathers have destroyed, to wit, Go- zan, and Haran, and Reseph, and the children ol Eden, that were in Thelassar? 13. Where is the king of Emath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana and of Ava? 14 And when Ezechias had received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it be fore the Lord. 15 And he prayed in his. sight, saying: O Lord God of Israel, who sittest upon the cherubims; thou alone art the God of all the kings of the earth : thou madest heaven and earth : 16 Incline thy ear, and hear: open, Q Lord, thy eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennache- rib, who hath sent to upbraid unto us the living Rod. 17 Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have destroyed nations, and the lands of them all. 18 And they have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, but the works of men's hands, of wood and stone: and they destroyed them 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou art the Lord the only God. º 20 And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias saying: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: | have heard the prayer thou hast made to me con- cerning Sennacherib king of the Assyrians. 21 This is the word, that the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin the daughter of Sion hath de spised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the ſlaugh- ter of Jerusalem hath wagged her head behind thy back. 22 Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou blasphemed 2 against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high f against the Holy One of Israel. - 23 By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproach- ed the Lord, and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus, and have cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir-trees. And I have entered into the furthest parts thereof, and the forest of its Carmel.” * Carmel. A pleasant fruitful hill in the forest. These expressions are figurative, signifying under the names of mountains and foresta 3 And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the kings and provinces whom ºrian had triumphed over. E= <--→ N IV. KINGS. 24 I have cut down, and I have drunk strange waters; and have dried up with the soles of my feet 'ill the shut up waters. 25 Hast thou not heard what I have done from the beginning? from the days of old I have formed it;" and now I have brought it to effect: that fenced; cities of fighting men should be turned to heaps of "U 1 || . 26 And the inhabitants of them were weak of hind; they trembled, and were confounded; they tecame like the grass of the field, and the green herb on the tops of houses, which withered before it came to maturity. 27 Thy dwelling and thy going out, and thy com- ing in, and thy way I knew before, and thy rage against me. 28 Thou hast been mad against me; and thy pride hath come up to my ears: therefore I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips: and I will turn thee back by the way, by which thou camest. 29 And to thee, O Ezechias, this shall be a sign: Eat this year what thou shalt find ; and in the se- cond year, such things as spring of themselves : but in the third year sow and reap: plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 30 And whatsoever shall be left of the house of Juda, shall take root downward, and bear fruit up- ward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which shall be saved out of mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. 32 Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come be- fore it with shield, nor cast a trench about it. 33 By the way that he came, he shall return : and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord. 34 And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for David my servant’s sake. 35 And it came to pass that night, that an Angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the As- Syrians a hundred and eighty five thousand. And when he arose early in the morning, he saw all the bodies of the dead. 36 And Sennacherib king of the Assyrians de- arting went away : and he returned, and abode in Ç. 37 And as he was worshipping in the temple of Nesroch his god, Adramelech and Sarasa his sons slew him with the sword; and they fled into the land of the Armenians : and Asarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XX. Ezechias being sick is told by Isaias that he shall die : but pray- ing to God he obtaineth longer life ; and in confirmation there- of receiveth a sign by the sun’s returning back. He showeth all his treasures to the imbassadors of the king of Babylon; º reproving him for it, foretelleth the Babylonish cap- 'inity. N those days Ezechias was sick unto death ; and Isaias the son of Amos the prophet, came and * I have formed it, &c. All thy exploits, in which thou takest pride, are no more that what I have decreed ; and are not to be ascribed to thy wisdom or strength, but to my will and ordinance: who have ! said to him : | Thus saith the Lord God: Usive charge concerning thy house ; for thou shalt die and not live. 2 And he turned his face to the wall, and pray. ed to the Lord, saying : 3 I beseech thee, Ö Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is pleasing before thee. And Ezechias wept with much weeijing. 4 And before Isaias was gone out of the middle of the court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying : - 5 Go back, and tell Ezechias the captain of my people : Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears : and behold, l have healed thee : on the third day thou shalt go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 And I will add to thy days fifteen years: and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians; and I will protect this city for my own sake and for David my servant's sake. 7 And Isaias said : Bring me a lump of figs. And when they had brought it, and laid it upon his boil, he was healed. . . 8 And Ezechias had said to Isaias : What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the temple of the Lord the third day f 9 And Isaias said to him : This shall be the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do the word which he hath spoken : Wilt thou that the shadow £O oward ten lines, or that it go back so many de- grees: 10 And Ezechias said: It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten lines: and I do not desire that this be done : but let it return back tely degrees. | 1 And Isaias the prophet called upon the Lord : and he brought the shadow ten degrees backwards by the lines, by which it had already gone down in the dial of Achaz. 12 At that time Berodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of the Bahvlonians, sent letters and presents to Ezechias: for he had heard that Eze- chias had been sick. - 13 And Ezechias rejoiced at their coming : and he showed them the house of his aromatical spices, and the gold and the silver, and divers precious odours, and ointments, and the house of his vessels, and all that he had in his treasures. There was no- thing in his house, nor in all his do minions that Ezechias showed them not. 14 And Isaias the prophet came to king Ezechias, and said to him : What said these men P br from whence came they to thee P And Ezechias said to him : From a far country they came to me, out of Babylon. 15 And he said : What did they see in thy house? Ezechias said: They saw all the things that are in my house : there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. given to thee to take and destroy so many fenced cities, and to carry terror wherever thou coinest. Heaps of ruin Literal y ruin of kills, 304 §l 4 CHAP. XXI, XXI]. 16 And Isaias said to Ezechias: Hear the word of the Lord. 17 Behold, the days shall come, that all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon : nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. 18 And of thy sons also that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, they shall take away : and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19 Ezechias said to Isaias: The word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken, is good: let peace and truth be in my days. 20 And the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought waters into the city, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 21 And Ezechias slept with his fathers: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead. UHAP. XXI. The wickedness of Manasses : God’s threats by his prophefs. His wicked son Amon succeedeth him : an ºl is slain by his servants. º ANASSES was twelve years old when he be- i-V-1 gan to reign : and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Haphsiba. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, ac- cording to the idols of the nations, which the Lord lºyed from before the face of the children of is- T< ºl. 3 And he turned, and built up the high places which Ezechias his father had destroyed : and he set up altars to Baal, and made groves, as Achab the king of Israel had done: and he adored all the host of heaven, and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said: In Jerusalem I will put iny name. 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. 6 And he made his son pass through fire : and he used divination, and observed omens, and ap- pointed pythons,” and multiplied soothsayers to do evil before the Lord, and to provoke him. 7 He set also an idol of the grove, which he had made, in the temple of the Lord : concerning which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son : In this temple, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of lsrael, I will put my name for ever. 3 And I will no more make the feet of Israel to be moved out of the land, which I gave to their fathers: only if they will observe to do all that I have com- manded them according to the law which my Ser- vant Moses commanded them. 9 But they hearkened not; but were seduced by Manasses, to do evil more than the nations which the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the Lord spoke in the hand of his ser- vants the prophets, saying: • e--e- * Pythons. That is, diviners by spirits. __”" <--> ll Because Manasses king of Juda hath done these most wicked abominations, beyond all that the Amorrhites did before him, and hath made Ju- da also to sin with his filthy doings: 12 Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring on evils upon Jerusa- lem and Juda; that whosoever shall hear of them, both his ears shall tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the weight of the house of Achab and I will efface Jerusalem, as tables are wont to be effaced ; and I will erase and turn it and draw the pencil often over the face thereof. 14 And I will leave the remnants of my inheri tance, and will deliver them into the hands of their enemies: and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies. 15 Because they have done evil before me, and have continued to provoke me, from the day that their fathers came out of Egypt, even unto this day. 16 Moreover Manasses shed also very much in- nocent blood, till he filled Jeruaslem up to the mouth ; besides his sins, where with he made Juda to sin, to do evil before the Lord. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasses, and all that he did, and his sin, which he sinued, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda P 18 And Manasses slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Ozar: and Amon his son reigned in his stead. 19 Two and twenty years old was Amon when he began to reign : and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Messale- meth the daughter of Harus of Jeteba. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his father had done. 21 And he walked in all the way in which his father had walked : and he served the abominations which his father had served : and he adored them, 22 And forsook the Lord the God of his fathers and walked not in the way of the Lord. 23 And his servants plotted against him, and slew the king in his own house. 24 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon ; and made Jo- sias his son their king in his stead. 25 But the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Judaf 26 And they buried him in his sepulchre in the garden of Oza: and his son Josias reigned in his stead. CHAP. XX 11. Josias repaireth the temple. The book of the law is found, up on which they consult the Lord ; and are told that great evils shall full upon them, but not in the time of Josias. OSIAS was eight years old when he began to reign : he reigned one and thirty years in Je- rusalem : the name of his mother was idida, the daughter of Hadaia, of Bºccath. O IV. KlWGS. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Low., and walked in all the ways of David his father: he turned not aside to the right hand, or to the left. 3 And in the eighteenth year of king Josias, the king sent Saphan the son of Assai, the son of Mes- st làrn, the scribe of the temple of the Lord, saying to him : ... Go to Helcias the high priest, that the money may be put together which is brought into the tem- ple of the Lord, which the door-keepers of the tem- ple have gathered of the people: o And let it be given to the workmen by the overseers of the house of the Lord : and let them distribute it to those that work in the temple of the !.ord, to repair the temple: 6 That is, to carpenters and masons, and to such as mend breaches; and that timber may be bought, and stones out of the quarries, to repair the temple of the Lord. 7 But let there be no reckoning made with them of the money which they receive ; but let them have it in their power, and in their trust. 8 And Helcias the high priest said to Saphan the Scribe : I have ſound the book of the law” in the house of the Lord : and Helcias gave the book to Saphan ; and he read it. 9 And Saphan the scribe came to the king, and brought him word again concerning that which he nad commanded, and said: Thy servants have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord : and they have given it to be distributed to the work men, by the overseers of the works of the temple of the Lord. 10 Aud Saphan the scribe told the king, saying: Helcias the priest hath delivered to me a book. And when Saphan had read it before the king, 1 | And the king had heard the words of the law of the Lord, he rent his garments. 12 And he commanded Helcias the priest, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Achobor the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaia the king’s servant, saying : 13 Go and consult the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Juda, concerning the words of this book which is found : for the great wrath of the Lord is kindled against us, because our fathers nave not hearkened to the words of this book, to do all that is written for us. 14. So Helcias the priest, and Ahicam, and Acho- bor, and Saphan, and Asaia went to Holda the pro- phetess the wife of Sellum the son of Thecua, the son of Araas keeper of the wardrobe, wilo dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second ;i and they spoke to her. 15 And she said to them : Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel : Tell the man that sent you to {{16 16 Thus saith the Lord : Behold, I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants there- | of, all the words of the law which the king of Juda hath read : 17 Because they have forsaken me, and nave sacrificed to strange gods, provoking me by ali the works of their hands : therefore my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Juda, who sent you to consult the Lord, thus shak you say: Thus eaith the Lord the God of Israel: Forasmuch as thot hast heard the words of the book, 19 And thy heart hath been moved to fear, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, hear- ing the words against this place, and the inhabit- ants thereof, to wit, that they should become a won der and a curse : and thou hast rent thy garments, and wept before me, I also have heard thee, sait the Lord : 20. Therefore I will gather thee to thy fathers: and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace, that thy eyes may not see all the evils which I will bring upon this place. CHAP. XXIII. Josias readeth the law before all the people: they promise to observe it. He abolisheth all idolatry; celebrateth the phase ; is slain in battle by the king of Egypt. The short reign of Jo- achaz, in whose place Joakim is made king. ND they brought the king word again what .* she had said. , And he sent : and all the an- º of Juda and Jerusalem were assembled to } | | | }. 2 And the king went up to the temple of the Lord: and all the men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, the priests and the prophets, |and all the people both little and great: and in the hearing of them all he read all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood upon the step ;f and made a covenant with the Lord, to walk after the Lord. and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies and his ceremonies, with all their heart, and with all their soul, and to perform the words of this covenant, which were written in that book: and the people agreed to the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Helcias the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the door-keepers, to cast out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that had been made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven : and hº burnt them without Jerusalem in the valley of Cedron and he carried the ashes of them to Bethel. 5 And he destroyed the soothsayers, whom the kings of Juda had appointed to sacrifice in the high places in the cities of Juda, and round about Jeri- salem ; them also that burnt incense to Baal, and in the sun, and to the moon, and to the twelve signs. and to all the host of heaven. - 6 And he caused the grove to be carried out from * The hook of the law, that is, Deuteronomy. # Th. Second a street, or part of the city, so called; in Hebrew, Massen. ! The king stood upon the step : That is, his tribune, or tribunal, more eminent place, trom whence he might be seen and hea the people. - 306 CHAP. XXIII. Yºr- tne house of the Lord without Jerusalem to the valley of Cedron : and he burnt it there, and re- duced it to dust, and cast the dust upon the graves of the common people. 7 He destroyed also the pavilions of the effemi- nate, which were in the house of the Lord, for which the women wove as it were little dwellings for the TOWe. É 8 And he gathered together all the priests out of the cities of Juda: and he defiled the high places, where the priests offered sacrifice, from Gabaa to Bersabee : and he broke down the altars of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Josue governor of the city, which was on the left hand of the gate of the city. 9 However the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem : but ; ate of the unleavened bread among their bre- thren. - 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Ennom ; that no man should consecrate there his son or his daughter through fire to Moloch. 11 And he took away the horses which the kings of Juda had given to the sun, at the entering in of the temple of the Lord, near the chamber of Na- thanmelech the eunuch, who was in Pharurim ; and he burnt the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars that were upon the top of the upper chamber of Achaz, which the kings of Juda had made, and the altars which Manasses had made in the two courts of the temple of the Lord, the king broke down: and he ran from thence, and cast the ashes of them into the torrent Cedron. 13 The high places also that were at Jerusalem on the right side of the Mount of offence, which Solomon king of Israel had built to Astaroth the idol of the Sidonians, and to Chamos the scandal of Moab, and to Melchom the abomination of the children of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 And he broke in pieces the statues, and cut down the groves: and he filled their places with the bones of dead men. 15 Moreover the altar also that was at Bethel, and the high place, which Jeroboam the son of Na- bat, who made Israel to sin, had made ; both the altar, and the high place he broke down and burnt, and reduced to powder, and burnt the grove. 16 And as Josias turned himself, he saw there the sepulchres that were in the mount: and he sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burnt them upon the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord, which the man of God spoke, who had foretold these things. 17 And he said: What is that monument which ſ see P And the men of that city answered: It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Juda, and foretold these things which thou hast done upon the altar of Bethel. 18 And he said: Let him alone, let no man move his bones. So his bones were left untouched with the bones of the prophet, that came out of Samaria. 19 Moreover all the temples of the high places which were in the º of Samaria, which the kings ? of Israel had made to provoke the Lord, Josias took away: and he did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. 20 And he slew all the priests of the high places, that were there, upon the altars: And he burut men's bones upon them: and returned to Jerusalem 21 And he commanded all the people, saying Keep the phase to the Lord your God, according as it is written in the book of this covenant. 22 Now there was no such a phase kept from the days of the judges, who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda, 23 As was this phase that was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem, in the eighteenth year of king Josias. 24 Moreover the diviners by spirits, and sooth- Sayers, and the figures of idols, and the unclean- nesses, and the abominations, that had been in the land of Juda and Jerusalem, Josias took away: that he might perform the words of the law, that were written in the book which Helcias the priest had found in the temple of the Lord. 25 There was no king before him like unto him, that returned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, according to all the law of Moses : neither after him did there arise any like him. 26 But yet the Lord turned not away from the wrath of his great indignation, wherewith his ange. was kindled against Juda: because of the provoca- tions, wherewith Manasses had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said: I will lemove Juda also from before my face, as I have removed Israel: and I will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the house, of which I said : My name shall be there. - 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josias, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Judaf 29 In his days Pharao Nechao king of Egyp., went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josias went to meet him; and was slain at Mageddo, when he had seen him. 30 And his servants carried him dead from Ma- geddo: and they brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Joachaz the son of Josias: , and they anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. 31 Joachaz was three and twenty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned three months in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Amital, the daughter of Jeremias of Lobna. 32 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharao Nechao bound him at Rebla. which is in the land of Emath, that he should not reign in Jerusalem: and he set a fine upon the land, of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharao Ncchao made Eliacim the son of Josias king in the room of Josias his father; and turned his name to Joakim. And he took Joachaz away, and carried him into Egypt: and he died there. 307 2-2T S-a- _sº f W. KINGS. 35 And Joakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharao, after he had taxed the land for every man, ..o contribute according to the commandment of Pharao: and he exacted both the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every man according to his ability, to give to Pharao Nechao. 36 Joakim was five and twenty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Zebida the daughter of Phadaia of Ruma. 37 And he did evil before the Lord according to all that his fathers had done. CIIAP. XXIV. The reign of Joakim. Joachin, and Sedecias. IN his days Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came up ; and Joakim became his servant three years : then again he rebelled against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him the rovers” of the Chaldees, and the rovers of Syria, and the rovers of Moab, and the rovers of the children of Ammon : and he sent them against Juda, to destroy it, accord- ing to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by his servants the prophets. 3 And this came by the word of the Lord against Juda, to remove them from before him for all the sins of Manasses which he did, 4 And for the innocent blood that he shed, filling Jerusalem with innocent blood: and therefore the Lord would not be appeased. 5 But the rest of the acts of Joakim, 2nd all that he did, are they not written in the Book the words of the days of the kings of Juda: And Joakim slept with his fathers: 6 And Joachin his son reigned in his stead. 7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his own country: for the king of Baby- !on had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt, unto the river Eu- phrates. | 8 Joachin was fighteen years old when he began to reign: and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Nohesta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that his father had done. 10 At that time the servants of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem : and the city was surrounded with their forts. 11 And Nabuchodomosor king of Babylon came to the city with his servants to assault it. 12 And Joachin king of Juda went out to the kin of Babylon, he and his mother, and his servants, an his nobles, and his eunuchs: and the king of Baby- lon received him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 And he brought out from thence all the trea- sures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house : and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had * The Lord sent against hin the rowers. Latrunculos. Bands or par- made in the temple of the Lord, according to the word of the Lord. - - 14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the valiant men of the army, to the number of ten thousand into captivity; and every artificer and smith : and none were left but the poor sort of the people of the land. 15 And he carried away Joachin into Babylon and the king's mother, and the king’s wives, and into captivity from Jerusalem into Babylon: 16 And all the strong men seven thousand, and the artificers and the Smiths a thousand, all that Babylon led them captives into Babylon. 17 And he appointed Matthanias his uncle in his stead ; and called his name Sedecias. 18 Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem : the name of his mother was Amital, the daughter of Jeremias of Lobna. 19 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that Joakim had done. 20 For the Lord was angry against Jerusalem and against Juda, till he cast them out from his face: and Sedecias revolted from the king of Babylon CHAP. XXV. Jerusalem is besieged and taken by Nabuchodonosor: Sedeciae is taken: the city and temple are destroyed. Godolias, who is left governor, is slain. Jouchin is eacalted by Evil merodach. AND it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, came, he and all his army against Jerusalem : and they surrounded it, and raised works round about it. 2 And the city was shut up and besieged till the eleventh year of king Sedecias, | 3 The ninth day of the month : and a famine prevailed in the city; and there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 And a breach was made into the city: and all the men of war fled in the night betwen the two walls by the king’s garden (now the Chaldees le- sieged the city round about.) and Sedecias fled by the way that leadeth to the “lains of the wilderness. 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all the warriors that were with him were scat- tered, and left him : t; So they took the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon to Reblatha: and he gave judgment upon him. 7 And he slew the sons of Sedecias before his face: and he put out his eyes, and bound him with chains, and brought him to Babylon. 8 In the fifth month, the seventh day of the month, that is, the nineteenth year of the king of Babylon, came Nabuzardan commander of the army, a ser- vant of the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem. ties of men, who pillaged and plundered wherever they came 9 And he burnt the house of the Iold, and the his eunuchs: and the judges of the land he calliel were valiant men and fit for war: and the king o 308 CHAP. XXV. king's house, and the houses of Jerusalem, and every house he burnt with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, which was with the commander of the troops, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. Il And Nabuzardan the commander of the army, carried away the rest of the people that remained in the city, and the fugitives that had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the com- mon people. - 12. But of the poor of the land he left some dres- sers of vines and husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that were in the tem- ple of the Lord, and the bases, and the sea of brass, which was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldees broke in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon 14. They took away also the pots of brass, and the mazers, and the forks, and the cups, and the mortars, and all the vessels of brass, with which they ministered. 15 Moreover also the censers, and the bowls, such as were of gold in gold; and such as were of silver in silver; the general of the army took away. 16 That is, two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made in the temple of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 17 One p’llar was eighteen cubits high: and the chapiter of brass which was upon it was three cubits high: and the net-work, and the pomegranates that were upon the chapiter of the pillar, were all of brass: and the second pillar had the like adorning. 18 And the general of the army took Seraias the chief priest, and Sophon, s the second priest, and three door-keepers; g 19 And out of the city one eunuch, who was cap- tain over the men of war; and five men of them that had stood before the king, whom he found in the city, and Sopher the captain of the army who exer- cised the young soldiers of the people of the land, and threescore men of the common people, who were found n the city. 20 These Nabuzardan the general of the army took away, and carricd them to the king of Babylon to Reblatha. 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Reblatha in the land of Emath: so Juda was carried away out of their land. 22 But over the people that remained in the land of Juda, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had left, he gave the government to Godolias the son of Ahicam the son of Sapham. ſº 23 And when all the captains of the soldiers had heard this, they and the men that were with them to wit, that the king of Babylon had made Godo lias governor, they came to Godolias to Maspha, Is mael the son of Nathanias, and Johanan the son of Caree, and Saraia the son of Thanehumeth the Netophatite, and Jezonias the son of Maachathi they and their men. * > 24 And Godolias swore to them and to their men, saying: Be not afraid to serve the Chaldees: stay in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. . 25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ismael the son of Nathanias, the son of Elisama of the seed royal came, and ten men with him and smote Godolias so that he died; and also the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him in Maspha. 26 And all the people both little and great, and the captains of the soldiers, rising up went to Egypt fearing the Chaldees. tº . ~~ 27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Joachin king of Juda, in the twelfth month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Joachin, king of Juda out of prison. * > 28 And he spoke kindly to him: and he set his throne ºncve the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. ſº 29 And he changed his garments which he had in prison' and he ate bread always before him all the days of his life. C 30 And he appointed him a continual allowance, which was also given him by the king day by day all the days of his life. THE FIRST BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON. I hes, books are called by the Greek interpreters Paralipomenon (n-paxurantvov,) that is, of things left out or omitted; because they are a kind of a supplement of such things as were passed over in the books of the kings. The Hebrews call them Dibre Hajamin, that is, The words of the days, or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in the kings, under the title of The words of the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda; for the books of Paralipo- menon were written after the books of kings ; but because in all probability they have been abridged from those ancient words of the days, by Esdras or some other sacred writer. CHAP. I. The genealogy of the patriarchs down to Abraham: The pos- terity of Abraham and of Esau. A l) AM, Seth, Enos, T T T ~ " " - - - - - - - - - - -— — - * - - - - 2 Činan, Malafeel Jared, 3 Henoc, Mathusale, fănech, 4 Noe, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. 5 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, Thubal, Mosoch, Thiras. 6 And the sons of Gomer: Ascenez, and Riphath, and Thogorma. 7 And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Ce- thim and Dodanim. 8 The sons of Cham: Chus, and Mesraim, and Phut, and Chanaan. 9 And the sons of Chus: Saba, and Hevila, Sa- batha, and Regma, and Sabathaca. And the sons of Regma: Saba, and Dadan. 10 Now Chus begot Nemrod: he began to be mighty upon earth. ll But Mesraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Laabim, and Nephtuim, 12 Phetri.sim also, and Casluim : from whom came the Philistines, and Caphtorim. 13. And Chanaan begot Sidon his first-born; and the Hethite, . 14 And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite, I5 And the Hewite, and the Aracite, and the Sinite, 16 And the Aradian, and the Samarite, and the Ilamathite. 17 The sons of Sem: Elam, and Asur, and Ar- plaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Hus, and Hul, and (iether, and Mosoch. 18 And Arphaxad begot Sale; and Sale begot Heber. 19 And to Heber were born two sons; the name of the one was Phaleg, because in his days the earth was divided ; and the name of his brother was Jectan. - 20 And Jectan begot E'modad, and Saleph, and Asarmoth, and Jare, 21 And Adoram, and U sal, and Decla, 22 And I lebal, and Abimael, and Saba, 23 And Ophir, and Hevila, and Jobab. All these are the sons of Jectan. 24 Seu Arphaxad, Sale, 25 Heber, Phaleg, Ragau, 26 Serug, Nachor, Thare, 27 Abram, this is Abraham. 28 And the sons of Abraham: 1saac and Ismahe, 29 And these are the generations of them. The first-born of Ismahel, Nabaioth, then Cedal, and Adbeel, and Mabsam, 30 And Masma, and Duma, Massa, Hadad, and Thema, 31 Jetur, Naphis, Cedma: these are the soils of Ismahel. 32 And the sons of Cetura, Abraham's concu bine,” whom she bore: Zamran, Jecsan, Madan, |Madian, Jesboc, and Sue. . And the sons of Jee- Ls a ca 3 Jº-f And the sons of Dadan Assurim, and Latussim, and Laomim. - 33 And the sons of Madian: Epha, and Ephet, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa. All these ane the sons of Cetura. 34 And Abraham begot Isaac: and his sons were Esau and Israel. - - - 35 The sons of Esau : Eliphaz, Rahuel, Jehus, Ihelom, and Core. 36 The sons of Eliphaz: Theman, Omar, Sephi, Gathan, Cenez, and by Thamna, Amalec. Mè. The sons of Rahuel: Nahath, Zara, Samma, €Zºl. 38. The sons of Seir : Lotan, Sobal, Sebeom, Ana, Dison, Eser, Disan. 39 The sons of Lotan: Hori, Homam. And the sister of Lotan was 'Thamna. 40 The sons of Sobal: Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Sephi, and Onam. The sons of Sebe- On: Aja and Ana. The sons of Ana : Dison. 41 The sons of Dison: , Hamram, and Eseban, and Jethran, and Charan. 42 The sons of Eser : Balaan, and Zavan, and Jacan. The sons of Disan: Hus and Aran. 43 Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there was a king over the chil- dren of Israel: Bale the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Denaba. - 44 And Bale died: and Jobab the son of Zare of Bosra, reigned in his stead. 45 And when Jobab also was dead, Husam of the land of the Themanites reigned in his stead. 46 And Husam also died: and Adad the son of Badad reigned in his stead; and he defeated the Madianites in the land of Moab; and the name of his city was Avith. 47 And when Adad also was dead, Semla of Masteca reigned in his stead. 48 Semla also died: and Saul of Rohoboth, which is near the river, reigned in his stead. 49 And when Saul was dead, Balanan the son of Achobor, reigned in his stead. san, Saba, an iyadan. dººm * Concubine. She was his lawful wife, b it of an il.ferior degree 310 CHAP. II. 50 He also died : and Adad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Phau, and his wife was called Meetabel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezaab. 51 And after the death of Adad, there began to be dukes in Edom instead of kings: Duke Thamna, duke Alva, duke Jetheth, 52 Duke Oolibama, duke Ela, duke Phinon, 53 Duke Cenez, duke Theman, duke Mabsar, 5'ſ Duke Magdiel, duke Hiram. These are the dukes of Edom. CHAP. II. The twelve sons of Israel. The genealogy of Juda, down to Da- vid. Other genealogies of the tribe of Juda. ND these are the sons of Israel: Ruhen, Sime- on, Levi, Juda, Issachar, and Zabulon, A 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Nephtali, Gad, and Ser. 3 The sons of Juda: Her, Onan, and Sela. These three were born to him of the Chanaanitess the daughter of Sue. ū. wicked in the sight of the Lord : and he slew | Iſle - 4 And Thamar his daughter-in-law bore him Phares and Zara. So all the sons of Juda, were five. 5 And the sons of Phares were Hesron and Hamul. 6 And the sons also of Zara: Zamri, and Ethan, and Eman, and Chalchal, and Dara ; five in all. 7 And the sons of Charmi: Achar,” who troubled Israel, and sinned by the theft of the anathema.f § the sons of Eſſam. Azarias, 9 And the sons of Hesron that were born to him: Jerameel, and Ram, and Calubi. 10 And Ramſ begot Aminadab: and Aminadab begot Nahasson, prince of the children of Juda. [3 ll And Nahasson begot Salma, the father of OOZ. - 12 And Booz begot Obed: and Obed begot lsai. 13 And Isai begot Eliab his first-born, the second Abinadab, the third Simmaa, 14 The fourth Nathanael, the fifth Raddai, 15 The sixth Asom, the seventh David. 16 And their sisters were Sarvia and Abigail. The sons of Sarvia : Abisai, Joab, and Asael, three. 17 And Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ismahelite. 18 And Caleby the son of Hesron took a wife named Azuba, of whom he had Jerioth: And her sons were Jaser, and Sobab, and Ardon. 19 And when Azuba was dead, Caleb took to wife Ephrata, who bore him Hur. 20 And Hur begot Uri: and Uri begot Bezeleel. 21 And afterwards Hesron went in to the daugh- ter of Machir the father of Galaad; and took her to wife when he was threescore years old: and she bore him Segub. 22 And Segub begot Jair : and he had three and twenty cities in the land of Galaad. And Her the first-born of Juda, 23 And he took Gessur, and Aram the towns of Jair, and Canath, and the villages thereof, three- Score cities. All these, the sons of Machir father of Galaad. * And when Hesron was dead, Caleb went in to Ephrata. , Hesron also had to wife Abia, who bore him Ashur the father of Thecua. 25 And the sons of Jerameel the first-born of Hes- ron, were Ram his first-born, and Buna, and Aram. and Asom, and Achia. 26 And Jerameel married another wife, named Atara, who was the mother of Onam. 27 And the sons of Ram the first-born of Jera- meel, were Moos, Jamin, and Achar. 28 And Onam had sons Semei and Jada. And the Sons of Semei: Nadab and Abisur. 29 And the name of Abisur's wife was Abihail. who bore him Ahobban and Molid. 30 And the sons of Nadab, were Saled and Ap- phaim. And Saled died without children. e 31 But the son of Apphaim was Jesi: and Jes. begot Sesan. And Sesam begot Ollolai. 32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Semei: Jether and Jonathan. And Jether also died with- out children. 33 But Jonathan begot Phaleth and Ziza. These were the sons of Jerameel. 34 And Sesan had no sons, but daughters: and a servant an Egyptian, named Jeraa. 35 And he gave him his daughter to wife: and she bore him Ethei. Z iºd Ethei begot Nathan: and Nathan begot {{!):40 • O i. And Zabad begot Ophlal: and Ophlal begot €(I : 38 Obed begot Jehu: Jehu begot Azarias: 39 Azarias begot Helles: and Helles beget Elasa: 40 Elasa begot Sisamoi: Sisamoi begot Sellum: 41 Sellum begot Icamai; and Icamia begot Eli- S3 Iºla. - 42 Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jera- meel were Mesa his first-born, who was the father of Ziph: and the sons of Maresa father of Hebron. 43 And the sons of Hebron, Core, and Thaphua, and Recem, and Samma. 44 And Samma begot Raham, the father of Jer- caam: and Recem begot Sammai. 45 The son of Sammai Maon: and Maon the father of Bethsur. 46 And Epha the concubine of Caleb bore Ha ran, and Mosa, and Gezez. And Haran begot Gezez. 47 And the sons of Jahaddai, Rogom, and Jo gº. and Gesan, and Phalet, and Epha, and aapn. 48 And Maacha the concubine of Caleb bore Sa. " ber and Tharana. * Achar, alias Achan. Josue vii. H. The anathema: the thing devoted or accursed, viz. the spoils of Jericho. Itam. He is commonly called Aram. But it is to be observed mere, once for all, that it was a common thing among the IIebrews for | the same persons to have different names: and that it is not impossu ble among so many proper names, as here occur in the first nine chap ters of this book, that the transcribers of the anciert Hebrew cºpies may have made some slips in the orthography | § Caleb, alias Calubi, ver, 9. 3&a I. PARA (, POMENON. 49 And Saaph the father of Madmena begot Sue the father of Machbena, and the father of Gabaa. And the daughter of Caleb was Achsa. 50 These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur the first-born of Ephrata, Sobal the father of Caria- thiarim, 51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hariph the father of Bethgader. 52 And Sobal the father of Cariathiarim had sons: He that saw” half of the places of rest. . 53 And of the kindred of Cariathiarim, the Jeth- rites, and Aphuthites, and Semathites, and Mase- kites. Of them came the Saraites and Esthaolites. 54. The sons of Salma, Bethlehem and Netopha- thi, the Crowns of the house of Joab, and half of the gº of rest of Sarai. 55 And the families of the scribes that dwell in Jabes, singing and making melody, and abiding in tents. These are the Cinites, who came of Calor (Chamath) father of the house of Rechab. CHAP. III. The genealogy of the house of David. OW these were the sons of David that were 1N born to him in Hebron: the first-born Ammon of Achinoam the Jezrahelitess; the second Daniel of Abigail the Carmelitess; . 2 The third Absalom the son of Maacha the daughter of Tolmai king of Gessur; the fourth Ado- nias the son of Aggith ; 3 The fifth Sephatias of Abital; the sixth Jethra- hem of Egla his wife. 4. So six sons were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. And in Je- rusalem he reigned three and thirty years. 5 And these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Simmaa, and Sobab, and Natham, and Solomon, four of Bethsabee the daughter of Ammiel. 6 Jebaar also and Elisama, J à And Eliphaleth, and Noge, and Nepheg, and alſ) Ill:l s § And Elisama, and Eliada, and Elipheleth, nine. 3 All these the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines:f and they had a sister Thamar. 10 And Solomon’s son was Roboam: whose son Abia begot Asa. And his son was Josaphat, 11 The father of Joram: and Joram begot Och- ozias, of whom was born Joas: 12 And his son Amasias begot Azarias. And Joathan the son of Azarias 13 Begot Achaz, the father of Ezechias, of whom was born Manasses. e 14 And Manasses begot Amon the father of Josias. 15 And the sons of Josias were, the first-born Jo- hanan, the second Joakim, the third Sedecias, the fourth Sellum. 16 Of Joakim was born Jechonias and Sedecias. 17 The sons of Jechonias were Asir, Salathiel, • He that saw, &c. The Latin interpreter seems to have given us here instead of the proper names, the meaning of those names, in the Hebrew He has done in like manner, ver. 55. 18 Melchiram, Phadala, Senneser and Jecemia. Sama, and Nadabia. - 19 Of Phadaia were born Zorobabel and Semei. Zorobabel begot Mosollam, Hananias, and Salomith their sister. 20 Hasaba also, and Ohol, and Barachias, and Hasadias, Josabhesed, five. 21 And the son of Hananias, was Phaltias the father of Jeseias, whose son was Raphaia And his son was Arman, of whom was born Obdia, whose son was Sechenias. 22 The son of Sechemias was Semeia: whºse sons were Hattus, and Jegaal, and Baria, and Naarla and Saphat, sixf in number. 23 The sons of Naaria, Elioenai, and Ezechias, and Ezricam, three. 24. The sons of Elioenai, Oduia, and Eliasub, and Pheleia, and Accub, and Johanan, and Dalaia, and Anani, seven. CHAP. IV. Other genealogies of Juda and of Simeon, and their victories. HE sons of Juda: Phares, Heslon, and Charini, and Hur, and Sobal. 2 And Raia the son of Sobal begot Jahath, of whom were born Ahumai and Laad. These are the families of Sarathi. 3 And this is the posterity of Etam: Jezrahel, and Jesema, and Jedebos: and the name of their sister was Asalelphuni. 4 And Phanuel the father of Gedor, and Ezar the father of Hosa, these are the sons of Hur the first-born of Ephratha the father of Bethlehem. 5 And Assur the father of Thecua had two wives, Halaa and Naara. 6 And Naara bore him Ozam, and Hepher, and Nºmi and Ahasthari. These are the sons of 33 ſa, 7 And the sons of Halaa, Sereth, Isaar, and ſº Ethnan. 8 And Cosbegot Anob, and Soboba, and the kin- dred of Aharehel the son of Arum. 9 And Jabes' was more honourable than any of his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabes, saying: Because I bore him with sorrow. 10 And Jabes called upon the God of Israel, say- ing: If blessing thou wilt bless me, and wilt enlarge my borders, and thy hand be with me, and thou save me from being oppressed by evil. And God granted him the things he prayed for. 11 And Caleb the brother of Sua begot Manir who was the father of Esthon. - 12 And Esthon begot Bethrapha, and Phesse, and Tehinna father of the city of Naas These are the men of Recha. 13 And the sons of Cenez, were Othoniel, and Saraia. And the sons of Othoniel, Hathath, and Maonathi. 14 Maonathi begot Ophra : and Saraia begol The concubines. The inferior wives. Sir. Counting the father in the number. § Jabes. That is, sorrowful. 12 CHAP. V. Joab the father of the Valley of artificers: for arti- ficers were there. 15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephone, were Hir, and Ela, and Naham. And the sons of Ela Cenez. 16 The sons also of Jaleleel: Ziph, and Zipha, Thiria, and Asrael. - 17 And the sons of Esra, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and he begot Mariam, and Sam- mai, and Jesba the father of Esthamo. 18 And his wife Judaia bore Jared the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Icuthiel the father of Zanoe. And these are the sons of Bethia the daughter of Pharao, whom Mered took io wife. 19 And the sons of his wife Odaia the sister of Naham the father of Celia, Garmi, and Esthamo, who was of Machathi. 20 The sons also of Simon, Amnon, and Rinna, he son of Hanan, and Thilon. And the sons of Jesi, Zoheth, and Benzoheth. 2] The sons of Sela the son of Juda: Her the father of Lecha, and Laada the father of Maresa, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen in the House of oath. 22 And He that made” the sun to stand, and the men of Lying, and Secure, and Burning, who were rinces in Moab, and who returned into Lahem. ow these are things of old. 23 These are the potters, and they dwelt in Plan- tations, and Hedges,t with the king for his works; and they abode there. 24. The sons of Simeon : Namuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zara, Saul : 25 Sellum his son, Mapsam his son, Masma his §Oll. 26 The sons of Masma : Hamuel his son, Zachur his son, Semei his son. 27 The sons of Semei were sixteen, and six daughters: but his brethren had not many sons; and the whole kindred could not reach to the sum of the children of Juda. 28 And they dwelt in Bersabee, and Molada, and (Hasarsuhal, - 29 And in Bala, and in Asom, and in Tholad, 30 And in Bathuel, and in Horma, and in Siceleg, 31 And in Bethmarchaboth, and in Hasarsusin, and in Bethberai, and in Saarim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. 32 Their towns also were Etam, and Aen, Rem- iſion, and Thochen, and Asan, five cities. 33 And all their villages round about these cities as far as Baal. This was their habitation, and the distribution of their dwellings. 34 And Mosabab, and Jemlech, and Josa the son Amasias, 35 And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josabia the son of Saraia, the son of Asiel, 36 And Elioenai, and Jacoba, and lsuhaia, and Asaia, and Adiel, and Ismiel, and Banaia, 37 Ziza also the son of Sephei, the son of Allon, the son of Idaia, the son of Semri, the son of Samaia. 38 These were named princes in their kindreds and in the houses of their families were multiplied exceedingly. - 39 And they went forth to enter into Galor as far as to the east side of the valley, to seek astures for their flocks. 40 And they found fat pastures, and very good, and a country spacious, and quiet, and fruitful, ir which some of the race of Cham had dwelt before. 41 And these whose names are written above came in the days of Ezechias king of Juda: an they beat down their tents, and slew the inhabitants that were found there, and utterly destroyed then unto this day: and they dwelt in their olace; he- cause they found there fat pastures. 42 Some also of the children of Simeon five hun- dred men, went into mount Seir, having for their captains Phaltias, and Naaria, and Raphaia, and Oziel, the sons of Jesi : 43. And they slew the rem: ant of the Amalecites, who had been able to escape: and they dwelt there in their stead unto this day. CHAP. W. Genealogies of Ruben and Gad : their victories over the Agar. ites : their captivity. Nºw the sons of Ruben the first-born of Israel (for he was his first-born : but forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his first birth-right was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and he was not accounted for the first-born. 2. But of the race of Juda, who was the stronges' among his brethren, came the princes ; but the first birth-right was accounted to Joseph.)f 3 The sons then of Ruben the first-born of Israel, were Enoch, and Phallu, Esrom, and Charmi. 4 The sons of Joel : Samia his son, Gog his son, Semei his son, 5 Micha his son, Reia his son, Baal his son, 6. Beera his son, whom Thelgathphalnasar king of the Assyrians carried away captive; and he was prince in the tribe of Ruben. 7 And his brethren, and all his kindred, when they were nunſbered by their families, had for princes Jehiel and Zacharias. 8 And Bala the son of Azaz, the son of Samma, the son of Joel, dwelt in Aroer as far as Nebo and Beelmeon. - 9 And eastward he had his habitation as far as the entrance of the desert, and the river Euphrates. For they possessed a great number of cattle in the land of Galaad. 10 And in the days of Saul they fought against the Agarites, and slew them, and dwelt in their tents { f Plantations and Hedges. These are the proper names of the places where they dwelt. In Hebrew, Atharim and Gadira f.Accounted to Joseph, viz. as to the double portion wricn belonged to the first-born ; but the princely dignity was given to Juda, and the * He that made, &c. viz. Joazim, the meaning of whose name in He- brew, is, he that made the sun to stand. In like manner the following names, Lying, (Chozºba,) Secure, (Joas,) and Burning (Saraph) are substituted in place of the Hebrew names of the same signification. - –––- - ==--→ priesthood to Levi TS- <& 313 1, PARALſ POMENON. n their stead, in all the country, that looketh to the east of Galaad. 11 And the children of Gad dwelt over-against them in the land of Basan, as far as Selcha : 12 Johel the chief, and Saphan the second : and Jauai and Saphat in Basan. 13 And their brethren according to the houses of their kindreds, were Michael,. and Mosollam, and Sebe, and Jorai, and Jacan, and Zie, and Heber, SęYCI), . 14. These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jara, the son of Galaad, the son of | Michael, the son of Jesesi, the son of Jeddo, the son of Buz. 15 And their brethren the sons of Abdiel, the son of Gumi, chief of the house in their families. 16 And they dwelt in Galaad, and in Basan, and in the towns thereof, and in all the suburbs of Sa- *on, unto the borders. 17 All these were numbered in the days of Joa- than king of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. 18 The sons of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses, fighting men, bearing shields, and swords, and bending the bow, and trained up to battles, four and forty thousand seven hundred and three score that went out to war. 19 They ſought against the Agarites: but the Itu- reans, and Naphis, and Notlab, 20 Gave them help. And the Agarites were de- livered into their hands, and all that were with them, because they called upon God in the battle: and he heard them, because they had put their faith in him. 21 And they took all that they possessed, of ca- tnels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of unen a hundred thousand souls. 22 And many fell down slain : for it was the | attle of the Lord. And they dwelt in their stead till the captivity. - 23 And the children of the half tribe of Manas- ses possessed the land, from the borders of Basan unto Baal, Hermon, and Samir, and mount Her- mon; for their number was great. 24 And these were the heads of the house of their kindred, Epher, and Jesi, and Eliel, and Es- ricl, and Jeremia, and Odoia, and Jediel, most va- liant and powerful men, and famous chiefs in their families. 25 But thcy forsook the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. 26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Phul king of the Assyrians, and the spirit of Thel- fºllº; king of Assur: and he carried away tuben, and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses; and brought them to Lahela, and to Habor, and to Ara, and to the river of Gozan, unto this day. CHAP. VI. The genealogies of Levi, and of Aaron: the cities of the Levites. T l E sons of Levi were Gerson, Caath, and 2 The sons of Caath: Amram, Isaar, Hebrou, and Oziel. 3. The children of Amram : Aaron, Moses, and Maria. The sons of Aaron : Nadab and Abiu, Eleazar and Ithamar... . ſo 4 Eleazar begot Phinees: and Phinees begot Abisue. º ( ) 5 And Abisue begot Bocci: and Bocci begot Ozi. 6 Ozi begot Zaraias: and Zaraias begot Marioth, 7 And Marioth begot Amarias: and Amarias be- got Achitob. 8 Achitob begot Sadoc: and Sadoc begot Achi- II].31%lS. h 9 Achimaas begot Azarias: Azarias begot Jo- à Il &l II. 10 Johanan begot Azarias. This is he that exe- cuted the priestly office in the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem. 11 And Azarias begot Amarias: and Amarias begot Achitob. 12 And Achitob begot Sadoc: and Sadoc begot Sellum. * 13 Sellum begot Helcias: and Helcias begot Azarias. .. Azarias begot Saraias: and Saraias begot Jo- SéCléC. 15 Now Josedec went out, when the Lord car- ried away Juda and Jerusalem by the hands of Na- buchodonosor. * 16 So the sons of Levi were Gerson, Caath, and Merari. 17 And these are the names of the sons of Ger- son: Lobni and Semei. Hebron, and Oziel. - 19 The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. And these are the kindreds of Levi according to their families. 20 Of Gerson, Lobni his son, Jahath his son, Zamma his son, 21 Joah his son, Addo his son, Zara his son, Jethrai his son. 22 The sons of Caath: Aminadab his son, Core his son, Asir his son, tº 23 Elcana his son, Abiasaph his son, Asir his son, 24. Thahath his son, Uriel his son, Ozias his son, Saul his son. 25 The sons of Elcana: Amasai, and Achimoth, 26 And Elcana. The sons of Elcana: Sophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elcana his son 28. The sons of Samuel : the first-born Wasseni, and Abia. 29 And the sons of Merari, Moholi: Lobni his son, Semei his son, Oza his son, 30 Sammaa his son, Haggia his son, Asaia his SOI), 31 These are they, whom David set over the singing men of the house of the Lord, after that the ark was placed. 32 And they ministered before the tabernacle of Ierari. 314 the testimony, with singing until Solomon built the —º- *s -------~ -*-* *- == --><^* ==> *= Yºº- R-Tº... . …sº 18 The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and CHAP VI. house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and they stood ac-ſ cording to their order in the ministry. 33 And these are they that stood with their sons, of the sons of Caath, Hemam a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, 34. The son of Elcana, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Thohu, 35 The son of Suph, the son of Elcana, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36 The son of Elcana, the son of Johel, the son of Azarias, the son of Sophonias, 37 The son of Thahath, the son of Asir, the son of Abiasaph, the son of Core, 38 The son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of I evi, the son of Israel. 39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, Asaph the son of Barachias, the son of Samaa, 40 The son of Michael, the son of Basaia, the son of Melchia, 41 The son of Athanai, the son of Zara, the son of Adaia, 42 The son of Ethan, the son of Zamma, the son of Semei, - 43 The son of Jeth, the son of Gerson, the son 5f i.evi. 44 And the sons of Merari their brethren, on the left hand, Ethan the son of Cusi, the son of Abdi, the son of Meloch, 45 The son of Hasabia, the son of Amasia, the son of Helcias, 46 The son of Amasia, the son of Boni, the son of Somer, 47 The son of Moholi, the son of Musi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 48 Their brethren also the Levites, who were appointed for all the ministry of the tabernacle of the house of the Lord. 49 But Aaron and his sons offered burnt-offer- ings upon the altar of holocaust, and upon the altar of incense, for every work of the holy of holies; and to pray for lsrael according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50 And these are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinees his son, Abisue his son, 51 Bocci his son, Ozi his son, Zarahia his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amarias his son, Achitob his son, 53 Sadoc his son, Achimaas his son. 54 And these are their dwelling places by the towns and confines, to wit, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Caathites: for they fell to them by lot. e 55 And they gave them Hebron in the land of Juda, and the suburbs thereof round about: 56 But the fields of the city and the villages to Caleb, son of Jephone. 57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities for refuge Hebron, and Lobna, and the suburbs thereof; 58 And Jether and Esthemo, with their suburbs; and Helon and Dabir, with their suburbs; 59 Asan also and Bethsemes, with their suburbs. 60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin: Gabee and its suburbs, Almath with its suburbs, Anathoth also with its suburbs: all their cities throughout their families were thirteen. 61 And to the sons of Caath that remained of their kindred they gave out of the half tribe of Ma- masses ten cities in possession. 62 And to the sons of Gerson by their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Aser, and out of the tribe of Nephtali, and out of the tribe of Manasses in Basan, thirteen cities. 63 And to the sons of Merari by their families out of the tribe of Ruben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zabulon, they gave by lot twelve cities. 64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities, and their suburbs. 65 And they gave them by lot, out of the tribe of the sons of Juda, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the sons of Benja- min, these cities, which they called by their names. 66 And to them that were of the kindred of the ! sons of Caath, and the cities in their borders were of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 And they gave the cities of refuge, Sichem with its suburbs in mount Ephraim, and Gazer with its suburbs, 68 Jecmaan also with its suburbs, and Bethho ron in like manner, 69 Helon also with its suburbs, and Gethrem- mon in like manner. 70 And out of the half tribe of Manasses, Aner and its suburbs, Baalam and its suburbs: to wit, to them, that were left of the family of the sons of Caath. 71 And to the sons of Gersom, out of the kin- dred of the half tribe of Manasses, Gaulon in Ba- i. and its suburbs, and Astharoth with its su- U TOS, 72 Out of the tribe of Issachar, Cedes and its suburbs, and Dabereth with its suburbs, 73 Ramoth also and its suburbs, and Anem with its suburbs. 74. And out of the tribe of Aser: Masal with its suburbs, and Abdon in like manner, 75 Hucac also and its suburbs, and Rohob with its suburbs. 76 And out of the tribe of Nephtali, Cedes in Galilee and its suburbs, Hamon with its suburbs, and Cariathaim and its suburbs. º 77 And to the sons of Merari that remained: out of the tribe of Zabulon, Remmono and its suburbs, and Thabor with its suburbs: º 78 Beyond the Jordan also over-against Jericho on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe º Ruben, Bosor in the wilderness with its suburbs and Jassa with its suburbs. 79 Cademoth also and its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs. 80 Moreover also out of the tribe of Gad, Ra- moth in Galaad and its suburbs, and Manaim with its suburbs, - 81 Hesebon also with its suburbs, and Jazer with lits suburbs. —º I. PARALIPOMENON. C. H.A.P. VII. Ornea.ogves of Issaſhtir, Benjamin, Nephtali, Manasses, Sphraim, and Aser. NGW the sons of Issachar were Thola, and Phua, Jasub, and Simeron, four. 2 The sons of Thola: Ozi, and Raphaia, and Jeriel, and Jemai, and Jebsem, and Samuel, chiefs of the houses of their kindreds. Of the posterity of Thola were numbered in the days of David, two and twenty thousand six hundred most valiant men. 3 The sons of Ozi: Izrahia, of whom were horn Michael, and Obadia, and Joel, and Jesia, five, all great men. 4 And there were with them by their families and peoples, six and thirty thousand most valiant men ready for war: for they had many wives and children. 5 Their brethren also throughout all the house of Issachar, were numbered fourscore and seven thou- sand most valiant men for war. 6 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, and Bechor, and Jadihel, three. 7 'The sons of Bela : Esbon, and Ozi, and Ozial, and Jerimoth and Urai, five chiefs of their families, and most valiant warriors; and their number was twenty two thousand and thirty-four. 8 And the sons of Bechor were Zamaria, and Joas, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Amri, and Je- rimoth, and Abia and Anathoth, and Almath: all these were the sons of Bechor. 9 And they were numbered by the families, heads of their kindreds, most valiant men for war, twenty thousand and two hundred. 10 And the sons of Jadihel: Balan. And the Rons of Balan: Jehus, and Benjamin, and Aod, and Chanana, and Zethan, and Tharsis, and Ahisahar. ll All these were sons of Jadihel, heads of their kindreds, most valiant men, seventeen thousand and two hundred fit to go out to War. 12 Sepham also and Hapham the sons of Hir: and Hasim the sons of Aher. 13 And the sons of Nephtali were Jasiel, and Gumi, and Jezer, and Sellum, sons of Bala. 14 And the son of Manasses, Ezriel: and his con- cubine the Syrian bore Machir the father of Galaad. 15 And Machir took wives for his sons Happhim and Saphan : and he had a sister named Maacha : the name of the second was Salphaad: and Sal- phaad had daughters. 16 And Maacha the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Phares: and the name of his brother was Sares: and his sons were Ulam and Recen. 17 And the son of Ulam, Badan. These are the sons of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses. 8 And his sister named Queen bore Goodlyman, 1.2 & Abiezer, and Mohola. 19 And the sons of Semida were Ahiu, and Se- chem, and Leci, and Aniam. . 20 And the sons of Ephraim were Suthala, Bared his son, Thahath his son, Elada his son, Thahath his son, and his son Zabad, ºr TT 21 And his son Suthala, and his son Ezer, anti Elad : and the men of Geth born in the land slew them, because they came down to invade their pos- sessions. e 22 And Ephraim their father moun ned many days; Hand his brethren came to comfort him. 23 And he went in to his wife: and she conceiv- ed, and bore a son; and he called his name Beria,” because he was born when it went evil with his house: g 24 And his daughter was Sara, who built Betho- ron, the nether and the upper, and Ozensara. 25 And Rapha was his son, and Reseph, and Thale; of whom was born Thaan, 36 Who begot Laadan: and his son was Ammind, who begot Elisama, hi 27 Of whom was born Nun, who had Josue for IS SOI). 28 And their possessions and habitations were Bethel with her daughters, and eastward Noran, and westward Gazar and her daughters, Sichem also with her daughters, as far as Asa with hel daughters. 29 And by the borders of the sons of Manasses, Bethsan and her daughters, Thanach and her daugh- ters, Mageddo and her daughters, Dor and her daughters: in these dwelt the children of Joseph, the son of Israel. 30 The children of Asa were Jemma, and Jesua, and Jessui, and Baria, and Sara their sister. 31 And the sons of Baria: Haber and Melchiel: he is the father of Barsaith. 32 And Heber begot Jephlat, and Somer, and Hotham, and Suaa their sister. 33. The sons of Jephlat: Phosech, and Chamaal and Asoth: these are the sons of Jephlat. 34 And the sons of Somer: Ahi, and Roaga, and Haba, and Aram. 35 And the sons of Helam his brother: Supha and Jemma, and Selles, and Amal. 36 The sons of Supha: Sue, Harnapher, and Sual, and Beri, and Jamra. 37 Bosor and Hod, and Samma, and Salusa, and Jethran, and Bera. 38. The sons of Jether: Jephone, and Phaspha, and Ara. - R 39 And the sons of Olla: Aree, and Haniel, and €Slºle 40 All these were sons of Aser, heads of their families, choice and most valiant captains of cap- tains: and the number of them that were of the age, that was fit for war, was six and twenty thousand CHAP. VIII. The posterity of Benjamin is further declared down to Saul. His issue. - Nºw Benjamin begot Bale his first-born, Asbe the second, Ahara the third, 2 Nohaa the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 And the sons of Bale were Addar, and Gera, and Abiud. w— * Beria. This name signifies in evil, or in qffiction. 310 CHAP. IX. 4 And Abisue, and Naaman, and Ahoe, 5 And Gera, and Sephuphan, and Huram. 6 These are the sons of Ahod, heads of families i dwelt in Gabaa, who were removed into Mana- ath. 7 And Naaman, and Achia, and Gera he removed them; and begot Oza and Ahiud. 8 And Saharim begot in the land of Moab, after hc sent away Husim and Bara his wives. 9 And he begot of Hodes his wife Jobab, and Sebia, and Mosa, and Molchom, 10 And Jehus, and Sechia, and Marma. These were his sons heads of their families. 1' And Mehusim begot Abitob and Elphaal. 12 And the sons of Elphaal were Heber, and Misaam and Samad; who built Ono, and Lod, and its daughters. 13 And Baria and Sama were heads of their kin- dreds that dwelt in Aialon: these drove away the inhabitants of Geth. 14 And Ahio, and Sesac, and Jerimoth, 15 And Zabadia, and Arod, and Heder, 16 And Michael, and Jespha, and Joha, the sons of Baria. º 17. And Zabadia, and Mossollam, and Hezeci, and Heber, - 18 And Jesamari, and Jezlia, and Jobab sons of Ephaal: 19 And Jacim, and Zechri, and Zabdi, 20 And Elioneai, and Selethai, and Elial, 21 And Adaia, and Baraia, and Samareth the sons of Semei. 22 And Jespham, and Heber, and Eliel, 23 And Abdon, and Zechri, and Hanan, 24 And Hanania, and Elam, and Anathothia, 25 And Jephdaia, and Phanuel the sons of Sesac. 26 And Samsari, and Sohoria, and Otholia, 27 And Jersia, and Elia, and Zechri the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were the chief fathers and heads of their families who dwelt in Jerusalem. 2, And at Gabaon dwelt Abigabaon: and the name of his wife was Maacha: 30 And his first-born son Abdon, and Sur, and Cis, and Baal, and Nadab, . 51 And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher, and Ma- celloth : \ 32 And Macelloth begot Samaa : and they dwelt| over-against their brethren in Jerusalem, with neir brethren. 33 And Ner begot Cis: and Cisbegot Saul And Saul begot Jonathan, and Melchisua, and loina- dab, and Esbaal.” 34 And the son of Jonathan was Meribba i. Meribbaali begot Micha. 35 And the sons of Micha were Phithon, and Melech, and Tharaa, and Ahaz. 36 And Ahaz begot Joada: and Joada begot ..". and Azmoth, and Zamri: and Zamri be- got Mosa: and }. * Esbaal, alias Isboseth. * JMeribbaal, alias Miphiboseth. 2 King iv. 4. º” • <> 37 And Mosa begot Banaa, whose son was fia pha, of whom was born Elasa, who begot Asel. 38 And Asel had six sons, whose names were Ezricam, Bochru, Ismahel, Saria, Obdia, and lia. man. All these were the sons of Asel. ... 39 And the sons of Esec his brother, were Ular. the first-born, and Jehus the second, and Eliphalet the third. 40 And the sons of Ulam were most valiant men, and archers of great strength: and they had many sons and randsons, even to a hundred and fifty. All these v ere children of Benjamin. CHAP. IX. The Israelites, priests, and Levites, who first dupelt in Jerusalem after the captivity. A repetition of the genealogy of Saul. ND all Israel was numbered: and the sum of them was written in the Book of the kings of Israel and Juda: and they were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. 2 Now the first that dwelt in their possessions, and in their cities, were the Israelites, and the priests. and the Levites, and the Nathineans.f 3 And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Juda, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and of Manasses. 4. Othei the son of Ammiud, the son of Amri, the son of Omrai, the son of Bonni, of the sons of Phares the son of Juda. 5 And of Siloni: Asaia the first-born and his SOIlS. 6 And of the sons of Zara : Jehuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. 7 And of the sons of Benjamin : Salo the son of Mosollam, the son of Oduia, the son of Asana: 8 And Jobania the son of Jeroham: and Ela the son of Ozi, the son of Mochori: and Mosollam the i. of Saphatias, the son of Rahuel, the son of Je- #Ill? . 9 And their brethren by their families, nine hun- dred and fifty-six. All thºse were heads of their families by the houses of their fathers. 10 Andof the priests: Jedaia, Joiarib, and Jachin: 11 And Azarias the son of Helcias, the son of Mosollam, the son of Sadoc, the son of Maraioth, the son of Achitob, high priest of the house of God. 12 And Adaias the son of Jeroham, the son of Phassur, the son of Melchias; and Massai the son ol Adiel; the son of Jezra, the son of Mosollam, the son of Mossallamuth, the son of Emmel 13 And their brethren neaus I, (neir families a thousand seven hundred and threescore, very stron- and able men for the work of the mmistry 1, .ne house of God. 'l And of the Levites: Semeia the son of Has. Slity ſha S^n of Ezricam. the son ~f **asesia of the sons of Merary. 15 And Bachacar the carpenter, and Gaial. and Mathania the son of Micha, the son of Zechri the 1son of Asaph: JWathineans. . These were the posterity of the Gabaonites, whose office was to bring wood, wagº &c. for the service of the temple V7 I. PARALI POMEN ON. 16 And Obdia the son of Semeia, the son of Ga- lat, the son of Idithun: and Barachia the son of Aşa, the son of Elcana, who dwelt in the suburbs of Ne- tophati. i.7 And the porters were Sellum, and Accub, and Telmon, and Ahimam : and their brother Sellum a as the prince, 18 Until that time, in the king's gate eastward, ine sons of Levi waited by their turns. 19 But Sellum the son of Core, the son of Abia- taph, the son of Core, with his brethren and his fa. tner's house, the Corites were over the works of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle : and their families in turns were keepers of the en- trance of the camp of the Lord: 20 And Phinees the son of Eleazal was their prince before the Lord: G 21 And Zacharias the son of Mosollamia, was porter of the gate of the tabernacle of the testimony; 22 All these that were chosen to be porters at the gates were two hundred and twelve : and they were registered in their proper towns; whom David and Samuel the seer appointed in their trust: 23 As well them as their sons, to keep the gates of the house of the Lord, and th; tabernacle by their tUli 1) S. 2. In four quarters were the porters : that is to say, toward the east, and west, and north, and south. 25 And their brethren dwelt in villages, and came Jpon their sabbath-days from time to time. 25 To these four Levites were committed the whole number of the porters: and they were over the chaumbers, and treasures, of the house of the Lord. 27 And they abode in their watches round about the temple of the Lord; that when it was time, they might open the gates in the morning. 28 And some of their stock had the charge of the vessels for the ministry: for the vessels were both brought in and carried out by number. 29 Some of them also had the instruments of the sanctuary committed unto them, and the charge of the fine flour, and wine, and oil, and frankincense, ‘und spices. 30 And the sons of the priests made the oint- ments of the spices. 31 And Mathathias a Levite, the first-born of Sellum the Corite, was overseer of such things as were fried in the frying-pan. 32 And some of the sons of Caath their brethren were over the loaves of proposition, to prepare al- ways new for every sabbath. 33 These are the chief of the singing men of the families of the Levites, who dwelt in the chambers, by the temple, that they might serve continually day and night in their ministry. 34. The heads of the Levites, princes in their families, abode in Jerusalem. 35 And in Gabaon dwelt Jehiel the father of Ga- baon. and the name of his wife was Maacha. 36 His first-born son Abdon, and Sur, and Cis, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, 37 Gedot also, and Ahio, and Zacharias, and Macelloth. 38 And Macelloth begot Sanaan : tnese dwelt over-against their brethren in Jerusalem, with their brethren. 39 Now Ner begot Cis: and Cis begot Saul: and Saul begot Jonatham, and Melchisua, and Abina dab, and Esbaal. 40 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal. and Meribbaal begot Micha. 41 And the sons of Micha, were Phithon, and Melech, and Tharaa, and Ahaz. 42 And Ahaz begot Jara: and Jara begot. Ala- math, and Azmoth, and Zamri. And Zamri begot Mosa. e 43 And Mosa begot Banaa; whose son Raphaia begot Elasa; of whom was born Asel. 44 And Asel had six sons, whose names are, Ezricam, Bocinu, Ismahel, Saria, Obdia, Hanan: these are the sons of Asel. CHAP. X. Saul is slain for his sins: he is buried by the men of Jabes. NOW the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philis- times, and fell down wounded in mount Gelboe. 2 And the Philistines drew near pursuing after Saul, and his sons: and they killed lº, and Abinadab, and Melchisua, the sons of Saul. 3 And the battle grew hard against Saul: and the archers reached him, and wounded him with A l'I'OWS. 4 And Saul said to his armour-bearer: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest these uncircumcised come, and mock me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was struck with fear: so Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. 5 And when his armour-bearer saw it, to wit º Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and leOl. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house fell together. - 7 And when the men of Israel, that dwelt in the plains, saw this, they fled : and Saul and his sons being dead, they forsook their cities, and were scat- tered up and down: and the Philistines came, and dwelt in them. e 8 And the next day the Philistines taking away the spoils of them that were slain, found Saul and his sons lying on mount Gelboe. 9 And when they had stripped him, and cut off his head, and taken away his armour, they sent it into their land, to be carried about, and shown in the temples of the idols and to the people. 10 And his armour they dedicated in the temple of their god: and his head they fastened up in the temple of Dagon. 11 And when the men of Jabes Galaad had heard this, to wit, all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 All the valiant men of them arose, and took the bodies of Saul and of his sons, and brought them to Jabes, and buried their bones under the oak that was in Jabes; and they fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his iniquities, because he transgressed the commandment of the Lord, which 318 CHA P. XI. he had commanded, and kept it not; and moreover consulted also a witch, 14 And trusted not in the Lord : therefore he slew him, and transferred his kingdom to David the son of Isai. CHAP. XI. David is made king. He taketh the castle of Sion. A catalogue of his valiant men. HEN all Israel gathered themselves to David flesh in Hebron, saying: We are thy bone, and thy €SIM , 2 Yesterday also, and the day before, when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and brought- est in Israel: for the Lord thy God said to thee: Thou shalt feed my people lsrael; and thou shalt be ruler over them. 3. So all the ancients of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them before the Lord: and they anointed him king over Usrael, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke in the hand of Samuel. 4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were the in- nabitants of the land. - 5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David: Thou shalt not come in here. But David took the castle of Sion, which is the city of David. 6 And he said: Whosoever shall first strike the Jebusites, shall be the head and chief captain. And Joab the son of Sarvia went up first, and was made the general. 7 And David dwelt in the castle; and therefore "t was called the City of David. 8 And he built the city round about from Mello all round: and Joab built the rest of the city. 9 And David went on growing and increasing: and the Lord of hosts was with him. 10 These are the chief of the valiant men of Da- vid, who helped him to be made king over all Is- rael, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Israel. 11 And this is the number of the heroes of David Jesbaam the son of Hachamoni the chief among the thirty: he lifted up his spear against three hun- dred wounded by him at one time. 12 And after him was Eleazar his uncle’s son the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. 13 He was with David in Phesdomin, when the Philistines were gathered to that place to battle: and the field of that country was full of barley; and the people fled ſrom before the Philistines. 14 But these men stood in the midst of the field, and defended it: and they slew the Philistines; and the Lord gave a great deliverance to his peo- | 162. 9 15 And three of the thirty captains went down to the rock, wherein David was, to the cave of Odal- lam, when the Philistines encamped in the valley of Raphaim. - 16 And David was in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines in Bethlehem. 17 And David longed, and said: O that some | -º- º -- = ~E~3 >== Tai– --- > <= "Sºss man would give me water of the cisteri, of Bethle. hem, which is in the gate. 18 And these three broke through the n.adst of the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the cistern of Bethlehem, which was in the gate, and brought it to David to drink: and he would not drink of it, but rather offered it to the Lord, 19. Saying: God forbid that I should do this in the sight of my God, and should drink the blood of these men: for with the danger of their lives they have brought me the water. And therefore he would not drink. These things did the three most valiant. 20 And Abisai the brother of Joab, he was chieſ of three, and he lifted up his spear against three hun- dred, whom he slew: and he was renowned among the three, 21 And illustrious among the second three, and |. captain: but yet he attained not to the first three. - 22 Banaias the son of Joiada, a most valiant man, of Cabseel, who had done many acts: he slew the two ariels” of Moab; and he went down, and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in the time of Sll OW, 23 And he slew an Egyptian whose stature was of five cubits, and who had a spear like a weaver’s beam: and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked away the spear that he held in his hand, and slew him with his own spear. 24. These things did Banaias the son of Joiada, who was renowned among the three valiant ones, 25 And the first among the thirty; but yet to the three he attained not: and David made him of his council. 26 Moreover the most valiant men of the army, were Asahel brother of Joab, and Elchanan the son of his uncle of Bethlehem, 27 Sammoth an Arorite, Helles a Phalonite, 28 Ira the son of Acces a Thecuite, Abiezer an Anathothite, 29 Sobbochai a Husathite, Ilai an Ahohite, 30 Maharai a Netophathite, Heled the son of Baana a Netophathite, 31 Ethai the son of Ribai of Gabaath of the sons of Benjamin, Banaia a Pharathonite, 32 Hurai of the torrent Gaas, Abiel an Arbathite, Azmoth a Bauramite, Eliaba a Salabonite, 33 The sons of Assem a Gezonite, Jonathan the son of Sage an Ararite, 34 Ahiam the son of Sachar an Ararite, 35 Eliphal the son of Ur, 36 Hepher a Mecherathite, Ahia a Phelonite, 37 Hesro a Carmelite, Naarai the son of Azbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibahar the son of Agarai, - 39 Selec an Ammonite, Naharai a Belothite, the armour-bearer of Joab the son of Sarvia, 40 Ira a Jethrite, Gareb a Jethrite, 41 Urias a Hethite, Zabad the son of Ohuli, *- *e ammº, * Two ariels. That is, two lions, or lion-like men; for anol in the brew signifies a lion. $49 *ś % S I. PARALI POMENON. A2 Adina the son of Siza a Rubenite, the prince of the Rubenites, and thirty with him: 43 Hanan the son of Maacha, and Josaphat a Mathanite, 44. Ozia an Astarothite, Samma, and Jehiel, the sons of Hotham an Arorite, 45 Jedihel the son of Zamri, and Joha his brother a Thosaite, 46 Fliela Mahumite, and Jeribai, and Josaia the sons of Elnaim, and Jethma a Moabite, Eliel, and ()oed, and Jasiel of Masobia. CHAP. XII. Who followed David when he fled from Saul: and who came to Hebron to make him king. NQW these are they that came to David to Sice- leg, while he yet fled from Saul the son of Cis: and they were most valiant and excellent warriors, 2 Bending the bow, and using either hand in hurl- ing stones with slings, and shooting arrows: of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin. 3 The chief was Ahiazer, and Joas, the sons of Samaa of Gabaath, and Jaziel, and Phallet the sons of Azmoth, and Beracha, and Jehu an Anathothite. 4 And Samaias of Gabaon, the stoutest amongst the thirty, and over the thirty. Jeremias, and Jehe- ziel, and Johanan, and Jezabad of Gaderoth. 5 And Eluzai, and Jerimuth, and Baalia, and Sa- maria, and Saphatia the Haruphite. 6 Elcana, and Jesia, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jesbaam of Carehim: 7 And Joela, and Zabadia the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. 8 From Gaddi also there went over to David, when he lay hid in the wilderness most valiant men, and excellent warriors, holding shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of a lion, and they were swift like the roebucks on the mountains. h * the chief, Obdias the second, Eliab the [I] ll ió Masmana the fourth, Jeremias the fifth, ! I Ethi the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12 Johanan the eighth, Elzebad the ninth, 13 Jeremias the tenth, Machbani the eleventh. 14. These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the army: the least of them was captain over a hundred soldiers, and the greatest over a thousand. 15 These are they who passed over the Jordan in the first month, when it is used to flow over its banks: and they put to flight all that dwelt in the vallies both toward the east and toward the west. 16 And there came also of the men of Benjamin and of Juda to the hold in which David abode. 17 And I)avid went out to meet them, and said: If you are come peaceably to me to help me, let my heart be joined to you: but if you plot against me for my enemies, whereas I have no iniquity in my n unds, let the God of our fathers see, and judge. 18 But the spirit came upon Amasai the chief anong thirty and he said: We are thine, O David, and for thee, O son of Isai: peace, peace be to thee, and peace to thy helpers. For thy God helpeth thee. So David received them, and made them captains of the band 19 And there were some of Manasses that went over to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to fight: but he did not fight with them: because the lords of the Philistines taking counsel sent him back, saying: With the danger of our heads he will return to his master Saul. 20 So when he went back to Siceleg, there fled to him of Manasses, Ednas, and Jozabad, and Je- dihel, and Michael, and Ednas and Jozabad, and Eliu, and Salathi, captains of thousands in Ma- Iſla SS6S. - 21 These helped David against the rovers: for they were all most valiant men, and were made commanders in the army. 22 Moreover day, by ây there came some to Da- yid to help him, till they became a great numner like the army of God. 23 And this is the number of the chiefs of the army who came to David, when he was in Hebron, to transfer to him the kingdom of Saul, according to the word of the Lord. 24. The sons of Juda bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred well appointed to war. 25 Of the sons of Simeon valiant men for war seven thousand one hundred. 26 Of the sons of Levi, four thousand six hundred 27 And Joiada prince of the race of Aaron, and with him three thousand seven hundred. 28 Sadoc also a young man of excellent disposi- tion, and the house of his father, twenty-two prin- cipal men. 29 And of the sons of Benjamin the brethren of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto a great part of them followed the house of Saul. 30 And of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, men of great valour, renowned in their kindreds. . 31 And of the half tribe of Manasses, eighteen thousand, every one by their names came to make David king. 32. Also of the sons of Issachar, men of under- standing, that knew all times to order what Israel should do, two hundred principal men: and all the rest of the tribe followed their counsel. 33 And of Zabulon such as went forth to battle, and stood in array well appointed with armour for war, there came fifty thousand to his aid, with no double heart. 34 And of Nephtali, a thousand leaders: and with themseven and thirty thousand, furnished with shield and spear. 35 Of Dan also twenty eight thousand six hun- dred prepared for battle. 36 And of Aser forty thousand going forth w fight, and challenging in battle. 37 And on the other side of the Jordan cf the sons of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the half of the tribe of Manasses, a hundred and twenty thousand, furnished with arms for war. - 38 All these men of war well appointed to fight, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make #. vid king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel :=> - ; T. Fºs- ====<=== were of one neart to make David king. CHAP. XIII, XIV, XV. eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them. 40 Moreover they that were near them even as far as Issachar, and Zabulon, and Nephtali, brought loaves on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, to eat: meal, figs, raisins, wine, oil, and oxen, and sheep, in abundance: for there was joy in lsraei. CHAP. XIII. The ark is brought from Cariathiarim. it is struck dead. ND David consulted with the captains of thou- sands, and of hundreds, and with all the com- manders' 2 And he said to all the assembly of Israel : If it please you, and if the words which I speak come from the Lord our God, let us send to the rest of our brethren into all the countries of Israel, and to the priests and the Levites, that dwell in the su- blurbs of the cities, to gather themselves to us: 3 And let us bring again the ark of our God to as: for we sought it not in the days of Saul. 4 And all the multitude answered that it should be so: for the word pleased all the people. 5 So David assembled all Israel from Sihor of Egypt, even to the entering into Emath, to bring the ark of God from Cariathiarim. 6 And David went up with all the men of Israel to the hill of Cariathiarim, which is in Juda, to bring thence the ark of the Lord God sitting upon the Cherubims, where his name is called upon. 7 And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart, out of the house of Abimadab. And Oza and his brother drove the cart. - 8 And David and all Israel played before God with all their might with hymns, and with harps, and with psalteries, and timbrels, and cymbals, and trumpets. 9 And when they came to the floor of Chidon, Oza for touching Oza put forth his hand, to hold up the ark: for the oxbeing wanton had made it lean a little on one side. 10 And the Lord was angry with Oza, and struck him, because he had touched the ark: and he died there before the Lord. 11 And David was troubled, because the Lord had divided Oza: and he called that place the Breach of Oza to this day. - 12 And he feared God at that time, saying: How can I bring in the ark of God to me? 13 And therefore he brought it not home to him- self, that is, into the city of David; but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gethite. 14 And the ark of God remained in the house of Obededom three months: and the Lord blessed his house, and all that he had. CHAP. XIV. David's house, and children: his victories over the Philistines. ANR Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to *— David, and cedar-trees, and masons, and car- penters, to build him a house. 2 And David perceived that the Lord had con- = 2=== *He 39 And they were there with David three days |firmed him king over Israel, and that his kingdo was exalted over his people Israel. 3 And David took other wives in Jerusalem: and he begot sons and daughters. 4. Now these were the names of them that were born to him in Jerusalem: Samua, and Sobad, Na. than, and Solomon, à Jebahar, and Elisua, and Eliphalet, 6 And Noga, and Napheg, and Japhia, 7 Elisama, and Baaliada, and Eliphalet. 8. And the Philistines hearing that David was |anointed king over all Israel, went all up to seek him; and David heard ofit, and went outagainst them. 9 And the Philistines, came, and spread them. Selves in the vale of Raphaim. - 10 And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go up against the Philistines; and wilt thou deli. ver them into my hand f And the Lord said to him Go up, and I will deliver them into thy hand. ll And when they were come to Bººm David defeated them there: and he said: God hail divided my enemies by my hand, as waters are di- vided : , and therefore the name of that place was called Baalpharasim. 12 And they left there their gods: and David commanded that they should be burnt. 13 Another time also the Philistines made an ir- ruption, and spread themselves abroad in the valley. 14 And David consulted God again, and God said to him: Go not up after them, turn away from them, and come upon them over-against the pear- treeS. 15 And when thou shalt hear the sound of one going in the tops of the pear-trees, then shalt thou go out to battle. For God is gone out before thee, to strike the army of the Philistines. 16 And David did as God had commanded him and defeated the army of the Philistines, slaying them from Gabaon to Gazera. 17 Aud the name of David became famous in all countries: and the Lord made all nations fear him. CHAPTER XV. The ark is brought into the city of David, with great solem nity. Michol derideth David’s devotion. HF made also houses for himself in the city of David; and built a place for the ark of God. and pitched a tabernacle for it. 2 Then David said : . No one ought to carry the ark of God, but the Levites; whom the Lord hath chosen to carry it, and to minister unto himself forevel 3 And he gathered all Israel together into Jeru salem, that the ark of God might be brought into its place, which he had prepared for it: 4 And the sons of Aaron also, and the Levites 5 Of the children of Caatn, Uriel was the chieſ, and his brethren a hundred and twenty. 6 Of the sons of Merari, Asaia the chicf. and his brethren two hundred and twenty: 7 Of the sons of Gersom, Joel the chief; and his brethren a hundred and thirty: 8 . Of the sons of Elisaphan, Semeias the chief, and his brethren two hº red: ~T-s-s- & I. PARALIPOMENON. 9 Uf the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief; and his brethren cighty: * 10 Of the sons of Oziel, Aminadab the chief; and his brethren a hundred and twelve. | 1 And David called Sadoc, and Abiathar the Iriests, and the Levites, Uriel, Asaia, Joel, Semeia, :licl, and Aminadab: 12 And he said to them: You that are the heads of the Levitical families, be sanctified with your bre- thren, and bling the ark of the Lord the God of Is- rel to the place, which is prepared for it: 13 Lest as the Lord at first struck us, because ye were not present, the same should now also come to pass, by our doing something against the law. 14. So the puiests and the Levites were sanctified, to carry the alk of the Lord the God of Israel. 15 And the sons of Levi took the ark of God, as Moses had commanded, the Lord, upon their shoulders, with the stayes. 16 And David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites, to appoint some of their brethren to be singers with musical instruments, to wit, on psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, that the joyful noise might resound on high. 17 And they appointed Levites, Heman the son of Joel, and of his brethren Asaph the son of Bara- chiaz: and of the sons of Merari, their brethren : Ethan the son of Casaia. 18 And with them their brethren: in the second rank, Zacharias, and Ben, and Jaziel, and Semira- moth, and Jahiel, and Ani, and Eliab, and Banaias, and Maasias, and Mathathias, and Eliphalu, and Macemias, and Oloededom, and Jehiel, the porters. 19 Now the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, sounded with cymbals of brass. 20 And Zacharias, and Oziel, and Semiramoth, and Jehiel, and Ani, and Eliab, and Maasias, and Banaias, sting mysteries upon psalteries. 21 And Mathathias, and Eliphalu, and Maceni- as, and Obededom, and Jehiel and Ozaziu, sung a song of victory for the octave upon harps. 22 And Chonemias chief of the Levites, presided over the prophecy, to give out the tunes:* for he was very skilful. 23 And Barachias, and Elcana were door-keepers of the ark. 24. And Sebenias, and Josaphat, and Nathanael, aud Amasai, and Zacharias, and Benaias and Elie- zer the priests, Sounded with trumpets, before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jellias were por- ters of the ark. 25 So David and all the ancients of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, out of the house of t)be dedom with joy. 26 And when & had helped the Levites who Carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they offered in sacrifice seven oxen, and seven rams. according to the word of * The prophecy, to give out the tunes. Singing praises to God is here talled prophecy: the inore, because these singei, were often inspired , ſhell, £ .." …” 27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that carried the ark, and the singing men, and Chonemias the ruler of the pro- phecy among the singers and David also had on him an ephod of linen. 28 And all Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and sounding with the sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and cym- bals, and psalteries, and harps. - 29 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord was come to the city of David, Michol the daughter of Saul looking out at a window, saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart. CHAPTER XVI. The ark is placed in the tabernacle. Sucrifice is offered. Da- vid blesseth the people, disposeth the affices of the Levites, and maketh a psalm of praise to God. O they brought the ark of God, and set it in the }~ midst of the tent, which David had pitched for it: , and they offered holocausts and peace-offerings before God. 2 And when David had made an end of offering holocausts, and peace-offerings, he blessed the pco- ple in the name of the Lord. 3 And he divided to all and every one, both men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and flour fried with oil. 4 And he appointed Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to remember his works, and to glorify, and praise the Lord God of Israel. 5 Asaph the chief, and next after him Zachari- as ; moreover Jahiel, and Semiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mathathias, and Eliab, and Banaias, and Obe- dedom ; and Jehiel over the instruments of psaltery, and harps ; and Asaph to sound with cymbals: 6 But Banaias, and Jaziel the priests, to sound the trumpet continually before the ark of the cove nant of the Lord. 7 In that day David made Asaph the chief to give praise to the Lord with his brethren. 8 Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name. make known his doings among the nations. 9 Sing to him : yea sing praises to him : and re- late all his wondrous works. 10 Praise ye his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord. ll Seek ye the Lord, and his power: seek ye his face evermore. 12 Remember his wonderful works, which he hath done : his signs, and the judgments of his mouth. 13 O ye seed of Israel his servants, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 14. He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember for ever his covenant : the word, which he commanded to a thousand generations. 16 The covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac. 17 And he appointed the same to Jacob for a precept ; and to Israel for an everlasting covenan, CHA P. XVII. Yºze 18 Saying: To thee will I give the land Cha- naan, the lot of your inheritance. 19 When they were but a small number; very few, and sojourners in it. 20 And they passed from nation to nation; and from a kingdom to another people. 21. He suffered no man to do them wrong : and reproved kings for their sake. Ç 22 Touch not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets. 23 Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth : show forth from day to day his salvation. 24 Declare his glory among the Gentiles; his wonders among all people. e = 25 For the Tord'is great, and exceedingly to be praised : and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Praise and magnificence are before him : strength and joy in his place. 28 Bring ye to the Lord, O ye families of the nations; bring ye to the Lord glory and empire. 29 Give to the Lord glory to his name: bring up sacrifice, and come ye in his sight: and adore the Lord in holy becomingness. 30 Let all the earth be moved at his presence: for he hath founded the world immoveable. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be lad : and let them say among the nations: The i. hath reigned. 32 Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof: let the fields rejoice; and all things that are in them. 33 Then shall the trees of the wood give praise be fore the Lord: because heis come to judge the earth. 34 Give ye glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. - 35 And say ye: Save us, O God our Saviour: and gather us together, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give glory to thy holy name, and may rejoice in singing thy praises. 36 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity : and let all the people Say: Amen, and a hymn to God. 37 So he left there before the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren to minister in the presence of the ark continually day by day, and in their courses. 38 And Obededom, with his brethren sixty- eight: and Obededom the son of Idithun, and Hesa he appointed to be porters. 39 And Sadoc the priest, and his brethren riests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place, which was in Gabaon, 40 That they should offer holocausts to the Lord up ºn the altar of holocaust continually, morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel. 41 And after him Heman, and Idithun, and the rest that were chosen, every one by his name to give praise to the Lord : his mercy endureth for ever. 42 And Heman and Idithun sounded the trum- _--Te ––2 Z_r T * --> - <> pet, and played on the cymbals, and all kinds of musical instruments to sing praises to God: and the sons of Idithun he made porters. 43 And all the people returned to their houses and David to bless also his own house. CHAP. XV i. David's purpose to build a temple, is remrarded by most ample promises : David's thanksgiving. | OW when David was dwelling in his house he said to Nathan the prophet : Behold, | dwell in a house of cedar: and the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord is under skins. 2 And Nathan said to David : Do all that is in thy heart : for God is with thee. 3 Now that night the word of God came to Na- than, saying : Go, and speak to David my servant: Thus saith the Lord : Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not remained in a house from the time that I brought up Israel, to this day: but I have been always changing places in a tabernacle, and in a tent 6 Abiding with all Israel. Did I ever speak to any one, of all the judges of Israel, whom I charg- ed to feed my people, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar P : 7 Now therefore thus shalt thou say to my ser- vant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: î. thee, from the pastures, from following the flock, that thou shouldst be ruler of my people Israel. 8 And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone ; and have slain all thy enemies before thee; and have made thee a name like that of one of the great ones that are renowned in the earth. 9 And I have given a place to my people Israel they shall be planted, and shall dwell therein, and shall be moved no more : neither shall the children of iniquity waste them, as at the beginning, 10 Since the days that I gave judges to my peo- ple Israel, and have humbled all thy enemies. And I declare to thee, that the Lord will build thee a house. 11 And when thou shalt have ended thy days to go to thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee. which shall be of thy sons: and I will Cstablish his kingdom. 12 He shall build me a house : and I will esta- blish his throne for ever. - 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son : and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee. - 14. But I will settle him in my house, and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be most firm for ever. 15 According to all these words. and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. 16 And king David came and sat beſore the I ord, and said : Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou shouldst give such things to me? 17 But even this latºeemed little in thy sight =~T ==< T-- Sl- 1. I’A HAL POMENON. and therefore thou hast also spoken concerning the house of thy servant for the time to come : and hast made me remarkable above all men, O Lord God. 18 What can David add more, seeing thou hast thus glorified thy servant, and known him P 19 O Lord, for thy servant’s sake, according to thy own heart, thou hast shown all this magnificence, and wouldst have all the great things to be known. 20 O Lord, there is none like thee : and there is no other God beside thee, of all whom we have heard of with our ears. 21 For what other nation is there upon earth like thy people lsrael, whom God went to deliver, and make a people for himself, and by his greatness and terrors cast out nations before their face, whom he had delivered out of Egypt P 22 And thou hast made thy people Israel to be thy own people for ever ; and thou, O Lord, art be- come their God. 23 Now therefore, O Lord, let the word which thou hast spoken to thy servant, and concerning his º be established for ever ; and do as thou hast 8: l l (l. 24 And let thy name remain, and be magnified for ever : and let it be said : The Lord of hosts is God of Israel ; and the house of David his servant re- maineth before him. 25 For thou, O Lord my God, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant, that thou will build him a house : and therefore thy servant hath found confi- dence to pray before thec. - - - 26 And now, O Lord, thou art God : and thou hast promised to thy servant such great benefits. 27 And thou hast begun to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be always before thee : for see- ing, thou blessest it, O Lord, it shall be blessed for tº V (ºr CHAP. XVI ||. David’s victories. His chief officers. ND it came to pass after this, that David de- feated the Philistines, and humbled them ; and took away Geth and her daughters out of the hand of the Philistines : 2 And he defeated Moab : and the Moabites were made David's servants, and brought him gifts. 3. At that time David defeated also Adarezer king of Soba of the land of Hemath, when he went to extend his dominions as far as the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen ; and he houghed all the chariot-horses, only a hundred chariots, which he reserved for imself. 5 And the Syrians of Damascus came also to help Adarezer king of Soba : and David slew of them likewise two and twenty thousand men. 6 And he put a garrison in Damascus, that Syria also should serve him, and bring gifts. And the lord assisted him in all things to which he went. 7 And David took the golden quivers which the Scrvents of Adarezer had : and he brought them to Jerusalem 8 Likewise out of Thebath and Chun, cities of Adarezer, he brought very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass. 9 Now when Thou king of Hemath heard that David had defeated all the army of Adarezer king of Soba, 10 He sent Adoram his son to king David, tc desire peace of him, and to congratulate him... that he had defeated and overthrown Adarezer: for 'ſ hou was an enemy to Adarezer. 11 And all the vessels of gold, and silver, , ull brass, king David consecrated to the Lord, with the silver and gold which he had taken from all the na- tions, as well from Edom, and from Moab, and from the sons of Ammon, as from the Philistines, and from Amalec. 12 And Abisai the son of Sarvia slew of the Edo- mites in the vale of the salt-pits, eighteen thousand : 13 And he put a garrison in Edom, that Edom should serve David : and the lord preserved David in all things to which he went. 14 So David reigned over all Israel, and execut- ed judgment and justice among all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Sarvia was over the ar- my, and Josaphat the son of Ahilud recorder. 16 And Sadoc the son of Achitob, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priest ; and Susa, scribe, 17 And Banaias the son of Joiada was over the hands of the Cerethi, and the Phelethi: and the sons of David where chief about the king. CHAP. XIX. The Ammonites abuse David’s embassadors: both they and their confederates are orerthrou'n. OW it came to pass that Naas the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. e 2 And David said: I will show kindness to Ila- non the son of Naas: for his father did a ſavour to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him upon the death of his father. But when they were come into the land of the children of Amnion, to comfort Hanon, - 3 The princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanon : T. thinkest perhaps that . David to do honour to thy father hath sent comforters to thee: and thou dost not take notice, that his servants are come to thee to consider, and search, and spy out thy land. - 4. Wherefore Hamon shaved the heads and beads of the servants of David, and cut away their gar- ments from the buttocks to the feet, and sent them aWay. 5 And when they were gone, they sent word to David, who sent to meet them (for they had suffer- ed a great affront) and ordered them to stay at Jeri- cho till their beards grew, and then to return. 6 And when the children of Animon saw that they had done an injury to David, Hanou and the rest of the people sent a thousand talents of silver, to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopo | tamia, and out of Syria Maacha, and out of Sobº 324 % N CHAP. XX, XXI. 7 And they hired two and thirty thousand cha- riots, and the king of Maacha, with his people. And they came and camped over-against Medaba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together out of their cities, and came to battle. 8 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of valiant men: 9 And the children of Ammon came out, and put their army in array before the gate of the city: and the kings, that were come to their aid, stood apart in the field. 10 Wherefore Joab understanding that the battle was set against him before and behind, chose out the bravest men of all Israel, and marched against the Syrians. ll And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abisai his brother: and they went against the children of Ammon. 12 And he said: If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, I will help thee. 13 Be of good courage; and let us behave ourselves maufully for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord will do that which is good in his sight. 14 So Joab and the people that were with him, went against the Syrians to the battle: and he put them to flight. 15 And the children of Ammon seeing that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled from Abisai his brother, and went into the city: and Joab also return- cd to Jerusalem. 16 But the Syrians seeing that they had fallen before israel, sent messengers, and brought to them the Syrians that were beyond the river: and So- hach, general of the army of Adarezer, was their eader. 17 And it was told David: and he gathered together all Israel, and passed the Jordan, and came upon them, and put his army in array against them, and she'ſ fought with him. 18 But the Syrians fled before Israel: and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand chariots,” and forty thousand footmen, and Sophach the general of the army. & 19 And when the servants of Adarezer saw \hemselves overcome by Israel, they went over to I avid, and served him: and Syria would not help the hildren of Ammon any more. CHAP. XX. Rabba is taken: other victories over the Philistines. ND it came to pass after the course of a year, ** at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab gathered together an army and the strength of the troops, and wasted the land of the children of Am- inon, and went and besieged Rabba. But David staid at Jerusalem, when Joab smote Rabba, and destroyed it. 2 And David took the crown of Melhom Iron his head, and found in it a talent weight of gold, and most precious stones: and he made himself a diadein of it: he took also the spoils of the city, which were Very great. 3 And the people that were herein he brough out; and made harrows, and sleds, and chariots of iroll to go over them, so that they were cut and bruised to pieces: in this manner David dealt with all the cities of the children of Ammon: and he re- turned with all his people to Jerusalem. 4 After this there arose a war at Gazer against the Philistines; in which Sabachai the Husathite slew Saphai of the race of Raphaim, and humbled them. 5 Another battle also was fought against the Phil- istines, in which Adeodatus the son of Saltus a Beth- lehemite slew the brother of Goliath the Gethite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 There was another battle also in Geth, in which there was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand and foot; who also was born of the stock of Rapha. 7 He reviled Israel: but Jonathan the son of Sa- maa the brother of David slew him. These were the sons of Rapha in Geth, who fell by the hand of David and his servants. CHAP. XXI. David’s sin in numbering the people is punished by a pestilence. which ceaseth upon his offering sacrifice in the thrashing-floor of Ornan. & ANR Satan rose up against Israel; and moved David to number Israel. 2 And David said to Joab, and to the rulers of the people: Go, and number Israel from Bersabee even to Dan; and bring me the number of them that I may know it. 3 And Joab answered: The Lord make his people a hundred times more than they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all thy servants? why doth my lord seek this thing, which may be imputed as a sin to Israel? 4. But the king's word rather prevailed: and Jo..th departed, and went through all |.. and returned to Jerusalem. 5 And he gave David the number f of then, whom he had surveyed: aud all the number of is rael was found to be eleven hundred thousand men that drew the sword : and of Juda four hundred and Seventy thousand fighting men. 6. But Levi and Benjamin he did not number for Joab unwillingly executed the king's orders. 7 And God was displeased with this thing thal was commanded : and he struck Israel. 8 And David said to God: I have sinned exceed ingly in doing this: I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done foolishly. * Seven thousand chariots. That is, of men who fought in chariots. # The number, &c. The difference of the numbers here, and 2 &ings xx v is to be accounted for, by supposing the greater number to be that which was really found, and the lesser to be that which Joab gave in. 39% % & N 1. PAHAJ, POMENON. 9 And the Lord spoke to Gad the seer of David, yeak to David, and tell him: Thus saying: 10 Go, and s saith the Lord: | give thee the choice of three things: choose one which thou wilt, and I will do it to thee. 11 And when Gad was come to David, he said to him: Thussaith the Lord: Choose which thou wilt: 12 Either three years famine;” or three months to flee from thy enemies, and not to be able to es- cape their sword; or three days to have the Sword of the Lord, and pestilence in the land, and the An- gel of the Lord destroying in all the coasts of Israel: now therefore see what I shall answer him who SCIlt Iſle. 13 And David said to Gad : I am on every side in a great strait: but it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many, than into the hands of men. 14 So the ſlord sent a pestilence upon Israel. And there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15 And he sent an Angel to Jerusalem, to strike it : and as he was striking it, the Lord belield, and took pity for the greatness of the evil: and said to the Angel that destroyed: It is enough ; now stop thy hand. And the Angel of the Lord stood by the thrashing-floor of Ornant the Jebusite. 16 And David lifting up his eyes, saw the Angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand, turned against Je- rusalem : and both he and the ancients clothed in hair-cloth. ſell down flat on the ground. i 17 And David said to God : Am not I he that commanded the people to be numbered f it is l that have sinned: It is l that have done the evil: but as for this flock what hath it deserved f O Lord my God, let thy hand be turned, I beseech thee, upon me, and upon my father's house : and let not thy people be destroyed. 18 And the Angel of the Lord commanded Gad to tell David, to go up, and build an altar to the Lord God in the thrashing-ſloor of Orman the Jebusite. 19 And David went up, according to the word of Gad, which he spoke to him in the name of the Lord. 20 Now when Orman looked up, and saw the Au- el, he and his four sons hid themselves: for at that time he was thrashing wheat in the floor. • 2) And as David was coming to Ornan, Orman saw him, and went out of the thrashing-floor to meet him, and bowed down to him with his face to the ground. 22 And David said to him : Give me this place of thy thrashing-floor, that I may build therein an altar to the Lord : but thou shalt take of me as much money as it is worth, that the plague may cease from he people. 23 And Orman said to David : Take it, and let my lord the king do all that pleaseth him : and moreover the oxen also I give for a holocaust, and the drays for wood, and the wheat for the sacrifice: will give it all willingly. 24 And king David said to him: It shali not be so ; but I will give thee money as much as it is worth : for I must not take it from thee, and so offer to the Lord holocausts free-cost. 25 So David gave to Orman for the place, six hundred siclesi of gold of just weight. 26 And he built there an altar to the Lord: and he offered holocausts and peace-offerings: and he called upon the Lord, and he heard him by sending fire from heaven upon the altar of the Violocaust. 27 And the lord commanded the Angel: and lie put up his sword again into the sheath. 26 And David seeing that the Lord had heard him. in the thrashing-floor of Orman the Jebusite, orth with offered victims there. 29 But the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the desert, and the altar of holocausts, was at that time in the high-place of Gabaon. 30 And David could not go to the altar there to pray to God : for he was seized with an exceeding great fear, seeing the sword of the Angel of the Lord C || A P. XX||. David having prepared all necessaries, chargeth Solomon te build the temple, and the princes to assist him. HEN David said: This is the louse of God and this is the altar for the holocaust of Israel. 2 And he commanded to gather together all the proselytes of the land of Israel: and out of them he appointed stone-cutters to hew stones and polish them, to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared in abundance iron for the nails of the gates, and for the closures and joinings. and of brass an immense weight. 4 And the cedar-trees were without number, which the Sidonians and Tyrians brought to David 5 And David said: Solomon my son is very young and tender: and the house which I would have to be built to the Lord, must be such as to be renowned in all countries: therefore I will prepare him neces- saries. And therefore before his death he prepared all the charges. - 6 And he called for Solomon his son ; and cotia manded him to build a house to the Lord the {. of Israel. - 7 And David said to Solomon: My son, it was my desire to have built a house to the name of the Lord my God. - 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying Thou hast shed much blood, and fought many bat- tles, so thou canst not build a house to my name after shedding so much blood before me: - 9. The son that shall be born to thee, shall be a most quiet man : for I will make him rest from all his enemies round about: and therefore he shall be called Peaceable : and I will give peace and quiet- * Three wears famine; Which joined with the three foregoing years af farmine mentioned 2 Kings xxi, and the seventh year # he land's resting, would make up the seven years proposed by the rophet, 2 Kings xxiv. 1'' hess to Israel all his days. ł Ornan; otherwise Are una. i. Sir hundredsicles, &c. This was the price of the whole place, on which the temple was afterwards built; but the price of the ºxen was fifty sicles of silver, 2 Kings, xxiv. 24. 326 CHAP. XXIII. 19. He shall build a house to my name, and he shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him: and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. 1 | Now then, my son, the Lord be with thee, and do thou prosper, and build the house to the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken of thee. l? The Lord also give thee wisdom and under- standing, that thou mayst be able to rule Israel, and to keep the law of the Lord thy God. 13. For then thou shalt be able to prosper, if thou ke^p the commandments and judgments, which the Lord commanded Moses to teach Israel: take courage and act manfully; fear not, nor be dismayed. 14 Behold, I in my poverty have prepared the charges of the house of the Lord, of gold a hundred thousand talents, and of silver a million of talents: but of brass, and of iron there is no weight; for the abundance surpasseth all account: timber also and stones I have prepared for all the charges. 15 Thou hast also workmen in abundance, hew- ers of stones, and masons, and carpenters, and of all trades the most skilful in their work, 16 in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, whereof there is no number. Arise then, and be doing; and the Lord will be with thee. 17. David also charged all the princes of Israel, to help Solomon his son, 18 Saying: You see, that the Lord your God is with you, and hath given you rest round about, and hath delivered all your enemies into your hands; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people. 19 Give therefore your hearts and your souls, to seek the Lord your God: and arise, and build a Sanctuary to the i. God, that the ark of the co- venant of the Lord, and the vessels consecrated to the Lord, may be brought into the house, which is built to the name of the Lord. CHAP. XXIII. David appointeth Solomon king. The distribution of the Le- vites and their offices. ANP David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the princes of Is- rael, and the priests and Levites. 3 And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty eight thousand men. 4. Of these twenty four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers and Judges. 5 Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instru- ments, which he had made to sing with. 6 And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari. 7 The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semie. 8 The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Ze- than, and Joel, three : w 9 The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families ol Leedan. 10 And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, . Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, OUI T. ll And Leheth was the first, Ziza the secon:(l but Jaus and Baria had not many children; and therefore they were counted in one family, and ºn one house. 12 The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Ozial, four. 13 The sons of Amram, Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the Holy of Holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever. 14. The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gersom and Eliezer 16 The sons of Gersom : Subuel the first. 17 And the sons of Eliezer were Rohobia the first : and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly. 18 The sons of Isaar: Saloumith the first. 19 The sons of Hebron : Jeriau the first, Ama. rias º second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam thc fourth. 20 The sons of Oziel : Micha the first, Jesia the Second. 21 The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cis. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons but ºters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took thell]. 23 The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three. 24. These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the num- ber of every head that did the works of the minis- try of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said: 'The Lord the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a haloitation in Jerusalem for ever. 26 And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels' for the service thereof. 27 So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward. •e 28 And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord. 29 And the priests have the charge of the loaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, an of the unleavened cakes, and of the frying-pan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure. 30 And the Levites are to stand in the moi uin to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord : an in like manner in the ºvening, % I. PA [RAIL | POM. ENON. 3] As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the unmber and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord. 32 And let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren ; that they may minister in the house of the Lord. - CHAP. XXIV. The diminions of the priests into four and troenty courses, to serve in the temple : the chiefs of the Levites. Tt)W these were the divisions of the sons of Aaron : The sons of Aaron : Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2. But Nadab and Abiu died before their father, and had no children: so Eleazar and Ithamar did the office of the priesthood. 3 And David distributed them, that is, Sadoc of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar according to their courses and minis- try. 4 And there were found many more of the sons of Eleazar among the principal men, than of the sons of Ithamar. And he divided them so, that there were of the sons of Eleazar, sixteen chief men by their families ; and of the sons of Ithamar, eight by their families and houses. 5 And he divided both the families one with the other by lot: for there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. 6 And Semeias the son of Nathanael the scribe a Levite, wrote them down before the king and the princes, and Sadoc the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the princes also of the priestly and Levitical families: one house, which was over the rest, of Eleazar : and another house, which had the rest under it, of Ithamar. 7 Now the first lot came forth to Joiarib ; the second to Jedei ; 8 'The third to Harim ; the fourth to Seorim ; 9 The fifth to Melchia; the sixth to Maiman ; Al 10 The seventh to Accos; the eighth to )1a : e ll The ninth to Jesua, the tenth to Sechenia; 12 The eleventh to Eliasib; the twelfth to Jacim: iš The thirteenth to Hoppha; the fourteenth to Isbaab, 14. The fifteenth to Belga; the sixteenth to Emer, 15 The seventeenth to Hezir ; the eighteentn to A phst's : 16 The nineteenth to Pheteia; the twentieth to |lezechiel : 17 The one and twentieth to Jachin ; the two and twentieth to Gamul ; 18 The three and twentieth to Dalaiau ; the four and twentieth to Maaziau. 19 These are their courses according to their ministries, to come into the house of the Lord, and * - e. according to their manner under the hand of Aaron their father: as the Lord the God of Israel had commanded. 20 Now the rest of the sons of Levi, there was of the sons of Amram, Subael: and of the sons of Subael, Jehedeia. - 21 Also of the sons of Rohobia, the chief Jesias. 22 And the son of Isaar, Salemoth : and the son of Salemoth, Jahath: 23 And his son Jeriau the first, Amarius the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth. 24. The son of Oziel, Micha : the son of Micha, Samir. 25 The brother of Micha, Jesia: and the son of Jesia, Zacharias. 26. The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi: the son of Oziau, Benno. 27 The son also of Merari: Oziau, and Soam, and Zacchur, and Hebri. 28 And the son of Moholi: Eleazar, who had IłO SOI] S. 29 And the sons of Cis, Jeramael. 30 The sons of Musi: Moholi, Eder, and Jeri- moth. These are the sons of Levi according to the houses of their families. 31 And they also cast lots over-against their brethren, the sons of Aaron before David the king, and Sadoc, and Ahimelech, and the princes of the priestly and Levitical families, both the elder and the younger. The lot divided all equally. CHAP. XXV. The number and divisions of the musicians. OREOVER, David and the chief officers of the army separated for the ministry the sons of Asaph,and }. and of Idithun; to prophesy with harps, and with psalteries, and with cymbals, ac- cording to their number serving in their oppointed office. 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zacchur, and Joseph, and Nathania, and Asarela, sons of Asaph; under the hand of Asaph, prophesying near the king. 3 And of Idithun : the sons of Idithun, Godolias, Sori, Jeseias, and Hasa bias, and Mathathias, six, under the hand of their father Idithun, who prophe- jºin a harp to give thanks, and to praise the OTOl. 4. Of Heman also: the sons of Heman, Bocclau, Mathaniau, Oziel, Subuel, and Jerimoth, Hananias Hanani, Eliatha, Geddelthi, and Romenthiezer, and Jesbacassa, Mellothi, Othur, Mahazioth: 5 All these were the sons of Heman the seer of the king in the words of God, to liſt up the horn: and God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 All these under their father's hand were distri- buted to sing in the temple of the Lord, w thcym- bals, and psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of the Lord near the king: to wit, Asaph, and Idithun, and Heman. 7 And the number of them with their brethren, that taught the song of the Lord, all the teachers. were two hundred and eighty-eight. wº CHAP. XXVI. 8 And they cast lots by their courses, the elder equally with the younger, the learned and the un- learned together. 9 And the first lot came forth to Joseph, who was of Asaph. The second to Godolias, to him and his sons, and his brethreu twelve. © e 10 The third to Zacchur, to his sons and his brethren twelve. e -> º 11 The fourth to Isari, to his sons and his brethren twelve. º © e 12 The fifth to Nathania, to his sons and his brethren twelve. e o & 13 The sixth to Bocciau, to his sons and his lºve thren twelve. 14 The seventh to Isreela, to his sons and his biethren twelve. 15 The eighth to Jesaia, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 16 Dhe ninth to Mathanaias, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 17 The tenth to Semeias, to his sons and his brethren twelve. ë 18 The eleventh to Azareel, to his sons and his brethi en twelve. 19 The twelfth to Hasabia, to his sons and his brethuen twelve. 20 The thirteenth to Subael, to his sons and his brethuen twelve. 21 The fourteenth to Mathathias, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 22 The fifteenth to Jerimoth, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 23 The sixteenth to Hananias, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 24. The seventeenth to Jesbacassa, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 25 The eighteenth to Hanani, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 26 The nineteenth to Mellofbi, dis brethren twelve. - 27 The twentieth to Fliath9, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 28 The one and twentieth to Othir, to his sons and his brethren twelve 29 The two and twentieth to Geddelthi, to his sons and his brethreu twelve. 30 The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, to his sons and his brethren twelve. 31 The four and twentieth to Romemthiezer, to his sons and his brethren twelve. CHAP. XXVI. The divisions of the porters. Officers of other Levites. ANP the divisions of the porters: of the Corites Meselemia, the son of Core, of the sons of Asaph. . 2 The sons of Meselemia: Zacharias the first- norm, Jadihel the second, Zabadias the third, Ja- thanael the fourth, 3 Flam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, Elioenai the weventh to his sons and • He had not a first-born. That is, his first-born was either dead or ost fit to be chieſ; and therefore he made Semri the chief. 4 And the sons of Obededom, Semeias the first- born, Jozabad the second, Joaha the third, Sachal the fourth, Nathanael the fifth. 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Phol- lathi the eighth : for the Lord had blessed him. And to Semei his son were born sons, heads of their families: for they were men of great vaiour. 7 The sons them of Semeias were Othni, and Raphael, and Obed, Elizabad, and his brethren m & valiant men : and Elihu, and Samachias. 8 All these of the sons of Obededom : they . aut! their sons, and their brethren most able men for ser vice, sixty-two of Obededom. 9 And the sons of Meselemia, and then brethreu strong men, were eighteen. 10 And of Hosa, that is, of the sons of Merari: Semri the chief (for he had not a first-born,” and therefore his father made him chief.) ll Helcias the second, Tabelias the third, Za- charias the fourth: all these the sons and the brethren of Hoza were thirteen. - 12 Among these were the divisions of the por- ters, so that the chiefs of the wards, as well as their brethren, always ministered in the house of the Lord. 13 And they cast lots equally, both little and great by their families, for every one of the gates. 14 And the lot of the east fell to Selemias. But to his son Zacharias, a very wise and learned man, the north gate fell by lot. - 15 And to Obededom and his sons, that towards the south: in which part of the house was the coun- cil of the ancients. 16 To Sephim and Hosa towards the west, by the gate which leadeth to the way of the ascent; ward against ward. 17 Now towards the east were six Levites; and towards the north four a day; and towards the south likewise four a day; and where the council was, two and two. 18 In the cells also of the porters towards the west four in the way; and two at every cell. 19 These are the divisions of the porters of the sons of Core and of Merari. 20 Now Achias was over the treasures of the house of God, and the holy vessels.t 21 The sons of Ledan, the sons of Gersonni: of Ledan were heads of the families, of Ledan, and Gersonni, Jehieli. 22 The sons of Jehieli: Zathan, and Joel his brethren over the treasures of the house of the Lord, 23 With the Amramites, and Isaarites, and He- bromites, and Ozielites. 24 And Subael the son of Gersom, the son of Moses, was chief over the treasures. 25 His brethren also Eliezer, whose son Raha- bia, and his son Isaias, and his son Joram, and his son Zechri, and his son Selemith. 26 Which Selennith and his brethren. were over the treasures of the holy things, which king David, J's ga | Holy vessels. Or vessels of the holy places, or of things holy. sanctorum. 329 .* 1. PARALI POMENON. and the heads of families, and the captains over thousands and over hundreds, and the captains of the host had dedicated, 27 Out of the wars, and the spoils won in battles, which they had consecrated to the building and furniture of the temple of the Lord. 28 And all these things that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Cis, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Sarvia had sanctified : and whosoever had sanctified those things, they were inder the hand of Selemith and his brethren. 29 But Chonemias and his sons were over the Isaarites, for the business abroad over Israel to teach “hem and judge them. 30 And of the Hebronites Hasabias, and his brethren most able men, a thousand seven hundred had the charge over Israel beyond the Jordan west- ward, in all the works of the Lord, and for the service of the king. 3| And the chief of the Hebronites was Jeria according to their families and kindreds. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were num- bered : and there were found most valiant men in Jazar Galaad, 32 And his brethren of stronger age, two thou- sand seven hundred chiefs of families. And king David made them rulers over the Rubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses, for all the service of God, and the king. CHAP. XXVII. The twelve captains for every month : the twelve princes of the tribes. David’s several officers. OW the children of Israel according to their number, the heads of families, captains of thousands and of hundreds, and officers, that serv- ed the king according to their companies, who came in and went out every month in the year, under every chieſ, were four and twenty thousand. 2 Over the first company the first month Jes- boarm, the son of Zabdiel was chief; and under him were four and twenty thousand. 3 Of the sons of Phares, the chief of all the captains in the host in the first month. 4. The company of the second month was under Dudia, an Abohite; and after him was another named Macelloth, who commanded a part of the army of four and twenty thousand. 5 And the captain of the third company for the third month, was Banaias the son of Joiada the priest: and in his division were four and twen- ty thousand. 5 This is that Banaias the most valiant among the thirty, and above the thirty. And Amizabad ūis son commanded his company. 7. The fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zabadias his son after him: and in his company were four and twenty thou- sand. 8 The fifth captain for the fifth month, was Sa- manth a Jezerite: and his company were four and twenty thousand. 9 The sixth. for the sixth month, was Hira the 330 2_^T <-->-º-º: Sº Tº Hº º % W THE SECOND BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON. CHAP. i. & lomon offereth sarrifices at Gahaon. adhich God giveth him. N D Solomon the son of David was strengthen- ed in his kingdom ; and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him to a high degree. 2 And Solomon gave orders to all Israel, to the vaptains of thousands, and of hundreds, and to the rulers, and to the judges of all Israel, and the heads of the families: 3 And he went with all tme multitude to the nigh place of Gabaon, where was the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, which Moses the servant of God made, in the wilderness. 4. For David had brought the ark of God from Cariathiarim to the place which he had prepared for it, and where he had pitched a tabernacle for it, that is, in Jerusalem. - 5 And the altar of brass, which Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord : and Solomon and all the assembly sought it. 6 And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altal, before the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up on it a thousand victims. 7 And behold, that might God appeared to him, saying : Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee. 8 And Solomon said to God : Thou hast shown great kindness to my father David; and hast made me king in his stead. 9 Now therefore, O Lord God, let thy word be "ulfilled, which thou hast promised to David my fa- ther: for thou hast made me king over thy great people, which is as innumerable as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may come in and go out before thy people: for who can worthily judge this thy people, which is so great P 11 And God said to Solomon : Because this choice hath pleased thy heart, and thou hast not ask- ed riches, and wealth, and glory, nor the lives of them that hate thee, nor many days of life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge, to be able to judge my people, over which I have made thee king; 12 Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee: and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and glory, so that none of the kings before thee, nor after thee, shall be like thee. }3 Then Solomon came from the high place of (labaon to Jerusalem before the tabernacle of the covenant, and reigned over Israel. 14 And he gathered to himself chariots and horse- men: and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he placed them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver and gold to be in His choice ºf wisdom, | Jerusalem as stones, and cedar-trees as sycamores which grow in the plains in great multitude. 16 And there were horses brought him from gypt, and from Coa by the king's merchants, who went and bought at a price, 17. A chariot of four horses for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty : in like manner market was made in all the kingdoms of the Hethites, and of the kings of Syria. ("HAP. II. | Solomon's embassage to Hiram;teho sends him a skilful workman, t and timber. A ND Solomon determined to build a house to the name of the Lord, and a palace for himself. 2 And he numbered out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them. 3. He sent also to Hiram king of Tyre, saying As thou didst with David my father, and didst send him cedars, to build him a house, in which he dwelt: 4. So do with me, that I may build a house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to burn incense before him, and to perfume with aromatical and for the holocausts, morning and evening, and on the Sabbaths, and on the new-moons, and the Solemnities of the Lord our God for ever, which are commanded for Israel. 5 For the house which I desire to build, is great. for our God is great above all gods. 6 Who then can be able to build him a worthy house * if heaven, and the heavens of heavens can. not contain him ; who am I, that I should be able to build him a house? but to this end only, that incense may be burnt before him. - 7 Send me therefore a skilful man, that knoweth how to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, in purple, in Scarlet and in blue, and that hath skill in engraving, with the artificers, which I have with me in Judea and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8 Send me also cedars, and fir-trees, and I ine- trees from Libanus: for I know that thy servants are skilful in cutting timber in Libanus; and my ser- vants shall be with thy servants. 9 To provide me timber in abundance. For the house which I desire to build, is to be exceeding great and glorious. 10 And I will give thy servants the workmen that are to cut down the trees, for their food twenty thousand cores of wheat, and as many cores of bar. ley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil. 11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent a letter to Solo. mon, saying: Because the Lord hath loved his Detr ple, therefore he hath mºle thee king over them 333 spices, and for the continual setting forth of bread,' º- - II. PARA LI I OMENON. 12 And he added, saying: Blessed be the Lord the (; )d of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who li:ith given to king David a wise and knowing son, endued with understanding and prudence, to build a house to the Lord, and a palace for himself. 13 I therefore ilave sent thee my fathe, Hiram, a wise and most skilful man, | | The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, whose father was a Tyrian, who knoweth how to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, and in marble, and in timber, in purple also, and violet, and silk, and scarlet : and who knoweth to grave all sort of graving, and to devise ingeniously all that there may be need of in the work with illy arii- ficers, and with the artificers of my lord David thy father. 15 The wheat therefore, and the barley, and the oil, and the wine, which thou, my lord, hast promis- -ett, Seird to thy-stºrvants. - - - - - - - 16 And we will cut down as many trees out o Libanus as thou shalt want, and will convey them in ſloats by sea to Joppe : and it will be thy part to bring them thence to Jºiº. 17 And Solomon numbered all the proselytes in the land of Israel, after the numbering which David his father had made ; and they were found a hun- dred fifty-three thousand and six hundred. 18 And he set seventy thousand of them to carry burdens on their shoulders, and cighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains ; and three thousand and six hundred to be overseers of the work of the people. CHAP. III. The plan and ornaments of the temple: the cherubims, the veil, and the pillars. AND Solomon began to build the house of the 1 A lord in Jerusalem, in mount Moria, which had been shown to David his father, in the place which David had prepared in the thrashing-floor of Orman the Jebusite. 2 And he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. 3 Now these are the foundations, which Solomon laid, to build the house of God, the length by the first measure sixty cubits, the breadth twenty cubits. 4 And the porch in the front, which was ex- tended in length according to the measure of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits: and the height was a hundred and twenty cubits: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. 5 And the greater house he ceiled with deal boards, and overlaid them with plaits of fine gold throughout : and he graved in them palm-trees, and like little chains interlaced with one another. 6 He paved also the floor of the temple with most precious marble, of great beauty. 7 And the gold of the plates with which he over- ſaid the house, and the beams thereof, and the posts, and the walls, and the doors, was of the finest: and he graved cherubims on the walls. 8 He made also the house of the holy of holies: the length of it according to the breadth of the temple, twenty cubits, and the breadth of it in like $34 _-r-T ~~~ - £-... t. _ ºwn ... Al * * * * * ºr wa * ~ * ! º º º º I U 1 II; (ii i\i were-extendedd-twenty-& tºbits aii (i- | manner twenty cubits : ... I me overlaid it with plates of gold, amounting to about six hundred talents. 9. He made also nails of gold ; and the weight of every nail was fifty sicles: the upper chambers also he overlaid with gold. 10 He made also in the house of the holy of holies two cherubims of image-work: and he overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubims were extended twenty cubits, so that one wing was five cubits long, and reached to the wall of the house : and the other was also five cubits long, and reached to the wing of the other cherub. !? I :- 1:1-2. ----- - - - - - - - - - ---!... - - C -1. - - - - - -- . 1.- ... --1. | 4 || || || 1. Re. 111a11uel U.II U. vy III; U.1 UI it? Uli 1 tº 1 UI. It" | | || 1: was five cubits long, and reached to the wall; and his other wing was five cubits long, and touched the wing of the other cherub. 13 So the wings of the two cherubmns were { stood upright on their feet ; and their faces were turned toward the house without. 14 He made also a veil of violet, purple, scarlet, and silk ; and wrought in it cherubims. lò He made also before the doors of the temple two pillars, which were five and thirty cubits high : and their chapiters were five cubits. 16 He made also as it were little chains in the oracle ; and he put them on the heads of the pillars; and a hundred pomegranates, which he put between the little chains. 17. These pillars he put at the entrance of the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; that which was on the right hand, he called Jachin; and that on the left hand, Booz. CHAP. IV. The altar of brass : the molten sea upon twelve oacen; the ten lºrers , the candlesticks, and other vessels, and ornaments of the temple. E made also an altar of brass twenty cubits long. and twenty cubits broad, and ten cubits high. 2 Also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass: it was five cubits.high : and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. 3 And under it there was the likeness of oxen, and certain engravings on the outside of ten cubits compassed the belly of the sea, as it were with two TOWS. 4 And the oxen were cast: and the sea itself was set upon the twelve oxen, three of which looked toward the north ; and other three toward the west; and other three toward the south; and the othel three that remained toward the east: and the sea stood upon them : and the hinder parts of the oxen were inward under the sea. 5 Now the thickness of it was a hand-breadth, and the brim of it was like the brim of a cup, or of a crisped lily ; and it held three thousand measures. 6 |. made also ten lavers: and he set five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them all such things as they were to offer for holocaust. but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7 And he made ten golden candlesticks, accord- ing to the form which they were commanded to CHAP. V, Vl Wºze be unade by: and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. 8 Moreover also ten tables: and he set them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left ; also a hundred bowls of gold, 9 He made also the court of the priests, and a great hall, and doors in the hall, which he covered with brass. 10 And he set the sea on the right side over- against the east toward the south. ll And Hiram made caldrons, and flesh-hooks, and bowls; and finished all the king’s work in the nouse of God : 12 That is to say, the two pillars, and the pom- mels, and the chapiters, and the net-work, to cover the chapifers over the pommels: 13 And four hundred pomegranates, and two wreaths of net-work ; so that two rows of pome- granates were joined to each wreath, to cover the pommels, and the chapiters of the pillars. 14 IIt made also bases, and lavers, which he set upon the bases. 15 One sea, and twelve oxen under the sea. 16 And the caldrons, and flesh-hooks, and bowls. All the vessels did Hiram his father make for Solomon in the house of the Lord, of the finest brass. 17 In the country near the Jordan did the king cast them, in a clay-ground between Sochot and Saredatha. 18 And the multitude of vessels was innumera- ble, so that the weight of the brass was not known. 19 And Solomon made ail the vessels for the house of God, and the golden altar, and the tables, upon which were the loaves of proposition, 20 The candlesticks also of most pure gold with their lamps to give light before the oracle, ac- cording to the manner. 21 And certain flowers, and lamps, and golden tongs: all were made of the finest gold. 22 The vessels also for ‘he perfumes and the cen- sers, and the bowls, and the mortars, of pure gold. And he graved the doors of the inner temple, that is, for the holy of holies: and the doors of the temple without were of gold. And thus all the work was finished, which Solomon made in the house of the Lord. - CHAP. V. The ark is brought with great solemnity into the temple : the temple is filled with the glory of God. IIEN Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had vowed, the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels he put among the treas- ures of the house of God. 2 And after this he gathered together the an- cients of Israel, and all the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families, of the children of Israel to Jerusalem, to bring the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Sion. - 3 And all the men of Israel came to the king in the solemn day of the seventh month. 4 And when all the ancients of lsrael were come, the Levites took up the ark; 5 And brought it in, together with all the furni. ture of the tabernacle. And the priests with the Levites carried the vessels of the sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle. 6 And king Solomon, and all the assembly of ls- 1ael, and all that were gathered together before the ark, sacrificed rams and oxen without number so great was the multitude of the victims. 7 And the priests brought in the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord into its place, that is, to the oia- cle of the temple, into the holy of holies under the wings of the cherubims: 8 So that the cherubims spread their wings over the place, in which the ark was set, and covered the ark itself and its staves. 9 Now the ends of the staves wherewith the ark was carried, because they were something longer, were seen before the oracle: but if a man were a little outward, he could not see them. So the ark has been there unto this day. 10 And the was nothing else in the ark but the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord gave the law to the children of Is- rael, at their coming out of Egypt. 11 Now when the priests were come out of the sanctuary (for all the priests that could be found there, were sanctified : and as yet at that time the courses and order of the ministries were not divi. ded among them.) 12 Both the Levites and the singing men, that is, both they that were under Asaph, and they that were under Heman, and they that were under Idi- thun, with their sons, and their brethren, clothed with fine linen, sounded with cymbals, and psalte- ries, and harps, standing on the east side of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests, sound. ing with trumpets. 13 So when they all sounded together, both with trumpets, and voice, and cymbals, and organs, and with divers kinds of musical instruments, and liſted up their voice on high : the sound was heard aſai off, so that when they began to praise the Lord, and to say : Give glory to the Lord, for he is good for his mercy endureth forever; the house of God was filled with a cloud. 14 Nor could the priests stand and minister by reason. of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. CHAP. VI. Solomon’s blessings and prayer. HEN Solomon said: The Lord promised that he would dwell in a cloud. 2. But I have built a house to his name, that he might dwell there for ever. 3 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the multitude of Israel (for all the multitude at...od attentive) and he said : 4. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath, accomplished in deed that which he spoke to >=*------> - T ~. T-º ====== David mv father, saying: 335 II. PARA . , IPOMENON 5 From the day that l brought my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel, for a mouse to be built in it to my name: neither chose I any other man, to be the ruler of my people Israel. 6 But ſ chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and I chose David to set him over my people Israel. - 7 And whereas David my father had a mind to build a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel, 8 The Lord said to him : Forasmuch as it was thy will to build a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in having such a will : 9 But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who shall come out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name. 1() The Lord therefore hath accomplished his word which he spoke : and I am risen up in the place of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised ; and have built a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel. | | And I have put in it the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with the children of Israel. - 12 And he stood before the altar of the Lord, in presence of all the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his hands. 13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in the midst of the temple, which was five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high: and he stood upon it : then kneeling down in the presence of all the multitude of Israel, and liſt- ing up his hands towards heaven, 14. He said: O Lord God of 1srael, there is no God like thee in heaven nor in earth; who keepest rovenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: 15 Who hast performed to thy servant David my father all that thou hast promised him; and hast ac- complished in fact, what thou hast spoken with the mouth, as also the present time proveth. 16 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfil to thy servant David my father, whatsoever thou hast promised him, saying: There shall not fail thee a man in my sight, to sit upon the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. 17 And now, Lord God of Isracl, let thy word be established which thou hast spoken to thy servant David. 18 ls it credible then that God should dwell with men on the earth? If heaven and the heavens of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this house, which I have built 19 But to this end only it is made, that thou maySt regard the prayer of thy servant, and his sup- plication, O Lord my God: and mayst hear the pray- ers which thy servant poureth out before thee. 20 That thou mayst open thy eyes upon this house day and might, upon the place wherein thou hast promised that thy name should be called upon: &l And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which T.RS = +==<= i = . …—2" > *—s r—'y- r_* thy servantprayeth in it : hearken them to the prayers of thy servant, and of thy people Israel. hoso- ever shall pray in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling-place, that is, from heaven, and show mercy 22 If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear against him, and bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house : 23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy servants, so as to requite the wicked by making his wickedness fall upon his own head, and to revenge the just, rewarding him according to I.i. justice. 24 |f thy people Israel be overcome by their ene mics, (for they will sin against thee) and being con. verted shall do penance, and call upon thy name, and pray to thee in this place, • 25 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back into the land, which thou gavest to them, and their fathers. - 26 If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by reason of the sins of the people, and they shall pray to thee in this place, and confess to thy name, and be converted from their sins, when thou dost afflict them ; 27 Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them the good way, in which they may walk : and give rain to thy land, which thou hast given to thy people to possess. 28 |f a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or blasting, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars, or if their enemies waste the country, and besiege the cities, whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall be upon them: 29 Then if any of thy people lsrael, knowing his own scourge and infirmity, shall pray, and shal. spread forth his hands in this house; 30 Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwell- ing-place, and forgive, and render to every one ac- cording to his ways, which thou knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men :) 31 That they may fear thee, and walk in thy ways all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers. 32. If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, come from a far country, for the sake of thy great name, and thy strong hand, and thy stretched- out arm, and adore in this place : 33 Hear, thou from heaven thv firm dwelling- place, and do all that which that stranger shall call upon thee for ; that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee, as thy pe ple Israel, and may know, that thy name is invoked up. on this house, which I have built. 34. If thy people go out to war against their eme. mies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the way of this city, which thou ‘hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy l] & I ) {* : 35 Then hear thou from heaven their prayers and their supplications, and revenge them. CHAP. VII, VIII. £ 36 And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand, 37 And if they be converted in their heart, in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, Say- Ang: We have sinned ; we have done wickedly; we have dealt unjustly: 38 And return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name: 39 Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm dwelling-place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive thy people, although they have sinned : 40 For thou art my God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place. 41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, put on salvation, and thy Saints rejoice in good things. 42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant. CHAP. VII. Fire from heaven consumeth the sacrifices. The solemnity of the dedication of the temple. God signifieth his having heard Solomon's prayer; yet so if he continue to serve him. ND when Solomon had made an end of his - prayer, fire came down from heaven, and con- sumed the holocausts and the victims: and the ma- esty of the Lord filled the house. 2 Neither could the priests enter into the temple of the Lord ; because the majesty of the Lord had filled the temple of the Lord. 3 Moreover all the children of Israel saw the fire coming down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house : and falling down with their faces to the ground, upon the stone pavement, they adored, and praised the Lord; because he is good, because his inercy endureth for ever. 4 And the king and all the people sacrificed vic- tims before the Lord. 5 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty- two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand rams: and the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 And the priests stood in their offices ; and the Levites with the instruments of music of the Lord, which king David made to praise the Lord ; be- cause his mercy endureth for ever, singing the hymns of David by their ministry : and the priests sounded with trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. 7 Solomon also sanctified the middle of the court before the temple of the Lord : for he offered there the holocausts, and the ſat of the peace-offerings: because the brazen altar, which he had made, could not hold the holocausts and the sacrifices and the fat: b And Solomon kept the solemnity at that time 2 ”T ~ S--- Seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Emath to the torrent of Egypt. 9 And he made on the eighth day a solenn as- sembly, because he had kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and had celebrated the solemnit, seven days. 10 So on the three and twentieth day of the se venth month he sent away the people to their dwell ings, joyful and glad for the good that the Lord had done to David, and to Solomon, and to all Israel his people. 11, And Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all that he had designed in his heart to do, in the house of the Lord, and in his own house; and he prospered. 12 And the Lord appeared to him by night, and said: I have heard thy prayer; and I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up heaven, and there fall no rain, or if I give orders, and comm and the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestiience among my people: 14 And my people, upon whom my name is call- ed, being converted, shall make supplication to me and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked ways : then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land. 15 My eyes also shall be open, and my ears at tentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place. 16 For I have chosen, and have sanctified this place, that my name may be there for ever, and my eyes and my heart may remain there perpetually 17 And as for thee, if thou walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and keep my justice and my judgments: 18 I will raise up the throne of thy kingdom, as I promised to David thy father, saying: There shall not fail thee a man of thy stock to be ruler in Israel. 19 But if you turn away, and forsake my justi ces, and my commandments, which l have set be- fore you, and shall go and serve strange gºds, and adore them, 20 I will pluck you up by the root out of my land which I have given you: and this house which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast away from before my face, and will make it a by-word and an example among all nations. 21 And this house shall be for a proverb to al that pass by: and they shall be astonished, and say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house P 22 And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on strang gods, and adored them, and worshipped them: the e fore all these evils are come upon them. CHAP. VIII. Solomon’s buildings and other ucts. ND at the end of twenty years after Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house : 2 He built the cities which Hiram had givea to - **-- º _* - 337 II. PARALIPOMENON. Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 3 He went also into Emath Suba, and possessed it. || 4 And he built Palmira in the desert: and he built other strong cities in Emath. 5 And he built Bethoron the upper, and Betho- rom the nether, walled cities with gates and bars and locks : 6 Balaath also and all the strong cities that were Solomon's, and all the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen. All that Solomon had a mind, and designed, he built in Jerusalem and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 All the people that were left of the Hethites, and the Amorrhites, and the Pherezites, and the I levites, and the Jebusites, that were not of the stock of Israel 8 Of their children, and of the posterity, whom the children of Israel had not slain, Solomon made to be tributaries until this day. 9 |3ut of the children of Israel he set none to serve in the king’s works: for they were men of war, and chief captains, and rulers of his chariots and horsemen. 10 And all the chief captains of king Solomon’s army were two hundred and fifty, who taught the people. 11 And he removed the daughter of Pharao from the city of David, to the house which he had built for her. For the king said: My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel; for it is sanc- tified, because the ark of the Lord came into it. 12 Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord upon the altar of the Lord, which he had built be- fore the porch, 13 That every day an offering might be made on it according to ſº ordinance of Moses, in the Sab- baths, and on the new moons, and on the festival days three times a year; that is to say, in the feast of unleavencil bread, and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of tabernacles. 14 And he appointed according to the order of David his father the offices of the priests in their ministerics; and the Levites in their order to give I raise, and minister before the priests according to he duty of every day; and the porters in their di- visions by gate and gate: for so David the man of God had commanded. 15 And the priests and Levites departed not from the king's commandments, as to any thing that he had commanded, and as to the keeping of the trea- SUll"(*S. 16 Solomon had all charges prepared, from the day that he founded the house of the Lord, until the day wherein he finished it. 17 Then Solomon went to Asiongaller, and to Ailath on the coast of the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships by the hands of his servants, and skilful mariners: and they went with Solomon's servants to Ophir: and they took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought it to king Solomon. 338 _-T-------e. --~~ —" Z.2T CHAP. IX. The queen of Saba admireth the wisdom of Solomon. and glory. His death ANP when the queen of Saba heard of the ſame of Solomon, she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and ca- mels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to sºon she proposed to him all that was in her €art. 2 And Solomon explained to her all that she proposed : and there was not anything that he did not make clear unto her. 3 And when she had seen these things, to wit, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, 4 And the meats of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the attendance of his off- cers, and their apparel, his cup-bearers also, and their garments, and the victims which he offered in the house of the Lord ; there was no more spirit in her, she was so astonished. 5 And she said to the king: The word is true which I heard in my country of thy virtues and wisdom. 6 I did not believe them that told it, until I came, and my eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of thy wisdom had been told me : thou hast exceeded thy fame with thy virtues. 7 Happy are thy men, and happy are thy servants, who stand always before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to set thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God loveth Israel, and will preserve them for ever ; therefore hath he made thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. 9 And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and most precious ston, s : there were no such spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon. 10 And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and thyine-trees, and most precious stones: 11 And the king made of the thyine-trees stairs in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s house, and harps and psalteries for the singing men : never were there seen such trees in the land of Juda. 12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired, and that she asked, and many more things than she brought to him : so she returned, and went to her own country with her ServantS. 13 And the weight of the gold, that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty- six talents of gold : 14 Beside the sum which the der uties of divers nations, and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the lords of the lands, who brought gold and silver to Solomon 15 And king Solomon made two hundred golder, spears, of the sum of six hundred pieces of gold His riches *-ºs- &r - º ~~~~ ſº which went to every spear: *- Trº-sº S- 1 ...sº CHAP. X, XI. 16 And three hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces of gold, which went to the covering of every shield: and the king put them in the ar- moury, which was compassed with a wood. 17. The king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold; 18 And six steps to go up to the throne, and a fºotstool of gold, and two arms one on either side, and twc lions standing by the arms: o 19 Moreove - twelve other little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any kingdom. 20 And all the vessels of the king's table were of gold; and the vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of the purest gold. For no ac- count was made of silver in those days. ſº 21 For the king’s ships went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram, once in three years: and they brought thence gold and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks. - 22 And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth for riches and glory. 23 And all the kings of the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, that they might hear the wis- dom which God had given in his heart. 24. And every year they brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and ar- mour, and spices, and horses, and mules. 25 And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots, and horsemen: and he placed them in the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem. 26 And he exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philis- times, and to the borders of Egypt. 27 And he made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; and cedars as common as the sycamores, which grow in the plains. 28 And horses were brought to him out of Egypt, and out of all countries. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the books of Ahias the Silomite, and in the vision of Addo the seer, against Jeroboam the son of Nabat. 30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And he slept with his fathers: and they bu- ried him in the city of David : and Roboam his son eigned in his stead. CHAP. X. Roboam answereth the people ºl, : upon which ten tribes revolt. A NL) Roboam went to Sichem: for thither all Israel were assembled, to make him king. 2 And when Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was in Egypt (for he was fled thither from Solomon) heard it, jºi. he returned. - 3 And they sent for him ; and he came with all Israel; and they spoke to Roboam, saying: 4 Thy father oppressed us with a most grievous voke: do thou govern us with a lighter hand than h Yºr- - 2A2T Sº- thy father, who laid upon us a heavy servitude, and i. something of the burden, that we may servo thee. 5 And he said to them : Come to me again after three days. And when the people were gone, 6 He took counsel with the ancients, who had stood before his father Solomon, while he yet lived, saying: What counsel give you to me, that I may answer the people P 7 And they said to him : If thou please this peo- ple, and soothe them with kind words, they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the counsel of the ancients, and began to treat with the young men, that had been brought up with him, and were in his train. 9 And he said to them : What seemeth good to you ? or what shall I answer this people, who have said to me: Ease the yoke which thy father laid upon us? 10 But they answered as young men, and brought up with him in pleasures, and said: Thus shalt thou speak to the people, that said to thee: Thy father made our yoke heavy ; do thou ease it: thus shalt thou answer them : My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father. ll My father laid upon you a heavy yoke ; and I will add more weight to it: my father beat you with scourges ; but I will beat you with scorpions. 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Ro- boam the third day, as he commanded them. 13 And the king answered roughly, leaving the counsel of the ancients. 14 And he spoke according to the advice of the young men : My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, which I will make heavier: my father beat you with scourges ; but I will beat you with scorpions. 15 And he condescended not to the people’s re- quests: for it was the will of God, that his word might be fulfilled which he had spoken by the hand of Ahazias the Silonite to Jeroboam the son of Nabat. 16 And all the people upon the king’s speaking roughly, said thus unto him: We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Isai. Return to thy dwellings, O Israel: and do thou, O David, feed thy own house. And Israel went away to their dwellings. 17 But Roboam reigned over the children of Is- rael that dwelt in the cities of Juda. 18 And king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tributes, and the children of Israel stoned him, and he died: and king Roboam made haste to get up into his chariot, and fled into Jerusalem. 19 And Israel revolted from the house of David unto this day. CHAP XI. Roboam’s reign. His kingdom is strengthened ND Roboam came to Jerusalem, and called to- gether all the house of Juda and of Benjamin, a hundred and ſourscore thousand chosen men and warriors, to fight against Israel, and to bring back his kingdom to him 22 339 II. PARALIPOMENON. 2 And the word of the Lord came to Semeias the unan of God, saying: 3 Speak to fººm the son of Solomon the king of Juda, and to all Israel, in Juda and Benjamin: 4 Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: let every man return to his own house; for by my will this thing has been done. And when they heard the word of the Lord, they returned, and did not go against Jeroboam. . 5 And Roboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built walled cities in Juda. 6 And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and The- CU16 7 And Bethsur, and Socho, and Odollam, 8 And Geth, and Marcsa, and Ziph, 9 And Aduram, and Lachis, and Azecha, . 10 Saraa also, and Aialon, and Hebron, which are in Juda and Benjamin, well fenced cities. 11 And when he had enclosed them with walls, he put in them governors and store-houses of provisions, that is, of oil and of wine. 12 Moreover in every city he made an armoury of shields and spears; and he fortified them with great diligence; and he reigned over Juda and Ben- tl II] . [l. J 13 And the priests and Levites, that were in all Israel, came to him out of all their seats, 14 i.eaving their suburbs, and their possessions, and passing over to Juda, and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off, from exe- cuting the priestly office to the Lord. 15 And he made to himself priests for the high laces, and for the devils, and for the calves which |. had made. 16 Moreover out of all the tribes of Israel, whoso- aver gave their heart to seek the LoRD the God of Israel, came into Jerusalem to sacrifice their victims before the Lord the God of their fathers. 17 And they strengthened the kingdom of Juda, and established Roboam the son of Solomon for three years: for they walked in the ways of David and of Solomon, only three years. 18 And Roboam took to wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David: and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Isai. 19 And they bore him sons Jehus, and Somorias, and Zoom. 20 And after her he married Maacha the daugh- wer of Absalom, who bore him Abia, and Ethai, and Ziza, and Salomith. 21 And Roboam loved Maacha the daughter of Absalom above all his wives, and concubines: for he had married eighteen wives, and three score con- cubines: and he begot eight and twenty Sons, and three score daughters. 22 But he put at the head of them Abia the son of Maacha to be the chief ruler over all his brethren: for he meant to make him king 23 Because he was wiser and mightier than all his sons, and in all the countries of Juda, and of Denjamin, and in all the walled cities: and he gave them provisions in abundance: and he sought many W MW (*Se CHAP. XII. Roboam for his sing is delivered up into the hands of the king of Egypt: who carrieth away all the treasures of the temple AND when the kingdom of Roboam was strength +A- ened and fortified, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. e 2 And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem |(because they had sinned against the Lord) 3 With twelve hundred chariots, and three score thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt, to wit, Lybians, and Troglodites, and Ethiopians. 4 And he took the strongest cities in Juda, anc came to Jerusalem. 5 And Semeias the prophet came to Roboam, and to the princes of Juda, that were gathered together in Jerusalem, fleeing from Sesac, and he said to them: Thus saith the Lord: You have left me; and I have left you in the hand of Sesac. 6 And the princes of Israel, and the king, being in a consternation, said: The Lord is just. 7 And when the Lord saw that they were hum- bled, the word of the Lord came to Semeias, say- ing: Because they are humbled, I will not destroy them; and I will give them a little help; and my wrath shall not fall upon Jerusalem by the hand of Sesac. 8 But yet they shall serve him, that they may know the difference between my service, and the service of a kingdom of the earth. 9 So Sesac king of Egypt departed from Jerusa- lem, taking away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king’s house: and he took all with him, and the golden shields that Solomon had made; 10 Instead of which the king made brazen ones, and delivered them to the captains of the shield- bearers, who guarded the entrance of the palace. 11 And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the shield-bearers came, and took them, and brought them back again to their armoury. - 12 But yet because they were humbled, the wrath of the Lord turned away from the in, and they were not utterly destroyed: for even in Juda there were found good works. 13 King Roboam therefore was strengthened in Jerusalem, and reigned: he was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seven- teen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel, to establish his name there: and the name of his mother was Naa- ma an Ammonitess. - - - 14 But he did evil, and did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. - 15 Now the acts of Roboam first and last are written in the books of Semeias the prophet, and of Addo the seer, and diligently recorded: and there . war between Roboam and Jeroboam all their ayS. 16 And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And Abia his son reign. ed in his stead. S- 340 CHAP. XIII, XIV. CHAP. XIII. Abia’s reign : his victory over Jeroboam. IN the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abia reigned over Juda. 2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Michaia,” the daughter of Uriel of Gabaa: and there was war between Abia and Je- roboam. ar - 3 And when Abia had begun battle, and had with him four hundred thousand most valiant and chosen men; Jeroboam put his army in array against him, eight hundred thousand men, who were also chosen and most valiant for war. 4 And Abia stood upon mount Semeron, which was in Ephraim, and said: Hear me, O Jeroloam, and all Israel: 5 Do vou not know that the Lord God of Israel gave to David the kingdom over Israel for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt.f 6 And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up : and rebelled against his lord. 7 And there were gathered to him, vain men, and children of Belial: and they prevailed against Ro- boam the son of Solomon: for Roboam was unexpe- iºd, and of a fearful heart, and could not resist them. 8 And now you say that you are able to with- stand the kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of David; and you have a great multi- tude of people, and golden calves, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods. . 9 And you have cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: and you have made you priests, like all the nations of the earth: whosoever cometh and consecrateth his hand with a bullock of the herd, and with seven rams, is made a priest of those who are no gods. 10 But the Lord is our God, whom we forsake not: and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are in their order. - 11 And they offer holocausts to the Lord, every day morning and evening, and incense made accord- ing to the ordinance of the law : and the loaves are set forth on a most clean table: and there is with us the golden candlestick, and the lamps thereof, to be lighted always in the evening: for we keep the º of the ... our God, whom you have for- Sºl Keſ). 12 Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O children of Israel, fight not against the Lord the God of your fathers, for it is not good for you. - 13 While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind him. And while he stood facing the enemies, he encompassed Juda, who perceived it not, with his army. 14 And when Juda looked back, they saw the sºm- & Michia, alias Maacha. Her father had also two names, viz. Ab- ealnum or Abessalom, and Uriel. battle coming upon them both before and behind, and they cried to the Lord: and the priests began. to Sound with the trumpets. 15 And all the men of Juda shouted : and be- hold, when they shouted, God terrified Jeroboam, and all Israel that stood against Abia and Juda. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Juda and the Lord delivered them into their hand. 17 And Abia and his people slew them with a great slaughter: and there fell wounded of Israel five hundred thousand valiant men. 18 And the children of Israel were brought down at that time: and the children of Juda were ex- ceedingly strengthened, because they had trusted in the Lord the God of their fathers. - 19 And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, #. and her datighters, and Je. sana with her daughters, Ephron also and her daughters. - 20 And Jeroboam was not able to resist any more, in the days of Abia: and the Lord struck him; and he died. - 21 But Abia, being strengthened in his kingdom, took fourteen wives; and begot two and twenty sons and sixteen daughters. 22 And the rest of the acts of Abia, and of his ways asd works, are written diligently in the book of Addo the prophet. CHAP. XIV. - The reign of Asa : his victory over the Ethiopians. A Nº Abia slept with his fathers: and they him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead: in his days the land was quiet ten years. 2 And Asa did that which was good and pleas- ing in the sight of his God: and he destroyed the altars of foreign worship, and the high places, 3 And broke the statues, and cut down the groves. 4. And he commanded Juda to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, and to do the law, and all the commandments. 5 And he took away out of all the cities of Juda, the altars, and temples, and reigned in peace. 6 He built also strong cities in Juda, for he was quiet, and there had no wars risen in his time, the Lord giving peace. 7 And he said to Juda: Let us build these cities, and compass them with walls, and fortify them with towers, and gates, and bars, while all is quiet from wars ; because we have sought the Lord the God of our fathers, and he hath given us peace round about. So they built, and there was no hindrance in building. - 8 And Asa had in his army of men that bore shields and spears, of Juda three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand : all these were most valiant men. 9 And Zara the Ethiopian came out against then with his army of ten hundred thousand men, and * = That is, a firm and perpetual covenant. See + Jì covenant of salt. JNumb. xviii. 19. Fºº 341 II. PARALIPOMENON. with three hundred chariots: and he came as far as Maresa. 10 And Asa went out to meet him, and set his army in array for battle in the vale of Sephata, which is near Maresa : 11 And he całłed upon the Lord God, and said: Lord, there is no difference with thee, whether thou help with few, or with many : help us, O Lord our God: for with confidence in thee, and in thy name, we are come against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. 12 And the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and Juda: and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people that were with him, pursued them to Gerara: and the Ethiopians fell even to utter destruction ; for the Lord slew them; and his army fought against them ; and they were destroyed. And they took abundance of spoils. 14 And they took all the cities round about Ge- rara: for a great fear was come upon all men: and they pillaged the cities, and carried off much booty. 15 And they destroyed the sheep-cotes, and took an infinite multitude of cattle and of camels: and returned to Jerusalem. CHAP. XV. The prophecy of Azarias. Asa's covenant with God. He de poseth his mother. ND the Spirit of God came upon Azarias the son of Oded : - 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him : Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin : The Lord is with you ; because you have been with him. If you seek him, you shall find : but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 And many days shall pass in Israel without the rue God, and without a priest a teacher, and with- out the law. 4 And when in their distress they shall return to he Lord the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him. 5 At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth out and cometh in, but terrors on every side, among all the inhabitants of the earth. 6 For nation shall fight against nation, and city against city; for the Lord will trouble them with all distress. 7 Do you therefore, take courage, and let not your hands he weakened : for there shall be a reward for your work. 8 And when Asa had heard the words and the prophecy of Azarias the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and took away the idols out of all the and of Juda, and out of Benjamin, and out of the cities of mount Ephraim, which he had taken : and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was be- fore the porch of the Lord. 9 And he gathered together all Juda and Benja- inin, and the strangers with them of Ephraim, and Manasses, and Simeon : for many were come over to him out of Israel, seeing that the Lord his God was with him. 10 And when they wºº come to Jerusalem in __--~~T –2 z_>- the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, - 11 They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils, and of the prey, that they had brought, sevel hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams. 12 And he went in to confirm as usual the cove nant, that they should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul. 13 And if any one, said he, seek not the Lord the God of Israel, let him die, whether iitt e or great, man or WOman. - 14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice, with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet, and sound of cornets, 15 All that were in Juda with a curse: for with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought him ; and they found him: and the Lord gave them rest round about. 16 Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from the royal authority, because she had made in a grove an idol of Priapus; and he entirely destroyed it, and breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the torrent Cedron. s 17 But high places were left in Israel : never- theless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And the things which his father had vowed and he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord, gold and silver, and vessels of divers USGS. 19 And there was no war unto the five and thir tieth year of the kingdom of Asa. CHAP. XVI. Asa is reproved for seeking help from the Syrians: his last acts and death. ND in the sixth and thirtieth year of his king- dom,” Baasa the king of Israel came up against Juda, and built a wall about Rama, that no one might safely go out or come in of the kingdom of Asa. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold, out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's treasures, and sent to Benadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying: 3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father ; where- fore I have sent thee silver and gold, that thou mayst break thy league with Baasa king of lsruel, and make him depart from me. 4 And when Benadad heard this, he sent the captains of his armies against the Cities of Israel. and they took Ahion, and Dan, and Abe'rnalin, and all the walled cities of Nephthi.li. 5 And when Baasa heard of it, he left off the build- ing of Rama, and interrupted lis work. 6Then king Asa took all Juda, and they carried away from Rama, the stones and the timber that Baasa had prepared for the building : and he built with them Gabaa and Maspha. 7 At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa king of Juda, and said to him : Because thou hast had confidence in the king of Syria, and not in the * Six and thirtieth year of his kingdom. That is, of the kingdom ol Juda, taking the date of it from the beginning of the reign of Roboasa CHAP. XVII, XVIII. Lord thy God, therefore hath the army of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians, and the Libyans much more numerous in chariots, and horsemen, and an exceeding great multitude : yet because thou º in the Lord, he delivered them into thy hand 9 For the eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, and give strength to those who with a perfect heart trustill him. Wherefore thou hast done foolishly: and for this cause from this time wars shall arise against thee. 10 And Asa was angry with the seer, and com- manded him to be put in prison : for he was greatly enraged because of this thing: and he put to death many of the people at that time. 1 I But the works of Asa the first and last are written in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel. 12 And Asa fell sick in the nine and thirtieth year of his reign, of a most violent pain in his feet: and yet in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but ra- ther trusted in the skill of physicians. 13 And he slept with his fathers: and he died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. 14 And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had made for himself in the city of David : and they laid him on his bed full of spices and odo- riferous ointments, which were made by the art of the perfumers: and they burnt them over him with very great pomp. CHAP. XVII. Josaphat’s reign : his care for the instruction of his people : his numerous forces. AND Josaphat his son reigned in his stead, and grew strong against Israel. 2 And he placed numbers of soldiers in all the fortified cities of Juda. And he put garrisons in the land of Juda, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. 3 And the Lord was with Josaphat: because he walked in the first ways of David his father, and trusted not in Baalim, 4. But in the God of his father, and walked in his ſºulments. and not according to the sins of STAtºl. 5 And the Lord established the kingdom in his hand ; and all Juda brought presents to Josaphat: and he acquired immense riches, and much glory. 6 And when his heart had taken courage for the ways of the Lord, he took away also the high places and the groves out of Juda. 7 And in the third year of his reign, he sent of his princes Benhail, and Abdias, and Zacharias, and Nathanael, and Micheas, to teach in the cities of Juda: 8 And with them the Levites, Semeias, and Na- thanias, and Zabadias, and Asael, and Semiramoth, and Jonathan, and Adonias, and Tobias, and Tho- badonias Levites, and with them Elisama and Joram priests. 9 And they taught the people in Juda, having with them the book of the law of the Lord: and | they went about all the cities of Juda, and instructed the people. , 10. And the fear of the Lord came upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Juda: and they durst not make war against Josaphat. 11 The Philistines also brought presents to Josa- phat, and tribute in silver: and the Arabians brought him cattle, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and as many he-goats. 12 And Josaphat grew, and became exceeding great: and he built in Juda houses likº towers, and walled cities. 13 And he prepared many works in the cities of Juda: and he had warriors and valiant men in Je- rusalem : 14 Of whom this is the number of the houses and families of every one: in Juda captains of the army, Ednas the chief; and with him three hun- dred thousand most valiant men. 15 After him Johanan the captain; and with him two hundred and eighty thousand. 16 And after him was Amasias the son of Ze- chri, consecrated to the Lord ; and with him were two hundred thousand valiant men. 17 After him was Eliada valiant in battle ; and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield. 18 After him also was Jozabad; and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready for war. 19 All these were at the hand of the king, beside others, whom he had put in the walled cities in all Juda. - CHAP. XVIII. Josaphat accompanies Achab in his ea pedition against Ramoth where Achab is slain, as Micheas had foretold. NOW Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity to Achab. 2 And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people that came with him ; and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad. 3 And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda: Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou art as I am, and my peo- ple as thy people: and we will be with thee in the WAT. 4 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: In- ... I beseech thee, at present the word of the OTOl. 5 So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four hundred men: and he said to the m: Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear? But they said: Go up; and God will do. liver it into the king’s hand. 6 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a ſ.r.º. - phet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of him * 7 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: The re is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is Mºj the son of Jemla. And Josaphat said : Speak not thus, O king. 343 II. PARILOPOMENON. 8 And the king of Israel called one of the eu- nuchs, and said to him : Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla. 9 Now the king of srael, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes: and they sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before [16 II]. 10 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord : With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it. 11 And all the prophets prophesied in like man- ner, and said: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper ; and the Lord will deliver them into the king’s hand. 2 And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him : Behold, the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good success. 13 And Micheas answered him : As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I speak. 14 So he came to the king: and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear? And he answered him: Go up; for all shall succeed prosperously: and the enemies shall be delivered into your hands. 15 And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, in the name of the Lord. 16 Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters: let every man return to his own house in peace. 17 And the king of israel said to Josaphat: Did 1 not tell thce that this man would not prophesy me any good, but evil? 18 Then he said: Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left. 19 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive” Achab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall in Ramoth Galaad P And when one spoke in this man- ner, and another otherwise : 20 There came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means wilt thou deceive him? 21 And he answered : I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shalt pre- vail: go out, and do so. 22 Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a spirit of lying in the mouth of all thy prophets; and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. 23 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee P 24 And Micheas said: Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide thyself. 25 And the king of Israel commanded, saying. Take Micheas, and carry him to Amon the gover- nor of the city, and to Joas the son of Amelech, 26 And say: Thus saith the king : Put this fel- low in prison, and give him bread and water in a small quantity till I return in peace. 27 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said Hear, all ye people. 28 So the king of Israel and Josaphat king ol Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad. 29 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle ; but put thou on thy own garments. And the king of Is- rael having changed his dress, went to the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight ye not with small or great, but with the king of Israel only. 31 So when the captains of the cavalry saw Jo- Saphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned them away from him. - 32 For when the captains of the cavalry saw that he was not the king of Israel, they left him. 33 And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture, and struck the king of 1srael between the neck and the shoulders: and he said to his chariot-man: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle ; for I am wounded. , 34 And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Sy rians until the evening, and died at the sun-set. CHAP. XIX. Josaphat’s charge to the judges and to the Levites. AND Josaphat king of Juda returned to his house - in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and said to him: Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in friendship with them that hate the Lord; and therefore thou didst deserve indeed the wrath of the Lord : 3 But good works are found in thee, because thou hast taken away the groves out of the land of Juda, and hast prepared thy heart to seek the Lord the God of thy fathers. 4 And Josaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again to the people from Bersabee to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord the God of their fathers. 5 And he set judges of the land in all the fenced cities of Juda, in every place. 6 And charging the judges, he said: Take heed what you do: for you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the Lord: and whatsoever you judge, it shall redound to you. - 7. Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor de- sire of gifts. 8 In Jerusalem also Josaphat appointed I evites, * Who shall deceive, &c. See the annotations, 3 Kings, xxii. b - <> - 344 CHAP. XX. and priests, and chiefs of the families of Israel, to judge the judgment and the cause of the Lord for the inhabitants thereof. 9 And he charged them, saying: Thus shall you do in the fear of the Lord faithfully, and with a per- ſect heart. 10 Every cause that shall come to you of your brethren, that dwell in their cities, between kin- dred and kindred, wheresoeve, there is question mcerning the law, the comma;;dment, the cere- monies, the justifications: show it them, that they may not sin against the Lord, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brethren: and so do- ing you shall not sin. 11 And Amarias the priest your high priest shall be chief in the things which regard God: and Za- badias the son of Ismahel, who is ruler in the house of Juda, shall be over those matters which belong to the king’s office: and you have before you the Le- vites for masters: take courage and do diligently : and the Lord will be with you in good things. CHAP. XX. The Ammonites, Moabites, and Syrians, combine against Josa- phat. He seeketh God’s help by public prayer and fasting. A prophet foretelleth that God will fight for his people: the enemies destroy one another. Josaphat with his men gather the spoils. He reigneth in peace: but his navy perisheth, for his society with wicked Ochozias. FTER this the children of Moab, and the chil- dren of Ammon, and with them of the Ammo- . were gathered together to fight against Josa- at. Aº () 2 And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria : and be- hold, they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi. 3 And Josaphat being seized with fear, betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord : and he pro- claimed a fast for all Juda. 4 And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord : and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him. 5 And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assem- bly of Juda and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court ; 6 And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations: in thy hand is strength and power: and no one can resist thee. 7 Didst not thou, our God, kill all the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8 And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctua- ry to thy name, saying: 9 If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or estilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence efore this house, in which thy name is called upon : and we will cry to thee in our afflictions; and thou wilt hear, and save us. H0 Now therefore behold the children of Am- mon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose ands thou didst not allow lsrael to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not: ſ * **Tºt-----> * == ll Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which thou hast delivered to UlS. 12 O our God, wilt not thou then judgethem? as for us, we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee. 13 And all Juda stood before the Lord, with their little ones, and their wives, and their children. 14 And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there; upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the mul- titude. 15 And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude : for the battle is not yours, but God’s. e 16 To-morrow you shall go down against them for they will come up by the ascent named Sis; and you shall find them at the head of the torrent, which is over-against the wilderness of Jeruel. 17. It shall not be you that shall fight; but only stand with confidence, and you shall see the help of the Lord over you, O Juda, and Jerusalem : fear ye not, nor be you dismayed : to-morrow you shall go out against them, and the Lord will be with you 18 Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabi tants of Jerusalem, fell flat on the ground before the Lord, and adored him. 19 And the Levites of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of Core, praised the Lord the God of Is- rael with a loud voice, on high. 20 And they rose early in the morning, and went out through the desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat standing in the midst of them, said: Hear me, ye men of Juda, and all the inha- bitants of Jerusalem : believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be secure : believe his prophets, and all things shall succeed well. 21 And he gave counsel to the people, and ap- pointed the singing men of the Lord, to praise him by their companies, and to go before the army, and with one voice to say : Give glory to the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever. 22 And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who were come out to fight against Juda: and they were slain. 23 For the children of Ammon and of Moab Jose up against the inhabitants of mount Scir, to kill and destroy them: and when they had made ar end of them, they turned also against one another, and destroyed one another. 24 And when Juda came to the watch tower, that looked towards the desert, they saw afar of all the country, for a great space, full of dead bo- dies, and that no one was left that could escape death. & 25 Then Josapha,came, and all the people º |l. PARAL POMENON. with him, to take away the spoils of the dead : and they found among the dead bodics, stuff of va- rious kinds, and garments, and most precious ves- sels: and they took them for themselves ; inso- much that they could not carry all, nor in three days take away the spoils, the booty was so great. 26 And on the fourth day they were assembled in the valley of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord : and therefore they called that place the val- icy of Blessing until this day. - 27 And every man of Juda, and the inhabitants *Y. I ld - rt ºf , i. rned. --- - - - A avus 3 Uº ſº ºf Ly Jººf Ye tº C, º º lano. - £1 W. W. US z, ſ , , , nto Jerusalem with great joy; because the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came into Jerusalem with psalte- ries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the 401'ſ 1. 29 And the fear of the Lord ſell upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet: and God gave him peace round about. 31 And Josaphat reigned over Juda: and he was five and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Azuba the daugh- ter of Selahi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord. 33 But yet, he took not away the high places: and the people had not yet turned their heart to the Lord the God of their fathers. • 34 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and w tº ºr Cºt i | | '3st, are written in the words of Jehu the son of Ilanani, which he digested into the Books of the kings of Israel. 35 Aſter these things Josaphat king of Juda made friendship with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were very wicked. 36 And he was partner with him in making hips, to go to Tharsis: and they made the ships in Siongaber. 37 And Eliezer the son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to Josaphat, saying: Because thou hast made a league with Ochozias, the Lord hath de- ttroyed thy works; and the ships are broken ; and they j not go to Tharsis. CHAP. XX}. ;Ioram’s wicked reign : his punishment and death. - AND Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David : and Joram his son reigned in his stead. 2 And he had brethren, the sons of Josaphat, Azarias, and Jahiel, and Zacharias, and Azaria, and Michael, and Saphatias : all these were the sons of Josaphat king of Juda. 3 And their father gave them great gifts of sil- ver, and of gold, and pensions, with strong cities in Juda: but the kingdom he gave to Joram; be- cause he was the eldest. 4. So Joram rose up over the kingdom of his fa- ther; and when he had established himself, he slew 340 Josaphat at their head, with all his brethren with the sword, and some of the princes of Israel. 5 Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in Je rusalem. z 6 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had done; for his wife was a daughter of Achab: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 But the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant which he had made him ; a nd because he had promised to give a lamp to him, and to his sons for ever. 8. In those days Edom revolted, from being sub- ject to Juda, and made themselves a king. 9 And Joram went over with his princes, and all his cavalry with him, and rose in the night, and defeated the Edomites who had surrounded him, and all the captains of his cavalry. 10 However Edom revolted, from being under the dominion of Juda unto this day: at that time Lobna also revolted, from being under his hand: for he had forsaken the Lord the God of his fathers. 1 l Moreover he built also high places in the cities of Juda: and he made the inhabitants of Je- rusalem to commit fornication, and Juda to trans- greSS. 12 And there was a letter brought him from Elias the prophet, in which it was written : Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: Be- cause thou hast not walked in the ways of Josa. }. thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Ju(Ia, 13. But hast walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and hast made Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, imitating the for. nication of the house of Achab; moreover also thou hast killed thy brethren, the house of thy father, better men than thyself; 14 Behold, the Lord will strike thee with a great plague, with all thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance. 15 And thou shalt be sick of a very grievous disease of thy bowels, till thy vital parts come out by little and little every day. 16 And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into the land of Juda, and wasted it. and they carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, his sons also, and his wives: So that there was no son left him but Joachaz,” who was the youngest. 18 And besides all this the Lord struck him with an incurable disease in his bowels. 19 And as day came after day, and time rolled on, two whole years passed : then after being wast- ed with a long consumption, so as to void his very bowels, his disease ended with his life. And he died of a most wretched illness: and the people did * ----- * *-** - - - - * * * - *E**= as <> - YS- * Joachaz, alias, Ochozias. N|| || CHAP. XXII, XXI 11. not make a funeral for him according to the man- ner of burning, as they had done for his ancestors. 20 He was two and thirty years old when he began his reign: and he reigned eight years in Je- rusalem. And he walked not rightly: and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the se- pulchres of the kings. CHAP. XXII. The reign and death of Ochozias. The tyranny of Athalia. ANP the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ocho- zias his youngest son king in his place: for the rovers of the Arabians, who had broke in upon the §§ had killed all that were his elder brothers. So Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda reigned. 2 Ochozias was forty-two" years old when he Şegan to reign: and he reigned one year in Jerusa- lem; and the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of * for his mother pushed him on to do wick- edly. 4. So he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Achab did: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5 And he walked after their counsels. And he went with Joram the son of Achab king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Syria, at Ramoth Galaad: and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6 And he returned to be healed in Jezrahel; for ne received many wounds in the foresaid battle. And Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the son of Achab in Jezrahel where he lay sick. 7 For it was the will of God against Ochozias, that he should come to Joram; and when he was gome, should go out also against Jehu the son of Namsi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Achab. 8 So when Jehu was rooting out the house of Achab, he found the princes of Juda, and the sons of the brethren of Ochozias, who served him: and he slew them. 9 And he sought for Ochozias himself, and took him lying hid in Samaria: and when he was brought to him, he killed him: and they buried him; be- cause he was the son of Josaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. And there was no more hope that any one should reign of the race of Ocho- Zia S. . 10. For Athalia his mother, seeing that her son was dead, rose up, and killed all the royal family of the house of Joram. 11 But Josabeth the king's daughter took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons, that were slain. And she hid him with his nurse in a bed-chamber: now Josabeth that hid Qim, was daughter of king Joram, wife of Joiada the high priest, and sister of Ochozias; and therefore Athalia did not kill him. 12 And he was with them hid in the house of Porty-two, #e. Divers Greek bibles read twenty-two, agreeably to t \sings viii. 18. - 34 e •=> 31ſtºrs - -> ^ | God six years, during which Athalia reigned over the land CHAP. XXIII. Joiada the high priest causeth Joas to be made king 4thalia to be slain ; and idolatry to be destroyed. ND in the seventh year Joiada being encouraged, took the captains of hundreds, to wit, Azarias the son of Jeroham, and Ismahel the son of Johanan, and Azarias the son of Obed, and Maasias the son of Adaias, and Elisaphat the son of Zechri; and made a covenant with them. 2 And they went about Juda, and gathered to. gether the Levites out of all the cities of Juda, and the chiefs of the families of Israel: and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the multitude made a covenant with the king in the house of God: and Joiada said to them: Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the Lord hath said of the sons of David. 4 And this is the thing that you shall do. 5 A third part of you that come to the sabbatht of the priests, and of the Levites, and of the porters, shall be at the gates; and a third part at the king’s house; and a third at the gate that is called the Foundation: but let all the rest of the people be in the courts of the house of the Lord. * 6 And let no one come into the house of the Lord, but the priests, and they that minister of the Levites: let them only come in, because they are sanctified: and let all the rest of the people keep the watches of the Lord. 7 And let the Levites be round about the king, every man with his arms: (and if any other come into the temple, let him be slain) and let them be with the king both coming in, and going out. 8 So the Levites, and all Juda did according to all that Joiada the high priest had commanded: and they took every one i. men that were under him, and that came in by the course of the sabbath, with those who had fulfilled the sabbath, and were to go out. For Joiada the high priest permitted not the companies to º which were accustomed to succeed one another every week. 9 And Joiada the priest gave to the captains the spears, and the shields, and targets of king David, which he had dedicated in the house of the Lord. 10 And he set all the people with swords in their hands from the right side of the temple, to the left side of the temple, before the altar, and the temple, round about the king. 11 And they brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and the testimony, and gave him the law to hold in his hand; and they made him king; and Joiada the high priest and his sons anoint- ed him: and they prayed for him, and said: God save the king. 12 Now when Athalia heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came in to the people, into the temple of the Lord. 13 And when she saw the king standing upon # To the sabbath. That is, to perform in your weeks the functions I of your office, or the weekly sºles. % 11. PARALI POMENON. the step in the entrance, and the Princes, and the companies about him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding with trumpets, and playing on instruments of divers kinds, and the voice of those that praised, she rent her garments, and said: Treason, treason. 14 And Joiada the high priest going out to the saptains, and the chiefs of the army, said to them: Take her forth without the precinct of the temple; and when she is without, let her be killed with the sword. For the priest commanded that she should not be killed in the house of the Lord. 15 And they laid hold on her by the neck: and when she was come within the horse-gate of the palace, they killed her there. - 16 And Joiada made a covenant between himself and all the people, and the king, that they should be the people of the Lord. 17 And all the people went into the house of |3aal, and destroyed it: and they broke down his altars and his idols: and they slew Mathan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 And Joiada appointed overseers in the house of the Lord, under the hands of the priests, and the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the Lord : to offer holocausts to the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with joy and singing, according to the disposition of David. - 19 He appointed also porters in the gates of the house of the Lord, that none who was unclean in any thing should enter in. 20 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the most valiant men, and the chiefs of the people, and all the people of the land : and they brought down the king from the house of the brought him through the upper gate into the king's house, and set him on the royal throne. 21 And all the people of i. land rejoiced ; and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword. CHAP. XXIV. Joas reigneth well all the days of Joiada ; afterwards falleth into idolatry, and causeth Zacharias to be slain. He is slain him- self by his servants. OAS was seven years old when he began to reign: and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Sebia of Bersabee. 2 And he did that which is good before the Lord all the days of Joiada the priest. 3 And Joiada took for him two wives, by whom he had sons and daughters. 4. After this Joas had a mind to repair the house of the Lord. 5 And he assembled the priests, and the Le- vites, and said to them: Go out to the cities of Juda, and gather of all Israel money to repair the temple of your God, from year to year, and do this with speed: but the Levites were negligent. 6 And the king called Joiada the chief, and said to him: Why hast thou not taken care to oblige the Levites to bring in out of Juda and Jerusalem the money that was appointed by Moses, the servant of \ ord, and | | the Lord, for all the multitude of Israel to hring into the tabernacle of the testimony? 7 For that wicked woman Athalia and her chil. dren have destroyed the house of God, and adorned the temple of Baal with all the things that had been dedicated in the temple of the Lord. - 8 And the king commanded, and they made a chest; and set it by the gate of the house of the Lord on the outside. - - 9 And they made a proclamation in Juda and Je- rusalem, that every man should bring to the Lord, the money which Moses the servant of God appoint ed for all Israel, in the desert. 10 Andall the princes, and all the people rejoiced: and going in they contributed and cast so much into the chest of the Lord, that it was filled. ll And when it was time to bring the chest be- fore the king by the hands of the Levites (for they saw there was much money,) the king’s scribe, and he whom the high priest had appointed, went in: and they poured out the money that was in the chest: and they carried back the chest to its place: and thus they did from day to day; and there was gath- ered an immense sum of money. 12 And the king and Joiada gave it to those who were over the works of the house of the Lord: but they hired with it stone-cutters, and artificers of every kind of work to repair the house of the Lord: and such as wrought in iron and brass, to uphold | what began to be falling. 13. And the workmen were diligent; and the breach of the walls was closed up by their hands: and they set up the house of the Lord in its former state, and made it stand firm. 14 And when they had finished all the works, º brought the rest of the money before the king and Joiada: and with it were made vessels for the temple for the ministry, and for holocausts and bowls, and other vessels of gold and silver: and ho- locausts were offered in the house of the Lord con- tinually, all the days of Joiadā. 15. But Joiada grew old, and was full of days, º died when he was a hundred and thirty years G10. - 16 And, they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good to Is- rael, and to his house. º 17 And after the death of Joiada, the princes of Juda went in, and worshipped the king; and he was |soothed by their services, and hearkened to them. 18 And they forsook the temple of the Lord the God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Juda and Jerusalem for this sin, 19 And he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord, and they would not give ear when they testified against them. 20 The Spirit of God then came upon Zacharias the son of Joiada the priest, and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Why transgress you the command- ment of the Lord, which will not be for your good, and have forsaken the Lord, to make him forsake WOUI 3.48 Ş UHAP. XXV. 21 And they gathered themselves together against mm, and stoned him at the king’s commandment in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 And king Joas did not remember the kindness that Joiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he had died, he said: The Lord sce, and require it. 23 And when a year was come about, the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Juda and Jerusalem, and killed all the princes of the people: and they sent all the spoils to the king to Damascus. º 24 And whereas there came a very small num- ber of the Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an infinite multitude, because they had for- saken the Lord the God of their fathers: and on Joas they executed shameful judgments. 25 And departing they left him in great diseases: and his servants rose up against him, for revenge of the blood of the son of Joiada the priest: and they slew him in his bed; and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings. 26 Now the men that conspired against him were Zabad the son of Semmaath an Ammonitess, and Jozabad the son of Semarith a Moabitess. 27 And concerning his sons, and the sum of money, which was gathered under him, and the repairing the house of God, they are written more diligently in the book of Kings: and Amasias his son reigned in his stead. - º CHAP. XXV. Amasias’s reign: he beginneth well ; but endeth ill. He is over- thrown by Joas ; and slain by his own people. MASIAS was five and twenty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned mine and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mo- ther was Joadan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was good in the sight of the Jord; but yet not with a perfect heart. 3 And when he saw himself strengthened in his kingdom, he put to death the servants that had slain the king his father. 4. But he slew not their children ; as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying: The fathers shall not be slain for the children, nor the children for their fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin. 5 Amasias therefore gathered Juda together, and appointed them by families, and captains of thou- sands, and of hundreds, in all Juda and Benjamin : and he numbered them from twenty years old and upwards, and found three hundred thousand oung men that could go out to battle, and could old the spear and shield. 6 He hired also of Israel a hundred thousand valiant men, for a hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him, and said: O king, let not the army of Israel go out with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, and all the children of Ephraim: 8 And if thou think that battles consist in the strength of the army, God will make thee to be ſ overcome by the enemies: for it belongeth to U-14. both to help, and to put to flight. 9 And Amasias said to the man of God : Wha will then become of the hundred talents which have given to the soldiers of Israel P and the maſſ of God answered him: The Lord is rich enough to be able to give thee much more than this. 10 Then Amasias separated the army, that cane to him out of Ephraim, to go home again : but they being much enraged against Juda, returned to their OW 11 country. 11 And Amasias taking courage led forth his peo: ple, and went to the vale of salt pits, and slew of the children of Seir, ten thousand. 12 And other ten thousand men the sons of Juda took, and brought to the steep of a certain rock, and cast them down headlong from the top ; and they all were broken to pieces. 13. But that army which Amasias had sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, spread themselves among the cities of Juda, from Samaria to Bethhoron, and having killed three thousand, took away much spoil. 14 But Amasias after he had slain the Edomites, set up the gods of the children of Seir, which he had brought thence, to be his gods, and adored them, and burnt incense to them. 15 Wherefore the Lord being angry against Ama. sias, sent a prophet to him, to say to him: Why hast thou adored gods that have not delivered their own people out of thy hand? 16 And when he spoke these things, he answered him : Art thou the king’s counsellor P be quiet, lest I kill thee. And the prophet departing, saids. I know that God is minded to kill thee; because thou hast dome this evil, and moreover hast not hearkened to my counsel. 17 Then Amasias king of Juda taking very bad counsel, sent to Joas the son of Joachaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying: Come, let us see one another. 18 But he sent back the messengers, saying: The thistle that is in Libanus sent to the cedar in Liba- nus, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife. and behold, the beasts that were in the wood of Li banus passed by, and trod down the thistle. 19. Thou hast said: I have overthrown Edom, and therefore thy heart is lifted up with pride: stay at home ; why dost thou provoke evil against thee, that both thou shouldst fall, and Juda with thee P 20 Amasias would not hearken to him ; because it was the Lord’s will that he should be delivered into the hands of enemies, because of the gods of Edon. 21 So Joas king of Israel went up; and they pre- sented themselves to be seen by one another: and Amasias king of Juda was in Bethsames of Juda: 22 And Juda fell before Israel, and they fled to their dwellings. 23 And Joas king of Israel took Amasias king of Juda, the son of Joas, the son of Joachaz, in Beth- sames, and brought him to Jerusalem ; and broke down the walls thereof from the gate of Ephraim, to the gate of the colºr, four hundred cubits %| N II. PARAL POMENON. 24 And he took all the gold, and silver, and all. the vessels, that he found in the house of God, and with Obedcdom, and in the treasures of the king’s house; moreover also the sons of the hostages, he brought back to Samaria. 25 And Amasias the son of Joas king of Juda lived, after the dº ath of Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel, fifteen years. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Adnasias the first aid last, are written in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel. 27 And aſter he revolted from the Lord, they made a conspiracy again it him in Jerusalem. And he fled into Lachis; and they sent, and killed him there 28 And they brought him back upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of David. CHAP. XXVI. Ozias reiſºneth prosperously till he invadeth the priests’ office : npon which he is struck with a leprosy. ND all the people of Juda took his son Ozias who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of Amasias his father. 2 I le built Ailath, and restored it to the domin- ion of Juda, after that the king slept with his fathers. 3 Ozias was sixteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusa- lem: the name of his mother was Jechelia of Je- rusalem. 4 And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Amasias his father had done. 5 And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacha- rias that understood and saw God: and as long as he sought the Lord he directed him in all things. 6 Moreover, he went forth, and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Geth, and the wall of jaſmia, and the wall of Azotus: and he built towns in Azotus, and among the Philistines. 7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites. 8 And the Ammonites gave gifts to Ozias: and his name was spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt for his frequent victories. 9 And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the corner, and over the gate of the valley, and the rest, in the same side of the wall, and for- tified them. 10 And he built towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns for he had much cattle both in the plains, and in the waste of the desert: he had also vineyards and dressers of vines in the moun- tains, and in Carmel; for he was a man that loved husbandry. 11 And the army of his fighting men, that went but to war, was under the hand of Jehiel the scribe, and Masias the doctor, and under the hand of Ha- manias, who was one of the king's captains. 12 And the whole number of the chiefs by the fa- milies of valiant men, were two thousand six hundred: 13 And the whole array under them three hun- dred and seven thousand five hundred; who were ſ. {} fit for war, and fought for the king against tha enemy. - 14 And Ozias prepared for them, that is, for the whole army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made in Jerusalem engines of divers kinds, which he placed in the towers, and in the corners of the walls, to shoot arrows and great stones: and his name went forth far abroad; for the Lord helped him, and had strengthened him. 16 But when he was made strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction : and he neglected the Lord his God; and going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon the altai of incense. 17 And immediately Azarias the priest going in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, most valiant men, 18 Withstood the king, and said: It doth not be- long to thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests, that is, to the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for this ministry: go out of the sanc- tuary, do not despise: for this thing shall not be ac counted to thy glory by the Lord God. 19 And Ozias was angry; and holding in his hand the censer to burn incense, threatened the priests. And presently there rose a leprosy in his forehead before the priests, in the house of the Lord at the altar of incense. 20 And Azarias the high priest, and all the rest of the priests, looked upon him, and saw the lepro- sy in his forehead; and they made haste to thrust him out. Yea, himself also being frightened, hast- ed to go out, because he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord. 2! And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death: and he dwelt in a house apart, bein ſtill of the leprosy, for which he had been cast out of the house of the Lord. And Joatham his song, Verned the king's house, and judged the people of the land. 22 But the rest of the acts of Ozias first and last were written by Isaias the son of Amos, the prophet. 23 And Qzias slept with his fathers; and they buried, him in the field of the royal sepulchres, be. cause he was a leper: and Joatham his son reigued in his stead. CHAP. XXVII. Joatham’s good reign. - JQATHAM was five and twenty years old when * he began to reign : and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jerusa the daughter of Sadoc. 2 And he did that which was right before the Lord, according to all that Ozias his father had done only that he entered not into the temple of the Lord; and the people still transgressed. 3 He built the high gate of the house of the Lord and on the wall of Ophel he built much. 4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Juda, and castles and towers in the forests. 5 He fought against the king of the children of CHAP. XXVI 11. |cause a great indignation of the Lord hangeth over Ammon, and overcame them : and the children of Ammon gave him at that time a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and as many measures of barley: so much did the children of Ammon give him in the second and third year. 6 And Joatham was strengthened, because he had his way directed before the Lord his God. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all his wars, and his works, are written in the Book of the kings of Israel and Juda. 8 He was five and twenty years old when he be- i. to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jeru- S&ll (2II), 9 And Joatham slept with his fathers: and they buried him in the city of David: and Achaz his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XXVIII. The wicked and unhappy reign of Achaz. ACHAZ was twenty years old when he began to reign : and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusa- lem: he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father had done: 2. But walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; moreover also he cast statues for Baalim. 3. It was he that burnt incense in the valley of |Benennom, and consecrated his sons in the fire ac- cording to the manner of the nations, which the Lord slew at the coming of the children of Israel. 4. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. 5 And the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, who defeated him, and took a great booty out of his kingdom, and carried it to Damascus: he was also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who overthrew him with a great slaughter. 6 For Phacee the son of Romelia slew of Juda a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all valiant .nen: because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers. 7 At the same time Zechri a powerful man of Ephraim, slew Maasias the king’s son, and Ezri- ram the governor of his house, and Elcana who was next to the king. 8 And the children of Israel carried away of their brethren two hundred thousand women, boys, and girls, and an immense booty: and they brought it to Samaria. 9 At that time there was a prophet of the Lord there, whose name was Oded : and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to "hem: Behold, the Lord the God of your fathers be- ing angry with Juda, hath delivered them into your hands: and you have butchered them cruelly, so that your cruelty hath reached up to heaven. 10 Moreover you have a mind to keep under the thildren of Juda and Jerusalem for your bond-men and bond-women, which ought not to be done: for you have sinned in this against the Lord your God. ll But hear ye my counsel, and release the cap- tives, that you have brought of your brethren : be- º º º ºr "T------- Yºr- ======Tº ºr yOu. 12 Then some of the chief men of the sons of Ephraim, Azarias the son of Johanan, Barachias the son of Mosollamoth, Ezechias the son of Sel- lum, and Amasa the son of Adali, stood up against them that came from the war. 13 And they said to them: You shall not bring in the captives hither, lest we sin against the Lord. Why will you add to our sins, and heap up upon our former offences P. for the sin is great; and the fiercé anger of the Lord hangeth over Israel. 14 So the soldiers left the spoils, and all that they had taken, before the princes and all the multitude. 15 And the men, whom we mentioned above, rose up and took the captives, and with the spoils cloth- ed all them that were naked : and when they had clothed and shod them, and refreshed them with meat and drink, and anointed them because of their labour, and had taken care of them; they set such of them as could not walk, and were feeble, upon beasts, and brought them to Jericho the city of palm-trees, to their brethren: and they returned to Samaria. 16 At that time king Achaz sent to the king of the Assyrians asking help. 17 And the Edomites came, and slew many ol Juda, and took a great booty. 18.The Philistines also spread themselves among the cities of the plains, and to the south of Juda: and they took Bethsames, and Ajalon, and Gade- roth, and Socho, and Thamnan, and Gamzo, with their villages: and they dwelt in them. 19 For the Lord had humbled Juda because of Achaz the king of Juda; for he had stripped it of help,” and had contemned the Lord. . 20. And he brought against him. Thelgathphalma- sar king of the Assyrians, who also afflicted him, and plundered him without any resistance. 21 And Achaz stripped the house of the Lord, and the house of the kings, and of the princes, and gave gifts to the king of the Assyrians: and yet it availed him nothing. 22 Moreover also in the time of his distress he increased contempt against the Lord, king Achaz himself by himself, 23 Sacrificed victims to the gods of Damascus that struck him : and he said: The gods of the kings of Syria help them; and l will appease them with victims; and they will help me; whereas on the contrary they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. 24. Then Achaz having taken away all the ves- sels of the house of God, and broken them, shut up the doors of the temple of God, and made himselſ altars in all the corners of Jerusalem. 25 And in all the cities of Juda he built altars to burn frankincense: and he provoked the Lord the God of his fathers to wrath. 26 But the rest of his acts, and all his works first * For he had stripped it of help : that is, Achaz stripped he kingdoms of Juda of the divine assistance by his wickedness, and by his intrºl. ducing idolatry. 351 II. PARALIPOMENON … . * / -- ( and last are written in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel. 27 And Achaz slept with his fathers: and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem : for they receiv- ed him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel. And Ezechias his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XXIX. Ezechi..., purifieth the temple, and restoreth religion. OW Ezechias began to reign, when he was five and twenty years old : and he reigned nine and twenty years in jºi. the name of his mother was Abia, the daughter of Zacharias. 2 And he did that which was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 3. In the first year and month of his reign he open- ed the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them ! And he brought the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the east-street. 5 And he said to them : Hear me, ye Levites, and be sanctified; purify the house of the Lord the God of your fathers; and take away all filth out of the sanctuary. 6 Our fathers have sinned, and done evil in the sight of the Lord God, forsaking him : they have turned away their faces from the tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backs. 7 They have shut up the doors that were in the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burnt incense, nor offered holocausts in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord hath been stirred up against Juda and Jerusalem: and he hath delivered them to trouble, and to destruction, and to be hissed at, as you see with your eyes. 9 Behold, our fathers are fallen by the sword : our sons, and our daughters, and wives are led away captives for this wickedness. 10 Now therefore I have a mind that we make a covenant with the Lord the God of Israel; and he will turn away the wrath of his indignation from us. ll My sons, be not negligent: the Lord hatli chosen you to stand before him, and to minister to #. and to worship him, and to burn incense to | |Ill. 12 Then the Levites arose : Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azarias, of the sons of Caath; and of the sons of Merari, Cis the son of Abdi, and Azarias the sou of Jalaleel ; and of the sons of Gerson, Joah the son of Zemma, and Eden the son of Joali; 13 And of the sons of Elisapham, Samri and Je- liel ; also of the sons of Asaph, Zacharias and Ma- thanias; 14 And of the sons of Heman. Jahiel and Semei; and t, the sons of Idithun, Semeias and Oziel. 15 And they gathered together their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in according to the commandment of the king, and the precept of the Lord, to purify the house of God. 16 And the priests went into the temole of the Lord to sanctify it; and biºght out all the unclean- _--~~T <>== ºw \ _º --~ - -ºr-z- lºt. wº- Tº sºw - mur- *-ºſ- | ness, that they found within to the entrance of the house of the Lord: and the Levites took it away and carried it out abroad to the torrent Cedron. 17 And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month; and on the eighth day of the same month they came into the porch of the temple of the Lord: and they purified the temple in eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had begun. © 18 And they went in to king Ezechias, and saiſ, to him: We have sanctified all the house of the Lord, and the altar of holocaust, and the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition with all its vessels. 19 And all the furniture of the temple, which king Achaz in his reign had defiled, after his trans- gression; and behold, they are all set forth before the altar of the Lord. 20 And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers of the city, and went up into the house of the Lord: 21 And they offered together seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats for sin, for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, for Juda' and he spoke to the priests the sons of Aaron, to offer them upon the altar of the Lord. 22 Therefore they killed the bullocks; and the priests took the blood, and poured it upon the altar they killed also the rams, and their blood they pour- ed also upon the altar: and they killed the lambs and poured the blood upon the altar. 23 And they brought the he-goats for sin before the king, and the whole multitude: and they laid their hands upon them : 24 And the priests immolated them, and sprink- led their blood before the altar for an expiation of all Israel: for the king had commanded that the ho- łº and the sin-offering should be made for al. ST4 (*1. 25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, ac- cording to the regulation of David the king, and of Gad the seer, and of Nathan the prophet: for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his prophets. 26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with trumpets. 27. And Ezechias commanded that they should offer holocausts upon the altar: and when the holo- causts were offered, they began to sing praises 'o the Lord, and to sound with trumpets, and divers ºnents which David the king of Israel had pre- pared. 28 And all the multitude adored : and the sing ers, and the trumpeters were in their office, till une holocaust was finished. 29, And when the oblation was ended, the king, and all that were with him bowed down, and adored. 30 And Ezechias and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of Dayid, and Asaph the seer: and they praised him with great joy, and bowing the knee adored 31 And Ezechias added, and said: You nave fill. CHAP. XXX. ed your hands to the Lord; come and offer victims, and praises in the house of the Lord. And all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holo- causts, with a devout mind. 32 And the number of the holocausts which the multitude offered, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. 33 And they consecrated to the Lord six hun- dred oxen, and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were few, and were not enough to flay the holocausts: wherefore the Le- vites their brethren helped them, till the work was ended, and priests were sanctified ; for the Levites are sanctified with an easier rite than the priests. 35 So there were many holocausts, and the fat of peace-offerings, and the libations of holocausts : and the service of the house of the Lord was com- pleted. 36 And Ezechias and all the people rejoiced, because the ministry of the Lord was accomplish- ed. For the resolution of doing this thing was taken suddenly. CHAP. XXX. Ezechvas inviteth all Israel to celebrate the pasch : the solemni- ty is kept fourteen days. ND Ezechias sent to all Israel and Juda: and +* he wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasses, that they should come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalein, and keep the phase to the Lord the ‘ºod of Israel. * 2 For the king taking counsel, and the princes, and all the assembly of Jerusalem, decreed to keep the phase the second month. 3 For they could not keep it in its time : be- cause there were not priests enough sanctified, and the people was not as yet gathſ.red together to Je- rusalem. - 4 And the thing pleased dhe king, and all the people. 5 And they decreed to send messengers to all Israel from Bersabee even to Dan, that they should come, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel in Jerusalem: for many had not kept it as it is prescribed by the law. 6 And the posts went with letters by command- ment of the king, and his princes, to all Israel and Juda proclaiming according to the king's orders : Ye children of Israel, turn again to the Lord the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel : and he will return to the remnant of you that have es- caped the hand of the king of the Assyrians. 7 Be not like your fathers, and brethren, who departed from the Lord the God of their fathers ; and he hath given them up to destruction, as you See. 8 Harden not your necks, as your fathers did : yield yourselves to the Lord, and come to his sanc- tuary, which he hath sanctified for ever : serve the Lord the God of your fathers; and the wrath of his indignation shall be turned away from you. 9 For if you turn again to the Lord, your bre- thren and children shall find mercy before their mas- 3ºDºº ters, that have led them away captive; and they shall return into this land : for the Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him. 10 So the posts went speedily from city to city, through the land of Ephraim, and of Manasses even to Zabulon ; whilst they iaughed at them, an mocked them. 11 Nevertheless some men of Aser, and of Ma- nasses, and of Zabulon, yielding to the counsel, came to Jerusalem. 12 But the hand of God was in Juda, to give them one heart to do the word of the Lord, accord- ing to the commandment of the king, and of the princes. 13 And much people were assembled to Jeru- salem to celebrate the solemnity of the unleaven- ed bread in the second month : 14 And they arose, and destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and took away all things in which incense was burnt to idols, and cast them into the torrent Cedron. - 15 And they immolated the phase on the ſour teenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Łº. being at length sanctified, offered holocausts in the house of the Lord. 16. And they stood in their order, according to the disposition and law of Moses the man of God: but the priests received the blood which was to be poured out, from the hands of the Levites, 17 Because a great number was not sanctified and therefore the Levites immolated the phase for . that came not in time to be sanctified to the Ol'O = 18 For a great part of the people from Ephraun, and Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, that had not been sanctified, ate the phase, otherwise than it is written: and Ezechias prayed for them, saying" The Lord who is good, will show mercy 19 To all them, who with their whole heart seek the Lord the God of their fathers; and will not impute it to them that they are not sanctified. 20 And the Lord heard him, and was merciful to the people. 21 And the children of Israel that were found at Jerusalem, kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy, praising the Lord every day: the Levites also and the priests with instru- ments, that agreed to their office. 22 And Ezechias spoke to the heart of all the Levites, that had good understanding concerning the Lord : and they ate during the seven days of the solemnity, immolating victims of peace-of- º and praising the Lord the God of their fa- tileſ S. - 23 And it pleased the whole multitude to keep other seven days ; which they did with great joy. 24 For Ezechias the king cf Juda had given to the multitude a thousand bullocks, and seven thou- sand sheep: and the princes had given the people a thousand bullocks, and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests was sanctified. 25 And all the multitude of Juda with the priests 353 ~~~~ gº--> —s ~~~~ II. PARALIPOMENON and Levites, and aiſ the assembly that came out of Israel; and the proselytes of the ſand of Israel, and that dwelt in Juda were full of joy. 26 And there was a great solemnity in Jerusa- lem, such as had not been in that city since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel. 27 And the priests and the Levites rose up, and blessed the people : and their voice was heard : and their prayer came to the holy dwelling place of heaven. CHAP. XXXI. ldolatry is abolished; and provisions made for the ministers. AN D when these things had been duly celebrat- ed, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda went out, and they broke the idols, and cut down the groves, demolished the ligh places, and destroyed the altars, not only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim also and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them : then all the children of Israel returned to their possessions and cities. 2 And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the Levites, by their courses, every man in his own office, to wit, both of the priests, and of the Levites, for holocausts, and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the |. - 3 And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the holocaust should be offered always morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and the new moons, and the other solemnities, as it is writ- ten in the law of Moses. 4. He commanded also the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, to give to the priests and the Levites their portion, that they might attend to the law of ..he lord. 5 Which when it was noised abroad in the ears of the people, the children of Israel offered in abun- dance the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey; and brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringing forth. 6 Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in the cities of Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they had vowed to the Lord their God; and carry- ing them all, made many heaps. 7 In the third month they began to lay the foun- dations of the heaps; and in the seventh month they finished them. 8 And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the heaps; and they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel. 9 And Ezechias asked the priests and the Levites, why the heaps lay so. 10 Azarias the chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered him, saying: Since the first-fruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have Caten, and have been filled, and abundance is left: because the Lord hath blessed his people: and of that which is left is this great store which thou seest. 1 1 Then Ezechias commanded to prepare store- houses in the house of the Lord. And when they bad done so, 12 They brought in faithfully both the first-fruits and the tithes, and all they had vowed. And the overseer of them was Chonemias the Levite and Semei his brother was the second. 13 And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Na- hath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and Mahath, and Banaias overseers under the hand of Chonemias, and Semel his brother, by the commandment of Ezechias the king, and Azarias the high priest of the house of God, to whom all things appertained. 14. But Core the son of Jemma the Levite, the porter of the east-gate, was overseer of the things which were freely offered to the Lord, and of the first-fruits, and the things dedicated for the holies of holies. 15 And under his charge were Eden, and Ben- jamin, Jesue, and Semeias, and Amarias, and Se- chemias, in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully portions to their brethren, both little and reat" § 16 Besides the males from three years old and upward, to all that went into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever there was need of in the ministry, º their offices according to their courses, day by * V. ? To the priests by their families, and to the Le- vites from the twentieth year and upward, by their classes and companies. 18 And to all the multitude, both to their wives, and to their children of both sexes, victuals were É. faithfully out of the things that had been sanc- tl fied. 19 Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and in the suburbs of each city, there were men appointed, to distribute portions to all the males, among the priests and the Levites. 20 So Ezechias did all things which we have said, in all Juda; and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God, 21 In all the service of the ministry of the house of the Lord according to the law and the ceremo- nies, desiring to seek his God with all his heart: and he did it, and prospered. CHAP. XXXII. Sennacherib invadeth Juda: his army is destroyed by an Angel. Ezechias recovereth from his sickness: his other acts. FTER these things, and this truth, Sennache- rib king of the Assyrians came and entered in- to Juda, and besieged the fenced cities, desiring to take them. * 2 And when Ezechias saw that Sennacherib was come, and that the whole force of the war was turn- ing against Jerusalem, 3 He took counsel with the princes, and the most valiant men, to stop up the heads of the springs. that were without the city: and as they were all of this mind, 4. He gathered together a very great multitude: and they stopped up all the springs, and the brook, that ran through the midst of the land, saying: Lest the kings of the Assyrians should come, and find abundance of water. —º 354 CHAP. XXXIII. 5 He built up also with great diligence all the w all that had been broken down, and built towers upon it, and another wall without: and he repaired ello in the city of David, and made all sort of arms and shields: 6 And he appointed captains of the soldiers of the army: and lue called them all together in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke to their heart, saying: 7 Behave like men, and take courage: be not aflaid nor dismayed for the king of the Assyrians, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there are many more with us than with him. 8 For with him is an arm of flesh; with us the Lord our God, who is our helper, and fighteth for us. And the people were encouraged with these words of Ezech as king of Juda. * 9 After this Sennacherib king of the Assyrians sent his servants to Jerusalem, (for he with all his army was beseiging Lachis,) to Ezechias king of Juda, and to all the people that were in the city, saying: 10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of the Assyrians: !n whom do you trust, that you sit still besieged in Jerusalem. Il Doth not Ezechias deceive you, to give you up to die by hunger and thirst, affirming that the Lord your God shall deliver you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians? 12. Is it not this same Ezechias, that hath de- stroyed his high places, and his altars, and com- manded Juda and Jerusalem, saying: You shall worship before one altar; and upon it you shall burn incense? 13 Know you not what I and my fathers have done to all the people of the lands? have the gods of any nations and lands been able to deliver their country out of my hand? lºk Who is there among all the gods of the nations, which my fathers have destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of this hand? 15 Therefore let not Ezechias deceive you, nor delude you with a vain persuasion; and do not be- lieve him. For if no god of all the nations and kingdoms, could deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers; consequently neither shall your God be able to deliver you out of my hand. e 16 And many other things did his servants speak against the Lord God,and againstEzechias his servant. 17. He wrote also letters full of blasphemy against the Lord the God of Israel; and he spoke against him: As the gods of other nations could not deliver their people out of my hand, so neither can the God of Ezechias deliver his people out of this hand. 18 Moreover he cried out with a loud voice, in the Jew’s tongue, to the people that sat on the walls of ºlºm, that he might frighten them, and take the city. 19 And he spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, the works of the hands of men 22*T 2- 20 And Ezechias the king, and Isaias the prophet the son of Amos, prayed against this blasphemy, and cried out to heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an Angel, who cut off all the stout men and the warriors, and the captains ol the army of the king of the Assyrians: and he re- turned with disgrace into his own country. And when he was come into the house of his god, his Sons that came out of his bowels, slew him with the sword. 22 And the Lord saved Fzechias and the inha. bitants of Jerusalem, out of the hand of Sennacle- rib king of the Assyrians, and out of the hand of all ; and gave them treasures on every side. 23 Many also brought victims and sacrifices to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Ezechias king of Juda: and he was magnified thenceforth in the sight of all nations. 24. In those days Ezechias was sick even to death and he prayed to the Lord : and he heard him, and gave him a sign. - 25 But he did not render again according to the benefits which he had received; for his heart was lifted up : and wrath was enkindled against him, and against Juda and Jerusalem. 26 And he humbled himself afterwards, because his heart had been lifted up, both he and the inha- bitants of Jerusalem : and therefore the wrath ol the Lord came not upon them in the days of Ezechias. 27 And Ezechias was rich, and very glorious, and he gathered himself great treasures of silver and of gold, and of precious stones, of spices, an of arms of all kinds, and of vessels of great price , 28 Store-houses also of corn, of wine, and of oil, and stalls for all beasts, and folds for cattle. 29 And he built himself cities: for he had flocks of sheep, and herds without number; for the Lord had given him very much substance. 30 This same Ezechias was he that stopped the upper source of the waters of Gihon, and turned them away underneath toward the west of the city of David : in all his works he did prosperously what he would. 31 But yet in the embassy of the princes of Ba- bylon, that were sent to him, to inquire of the won- der that had happened upon the earth, God left him that he might be tempted, and all things might be made known that were in his heart. 32 Now the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and of his mercies, are written in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel. 33 And Ezechias slept with his fathers: and they buried him above the sepulchres of the sons of Da vid : and all Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jeru salem celebrated his funeral: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead. CHAP. XXXIII Manasses for his manifold wickedness is red, captive to Baby lon: he repenteth ; and is restored to his kingdom ; and de stroyeth idolatry: his successor Amon is slain by his servants MANASSES was twelve years old when he began to reign : and he reigned fifty-five wears in Jerusalem. S- 93 355 II. PARALIPOMENON. 2 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all the abominations of the nations, which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel: 3 And he turned, and built again the high places which Ezechias his father had destroyed: and he built altars to Baalim, and made groves, and he adored all the host of heaven,” and worshipped them. 4. He built also altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. 5 And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he made his sons to pass through the fire, in the valley of Benennom : he observed dreams, followed divinations, gave himself up to magic arts, had with him magicians, and enchanters: and he wrought many evils before the Lord, to provoke him tſ) &ll) ger. 7. He set also a graven and a molten statue in the house of God, of which God had said to David, and to Solomon his son : In this house, and in Je- rusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever. 8 And I will not make the foot of Israel to be removed out of the land which I have delivered to their fathers: yet so if they will take heed to do what I have commanded them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments, by the hand of Moses. 9 So Manasses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations, which the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. 10 And the Lord spoke to him, and to his people: and they would not hearken. ! l Therefore he brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of the Assyrians: and they took Manasses, and carried him bound with chains and fetters to Babylon. 12 And after that he was in distress, he prayed to the Lord his God; and did penance exceedingly before the God of his fathers. 13 And he entreated him, and besought him earnestly : and he heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom: and Manasses knew that the Lord was God. 14. After this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering in of the fish-gate round about to Ophel, and raised it up to a great height: and he appointed captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Juda: 15 And he took away the strange gods and the .dol out of the house of the Lord ; the altars also which he had made in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem : and he cast them all out of the city 16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed upon it victims, and peace-offerings, and graise : and he commanded Juda to serve the Lord the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places to the Lord their God. e 18 But the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord the God of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel. e 19 His prayer also, and his being heard, and all his sins, and contempt, and places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and statues, before he did penance, are written in the words of Hozai. 20 And Manasses slept with his fathers : and they buried him in his house : and his son Amol, reigned in his stead. 21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he º to reign : and he reigned two years in Jeru- Salen]. . 22 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his father had done : and he sacrificed to all the idols which Manasses his father had made and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the J ord, as Manasses his father had humbled himself but committed far greater sins. - 24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house. 25 But the rest of the multitude of the jeople slew them that had killed Amon, and made Josias his son king in his stead. CHAP. XXXIV. Josias destroyoth idolatry; repaireth the temple; and reneweth the covenant between God and the people. JOSAS was eight years old when he began to *’ reign: and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of D2 wid his fa- ther : he declined not, neither to the rig) thand, nor to the left. 3 And in the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of his fa- ther David : and in the twelfth year after he began to reign, he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem from the places, and the groves, and the idols, and the in things. 4. 4 And they broke down before him the altars of Baalim, and demolished the idols that had been set upon them : and he cut down the groves and the graven things, and broke them in pieces; and strew ed the fragments upon the graves of them that had sacrificed to them. 5 And he burnt the bones of thc priests on the al. tars of the idols: and he cleansed Juda and Jerusalem 6 And in the cities of Manasses, and of Ephraim and of Simeon, even to Nephthali, he demolished all. 7 And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem e 8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land, and the temple of the Lord, he sent Saphan the son of Eselias, and Maa sias the governor of the city, Joha the son of Joa- * The host of heaven. The sun, moon, and stars. Riº 356 CHAP. XXXV. :lia, the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord h s God. 9 And they came to Helcias the high priest; and received of him the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites Sud porters had gathered together from Manasses, and Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and from all Juda, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 10 Which they delivered into the hands of them that were over the workmen in the house of the º to repair the temple, and mend all that was WCºl K. ! I But they gave it to the artificers, and to the masons, to buy stones out of the quarries, and tim- 'yer for the couplings of the building, and to rafter º houses, which the kings of Juda had destroy- J(i. - 12 And they did all faithfully. Now the over- seers of the workmen were Jahath and Abdias of the sons of Merari, Zacharias and Mosollam of the sons of Caath, who hastened the work; all Levites skilful to play on instruments. 13 But over them that carried burdens for divers uses, were scribes and masters, of the number of the Levites, and porters. 14 Now when they carried out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Hel- eias the priest found the book of the law of the Lord, by the hand of Moses. 15 And he said to Saphan the scribe: I have found the book of the law, in the house of the Lord: and he delivered it to him. 16 But he carried the book to the king, and told him, saying: Lo, all that thou hast committed to thy servants, is accomplished. 17 They have gathered together the silver that was found in the house of the Lord : and it is given to the overseers of the artificers, and of the work- men, for divers works. 18 Moreover Helcias the priest gave me this book. And he read it before the king. 19 And when he had heard the words of the law, me rent his garments: 20 And he commanded Helcias, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Abdon the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaa the king's servant, saying: 21 Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel, and Juda, concerning all the words of this book which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord hath fallen upon us, because our fathers have not kept the words of the Lord, to do all things that are written in this book. 22 And Helcias and they that were sent with him by the king, went to Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellum the son of Thecuath, the son of Hasra keeper of the wardrobe, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second part: and they spoke to her the words above-mentioned. 23 And she answered them: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to T]{2 24 Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will I ring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitant, thereof, and all the curses that are written in this book which they read before the king of Juda. 25 Because they have forsaken me, and have sa crificed to strange gods, to provoké me to wrati. with all the works of their hands, therefore lily wrath, shall fall upon this place, and shall not b quenched. 26 But as to the king of Juda that sent you t beseech the Lord, thus shall you say to him: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Because thou has heard the words of this book, 27 And thy heart was softened, and thou has humbled thyself in the sight of God for the things that are spoken against this place, and the inhabitants ol Jerusalem, and reverencing my face, hastrent thy gar. ments, and wept before me: I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. 28. For now. I will gather thee to thy fathers; and thou shalt be brought to thy tomb in peace: and thy eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and the inhabitants thereof. They therefore reported to the king all that she had said 29 And he called together all the ancients of Ju da and Jerusalem, 30 And went up to the house of the Lord, and aſ the men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people from the least to the greatest. And the king read in their hearing in the house of the Lord, all the words o' the book. 31 And standing up in his tribunal, he made a covenant before the º to walk after him, and keep his eommandments, and testimonies, and jus- tifications, with all his heart, and with all his soul, and to do the things that were written in that book which he had read. 32 And he adjured all that were found in Jeru- Salem and Benjamin, to do the same: and the in- habitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of the Lord the God of their fathers. 33 And Josias took away all the abominations out of all the countries of the children of Israel and made all that were left in Israel, to serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they depart- ed not from the Lord the God of their fathers. CHAP XXXV. Josias celebrateth a most solenut pasch. He is slain by the king of Egypt. AND Josias kept a phase to the Lord in Jerusa- +*- lem; and it was sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their offices, and ex- horted them to minister in the house of the Lord 3 And he spoke to the Levites, by whose instruc tion all Israel was sanctified to the Lord, saying: Put the ark in the sanctuary of the temple, which, Solomon the son of David king of Israel built - ſo, you shall carry it no more: but minister aow to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel, 4 And prepare yourselves by your houses and families, according to your courses, as ſlavid king (ſ--~~~~ 357 I. PARALIPOMENON. pſ Israel commanded, and Solomon his son hath written. 5 And serve ye in the sanctuary by the families and companies of Levi: - 6 And being sanctified kill the phase, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses. 7 And Josias gave to all the people that were found there in the solemnity of the phase, of lambs, and of kids of the flocks, and of other small cattle, thirty thousand; and of oxen three thousand : all these were of the king's substance. 8 And his princes willingly offered what they had vowed, both to the people, and to the priests and the Levites. Moreover Hélèias, and Zacharias, and Jahiel, rulers of the house of the Lord, gave to the priests to keep the phase, two thousand six hun- dred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. 9 And Chonemias, and Semeias, and Nathanael, his brethren, Hasabias, and Jehiel, and Jozabad, princes of the Levites, gave to the rest of the Le- vites to celebrate the phase, five thousand small cat- ile, and five huildred oxen. - 10 And the ministry was prepared, and the priests stood in their office; the Levites also in their com- nanies, according to the king's commandment. 11 And the phase was immolated: and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hand: and the Le- vites flayed the holocausts: 12 And they separated them to give them by the mouses and families of every one, and to be offered to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses: and with the oxen they did in like manner. 13 And they roasted the phase with fire, accord- ung to that which is written in the law: but the vic- tims of peace-offerings they boiled in caldrons, and kettles, and pots: and they distributed them speedily among all the people. 14 And afterwards they made ready for them- selves, and for the priests: for the priests were bu- sied in offering of holocausts and the fat until night: wherefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron last. 15 And the singers the sons of Asaph stood in Jheir order, according to the commandment of Da- vid, and Asaph, and Heman, and Idithun, the prophets of the king: and the porters kept guard at every gate, so as not to depart one moment from their service: and therefore their brethren the Levites prepared meats for them. 16 So all the service of the Lord was duly ac- complished that day, both in keeping the phase, and offering holocausts upon the altar of the Lord, ac- cording to the commandment of king Josias. 17 And the children of Israel that were found there, kept the phase at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. 18 There was no phase like to this in Israel, from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of all the kings of lsrael keep such a phase as Josias kept, with the priests, and the Levites, and all Juda, and Israel that were ſound, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. g < º-ºº-ºº ºn * LTX. ~ſiºns * -—- syJºãº * 2° T <> SS 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this phase celebrated. 20 After that Josias had repaired the temple, Nechao king of Egypt came up to fight in Charca. ; by the Euphrates: and Josias went out to meet III] 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying: What have I to do with thee, O king of Juda: I come mol against thee this day; but I fight against another house, to which God hath commanded me to go in haste: forbear to do against God, who is with me. lest he kill thee. 22 Josias would not return, but prepared to ſº against him, and hearkened not to the words of Ne- chao from the mouth of God, but went to fight in the field of Mageddo. . 23 And there he was wounded by the archers: and he said to his servants: Carry me out of the battle : for I am grievously wounded. 24 And they removed him from the chariot into another, that followed him after the manner of kings: and they carried him away to Jerusalem ; and he died, and was buried in the monument of his fa- thers: and all Juda and Jerusalem mourned for him 25 Particularly Jeremias: whose lamentations for Josias all the singing men and singing women repeat unto this day, and it became like a law in Israel: Behold, it is found written in the Lamen- tations. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josias and of his mercies, according to what was commanded by the law of the Lord: 27 And his works first and last, are written in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel CHAP. XXXVI. The reigns of Joachaz, Joakim, Joachin, and Sedccias : the rap. tivity of Babylon released at length by Cyrus. THEN the people of the land took Joachaz the son of Josias, and made him king instead of his father in Jerusalem. 2 Joachaz was three and twenty years old, when he began to reign: and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 And the king of Egypt came to Jerusalem, and deposed him, and condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. 4 And he made Eliakim his brother king in nis stead, over Juda and Jerusalem : and he turned his name to Joakim; but he took Joachaz with him, and carried him away into Egypt. - 5 Joakim was five and twenty years t d when he began to reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did evil before the Lord his God 6 Against him came up Nabuchodomosor king of . the Chaldeans, and led him bound in chains into Babylon. 7 And he carried also thither the vessels of the Lord, and put them in his temple. - 8 But the rest of the acts of Joakim, and his abominations, which he wrought, and the things that were found in him, are contained in the Book of the kings of Juda and Israel. And Joachin his lson reigned in his stead. *& 358 CHAP. l. 9 Joachin was eight years old” when he began to reign: and he reigned three months and ten days in tºlem: and he did evil in the sight of the 10ſ Ol. 10 And at the return of the year, king Nabucho- donosor sent, and brought him to Babylon, carrying away at the same time the most precious vessels of the house of the Lord : and he made Sedecias his uncle king over Juda and Jerusalem. ll Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God, and did not reverence the face of Jeremias the * speaking to him from the mouth of the Ol'Ol. 13. He also revolted from king Nabuchodonosor, who had made him swear by God: and he hardened his neck and his heart, from returning to the Lord the God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people wickedly transgressed according to all the abominations of the Gentiles: and they defiled the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to him- self in Jerusalem. 15 And the Lord the God of their fathers sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising early, and daily admonishing them: because he spared his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused the prophets, until * Eight years old. He was associated by his father to the kingdom, when he was but eight years old : but after his father's death, when he reigned alone, he was eighteen years old, 4 Kings xxiv. 8. the wrath of the Lord arose against his people: and there was no remedy. 17 For he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans: and he slew their young men with the sword in the house of his sanctuary: he had no com- passion on young man, or maiden, old man, or even him that stooped for age: but he delivered them all into his hands. 18 And all the vessels of the house of the Lord, great and Small, and the treasures of the temple, and of the king, and of the princes, he carried away to Babylon. 19 And the enemies set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burnt all the towers; and whatsoever was precious they de- stroyed. 20 Whosoever escaped the sword, was led into Babylon, and there served the king and his sons, till the reign of the king of Persia; 21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, and the land might keep her sabbaths: for all the days of the desolation she kept a sabbath, till the seventy years were expired. 22 But in the first year of Cyrus king of the Per sians, to fulfil the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus king of the Persians: who commanded it to be proclaimed through all his king dom, and by writing also, saying: 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord the God of heaven given to me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea: who is there among you of all his people f The | Lord his God be with him; and let him go up. THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS. This book taketh its name from the writer: who was a holy priest, and doctor of the law. He is called by the Hebrews EZRA. CHAP. I. Cyrus king of Persia releaseth God’s people from their captivi- ty, with license to return and build the temple in Jerusalem : and restoreth the holy vessels which Nabuchodonosor had taken from thence. N the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jere- mias might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians: and he made a pro- clamation throughout all his kingdom, and in writ- ing also, saying: Thºus saith ( rus king of the Persians: The Lord the God of Ileaven hath given to me all the kingdoms of the earth: and he hath charged me to knild him a house iu Jerusalem, which is in Judea. 3 Who is there among you of all his people P His God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusaleſm, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord the God of Israel; he is the God that is in Jerusalem. 4 And let all the rest in all places wheresoever they dwell, help him every man from his place, with silver, and gold, and º and cattle, besides that which they offer freely to the temple of God, which is in Jerusalem. - 5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Juda and Benjamin, and the priests, and Levites, and every one whose spirit God hath raised up, to go up to build the temple of the Lord, which was in Je rusalem. 6 And all they that were round about, help d their hands with vessels of silver, and gold, with gºods and with beasts, and with furniture, besides what they had offered on their own accord. 7 And king Cyrus.ºrought forth the vessels of ğ) 1. ESDItAS. the temple of the Lord, which Nabuchodonosor had taken from Jerusalem, and had put them in the temple of his god. gº 8 Now Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of Mithridates the son of Gazabar, and numb' red them to Sassabasar the prince of Juda. 9 And this is the number of them : thirty bowls of gold, a thousand bowls of silver, nine and twenty knives, thirty cups of gold. 10 Silver cups of a second sort, four hundred and ten : other vessels a thousand. 11 All the vessels of gold and silver, five thousand four hundred: All these Sassabasar brought with them that came up from the captivity of Babylon to Jerusalem. CHAP. II. The number of them that returned to Judea : their oblations. OW these are the children of the province, that went out of the captivity, which Nabuchodono- sor king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Juda, everyman to his city: 2 Who came with Zorobabel, Josue, Nehemia, Saraia, Rahelaia, Mardochai, Belsan, Mesphar, Be- guai, Rehum, Baana. The number of the men of the people of Israel 3 The children of Pnaros, two triousand one hun- dred seventy-two. 4. The children of Sephatia, three hundred se- venty-two. 5 The children of Area, seven hundred seventy- five. 6 The children of Phahath Moab, of the chil- dren of Josue : Joab, two thousand eight hundred twelve. 7 The child dred fifty-four. ſ 8 The children of Zethua, nine hundred forty- | V(x. 9. The children of Zachai, seven hundred sixty. 10 The children of Bani, six hundred forty-two. | 11 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty- ! Ill'C (2. 12 The children of Azgad, a thousand two hun- dred twenty-two. 13 The children of Adonicam, six hundred six- ty-six. 14. The children of Beguai, two thousand fifty- 1X. f 15 The children of Adin, four hundred fifty- (\{II". 16 The children of Ather, who were of Ezechi- as, ninety-eight. 17 The children of Besai, three hundred and twenty-three. - 18 The children of Jora, a hundred and twelve. 19 The children of Hasum, two hundred twen- ty-three. 20 The children of Gebbar, ninety-five. | 21 The children of Bethlehem, a hundred twen- ty-three. sº 22 The men of Netupnº, fifty-six. 60 ren of Elam, a thousand two hun- S 23 The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenity eight. § The children of Azmaveth, forty-two 25 The children of Cariathiarim, Cephira, and Beroth, seven hundred forty-three. © 26 The children of Rama and Gabaa, six hun. dred twenty-one. 27 The men of Machmas, a hundred twenty tWO. 28 The men of Bethel and Hai, two nundred twenty-three. 29 The children of Nebo, fifty-two. 30 The children of Megbis, a hundred fifty-six 31 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four. 32 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. * 33 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-five. fi 34 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty- We. 35 The children of Senaa, three thousand six hundred thirty. 36 The priests: The children of Jadaia of the house of Josue, nine hundred seventy-three. 37 The children of Emmer, a thousand fifty-two. 38 The children of Pheshur, a thousand two hundred forty-seven. g 39 The children of Harim, a thousand and se- Went €CI). 40 The Levites: The children of Josue and of Cedmihel, the children of Odovia, seventy-four 41. The singing men: The children of Asaph, a hundred twenty-eight. 42. The children of the porters: The children of Sellum, the children of Ater, the children of Telmon, the children of Accub, the children of Hatita, the children of Sobai: in all a hundred thirty-nine. 43 The Nathinites: The children of Siha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, 44. The children of Ceros, the children of Sia the children of Phadon, 45 The children of Lebana, the children of Ha- gaba, the children of Accub, 46 The children of Hagab, the children of Sem- lai, the children of Hanan, 47. The children of Gaddel, the children of Ga- her, the children of Raaia, 48 The children of Rasin, the children of Ne- coda, the children of Gazam, - 49. The children of Aza, the children of Phasea, the children of Besee, - . 50 The children of Asena, the children of Mu- mim, the children of Nephusim, 5.1 The children of Bacbuc, the children of Ha- "ſºft º of Hºli, e children of Besluth, the children ol Mºjº: i. PhHarsa, 3. Il The children of Bercos, the children of Si ra, the children of Thema, 9 Sisa ti . The children of Nasia, he children of Ha lpha, CHAP. III, IV. 55 The children of the servants of Solomon, the children of Sotai, the children of Sopheret, the children of Pharuda, - 56 The children of Jala, the children of Der- ..on, the children of Geddel, 57 The children of Saphatia, the children of Hatil, the children of Phochereth, which were of Asebaim, the children of Ami, 58 All the Nathinites, and the children of the servants of Solomon, three hundred ninety-two. 59 And these are they that came up from Thel- mela, Thelharsa, Cherub, and Adon, and Emer. And they could not show the house of their fathers and their seed, whether they were of Israel. 60. The children of Dalaia, the children of To- bia, the children of Necoda, six hundred fifty-two. 61 And of the children of the priests: The chil- dren of Hobia, the children of Accos, the children of Berzellai, who took a wife of the daughters of Berzellaithe Galaadite, and was called by their name: 62. These sought the writing of their genealogy, and found it not : and they were cast out of the priesthood. 63 And Athersatha said to them, that they should not eat of the Holy of Holies, till there arose a priest learned and perfect. 64 All the multitudes as one man, were two thousand” three hundred and sixty: 65 Besides their men-servants, and Women-Ser- vants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven ; and among them sing- ing men, and singing women two hundred. ſº 66 Their horses seven hundred thirty-six; their mules two hundred forty-five ; e te 67. Their camels four hundred thirty-five ; their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the temple of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem, offered freely to the house of the Lord to build it in its place. 69 According to their ability, they gave towards the expenses of the work, sixty-one thousand solids of gold, five thousand pounds of silver, and a hun- dred garments for the priests. º 70 So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singing men, and the porters: and the Nathimites, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities. CHAP. III. An altar is built for sacrifice : the feast of tabernacles is solemn- ly celebrated and the foundations of the temple are laid. ND now the seventh month was come; and the children of Israel were in their cities: and the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. e 2 And Josuef the son of Josedec rose up, and his brethren the priests, and Zorobabel the son of Sa- * Forty two thousand, &c. Those who are reckoned up above of the tribes of Juda, Benjamin, and Levi, fall short of this number. The rest, who must be taken in to make up the whole sum, were of the other tribes. º # Jesue: or Jesus, (Jeshua,) the son of Josedec ; he was the high priest, at that time _-rº. T^ = Wºr- * ––P - orty | lathiel, and his brethren: and they built the altar of the God of Israel, that they might offer holocausts upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. 3. And they set the altar of God upon its basis, while the people of the lands round about put them in fear: and they offered upon it a holocaust to the Lord morning and evening. 4 And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the holocaust every day orderly according to the commandment, the duty of the day in its day. 5 Aud afterwards the continual holocaust, both on the new-moons, and on all the solemnities of the Lord, that were consecrated, and on all in which a free-will-offering was made to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer holocausts to the Lord: but the tem- ple of God was not yet founded. 7 And they gave money to hewers of stones, and to masons: and meat and drink, and oil to the Sido- nians and Tyrians, to bring cedar-trees from Liba- nus to the sea of Joppe, according to the orders which Cyrus king of the Persians had given them. 8 And in the second year of their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, the second month, Zo- robabel the son of Salathiel, and Josue the son of Josedec, and the rest of their brethren the priests, and the Levites, and all that were come from the captivi- ty to Jerusalem, began; and they appointed Levites from twenty years old and upward, to hasten for- ward the work of the Lord. 9 Then Josue and his sons and his brethren, Cedmihel, and his sons, and the children of Juda, as one man, stood to hasten them that did the work in the temple of God: the sons of Henadad, and their sons, and their brethren the Levites. 10 And when the masons laid the foundations of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their of naments with trumpets; and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise God by the hands of David king of Israel. 11 And they sung together hymns, and praise to the Lord: because he is good, for his mercy endu reth for ever towards Israel. And all the peopl shouted with a great shout, praising the Lord, be- cause the foundations of the temple of the Lord were laid. 12 But many of the priests and the Levites, and the chief of the fathers and the ancients, that had seen the former temple; when they had the founda- tion of this temple before their eyes, wept with a loud voice: and many shouting for joy, liſted up their voice. 13 So that one could not distinguish the voice of the shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people: for one with another the people shouted with a loud shout, and the voice was heard afar off CHAP. IV. The Samaritans by their letter to the king hinder the building. OW the enemies of Juda and Benjamin heard -> that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the Lord the God of Israel. t I. ESDRAS. 2 And they came to Zorobabel, and the chief of the fathers, and said to them: Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do: behold, we have sacrificed to him, since the days of Asor Haddam king of Assyria, who brought us hither. 3. But Zorobabel, and Josue, and the rest of the •hief of the fathers of Israel said to them: You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God: but we ourselves alone will build to the Lord our God, as Cyrus king of the Persians hath command- ed us. ‘e 4. Then the people of the land hindered the hands of the people of Juda, and troubled them in building. 5 And they hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their design all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of the Persians. 6 And in the reign of Assuerus,” in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the in- liabitants of Juda and Jerusalem. - 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Beselam, Mith- ridates, and Thabeel, and the rest that were in the council, wrote to Artaxerxes khng of the Persians: and the letter of accusation was written in Syriac, and was read in the Syrian tongue. 8 Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe wrote a letter from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this 1I]:11) 1162F 9 Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe, and the rest of their counsellors, the Dimites, and the Apharsathacites, the Therphalites, the Apharsites, the Erchuites, the Babylonians, the Susanechites, the Dievites, and the É. 10 And the rest of the nations, whom the great and glorious Asemaphar brought over, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the countries on this side of the river in peace. 11 (This is the copy of the letter, which they sent to him) To Artaxerxes the king, thy servants, the men that are on this side of the river, send greeting. 12 Be it known to the king, that the Jews, who ebellious and wicked city, which they are building, º: up the ramparts thereof, and repairing the Wºl S. 13 And now be it known to the king, that if this city be built up, and the walls thereof repaired, they will not pay tribute, nor toll, or yearly revenues; and this loss will fall upon the kings. 14 But we remembering the salt that we have eaten in the palace, and because we count it a crime to see the king wronged, have therefore sent and certified the king, 15 That search may be made in the books of the histories of thy fathers, and thou shalt find written in the records: and shalt know, that this city is a re- bellious city, and hurtful to the kings and provinces; and that wars were raised therein of old time: for which cause also the city was destroyed. | and toll * Masuerus. Otherwise called Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus. He is also in the following verse named Artaxerxes, by a name common to almost all the kings of Persia <-T -:= TIT * ===== 16 We certify the king, that if this city be buit, and the walls thereof repaired, thou shalt have no possession on this side | the river. . 17 The king sent word to Reum Beeltet m, and Samsai the scribe, and to the rest that were in their council, inhabitants of Samaria, and to the rest be: yond the river, sending greeting and peace. - 18 The accusation, which you have sºnt to us hath been plainly read before me. 19 And I commanded; and search hath, been made; and it is found, that this city of old time hath rebelled against kings; and seditions and wars have been raised therein. g 20 For there have been powerful kings in Jerusa. lem, who have had dominion over all the country that is beyond the river; and have received tribute, and revenues. tº 21 Now therefore hear the sentence: Hindel those men, that this city be not built, till furthel orders be given by me. dº © 22 See that you be not negligen' in executing this; lest by little and little the evil grow to the hur of the kings. 23 Now the copy of the edict of king Artaxerxes was read before Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe, and their counsellors: and they went tºp in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and hindered them with arm and power. 24. Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was interrupted, and ceased, till the Se: cond year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians, CHAP. W. By the eachortation of Aggeus, and Zacharias, the people proceed in building the temple: which their enemies strive in vain tº hinder. . NOW Aggeus the prophet, and Zacharias the son of Addo, prophesied to the Jews, that were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. 2 Then rose up Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, came up from thee to us, are come to Jerusalem a and Josue the son of Josedec, and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them. 3 And at the same time came to them Thathanai who was governor beyond the river, and Stharbu zanai, and their counsellors; and said thus to them Who hath given you counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls thereoff . 4. In answer to which we gave them: the names of the men who were the promoters of that building 5 But the eye of their God was upon the ancients of the Jews; and they could not hinder them. And it was agreed that the matter should be referred to Darius; and then they should give satisfaction concerning that accusation. 6. The copy of the letter that Thathanai governo: of the country beyond the river, and Stharbuzana; and his counsellors the Arphasachites, who dwelt beyond the river, sent to Darius the king. * . 7 The letter which they sent him, was written thus: To Darius the king all peace. 8 Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of the great (Sod 362 CHAP. VI which they are building with unpolished stones, and timber is laid in the walls: and this work is carried on diligently, and advanceth in their hands. 9 And we asked those ancients, and said to them thus: Who hath given you authority to build this house, and to repair these walls f - 10 We asked also of them their names, that we might give thee notice: and we have written the names cf the men that are the chief among them. 11 And they answered us in these words, saying: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth; and we are building a temple that was built these many years ago, and which a great king of Israel built and set up. 12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the tlands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldean : and he destroyed this house, and ar ried away the people to Babylon 13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Ba- 'ylon, king Cyrus set forth a decree, that this house of God should be built. 14 And the vessels also of gold and silver of the temple of God, which Nabuchodomosor had taken out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, and had brought them to the temple of Babylon, king Cyrus brought out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one Sassabasar, whom also he appoint- ed governor : 15 And said to him: Take these vessels, and go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem : and let the house of God be built in its place. 16 Then came this same Sassabasar, and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem; and from that time until now it is in building, and is not yet finished. 17 Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him search in the king’s library, which is in Baby- lon, whether it hath been decreed by Cyrus the king, that the house of God in Jerusalem should be built: and let the king send his pleasure to us con- cerning this matter. CHAP. VI. King Darius favoureth the building, and contributeth to it. HEN king Darius gave orders: and they searched in the library of the books that were laid up in Babylon. 2 And there was found in Ecbatana, which is a castle in the province of Media, a book in which this record was written. e 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king: Cyrus the king decreed, that the house of God should be built, which is in Jerusalem, in the place where they may offel sacrifices, and that they lay the foundations that may support the height of threescore cubits, and the breadth of threescore cubits, 4 Three rows of unpolished stones, and so rows of new timber: and the charges shall be given out of the king’s house. 5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nabuchodomosor took out of the temple of Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and carried back to the temple of Je- | rusalem to their place, which also were placed in the temple of God. 6 Now therefore Thathanai governor of the coun try, beyond the river, Stharbuzanai, and your coun- sellors the Apharsachites, who are beyond the river depart far from them : 7 And let that temple of God be built by the governor of the Jews, and by their ancients, that they may build that house of God in its place. 8 I also have commanded what must be done by those ancients of the Jews, that the house of God may be built; to wit, that of the king's chest, that is, of the tribute that is paid out of the country be- yond the river, the charges be diligently given to those men, lest the work be hindered. 9. And if it shall be necessary, let calves also, and lambs, and kids, for holocausts to the God of hea- ven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the custom of the priests that are in Jerusalem, be given them day by day, that there be no complaint in any thing. 10 And let them offer oblations to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his children. | 1 And I have made a decree: That if any who. soever shall alter this commandment, a beam be ta. ken from his house, and set up ; and he be nailed upon it; and his house be confiscated. 12 And may the God, that hath caused his name to dwell there, destroy all kingdoms, and the peo- ple that shall put out their hand to resist, and to de- stroy the house of God, that is in Jerusalem. I Darius have made the decree, which I will have diligently complied with. 13 So then Thathanai governor of the country beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and his coun- sellors, diligently executed what farius the king had commanded. 14 And the ancients of the Jews built, and pros- pered according to the prophecy of Aggcus the pro- phet, and of Zacharias the son of Addo: and they |built and finished, by the commandment of the God of Israel, and by the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of the Persians. 15 And they were finishing this house of God, until the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of king Darius. 16 And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the cap- tivity kept the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17 And they offered at the dedication of the house of God, a hundred calves, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin-offering for all Israel twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses over the works of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses. 19 Aud the children of Israel of the captivity kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 For all the priests and the Levites were puri- ficq as one man : all were clean to kill the ollase for 303 4 % I. ESDRAS all the children of the captivity, and for their bre- thren the priests, and themselves. 21 ''. the children of Israel that were returned from captivity, and all that had separated themselves from the filthiness of the nations of the earth to them, to seek the Lord the God of Israel, did eat. 22 And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them ioyful, and had turned the heart of the king of As- Syria to them, that he should help their find in the work of the house of the Lord the God of Israel. CHAP. VII. Esdras goeth up to Jerusalem to teach, and assist the people, with a gracious decree of Artaateraces. OW after these things in the reign of Artax- -- Y erxes king of the Persians, Esdras the son of Saraias, the son of Azarias, the son of Helcias, 2 The son of Sellum, the son of Zadoc, the son of Achitob, 3 The son of Amarias, the son of Azarias, the son of Maraioth, 4. The son of Zarahias, the son of Ozi, the son of Bocci, 5 The son of Abisue, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest from the beginning. 6 This Esdras went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the | lord God had given to Israel: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. 7 And there went up some of the children of Is- racl, and of the children of the priests, and of the children of the Levites, and of the singing men, and of the porters, and of the Nathinites, to Jerusa- leum in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 3 And they came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king. 9 For upon the first day of the first month he be- gan to go up from Babylon: and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. lū) For Esdras had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do and to teach in Israel the commandments and judgment. 11 And this is the copy of the letter of the edict, which king Artaxerxes gave to Esdras the priest, the scribe instructed in the words and command- ments of the Lord, and his ceremonies in Israel. 12 Artaxerxes king of kings to Esdras the priest, the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greeting. 13. It is decreed by me, that all they of the people of Isra, l, and of the priests and of the Levites in my realm, that are minded to go into Jerusalem, should go with thee. 14 For thou art sent from before the king, and mis seven counsellors, to visit Judea and Jerusalem according to the law of thy God which is in thy nand; 15 And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose talermºle is in Jerusalem. 16 And all the silver and gold that thou shalt find in all the province of Babylon, and that the people is willing to offer, and that the priests shall offer of their own accord to the house of their God. which is in Jerusalem, - 17 Take freely: and buy diligently with this mo- ney calves, rams, lambs, with the sacrifices and liba- tions of them, and offer them upon the altar of the temple of your God, that is in Jerusalem. 18 And if it seem good to thee, and to thy bre- thren, to do any thing with the rest of the silver and gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels also, that are given thee for the sacrifice of the house of thy God, deliver thou in the sight of God in Jerusalem. 20 And whatsoever more there shall be need of for the house of thy God, how much soever thou shalt have occasion to spend, it shall be given out of the treasury, and the king's exchequer, and by IIl C. 21 | Artaxerxes the king have ordered and de- creed to all the keepers of the public chest, that are beyond the river, that whatsoever Esdras the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, you give it without delay, 22 Unto a hundred talents of silver, and unto a hundred cores of wheat, and unto a hundred bates of wine, and unto a hundred bates of oil, and salt with- OUIt Illea Sll le. 23 All that belongeth to the rites of the God of heaven, let it be given diligently in the house of the God of heaven; lest his wrath should be enkindled against the realm of the king, and of his sons. 24 We give you also to understand concerning all the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nathinites, and ministers of the house of this God, that you have no authority to impose toll, or tribute, or custom upon them. 25 And thou, Esdras, according to the wisdom of thy God, which is in thy hand, appoint judges and magistrates, that may judge all the people, that is beyond the river, that is, for them who know the law of thy God, yea, and the ignorant teach ye freely 26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king diligently, judgment shall be executed upon him, either unto death, or unto banishment, or to the confiscation of goods, or at least to prison. 27, Blessed be the Lord the God of our fathers, who hath put this in the king's heart, to glorify the house of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem; - 28 And hath inclined his mercy toward me before the king and his counsellors, and all the mighty princes of the king: and I beingstrengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, which was upon me, gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me. CHAP. VIII. The companions of Esdras. The fast which he appointed. They bring the holy vessels into the temple. N OW these are the chiefs of families, and the Henealogy of them, who came up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king CHAP. VIII. - º 2 Of the sons of Phinees, Gersom. Of the ons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Ilattus. 3 Of the sons of Sechenias, the son of Pharos, Zacharias, and with him were numbered a hum- dred and fifty men. 4. Of the sons of Phahath Moab, Eleoenai the son of Zareha, and with him two hundred men. 5 Of the sons of Sechenias, the son of Ezechiel, and with him three nundred men. 6 Of the sons of Adam, Abed the son of Jona- than, and with him fifty men. - 7 Of the sons of Alam, Isaias the son of Atha- lias, and with him seventy men. 8 Of the sons of Saphatia, Zebedia the son of Michael, and with him º, Ill CII. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obedia the son of Ja- hiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men. 10 Of the sons of Selomith, the son of Josphia, and with him a hundred and sixty men. - 11 Of the sons of Bebai, Zacharias the son of Bebai, and with him eight and twenty men. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, Joanan the son of Ec- cetan, and with him a indred and ten men. 13. Of the sons of Adonicam, who were the last: and these are their names: Eliphelet, and Jelliel, and Samaias, and with them sixty men. 14 Of the sons of Begui, Uthai and Zachur, and with them seventy men. 15 And I gathered them together to the river, which runneth down to Ahava, and we stayed there .hree days: and I sought among the people and among the priests, for the sons of Levi ; and found none there. 16 So I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Semeias, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zacharias, and Mosollam, chief imen; and Joiarib and Elnathan, wise men. 17 And I sent them to Eddo, who is chief in the place of Chasphia: and I put in their mouth the words that they should speak to Eddo, and his brethren the Nathimites in the place of Chasphia, that they should bring us ministers of the house of our God. 18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a most learned man of the sons of Moholi the son of Levi the son of Israel, and Sara- bias and his sons, and his brethren eighteen, 19 And Hasabias, and with him Isaias of the sons of Merari, and his brethren, and his sons twenty. 20 And of the Nathinites, whom David and the princes gave for the service of the Levites, Nathin- ites two hundred and twenty all these were call- rd by their names.. 21 And I proclaimed there a fast” by the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before the Lord our God, and might ask of him a right way for us and for our children, and for all our sub- ST3). Ilce. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for aid and for horsemen, to defend us from the enemy 11, the way: because we had said to the king: The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him in goodness ; and his power and strength, and wrath upon all them that forsake him. 23 And we fasted, and besought our God fo this ; and it fell out prosperously unto us. 24 And I separated twelve of the chicf of the priests, Sarabias, and Hasabias, and with them ten of their brethren. 25 And I weighed unto them the silver and gold, and the vessels consecrated for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors, and his princes, and all Israel that were found, had offered. 26 And I weighed to their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred vessels of silv ºr, a hundred talents of gold, 27 And twenty cups of gold, of a thousand solids, and two vessels of the best shining brass, beautiful as gold. 28 And l said to them : You are the holy ones of the Lord ; and the vessels are holy, and the sil- ver and gold, that is freely offered to the Lord the God of our fathers. 29 Watch ye, and keep them, till you deliver them by weight before the chief of the priests, and of the Levites, and the heads of the families of ls- rael in Jerusalem, into the treasure of the house of the Lord. • 30 And the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and gold, and the vessels, to carry them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. 31 Then we set forward from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Je- rusalem : and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and we stayed there three days. e 33 And on the fourth day the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Urias the priest, and with him was Eleazer the son of Phinees, and with them Jozabad the son ol Josue, and Noadaia the son of Bennoi, Levites: 34. According to the number and weight of eve- ry thing: and all the weight was written at that time. 35 Moreover the children of them that had been carried away that were come out of the captivi- ty, offered holocausts to the God of Israel, twelve calves for all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats for sin. all for a holocaust to the Iord. 36 And they gave the king's edicts to the lords that were from the king’s court, and the governors beyond the river, and they furthered the people and the house of God. * Jºnd I proclaimed there a fast. It is not enough to part from Baby- ion, that is, figuratively, from sin, but we must also do works of pe- nance ; and therefore Esdras here proclaimed an extraordinary fast to those that were come from captivity. ... This shows that fasting was commanded and practised from the earliest times. 365 I. ESL) RAS. CHAP. IX. /.../r ,a mururneth for the transgression of the people : his con- fession and prayer. - NI) after these things were accomplished, the princes came to me, saying: The people of Israel, and the priests and Levites, have not sepa- rated themselves from the people of the lands, and from their abominations, namely, of the Chanaan- ites, and the Hethites, and the Phérezites, and the º and the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the Egyptians, and the Amorrhites: 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: and they have min- gled the holy, seed with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes and magistrates hath been first in this transgression.” 3 And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard: and I sat down mourning. 4 And there were assembled to me all that feared the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those, that were come from the captivity: and I sat sorrowful, until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my affliction; and having rent my mantle and my gar- ment, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my God; 6 And said: My God, I am confounded, and ashamed to lift up my face to thee: for our iniqui- ties are multiplied over our heads ; and our sins are grown up even unto heaven, 7 From the days of our fathers: and we our- selves also have sinned grievously unto this day: and for our iniquities we and our kings, and our oriests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and to cap- tivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is at this day. 8 And now as a little, and for a moment has our prayer been made before the Lord our God, to leave is a remuant, and give us a pint in his holy place; and that our God would enlighten our eyes, an would give us a little life in our bondage. 9 For we are bondmen : and in our bondage our God hath not forsaken us, but hath extended mercy upon us before the king of the Persians, to give us (ife. and to set up the house of our God, and to re- huild the desolations thereof, and to give us a fence in Juda and Jerusalem. l() And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 1 | Which thou hast commanded by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying : The land which you go to possess, is an unclean land, according to the uncleanness of the people, and of other lands, with their abominations who have filled it from mouth to mouth with their filth. 12 Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons; and take not their daughters for your sons: * This shows how sinful it is to intermarry with those that the aurch forbids us, on accoun of “he danger of perversion, and falling wif froxi the true faitn. \ and seek not their peace, nor their prosperity for ever; that you may be strengthened, and may eat the good things of the land, and mav have you children your heirs for ever. 13 And after all that is come upon us, for out most wicked deeds, and our great sin, seeing bal thou our God hast saved us from our iniquity, and hast given us a deliverance as at this day, 14. That we should not turn away, nor break thy commandments, nor join in marriage with the peo: ple of these abominations. Art thou angry with us unto utter destruction, not to leave us a remnant to be saved f 15 O Lord God of Israel; thou art just : for we remain yet to be saved as at this day. Behold, we are before thee in our sin ; for there can be no standing before thee in this matter. CHAP. X. Order is taken for discharging strange women: the names of the guilty. OW when Esdras was thus praying, and be- seeching, and weeping, and lying before the temple of God, there was gathered to him of Israel an exceeding great assembly of men and women and children: and the people wept with much lamentation. 2 And Sechenias the son of Jehiel of the sons of Elam, answered, and said to Esdras: We have siuned against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: and now, if there be repentance in Israel concerning this, 3 Let us make a covenant with the Lord out God, to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the will of the Lord, and of them that fear the commandment of the Lord our God : let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; it is thy part to give orders, and we will be with thee: take courage, and do it. 5 So Esdras arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, and of the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word: and they SWOl'C. . 6 And Esdras rose up from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliasib, and entered in thither: he ate no bread, and drank no water: for he mourned for the trans- gression of them that were come out of the captivity. 7 And proclamation was made in Juda and Je- rusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble together into Jerusalem: 8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the ancients, all his substance should be taken away; and he should be cast out of the company ot them that were returned from captivity. 9. Then all the men of Juda and Benjamin ga thered themselves together to Jerusalem within three days, in the ninth month, the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the # 4 pin or nail, here signifies a small settlement or holding; which Esdras begs for, to preserve even a part of the people, who, by their great iniquity, had incurred the anger of God. p CHAP. I. house of God, trembling because of the sin, and the tºll Il. 10 And Esdras the priest stood up, and said to them: You have transgressed, and taken strange wives, to add to the sins of Israel. 11 And now make confession to the Lord the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and ser parate yourselves from the people of the land, and \rom your strange wives. ( , 12 And all the multitude answered and said with a loud voice: According to thy word unto us, so be it done. 13 But as the people are many, and it is time of rain, and we are not able to stand without, and it is not a work of one day or two (for we have exceed- ingly sinned in this matter) 14 Let rulers be appointed in all the multitude: and in all our cities, let them that have taken strange wives come at the times appointed, and with them the ancients and the judges of every city, until the wrath of our God be turned away from us for this Sl II. 15 Then Jonathan the son of Azahel, and Jaasia the son of Thecua were appointed over this ; and Mesollam and Sebethai Levites helped them: 16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Esdras the priest, and the men heads of the families in the houses of their fathers, and all by their names, went and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives, by the first day of the first month. 18 And there were found among the sons of the priests that had taken strange wives. Of the sons of Josue the son of Josedec, and his brethren, Maa- sia, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Godolia. ~ * 19 And they gave their hands to put away their . and to offer for their offence a ram of the flock. - b i. Awd of the sons of Emmer, Hanani, and Ze- tº Ollºl . 21 And of the sons of Harim, Maasia, and Eliás and Semeia, and Jehiel, and Ozias. 22 And of the sons of Pheshur, Elioenai, Maasia, Ismael, Nathanael, Jozabed, and Elasa. 23 And of the sons of the Levites, Jozabed, and Semei, and Celaia, the same is Calita, Phataia, Juda, and Eliezer. 24 And of the singing men, Eliasib : and of the porters, Sellum, and Telem, and Uri. 25 And of Israel, of the sons of Pharos, Remeia, and Jezia, and Malchia, and Miamin, and Eliezer, and Melchia, and Banea. 26 And of the sons of Elam, Mathania, Zacha rias, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jerimoth, and Elia. 27 And of the sons of Zethua, Elioenai, Eliasib, Mathania, Jerimuth, and Zabad, and Aziza. 28 And of the sons of Bebai, Johanan, Hamania, Zabbai, Athalai: 29 And of the sons of Bani, Mosollam, and Mol luch, and Adaia, Jasub, and Saal, and Ramoth. 30 And of the sons of Phahath Moab, Edna and Chalal, Banaias, and Maasias, Mathanias, Beseleel, Bennui, and Manasse. 31 And of the sons of Herem, Eliezer, Josue. Melchias, Semeias, Simeon. - 32 Benjamin, Maloch, Samarias. 33 And of the sons of Hasom, Mathanai, Matha- tha, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jermai, Manasse, Semel. U # Of the sons of Bani, Maaddi, Amram, and el, 35 Baneas, and Badaias, Cheliau, 36 Vania, Marinuth, and Eliasib, 37 Mathanias, Mathania, and Jasi, 38 And Bani, and Bennui, Semei, 39 And Salmias, and Nathan, and Adalas, 40 And Mechmedebai, Sisai, Sarai, 41 Ezrel, and Selemiau, Semeria, 42 Sellum, Amaria, Joseph. 43 Of the sons of Nebo, fiel Mathathias, Za bad, Zabina, Jeddu, and Joel, and Banaia. 44 All these had taken strange wives: and there were among them women that had borne children. -ºs- THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAS, WHICH IS CALLED THE SE COND OF ESDRAS. 1%ts book takes its name from the writer, who was rup-bearer to Artaveraces (surnamed Longimanus) king of Persia, and was sent by him with a commission to rebuild the walls of Jerusa- lem. % is also called the second book of Esdras; because it is a continuation of the history, begun by Esdras, of the state of the people qf God after their return from captivity. CHAP. I. :Nehemias hearing the miserable state of his countrymen in Judea, lamenteth, fasteth, and prayeth to God for their relief. "THE words of Nehemias the son of Helchias. And it came to pass in the month of Casleu, in \le twentieth year, as I was in the castle of Susa, | 2 That Hanani one of my brethren came, he and some men of Juda; and I asked them concerning the Jews, that remained and were left of the cap- tivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me: They that have remained, and are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction, and reproach: and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down; and the gates thereol are burnt with fire. 4 And when I had heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days, and I fasted and prayed before the Jºe 3f the God of heav'. ' II. ESDFAS fi And I said: I besee in thee, O Lord God of heaven, strong, great, and terrible, who keepest co- venant and mercy with those that love thee, and keep thy commandments: 6 Let thy ears be attentive, and thy eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray be- fore thee now, night and day, for the children of Is- rael thy servants: and I confess the sins of the chil- dren of Israel, by which they have sinned against thee: I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have been seduced by vanity, and have not kept thy commandments, and ceremonies, and judgments, which thou hast commanded thy servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that thou commandedst to Moses thy servant, saying: If you shall transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if you return to me, and keep my com- mandments, and do them, though you should be led away to the uttermost parts of the world, I will gather you from thence, and bring you back to the place wº I have chosen for my name to dwell there. 10 And these are thy servants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great strength, and by thy mighty hand. 1 l l beseech thee, O Lord, let thy ear be atten- tive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and direct thy servant this day, and give him mercy be- fore this man. For I was the king’s cup-bearer. CHAP. II. Nehemias with commission from king Artaveraces cometh to Jeru- salem : and eachorteth the Jews to rebuild the walls AN) it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him; and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king: and I was as one languishing away before his face. 2 And the king said to me: Why is thy counte- nance sad, seeing thou dost not appear to be sick P this is not without cause; but some evil, l know not what, is in thy heart. And I was seized with an exceeding great fear: 3 And I said to the king: O king, live for ever: why should not my countenance be sorrowful, see- ing the city of the place of the sepulchres of my fa- º: is desolate, and the gates thereof are burnt with | l'C 4. Then the king said to me: For what dost thou make request? And I prayed to the God of heaven; 5 And I said to the king: Iſ it seem good to the | Ing, and if thy servant hath found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me into Judea to the rity of the sepulchre of my father; and I will build it. 6 And the king said to me, and the queen that s.t by him : For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return ? And it pleased the king ; and he sent me. and I fixed him a time. 7 And I said to the king: l fit seem good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors of the country beyond the river, that they convey me over, till l come into Judea : 8 And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s - = -\" forest, to give me timber that I may cover the gates of the tower of the house, and the walls of the city, and the house that I shall enter into. And the king gave me according to the good hand of my God with me. 9 And I came to the governors of the country be yond the river, and gave them the king's letters And the king had sent with me captains of soldiers, and horsemen. o 10 And Sanaballat the Horonite, and Tobias the servant the Ammonite heard it: and it grieved them exceedingly, that a man was come, who sought the prosperity of the children of Israel. d 11 And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three ayS. 12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; and I told not any man what God had put in my heart to do in Jerusalem; and there was no beast with me, but the beast that irode upon. 13 And I went out by night by the gate of the val- ley, and before the dragon-fountain, and to the dung- gate: and I viewed the wall of Jerusalem which was broken down, and the gates thereof which were consumed with fire. 14 And I passed to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s aqueduct; and there was no place for the beast on which l rode to pass. 15 And I went up in the night by the torrent, and viewed the wall; and going back l came to the gate of the valley, and returned. - 16 But the magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I did : neither had I as yet told any thing to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the rest that did the work. 17 Then I said to them: You know the affliction wherein we are, because Jerusalem is desolate, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire: come, and let us build up the walls of Jerusalem ; and let us be no longer a reproach. & 18 And I showed them how the hand of my God was good with me, and the king’s words, which he had spoken to me: and I said: Let us rise up and build. And their hands were strengthened in good. 19 But Sanaballat the Horomite, and Tobias the servant the Ammonite, and Gossem the Arabian heard of it: and they scoffed at us, and despised us, and said: What is this thing that you do? are you going to rebel against the king? 20 And I answered them, and said to them : The God of heaven he helpeth us, and we are his ser. vants: let us rise up, and build : but you have no part, nor justice, nor remembrance in Jerusalem CHAP. III. They begin to build the walls: the names and order of the builders. THEN Eliasib the high priest arose, and his bre thren the priests: and they built the flock-gate they sanctified it, and set up the doors thereof, ºver unto the tower of a hundred cubits they sanctified it unto the tower of Hananeel. & 2 And next to him the men of Jericho built; and next to them built Zachur the son of Amri. 3 But the fish-gate the sons of Asmaa built they ***. -} - & CHAP. IV. covered it, and set up the doors thereof, and theſ locks, and the bars. And next to them built Mari- muth the son of Urias the son of Accus. 4 And next to him built Mosollam the son of Barachias, the son of Merezebel: and next to them built Sadoc the son of Baana. 5 And next to them the Thecuites built: but their great men did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. o And Joiada the son of Phasea, and Mosollam the son of Besodia built the old gate : they covered it, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks, and the bars. 7 And next to them built Meltias the Gabaonite, and Jadon the Meronathite, the men of Gabaon and Maspha, for the governor that was in the country bevond the river. - 8 And next to him built Eziel the son of Araia the goldsmith; and next to him built Ananias the son of the perfumer: and they left Jerusalem unto the wall of the broad-street. - 9 And next to him built Raphaia the son of Hur, lord of the street of Jerusalem. 10 And next to him Jedaia the son of Haromaph over-against his own house : and next to him built Hattus the son of Hasebonia. ll Melchias the son of Herem, and Hasubthe son f Phahath Moab, built half the street, and the tow- er of the furnaces. - 12 And next to him built Sellum the son of Alo- hes, lord of half the street of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. g 13 And the gate of the valley Hanun built, and the inhabitants of Zanoe : they built it, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks, and the bars, and a thou- sand cubits in the wall unto the gate of the dunghill. 14 And the gate of the dunghill Melchias the son of Rechab built, lord of the street of Bethacharam: he built it, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks, and the bars. 15 And the gate of the fountain Sellum the son of Cholhoza built, lord of the street of Maspha: he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks, and the bars, and the walls of the pool of Siloe unto the king’s guard, and unto the steps that go down from the city of David. 16 After him built Nehemias the son of Azboc, lord of half the street of Bethsur, as far as over- against the sepulchre of David, and to the pool, that was built with great labour, and to the house of the mighty. 17 After him built the Levites, Rehum the son of Benni. After him built Hasebias, lord of half the street of Ceila in his own street. 18 After him built their brethren Bavai the son of Enadad, lord of half Ceila. 19 And next to him Aser the son of Josue, lord of Maspha, built another measure, over-against the going up of the strong corner. 20 After him in the mount Baruch the son of Zachai built another measure, from the corner to the door of the house of Eliasib the high priest. 21 After him Merimuth the son of ği. the son of Haccus, built another measure, from the door of the house of Eliasib, to the end of the house of Eliasib. 22 And after him built the priests, the men of the plains of the Jordan. 23. After him built Benjamin and Hasub, over- against their own house: and after him built Aza. rias the son of Maasias the son of Ananias over. against his house. 24. After him built Bennui the son of Hamadad another measure, from the house of Azarias unto the bº and unto the corner. 25. Phalel the son of Ozi over-against the bending and the tower, which lieth out from the king’s high house, that is, in the court of the prison: after him Phadaia the son of Pharos. 26 And the N. “inites dwelt in Ophel, as far as over-against the water-gate toward the east, and the tower that stood out. 27 After him the Thecuites built another mea- sure over-against, from the great tower that standeth out unto the wall of the temple. 28 And upward from the horse-gate the priests built, every man over-against his house. 29 After them built Sadoc the son of Emmer over-against his house. And after him built Semaia the son of Sechenias, keeper of the east-gate. 30 After him built Hanania the son of Selemia, |and Hanun the sixth son of Seleph, another measure: after him built Mosollam the son of Baracnias, over- against his treasury. After him Melchias the gold- Smith's son built unto the house of the Nathinites, and of the sellers of small wares, over-against the judgment-gate, and unto the chamber of the corner. 31 And within the chamber of the corner of the flock-gate the goldsmiths and the merchants built CHAP. IV. - The building is carried on, notwithstanding the opposition o º their enemies. AN D it came to pass, that when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry. and being moved exceedingly, he scoffed at the Jews, 2 And said before his brethren, and the multitude of the Samaritans: What are the silly Jews doing: Will the Gentiles let them alone? will they sacrifice and make an end in a day? are they able to raise stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, which are burnt? * - 3 Tobias also the Ammonite who was by him said: Let them build: if a fox go up, he will leap over their stone wall. • 4 Hear thou our God, for we are despised turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them to be despised in a land of captivity. 5 Cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thy face; because they have mocked thy builders. 6 So we built the wall, and joined it all together unto the half thereof: and the heart of the people was excited to work. 7 And it came to pass, when Sanaballat, and To. bias, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Azotians heard that the ...alls of Jerusalem were Ş| 4 % R II. ESDRAS. Imade up, and the breaches began to be closed, that they were exceedingly angry. 8 And they all assembled themselves togetner, to come, and to fight against Jerusalem and to prepare ambushes. 9 And we prayed to our God, and set watchmen upon the Will day and night against them. 10 And Juda said The strength of the bearer of burdens is decayed; and the rubbish is very much; *nd we shall not be able to build the wall !! And our enemies said: Let them not know, nor understand, till we come in the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease. 12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews that dwelt by them, came and told us ten times, out of all the places from whence they came to us, 13 I set the people in the place behind the wall round about in order, with their swords, and spears, and bows. 14 And I looked, and rose up: and I said to the chief men, and the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: Be not afraid of them. Remem- ber the Lord who is great and terrible; and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, and your wives, aid your houses. - - - - - - 15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that the thing had been told us, that God defeated their counsel. And we returned all of us to the walls every man to his work. 16 And it came to pass from that day forward, that half of their young men did the work; and half were ready for to fight, with spears, and shields, and bows, and coats of mail; and the rulers were behind them in all the house of Juda. 17. Of them that built on the wall, and that car- ried hurdens, and that laded; with one of his hands he did the work, and with the other he held a sword. 18 For every one of the builders was girded with a sword about his reins. And they built, and sounded with a trumpet by me. 19 And I said to the nobles, and to the magis- trates, and to the rest of the common people: The Work is great and wide; and we are separated on the wall one far from another: 20 In what place soever you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, run all thither unto us: our God wiłł ſight for us. 21 And let us do the work: and let one half of us hold our spears from the rising of the morning, till the stars appear. 22 At that time also I said to the people: Let º one with his servant stay in the midst of Je- rusalem : and let us take our turns in the night, and by day, to work. 23 Now I and my brethren, and my servants, and the watchmen, that followed me, did not put off our slothes only every man stript himself when he was to be washed. CHAP. V. Nehemias blameth the rich, for their oppressing the poor. His e.thortation, and bounty to his countrymen. NOW, there was a great cry of the people, and of their wives, against their brethren the Jews. ~~~ ~-ET =< iſºtº- ><=i-Fes ==== 2 And there were some that said: Our sons and our daughters are very many : let us take.up corn for the price of them; and ſet us eat and live. 3 And there were some that said: Let us mort- gage our lands, and our vineyards, and our houses and let us take corn because of the famine. 4 And others said: Let us borrow money for the king's tribute; and let us give up our fields and vineyards: 5 And now our flesh is as the fleshof our brethrer, and our children as their children. Behold, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters; and some of our daughters are bond-women already; neither have we wherewith to redeem them; and our fields and our vineyards other men possess. © 6 And I was exceeding angry, when I heard their cry according to these words. 7 And my heart thought with myself: and I re- buked the nobles and magistrates, and said to them : Do you every one exact usury of your brethren? And I gathered together a great assembly against 8 And I said to them: We; as you know, haye redeemed according to our abi!..y our brethren the to the ſlan fi a tad Jews, that were sold to the Gentiles: and will- then sell your brethren, for us to redeem them? And they held their peace, and found not what to answer 9 And I said to them : The thing you do is not good : why walk you not in the fear of our God, that we be not exposed to the reproaches of the Gentiles our enemies? 10 Both I and my brethren, and my servants, have lent money and corn to many: let us all agree not to call for it again; let us forgive the debt that is owing to us. - º * 11 Restore, ye to them this day their fields, and their vineyards, and their olive-yards, and their houses: and the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, which you were wont to exact of them, give it rather for them. . 12 And they said: We will restore, and we will require nothing of them: and we will do so as thou sayest. And e of them, to do according to what I had said. 13 Moreover I shook my lap, and said: So may God shake every man that shall not accomplish this word, out of his house, and out of his labours; thus may he be shaken out, and become empty. And all the n " ' "de said: Amen. And they praised God. A. . the people did according to what was said. 14 And from the day, in which the king Com- manded me to be governor in the land of Juda, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, l and my brethren did not eat the yearly allowance that was due to the governors. 15 But the former governors that had been before me, were chargeable to the people; and took o them in bread, and wine, and in money every day forty sicles : and their officers also oppressed the people. But I did not so for the fear of God. 16 Moreover I built in the work of the wall:..and Yºse- ill-you called the priests, and took an oath 370 Ç r º gº:#º: ºf ººººººººººººº. Rººzerº-ºxº .."º::::- ". . ;-- § *:::::::::# = --...--º-º: ** * **:::::: §: .* .* - --- ... --- - -, --, , - . ~ : - - - - - - . . . .-- 3 --- . . . . . . . *... : " ----.” - * -- . . - z - - -- : * : * ** . . . •" . . . . . . -- -- " + . . . *... - - * . . . -- - - - *** - • . . . . . ...”. - ..." • * * * * , - CHAP. VI, VII. ( bougmt no land; and all my servants were gather- ed together to the work. 17. The Jews also and the magistrates to the number of one hundred fifty men, were at my table, besides them that came to us from among the na- tions that were round about us. 18 And there was prepared for me day by day | one ox, and six choice rams, besides fowls: and once in ten days I gave store of divers wines, and many other things: yet I did not require my yearly allowance as governor: for the people were very much impoverished. 19 Remember me, O my God, for good according to all that I have done for this people. CHAP. VI. The enemies seek to terrify Nehemias. He proceedeth and - Jinisheth the wall. ANP it came to pass, when Sanaballat, and To- bias, and Gossem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates,) 2 Sanaballat and Gossem sent to me, saying: Come, and let us make a league together in the villages, in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying: I am doing a great work ; and I cannot come down, lest it be neglected whilst I come, and go down to you. 4 And they sent to me according to this word, four times: and I answered them after the same [Ylä Il Ilê T. 5 And Sanaballat sent his servant to me the fifth time according to the former word, and he had a letter in his hand written in this manner: 6 It is reported amongst the Gentiles, and Gos- sem hath said it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; and therefore thou buildest the wall, and hast a mind to set thyself king over them : for which end 7 Thou hast also set up prophets, to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying: There is a king in Judea. The king will hear of these things: therefore come now, that we may take counsel together. 8 And I sent to them, saying: There is no such thing done as thou sayest: but thou feignest these things out of thy own heart. - 9 For all these men thought to frighten us, think- ing that our hands would cease from the work, and that we would leave off. Wherefore I strengthened my hands the more: • 10 And I went into the house of Samaia the son of Delaia the son of Metabeel privately. And he said: Let us consult together in the house of God ºn the midst of the temple: and let us shut the doors of the temple, for they will come to kill thee; and in the night they will come to slay thee. 11 And I said: Should such a man as I flee P and who is there that being as I am, would go into the temple, to save his life P I will not go in. 12 And I understood that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken to me as if he had been pro- phesying; and Tobias and Sanaballat had hired him. 13 For he had taken money, that I being afraid 24 should do this thing, and sin, and they mi Some evil to upbraid me withal. 14 Remember me, O Lord, for Tobias and Sa- naballat, according to their works of this kind; and Noadias the prophet, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear. 15 But the wall was finished the five and twenti, eth day of the month of Elul, in two and fifty days 16. And it came to pass when all our enemies heard of it, that all nations which were round about us, were afraid, and were cast down within them. selves: for they perceived that this work was the work of God. 17 Moreover in those days many letters were seni. by the principal men of the Jews to Tobias; and from Tobias there came letters to them. 18 For there were many in Judea sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Sechenias the son of Area; and Johanan his son had taken to wife the daughter of Mosollam the son of Barachias. 19 And they praised him also before me; and they related my words to him : and Tobias sent let- ters to put me in fear. CHAP. VII. Nehemias appointeth watchmen in Jerusalem. The list of those who came first from Babylon. OW after the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and numbered the porters, and sing- ing men, and Levites, 2 I commanded Hanani my brother, and Hana- nias ruler of the house of Jerusalem (for he seemed as a sincere man, and one that feared God above the rest.) 3 And I said to them. Let not the gates of Je- rusalem be opened till the sun be hot. And while they were yet standing by, the gates were shut, and barred : and I set watchmen of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one by their courses, and every man over-against his house. 4 And the city was very wide and great, and the people few in the midst thereof; and the houses were not built. 5 But God had put in my heart, and I assembled the princes, and magistrates, and common people, to number them : and I found a book of the num- ber of them who came up at the first, and therein it was found written: - 6 These are the children of the province, who came up from the captivity of them that had been carried away, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned into Judea, every one into his own city: - 7 Who came with Zorobabel, Josue, Nehemias, Azarias, Raamias, Nahamani, Mardochai, Belsam, Mespharath, Begoai, Nahum, Baana. The numbe of the men of the people of Israel: 8 The children of Pharos, two thousand one hundred seventy-two. 9 The children of Sephatia, three hundred se. wenty-two. 10 The children of Area, six hundred fifty-two 11 The children of Phalath Moab of the children II. ESDHAS. of Josue anu Juau, two thousand eight hundred eighteen. 12 The children of Elam, one thousand two hun- |red fifty-four. five. #4. The children of Zachai, seven hundred sixty. '5"The children of Bannui, six hundred forty-eight. 16 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty- ight. !7 The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty-two. 18 The children of Adonicam, six hundred sixty- S!! VCI). 19 The children of Beguai, two thousand sixty- S(”V ( Il. , 20 The children of Adin, six hundred fifty-five. 21 The children of Ater, children of Hezecias, ninety-eight. 22 | he children of Hasem, three hundred twen- ty-eight. f 23 The children of Besai, three hundred twenty- ()!] I’ 24. The children of Hareph, a hundred and twelve. 25 The children of Gabaon, ninety-five. 26 The children of Bethlehem, and Netupha, a hundred eighty-eight. 27 The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty-eight. 28 The men of Bethazmoth, forty-two. 29 The men of Cariathiarim, Cephira, and Be- roth, seven hundred forty-three. 30 The men of Rama and Geba, six hundred twenty-one. 31 The men of Machmas, a hundred twenty-two. 32 The men of Bethel and Hai, a hundred twen- ty-three. 33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. 34. The men of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four. 35 'The children of Harem, three hundred and twenty. 36 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty- five. 37 The children of Lod, of Hadid and Ono, se- ven hundred twenty-one. tº 38 The children of Senaa, three thousand nine hundred thirty. 39 The priests : The children of Idaia in the house of Josue, nine hundred and seventy-three. 40 The children of Emmer, one thousand fifty- tWO. 41 The children of Phashur, one thousand two hundred forty-seven. 42 The children of Arem, one thousand and seventeen : The Levites. 43 The children of Josue and Cedmihel, the SO11S 44 Of Oduia, seventy-four: The singing men: 45 The children of Asaph, a hundred forty-eight. 46 The porters: The children of Sellum, the children of Ater, the children of Telmon, the chil- dren of . Accub, the children of Hatita, the children o" Sobai. a hundred thirty eiß. 13 The children of Zethua, eight hundred forty- ſ 47 The Nathin es: The children of Soha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tebbaoth. 48 The children of Ceros, the children of Siaa, the children of Phadon, the children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Selmai, 49 The children of Hanan, the children of Ged. del, the children of Gaher, 50 The children of Raaia, the children of Rasim, the children of Necoda, o 51 The children of Gezem, the children of Asa, the children of Phasea 52 The children of Besai, the children of Munim, the children of Nephussim, 53 The children of Bacbuc, the children of Ha cupha, the children of Harhur, 54. The children of Besloth, the children of Ma hida, the children of Harsa, tº 55 The children of Bercos, the children of Sisara the children of Thema 56"ſhe children of Nasia, the children of Hatipha, 57 The children of the servants of Solomon, the children of Sothai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Pharida, 58 The children of Jahala, the children of Dar- con, the children of Jeddel. 59 The children of Saphatia, the children of Ha- til, the children of Phochereth, who was born of Sabaim, the son of Amon. 60 All the Nathinites, and the children uſ the servants of Solomon, three hundred ninety-two. 61 And these are they that came up from Telme- la, Thelharsa, Cherub, Addon, and Emmer; and could not show the house of their fathers, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel. 62The children of Dalaia, the children of Tobia, the children of Necoda, six hundred forty-two. 63 And of the priests, the children of Habia, the children of Accos, the children of Berzellai, who took a wife of the daughters of Berzellai the Gala- adite, and he was called by their name. 64. These sought their writing in the record, and º it not : and they were cast out of the priest- YOO(1. - 65 And Athersatha said to them, that they should not eat of the Holies of Holies, until there stood up a priest learned and skilful. 66 All the multitude as it were one man, forty two thousand three hundred sixty, - 67 Beside their men-servants and women-ser- vants, who were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and among them singing men, and sing- ing women, two hundred forty-five. 68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty-six: their mules, two hundred forty-five: 69 Their camels, four hundred thirty-five, their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty. Hitherto is related what was written in the record From this place forward goeth on the history of ehemias. * 70. And some of the heads of the families gave unto the work. Athersatha" gave into the treasure a * Athersatha. That is, Nehemias; as appears from chap. xu. Either CHAP. VIII, IX. thousand drams of gold, fifty bowls, and five hun- dred and thirty garments for priests. 71 And some of the heads of families gave to the treasure of the work, twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand two hundred pounds of silver. - - * 72 And that which the rest of the people gave, was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thou- sand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven garments for FIeStS. p 73 And the priests, and the Levites, and the por- ters, and the singing men, and the rest of the com- mon people, and the Nathinites, and all Israel, dwelt ºn their cities. CHAP. VIII. Esdras readeth the law before the people. Nehemias comfort- eth them. They celebrate the feast of tabernacles. ND the seventh month came: and the children of Israel were in their cities. And all the people were gathered together as one man to the street which is before the water-gate: and they spoke to Esdras the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2 Then Esdras the priest brought the law before the multitude of men and women, and all those that could understand, in the first day of the seventh tnonth. 3 And he read it plainly in the street that was before the water-gate, from the morning until mid- day, before the men, and the women, and all those hat could understand : and the ears of all the peo- ple were attentive to the book. 4 And Esdras the scribe stood upon a step of wood, which he had made to speak upon : and there stood by him Mathathias, and Semeia, and Ania, and Uria, and Helcia, and Maasia, on his right hand , and on the left, Phadaia, Misael, and Mel- chia, and Hasum, and Hasbadana, Zacharia and Mosollam 5 And Esdras opened the book before all the eople: for he was above all the people : and when |. had opened it, all the people stood. 6 And Esdras blessed the Lord the great God : and all the people answered : Amen, amen, liſting up their hands : and they bowed down, and adored Go, with their faces to the ground. 7 Now Josue, and Bani, and Serebia, Jamin, Accub, Septhai, Odia, Maasia, Celita, Azarias, Jozabed, Hanan, Phalaia, the Levites, made silence among the people to hear the law : and the people stood in their place. - 8 And they read in the book of the law of God distinctly and plainly to be understood : and they understood when it was read. 9 And Nehemias (he is Athersatha) and Esdras the priest and scribe, and the Levites who inter- preted to all the people, said: This is a holy day to the Lord our God : do not mourn, nor weep : for that he was so called at the court of the king of Persia, where he was cup-bearer: or that, as some think, this name signifies governor; and he was at that time governor of Judea all the people wept, when they heard the words o' the law. 10 And he said to them : Go, eat fat meats, and drink sweet wine, and send portions to them that have not prepared for themselves : because it is the holy day of the Lord, and be not sad: for the joy of the Lord is our strength. - 11 And the Levites stilled all the people, saying Hold your peace, for the day is holy ; and be no sorrowful. . 12 So all the people went to eat and drink, art. to send portions, and to make great mirth : because they understood the words that he had taught them. 13 And on the second day the chiefs of the fami- lies of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered together to Esdras the scribe, that he should interpret to them the words of the law. 14 And they found written in the law, that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in tabernacles, on the feast, in the seventh month : 15 And that they should proclaim and publish the word in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: Go forth to the mount, and fetch branches of olive, and branches of beautiful wood, branches of myrtle, and branches of palm, and branches of thick trees, to make tabernacles, as it is written. 16 And the people went forth, and brought. And they made themselves tabernacles every man on the top of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water-gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of them that were re- turned from the captivity, made tabernacles, and dwelt in tabernacles : for since the days of Josue the son of Nun, the children of Israel had not done So, until that day: and there was exceeding great joy. 18 And he read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day till the last : and they kept the solemnity seven days, and in the eighth day a solemn assembly according to the manner. CHAP. IX. The people repent with fasting and sackcloth. The Levites co- Jess God’s benefits, and the people’s ingratitude : they pray for them ; and make a covenant with God. ANP in the four and twentieth day of the month, the children of Israel came together with fasting and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. 2 And the seed of the children of Israel separa- ted themselves from every stranger: and they stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they rose up to stand: and they read in tho book of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed, and adored the Lord their God. 4 And there stood up upon the step of the Levites Josue, and Bani, and Cedmihel, Sabania, Bonni, Sarebias, Bani, and Chanani: and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5 And the Levites Josue and Cedmihel, Bonni, Hasebnia, Serebia, Odaia, Sebnia, and Phathahia, said: Arise, bless the Fºrd your God from etermity 37; II. ESIORAS. to eternity: and blessed be the high name of thy glory with all blessing and praise. 6 Thou thyself, O Lord, alone, thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all the host thereof; the earth and all things that are in it; the seas and all that are therein : and thou givest life to all these things ; and the host of heaven adoreth thee. 7 Thou, O Lord God, art he who chosest Abram, and broughtest him forth out of the fire of the Chal- deans,” and gavest him the name of Abraham. 8 And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee : and thou madest a covenant with him, to give him the land of the Chanaanite, of the Hethite, and of the Amorrhite, and of the Pherezite, and of the Jebusite, and of the Gergesite, to give it to his seed: and thou hast fulfilled thy words, because thou art iust. 9 And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers § Egypt: and thou didst hear their cry by the Red Cºl. 10 And thou showedst signs and wonders upon Pharao, and upon all his servants, and upon the people of his land : for thou knowest that they dealt proudly against them : and thou madest thyself a name, as it is at this day. 11 And thou didst divide the sea before them ; and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry "and : but their persecutors thou threwest into the depth, as a stone into mighty waters. 12 And in a pillar of a cloud thou wast their leader by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, that they might see the way by which they went. 13 Thou camest down also to mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from heaven : and thou gavest them right judgments, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good precepts. 14 Thou madest known to them thy holy sab- bath, and didst prescribe to them commandments, and ceremonies, and the law by the hand of Moses thy servant. 15 And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst : and thou saidst to them that they should go in, and possess the land, upon which thou hadst lifted up thy hand to give it them. 16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments. 17 And they would not hear; and they remem- bered not thy wonders which thou hadst done for them. And they hardened their necks, and gave the headt to return to their bondage, as it were by contention. But thou, a forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering and full of compassion, didst not forsake them. 18 Yea when they had made also to themselves a molte: calf, and had said: This is thy God, that * The fire of the Chaldeans. The city of Ur in Chaldea, the name of which signines fire. Or out of the fire of the tribulations and tempta- tions, to which he was there exposed. The ancient Rabbins under- - brought thee out of Egypt; and had committed gira, blasphemies: 19 Yet thou, in thy many mercies, didst not leave them in the desert: the pilar of the cloud depart ed not from them by day to lead them in the way, and the pillar of fire by night to show them the way by which they should go. 20 And thou gavest them thy good Spirit to teach them; and thy manna thou didst not withhold from #. mouth; and thou gavest them water for their thlrSt. gº 21 Forty years didst thou feed them in the desert, and nothing was wanting to them: their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn. 22 And thou gavest them kingdoms, and nations, and didst divide lots for them : and they possessed the land of Sehon, and the land of the king of Hese. bon, and the land of Og king of Basan. 23 And thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them to the land concerning which thou hadst said to their fathers, that they should go in and possess it. 24 And the children came and possessed the land and thou didst humble before them the inhabitants of the land, the Chanaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the º that they might do with them as it pleased them. 25 And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods; cisterns made by others, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit-trees in abundance: and they ate, and were filled, and be- came fat, and abounded with delight in thy great goodness. 26 But they provoked thee to wrath, and depart- ed from thee, and threw thy law behind their backs: and they killed thy prophets, who admonished them earnestly to return to thee: and they were guilty of great blasphemies. - 27 And thou gavest them into the hands of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation they cried to thee, and thou heardest from heaven; and according to the multi- tude of thy tender mercies thou gavest them saviours, to save them from the hands of their ene, nies. 28 But after they had rest, they returned to de evil in thy sight: and thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies; and they had dominion over them. Then they returned, and cried to thee: and thou heardest from heaven, and deliveredst them many times in thy mercies. 29 And thou didst admonish them to return to thy law. But they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against why judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them and they withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30 And thou didst forbear with them for many years, and didst testify against them by thy spirit by stood this literally, affirming that Abram was cast into the fire by th . idolaters, and brought out by a miracle without any hurt. f And gºre the head. That is, they set their wead, or were best we return to Egypt. 374 CHAP. X. the hand of thy prophets: and they heard not, and | thou didst deliver them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31 Yet in thy very many mercies thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: because thou art a merciful and gracious God. 32 Now therefore our God, great, strong, and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy, turn not away from thy face all the labour which hath come upon us, upon our kings, and, our princes, and our priests and our prophets, and our fathers, and all the people, from the days of the king of Assur, un- til this da º © 33 An } thou art just in all things that have come upon us: because thou hast done truth; but we have dome wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept thy law, and have not minded thy commandments, and thy testimonies which thou hast testified among them. 35 And they have not served thee in their king- doms, and in thy manifold goodness, which thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou deliveredst before them; nor did they return from their most wicked devices. 36 Behold, we ourselves this day are bondmen : and the land, which thou gavest our fathers, to eat the bread thereof, and the good things thereof, and we ourselves are servants in it. 37 And the fruits thereof grow up for the kings, whom thou hast set over us for our sins: and they imave dominion over our bodies, and over our beasts, according to their will ; and we are in great tribu- lation. z 38 And because of all this we ourselves make a covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests sing it. CHAP. X. The names of the subscribers to the covenant, and the con- tents of it. A ND the subscribers were Nehemias, Athersatha {A, the son of Hachelai, and Sedecias, 2 Saraias, Azarias, Jeremias, 3 Pheshur, Amarias, Melchias, 4 Hattus, Sebenia, Melluch, 5 Harem, Merimoth, Obdias, 6 Daniel, Genthon, Baruch, 7 Mosollam, Abia, Miamin, 8 Maazia, Belgia, Semeia: these were priests. 9 And the Levites, Josue the son of Azanias, Ben- nui of the sons of Henadad, Cedmihel, 10 And their brethren, Sebenia, Odaia, Celita, Phalaia, Hanan, 11 Micha, Rohob, Hasebia, 12 Zachur, Serebia, Sabania, 13 Odaia, Bani, Baninu. 14 The heads of the people, Pharos, Phahath- moab, Elam, Zethu, Bani, 15 Bonni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonia, Begoai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezecia, Azur, 18 Odaia, Hasum, Besai, 19 Hareph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Megphias, Mosollam, Hazir, 2í Měsížabel, Šadoc, jêddua, 22 Pheltia, Hanan, Amaia, 23 Osee, Hamania, Hasub, 24. Alohes, Phalea, Sobec, 25 Rehum, Hasebna, Maasia, 26 Echaia, Hanan, Aman, 27 Melluch, Haran, Baana: 28 And the rest of the people, pinests, Levites, porters, and singing-men, Nathinites, and all tha. had separated themselves from the people of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, 29 All that could understand promising for thei brethren, with their chief men, and they came to promise and swear that they would walk in the law of God, which he gave in the hand of Moses the servant of God, that they would do and keep all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judg- inents and his ceremonies: 30 And that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for OUIT SOIlS 31 And if the people of the land bring in things to sell, or any things for use, to sell them on the sabbath-day, that we would not buy them of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every hand. 32 And we made ordinances for ourselves, to give the third part of a sicle every year for the work of the house of our God, 33 For the loaves of proposition, and for the continual sacrifice, and for a continual holocaust on the sabbaths, on the new moons, on the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offering: that atonement might be made for Israel, and for every use of the house of our God. | | 34 And we cast lots among the priests, and the Levites, and the people, for the offering of wood, that it might be brought into the house of our God by the houses of our fathers at set times, from year to year; to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law of Moses: 35 And that we would bring the first-fruits of our land, and the first-fruits of all fruit of every tree, from year to year, in the house of our Lord: 36 And the first-born of our sons, and of our cat tle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our oxen, and of our sheep, to be offered in the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God: 37 And that we would bring the first-fruits of our meats, and of our libations, and the fruit of every tree, of the vintage also, and of oil to the priests, to the store-house of our God, and the tithes of our ground to the Levites. The Levites also shall receive the tithes of our works out of all the CltleS. 38 And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites in the tithes of the Levites: and the Le- vites shall offer the tithe º their tithes in the house T5 II. ESDRAS. of our (iod, to the store-room into the treasure- House. - 39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall carry to the treasury the first-fruits of toru, of wine, and of oil: and the sanctified vessels shall be there, and the priests, and the singing men, and the porters, and ministers: and we will not for- sake the hºuse of our God. CHAP. XI. Who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the other cities. A ND the princes of the people dwelt at Jerusa- lem: but the rest of the people cast lots, to take one part in ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men that wil- lingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem. 3 These therefore are the chief men of the pro- vince, who dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda. And every one dwelt in his possession, in their cities: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Na- thinites, and the children of the servants of Solomon. 4 And in Jerusalem there dwelt some of the chil- dren of Juda, and some of the children of Benja- min: of the children of Juda, Athaias the son of Aziam, the son of Zacharias, the son of Amarias, the son of Saplatias, the son of Malaleel: of the sons of Phares, 5 Maasia the son of Baruch, the son of Cholhoza, the son of Hazia, the son of Adaia, the son of Joia- rib, the son of Zacharias, the son of the Silonite: 6 All these the sons of Phares, who dwelt in Je- rusalem, were four hundred sixty-eight valiant men. 7 And these are the children of Benjamin: Sel- lum the son of Mosollam, the son of Joed, the son of Phadaia, the son of Colaia, the son of Masia, the son of Etheel, the son of Isaia, 8 And after him Gebbai, Sellai, nine hundred twenty-eight. 9 And Joel the son of Zechri their ruler, and Ju- das the son of Senua was second over the city. | 10 And of the priests liaia the son of Joarib, Ja- CI) 11), ll Saraia the son of Helcias, the son of Mosollam, the son of Sadoc, the son of Meraioth, the son of Achitob the prince of the house of God, 12 And their brethren that do the works of the temple: eight hundred twenty-two. And Adaia the son of Jeroham, the son of Phelelia, the son of Amsi, the son of Zacharias, the son of Pheshur, the son of Melchias, 13 And his brethren the chiefs of the fathers: two hundred forty-two. And Amassai the son of Azreel, the son of Ahazi, the son of Mosollamoth, the son of Emmer, | | And their brethren who were very mighty, a h Indred twenty-eight: and their ruler Zabdieſ son Uf the mighty. 15 And of the Levites Semeia theson of Hasub, the son of Azaricam, the son of Hasabia, the son of Boni, 16 And Sabathai and Jozabed, who were over all the outward business of the house of God, of the princes of the Levites. 17And Mathania the son of Micha, the son of Zebedei, the son of Asaph was the principal man to praise, and to give glory in prayer, and Bechecia the second, one of his brethren, and Abda the son of Samua, the son of Galal, the son of Idithun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hun- dred eighty-four. 19 And the porters, Accub, Telmon, and their brethren, who kept the doors, a hundred seventy two 20 And the rest of Israel, the priests and the Le vites were in all the cities of Juda, every man in his possession. 21 And the Nathinites, that dwelt in Ophel, and Siaha, and Gaspha of the Nathinites. 22 And the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem, was Azzi the son of Bani, the son of Hasabia, he son of Mathania, the son of Micha Of the sons of Asaph, were the singing men in the ministry of the house of God. 23 For the king's commandment was concerning them, and an order among the singing men day by dy. 24 And Phathahia, the son of Mesezebel of the children of Zara the son of Juda was at the hand of the king, in all matters concerning the people, 25 And in the houses through all their countries. Of the children of Juda some dwelt at Cariatharbe, and in the villages thereof; and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof; and at Cabseel, and in the villages thereof; | º And at Jesue, and at Molada, and at Bethpha- eth, 27. And at Hasersual, and at Bersabee, and in the villages thereof; - 28 And at Siceleg, and at Mochona, and in the villages thereof; 29 And at Remmon, and at Saraa, and at Jerimuth. 30 Zanoa, Odollam, and in their villages; at La. chis and its dependencies; and at Azeca and the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Bersabec unto the valley of Ennom. 31 And the children of Benjamin, from Geba, at Mechmas, and at Hai, and at Bethel, and in the vil- lages thereof, 32 At Anathoth, Nob, Anania, 33 Asor, Rama, Gethaim, 34 Hadid, Seboim, and Neballat, Lod, 35 And Ono the vallev of craftsmen. 36 And of the Levites were portions of Juda and Benjamin. CHAP. XII. The priests, and Levites that came up with Zorobabel. The rue ;" of high priests: the solemnity of the dedication of the 70011. OW these are the priests and the Levites, that -Y went up with Zorobabel the son of Salathie and Josue: Sara i, Jeremias, Esdras, e 2 Amaria, M. luch, Hattus, 3 Sebenias, l aeum, Merimuth, 5 Miamin, Madia, Belga, 6 Semeia, and Joiarib, Idaia, Sellum, Amoc, | 4. Addo, Genthon, Abia, * 4 Helcias, * 376 CHAP. XI 1. 7 liaia. These were the chief of the priests, and pl their brethren in the days of Josue. & And the Levites, Jesua, Bennui, Cedmihel, Sarebia, Juda, Mathanias, they and their brethren were over the hymns: 9 And Becbecia, and Hanni and their brethren every one in his office. © 10 And Josue begot Joacim; and Joacim begot Fliasab; and Eliasib begot Joiada; - 11 And Joiada begot Jonathan; and Jonathan begot Jeddoa. 12 And in the days of Joacim the priests and heads of the families were: Of Saraia, Maraia: of Jeremias, Hanania; 13 Of Esdras, Mosollam : hanan 14. Of Milicho, Jonathan ; of Sebenia, Joseph ; 15 Qf Haram, Edna; of Marioth, Helgi: 16 Of Adaia, Zacharia; of Genthon, Mosollam; IP) 9: Abia, Zechri ; of Miamin and Moadia, helt1; 18 Of Belga, Sammua; of Semaia, Jonathan; 19 Of Joiarib, Mathanai; of Jodaia, Azzi; 20 Of Sellai, Celai; of Amoc, Heber: 21 Of Helcias, Hasebia-; of loaia, Nathanael. 22 The Levites the chiefs of the families in the days of Eliasib, and Joiada, and Johanan, and Jed- doa, were recorded, and the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. - 23 The sons of Levi, heads of the families were written in the book of Chronicles, even unto the days of Jonathan the son of Eliasib. 24 Now the chief of the Levites were Haseb;a, Serebia, and Josue the son of Cedmihel: and their brethren by their courses, to praise and to give thanks according to the commandment of David the man of God, and to wait equally in order. 25 Mathania, and Bechecia, Obedia, and Mosol- lam, Telmon. Accub, were keepers of the gates and Jf the entrances before the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joacim the son of Josue, the son of Josedec, and in the days of Nehe- mias the governor, and of Esdras the priestand scribe. 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusa- lem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, and to keep the dedication, and to rejoice with thanksgiving, and i. singing, and with cymbals, and psalteries and arps. 28 And the sons of , he singing men were gather- ed together out of the plain country about Jerusalem, and out of the villages of Nethuphati, 29 And from the house of Galgal, and from the Countries of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singing men had built themselves villages round about Je- rusalem. . 30. And the priests and the Levites were purified: *hey purified the people, and the gates, and the Walle 31 And l made the princes of Juda go up upon the wall; and I appointed two great choirs to give praise. And they went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dunghill-gate. and of Amaria, Jo- 32 And after them went Osalas, and half of the princes of Jutla, 33 And Azarias, Esdras, and Mosollam, Judas, and Benjamin, and Semeia, and Jeremias. 34 And of the sons of the priests with trumpets, Zacharias the son of Jonathan, the son of Semeia. the son of Malhania, the son of Michaia, the son of Zechur, the son of Asaph, 35 And his brethren Semeia, and Azareel, Mala lai, Galalai, Maai, Nathanael, and Judas, and Ha nani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God: and Esdras the scribe before them at the fountain-gate. 36 And they went up over-against them by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall of the house of David, and to the water-gate eastward : 37 And the second choir of them that gave thanks went on the opposite side, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, and upon the tow- er of the furnaces, even to the broad wall, 38 And above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish-gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Emath, and even to the flock-gate: and they stood still in the watch- gate. - 39 And the two choirs of them that gave praise stood still at the house of God, and I and the half of the magistrates with me. 40 And the priests, Eliachim, Maasia, Miamin, Michea, Elioenai, Zacharia, Hanania with trumpets. 41 And Maasia, and Semeia, and Eleazar, and Azzi, and Johanan, and Melchia, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sung loud; and Jezraia was their overseer: 42 And they sacrificed on that day great sacri- fices, and they rejoiced ; for God had made them joyful with great joy: their wives also and their children rejoiced ; and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. - 43 They appointed also in that day men over the store-houses of the treasure, for the libations, and for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, that the rulers of the city might bring them in by then in honour of thanksgiving, for the priests and Levites: for ºwa. joyful in the priests and Levites that as- SISted. 44 And they kept the watch of their God, and the observance of expiation, and the singing men, and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. 45 For in the days of David and Asaph from the beginning there were chief singers appointed, to praise with canticles, and give thanks to God. 46 And all Israel, in the days of Zorobabel, and in the days of Nehemias, gave portions to the sing- ing men, and to the porters, day by day: and they sanctified the Levites; and the Levites sanctified” the sons of Aaron *mºs-ºs Eº eº * * Sanctified. That is, they gave them that which by the law was set aside, and sanctified for their use. 377 CHAP. XIII. Divers abuses are reformed. AN) on that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people: and therein was found written, that the Amunouites and the Moab- lies should not come in to the church of God for ever: 2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water: and they hired against them Balaam, to curse them : and our God turned the ºurse into blessing. - 3 And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated every stranger from Israel. 4. And over this thing” was Eliasib the priest, who was set over the treasury of the house of our God, and was near akin to Tobias. 5 And he made him a great store-room, where be- fore him they laid up gifts, and frankincense, and vessels, and the tithes of the corn, of the wine, and of the oil, the portions of the Levites, and of the singing men, and of the porters, and the first-fruits of the priests. 6 But in all this time I was not in Jerusalem ; be- cause in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king, and after cer- tain days I asked the king: 7 And I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the evil that Eliasib had done for Tobias, to make him a store-house in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it seemed to me exceeding evil. And I cast forth the vessels of the house of Tobias out of the store-house. 9 And I commanded, and they cleansed the store- houses: and I brought thither again the vessels of the house of God, the sacrifice, and the frankincense. 10 And l perceived that the portions of the Le- vites had not been given them; and that the Levites, and the singing men, and they that ministered, were fled away cvery man to his own country: 11 And I pleaded the matter against the magis- , rates, and said: Why have we forsaken the house of God P And I gathered them together, and I made them to stand in their places. 12 And all Juda brought the tithe of the corn, and the wine, and the oil into the store-houses. 13 And we set over the store-houses Selemias the priest, and Sadoc the scribe, and of the Levites l’hadaia, and next to them Hanan the son of Za- chur, the son of Mathania: for they were approved as faithful; and to them were committed the por- tions of their brethren. - 14 Remember me, O my God, for this thing, and wipe not out my kindnesses, which I have done re- ſating to the house of my God, and his ceremonies. 15 lu those days I saw in Juda some treading the presses on the sabbath, and carrying sheaves, and la- iing asses with wine, and grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, and bringing them into Jerusa- * Over this thing, &c. Or, he was faulty in this thing, or in this 379 II. ESDRAS. lem on the sabbath-day. And I charged them that they should sell on a day on which it was lawful to sell. 16 Some Tyrians also dwelt there, who brought fish, and all manner of wares: and they sold them on the sabbaths to the children of Juda in Jerusalem. 17 And I rebuked the chief men of Juda, and said to them : What is this evil thing that you are do ing, profaning the sabbath-day ? 18. Did not our fathers do these things, and our God brought all this evil upon us, and upon this city. And you bring more wrath upon lsrael by violating the sabbath. 19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Je rusalem were at rest on the sabbath-day, I spoke. and they shut the gates, and I commanded that |} should not open them till after the sabbath: and set some of my servants at the gates, that none should bring in burdens on the sabbath-day. 20 So the merchants and they that sold all kind of wares, stayed without Jerusalem once or twice. 21 And I charged them, and I said to them: Why stay you before the wall F if you do so another time, I will lay hands on you. . And from that time they came no more on the sabbath. 22 I spoke also to the Levites, that they should be purified, and should come to keep the gates, and to sanctify the sabbath-day: for this also remember me, O my God, and spare me according to the mui. titude of thy tender mercies. 23 In those days also I saw Jews that marriedwives, women of Azotus, and of Ammon, and of Moab. 24 And their children spoke half in the speech of Azotus, and could not speak the Jews’ language; but they spoke according to the language of this and that people. - 25. And I chid them, and laid my curse upon them. And I beat some of them, and shaved off their hair, and made them swear by God that they would no give their daughters to their sons, nor take thei daughters for their sons, nor for themselves, saying: 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin in this kind of thing? and surely among many nations there was not a king like him; and he was beloved of his God. and God made him king over all Israel; and yet women of other countries brought even him to sin. 27 And shall we also be disobedient and do all this great evil, to transgress against our God, and marry Strange women f - 28 And one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eli- asib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanaballal the Horonite: and I drove him from me. 29 Remember them, O Lord my God, that defile the priesthood, and the law of priests and Levites. 30 So I separated from them all strangers; and appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites every man in his ministry: 31 And for the offering of wood at times appoint. 9d, and for the first-fruits: remember me, Ø my God, unto good. Amen •- “ - “ ºr ºr - ...º.º.º.e------, --- a- - - - 7 * *.x: -ºº-ºº::... - ww sº - . - THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. This book takes its name from the holy man Tobias, whose won- derful virtues are herein recorded. It contains most excel. lent documents of great piety, eactraordinary patience, and of a perfect resignation to the will of God. His humble prayer nas heard ; and the Angel Raphael was sent to relieve him. He is thankful, and praises the Lord, calling on the children of Israel io do the same. Having lived to the age of one Šundred and two years, he eachorts his son and grandsons to piety; foretels the destruction of Ninive, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem : he dies happily. CHAP. I. Tobias’s early piety; his works of mercy, particularly in bury- ing the dead. "I WOBIAS of the tribe and city of Nephthali(which - is in the upper parts of Galilee above Naasson, beyond the way that leadeth to the west, having on the right hand the city of Sephet.) 2. When he was made captive in the days of Sal- manasar king of the Assyrians, even in his captivity, forsook not the way of truth; 3 But every day gave all he could get to his bre- thren his fellow-captives, that were of his kindred. 4 And when he was younger than any of the tribe of Nephthali, yet did he no childish thing in his work. 5 Moreover, when all went to the golden calves which Jeroboam king of Israel had made, he alone ſled the company of all, - 6 And went to Jerusalem to the temple of the Lord, and there adored the Lord God of Israel, offering faithfully all his first-fruits and his tithes: 7 So that in the third year he gave all his tithes to the proselytes, and strangers. - 8. These and such like things did he observe when but a boy, according to the law of God. 9 But when he was a man, he took to wiſe Anna of his own tribe, and had a son by her, whom he called after his own name: 10 And from his infancy he taught him to fear God, and to abstain from all sin. 11 And when by the captivity he with his wife and his son and all his tribe was come to the city of Ninive, 12 (When all ate of the meats of the Gentiles) he kept his soul, and never was defiled with their meats. 13 And because he was mindful of the Lord with all his heart, God gave him favour in the sight of Salmanasar the king. 14 And he gave him leave to go whithersoever he would, with liberty to do whatever he had a mind. 15 He therefore went to all that were in captivity, and gave them wholesome admonitions. 16And when he was come to Rages a city of the Medes, and had ten talents of silver, of that with which he had been honoured by the king: 17 And when amongst a great multitude of his kindred, he saw Gabelus in want, who was one of his tribe, taking a note of his hand he gave him the aforesaid sum of money. 18 But after a long time, Salmanasar the king being dead, when Sennacherib his son, who reigned in his place, had a hatred for the children of Israel: 19 Tobias daily went among all his kindred, and comforted them, and distributed to every one as he was able, out of his goods: - 20. He fed the hungry, and gave clothes to the naked, and was careful to bury the dead, and they that were slain. 21 And when king Sennacherib was come back fleeing from Judea by reason of the slaughter that God had made about him for his blasphemy, and being angry slew many of the children of i. Tobias buried their bodies. 22 But when it was told the king, he commanded him to be slain, and took away all his substance. 23 But Tobias fleeing naked away with his son and with his wife, lay concealed; for many loved him. 24 But after forty-five days, the king was killed by his own sons. . 25 And Tobias returned to his house; and ali his substance was restored to him. CHAP. II. Tobias leaveth his dimmer to bury the dead: he loseth his sight by God’s permission, for manifestation of his patience. BUT after this, when there was a festival of he Lord, and a good dinner was prepared in To. bias’s house, 2 He said to his son: Go, and bring some of ou tribe, that fear God, to feast with us. 3 And when he had gone, returning he told him, that one of the children of 1srael lay slain in the street. And he forthwith leaped up from his place at the table, and left his dinner, and came fasting to the body: 4 And taking it up, carried it privately to his house, that after the sun was down, he might bury him cautiously. 5 And when he had hid the body, he ate bread with mourning and fear, 6 Remembering the word which the Lord spoke by Amos the prophet: Your festival days shall be turned into lamentation and mourning. 7 So when the sun was down, he went and hu ried him. - 8 Now all his neighbours blamed him, saying . Once already commandment was given for the e to be slain because of this matter: and thou didst scarce escape the sentence of death, and dost thou again bury the dead? 9 But Tobias fearing God more than the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, and at midnight buried them. 10 Now it happened one day, that being wearied with burying, he came to his house, and cast him- self down by the wall, and slept. 11 And as he was sleeping, hot dung out of a ºw's nest fell upon his eyes; and he was made IIl Ol. 12 Now this trial the Jørd therefore permitted tº >† *Nº. ——w-zer, :y & -- *-m- rx Q? TOBIAS. happen to him, tha. an example º be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy Joh. 13 For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of blindness had befallen him; 14. But continued immoveable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life. 15 For as the kings” insulted over holy Job, so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his life, saying: 16 Where is thy hope, for which thou gavest alms, and buriedst the dead P 17 But Tobias rebuked them, saying: Speak Il ()f SO : 18 For we are the children of saints, and look or that life which God will give to those that never change their faith from him. 19 Now Anna his wife went daily to weaving work: and she brought home what she could get for their living by the labour of her hands. 20 Whereby it came to pass, that she received a young kid, and brought it ſº 2! And when her husband heard it bleating, he said: Take heed, lest perhaps it be stolen; restore ye it to its owners; for it is not lawful for us either to eat or to touch any thing that cometh by theft. 22 At these words his wife being angry answer- ed: It is evident thy hope is come to nothing, and Ally alms now appear. 23 And with these, and other such like words she upbraided him. CHAP. III. The prayer of Tobias, and of Sara, in their several afflictions, #. heard by God: and the Angel Raphael is sent to relieve them. -- THEN Tobias sighed, and began to pray with tears 2 Saying: Thou art just, O Lord; and all thy judgments are just, and all thy ways mercy, and truth, and judgment: - 3 And now, O Lord, think of me, and take not || revenge of my sins; neither remember my offences, nor those of my parents. 4. For we have not obeyed thy commandments; ..herefore are we delivered to spoil and to captivity, and death, and are made a fable, and a reproach to all nations, amongst which thou hast scattered us. 5 And now, O Lord, great are thy judgments, be- cause we have not done according to thy precepts, and have not walked sincerely before thee: 6 And now, O Lord, do with me according to thy will, and command my spirit to be received in peace: for it is better for me to die, than to live. 7 Now it happened on the same day, that Sara daughter of Raguel, in Ragest a city of the Medes, received a reproach from one of her father’s servant- maids, 8 Because she had been given to seven husbands; and a devil named Asmodeus had killed them, at their first going in unto her. 9 So when she reproved the maid for her fault, she answered her, saying: May we never see soil, or daughter of thee upon the earth, thou murderer of thy husbands. 10 Wilt thou kill me also, as thou hast already killed seven husbands F At these words she went into an upper chamber of her house: and for three days and three nights did neither eat nor drink: 11 But continuing in prayer with tears besought God, that he would deliver her from this reproach 12 And it came to pass on the third day, wher. º was making an end of her prayer, blessing the Lord iš' She said: Blessed is thy name, O God of our fathers; who when thou hast been angry, wilt show mercy, and in the time of tribulation forgivest the sins of them that call upon thee. 14 To thee, O Lord, I turn my face; to thee I direct my eyes. . 15 I beg, O Lord, that thou loose me from the bond of this reproach, or else take me away from the earth. - 16 Thou knowest, O Lord, that I never coveted husband, and have kept my soul clean from all U.St. 17 Never have I joined myself with them that play: neither have I made myself partaker with them that walk in lightness. 18 But a husband I consented to take, with thy fear, not with my lust. 19 And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man. 20 For thy counsel is not in man’s power. 21 But this every one is sure of that worshippeth thee, that his life, if it be under trial, shall be crowned: and if it be under tribulation, it shall be delivered: and if it be under correction, it shall be allowed to come to thy mercy. 22 For thou art not delighted in our being lost. because after a storm thou makest a calm; and after tears and weeping thou pourest in joyfulness. 23 Be thy name, O God of Israel, blessed for €Wer. - 24. At that time the prayers of them both were heard in the sight of the glory of the most high God: 25 And the holy Angel of the Lord Raphael was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord. - CHAP. IV. Tobias thinking he shall die, giveth his son godly admonitions and telleth him of money he had lent to a friend. THEREF ORE when Tobias thought that his prayer was heard, that he might die, he called to him Tobias his son; 2 And said to him: Hear, my son, the words of i. mouth, and lay them as a foundation in thy eart. - * Kings. So Job's three friends are here called, because they were rinces in their respective territories. + Rages. In the Greek it is Ecbatana, which was also called Ra. ºr . -—º 3: <=> E-se ges. For there were two cities in Media of the name of Rages. Ra guel dwelt in one of them, and Gabelus in the other 380 *** -v-...-yººr-as- *::::::::::-sº-gº zºº. 7: …" . . . . . . . . . . . * , CH.A.P. V. 3 When God shall take my soul, thou shalt bury my body: and thou shalt honour thy mother all the days of her life : º 4. For thou must be mindful what and how great perils she suffered for thee in her womb. 5 And when she º shall have ended the time her life, bury her by me. oſ 6 And al i. days ºf thy life have God in thy mind; and take heed thou never consent to sin, nor transgress the commandments of the Lord our God. 7 Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away thy face from any poor person: for so, it shall come to pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from thee. • * > e 8 According to thy ability be merciful. 9 If thou have much, give abundantly: if thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little. * * 10 For thus thou storest up to thyself a good re- ward for the day of necessity. 11 For alms deliver from all sin, and from death. and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness. 12 Alms shall be a great confidence before the most high God, to all them that give it. 13 Take heed to keep thyself, my son, from all fornication, and beside thy wife never endure to know a crime. © © 14 Never suffer pride to reign, in thy mind, or in thy words: for from it all perdition took its be- ginning. º 15 If any man hath done any work for thee, im- mediately pay him his hire; and let not the wages of thy hired servant stay with thee at all. 16 See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. 17 Eat thy bread with the hungry and the needy; and with thy garments cover the naked. - 18 Lay out thy bread and thy wine upon the bu- rial of a just man; and do not eat and drink thereof with the wicked. e 19 Seek counsel always of a wise man. 20 Bless God at all times: and desire of him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him. 21 I tell thee also, my son, that I lent ten talents of silver, while thou wast yet a child, to Gabelus, in Rages a city of the Medes, and I have a note of 'lis hand with me: 22 Now therefore inquire how thou maySt go to nim, and receive of him the aforesaid sum of mo- ney, and restore to him the note of his hand. .. 23 Fear not, my son: we lead indeed a poor life; but we shall have many good things if we fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is good. CHAP. V. º Young Tobias seeking a guide for his journey, the Angel Ra- phael in shape of a man, undertaketh this office. WHEN Tobias answered his fatner, and said: I will do all things, father, which thou hast com- manded me. e 2. But how I shall get this money, I cannot tell: he knoweth not me, and I know not him: what -- -> token shall Igive him? not did lever know the way which leadeth thither. 3 Then his father answered him, and said: I have a note of his hand with me, which when thos shalt show him, he will presently pay it. 4. But go now, and seek thee out some faithful man, to go with thee for his hire: that thou mays, receive it, while l yet live. - 5 Then Tobias going forth, found a beautiful young man, standing girded, and as it were, ready to walk. 6 And not knowing that he was an Angel of God. he saluted him, and said: From whence art thou, good young man P 7 But he answered : Of the children of Israel. And Tobias said to him: Knowest thou the way that leadeth to the country of the Medes? 8 And he answered : I know it: and I have often walked through all the ways thereof: and l have abode with Gabelus our brother, who dwelleth at Rages a city of the Medes, which is situate in the | mount of Ecbatana. 9 And Tobias said to him: Stay for me, I beseech thce, till I tell these same things to my father. 10 Then Tobias going in told all these things to his father. Upon which his father being in ad- miration, desired that he would come in unto him. 11 So going in he saluted him, and said: Joy be to thee always. 12 And Tobias said: What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven P 13 And the young man said to him: Be of good courage; thy cure from God is at hand. 14 And Tobias said to him: Canst thou conduct my son to Gabelus at Rages a city of the Medes and when thou shalt return, I will pay thee thy hire 15 And the Angel said to him: I will conduct him thither, and bring him back to thee. 16 And Tobias said to him: I pray thee, tell me, of what family, or what tribe art thou? 17 And Raphael the Angel answered: Dost thou seek the family of him thou hirest, or the hired ser. vant himself to go with thy son? 18 But lest I should make thee uneasy, I am Azarias” the son of the great Ananias. 19 And Tobias answered: Thou art of a great family. But I pray thee be not angry that I de- sired to know thy family. 20 And the Angel said to him: I will lead thy son safe, and bring him to thee again safe. 21 And Tobias answering, said: May you have a good journey, and God be with you in your way and his Angel accompany you. 22 Then all things being ready, that were to be carried in their journey, Tobias bid his father and his mother farewell; and they set out both together. 23 And when they were departed, his mother be gan to weep, and to say: Thou hast taken the staff of our old age, and sent him away from us. * Azarias. The angel took the ſorm of Azarias; and therefore might call himself by the name of the man whom he personated. Aza. rias in Hebrew signifies the help ‘....". and Ananias the grace of God 1. & TOBIAS. 24 I wish the money for which thou hast sent him, had never been. 25 For our poverty was sufficient for us, that we might account it as riches, that we saw our son. § And Tobias said to her: Weep not; our son will arrive thither safe, and will return safe to us; and thy eyes shall see him. 27 For I believe that the good Angel of God doth accompany him, and doth order all things well that are done about him, so that he shall return to us with joy. 28. At these words his mother ceased weeping, and held her peace. CHAP. VI. By the Angel's advice young Tobias taketh hold on a fish that assaulteth him: reserveth the heart, the gall, and the liver, for medicines. They lodge at the house of Raguel, whose daugh- ter Sara Tobias is to marry; she had before been married to seven husbands, who were all slain by a devil. NI) Tobias went forward, and the dog follow- ed him: and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris. 2 And he went out to wash his feet; and behold, a monstrous. fish came up to devour him. P . 3 And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me. 4 And the Angel said to him : take him by the gill, and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him ont upon the land; and he began to pant before his feet. 5 Then the Angel said to him : Take out the en- trails of this fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver, for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines. 6 And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with them in the way: the rest they salted as much as might serve them, till they came to Rages the city of the Medes. 7 Then Tobias asked the Angel, and said to him: 1 beseech thee, brother Azarias, tell me what reme- dies are these things good for, which thou hast bid me keep of the fish P 8 And the Angel answering, said to him: If thou put a little piece of its heart” upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, either from . or from woman, so that they come no more to then). 9 And the gall is good for anointing the eyes, in which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured. 10 And Tobias said to him : Where wilt thou that we lodge P 1 l And the Angel answering, said: Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsman of thy tribe; and he hath a daughter named Sara; but he hath no son nor any other daughter beside her. 12 All his substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to wife. 13 Ask her therefore of her father, and he will give her thee to wife. 14. Then Tobias answered, and said: I Wear haſ ** J- : she hath been given to seven husbands, and they | died: moreover I have heard, that a devil killed them. 15 Now I am afraid, lest the same thing should happen to me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to hell.t 16 Then the Angel Raphael said to him: Heal me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. 17 For they who in such manner receive matri- mony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understand- ing, over them the devil hath power. 18 But thou when thou shalt take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers with her. 19 And on that night lay the liver of the fish on the fire; and the devil shall be driven away. 20 But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs. 21 And the third night thou shalt obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you. 22 And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the ford, moved rather for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou mayst obtain a blessing in children. CHAP. VII. They are kindly entertained by Raguel. Sara to wife. ND they went in to Raguel; and Raguel re- ceived them with joy. 2 And Raguel looking upon Tobias, said to Anna his wife: How like is this young man to my cousin'ſ 3 And when he had spoken these words, he said: Whence are ye, young men our brethren? 4. But they said: We are of the ºibe of Neph- thali, of the captivity of Ninive. - 5 And Raguel said to them : Do you know To- bias my brother? And they said: We know him. 6 And when he was speaking many good things of him, the Angel said to Raguel: Tobias, con- cerning whom thou inquirest, is this young man's father. 7 And Raguel went to him, and kissed him with tears, and weeping upon his neck, said ' A blessing be upon-thee, my son, because thou art the son of a good and most virtuous man. o Tobias demandeth 8 And Anna his wife, and Sara their daughter wept. 9 And,after they had spoken, Raguel commanded a sheep to be killed, and a feast to be prepared And when he desired them to sit down to dinner, 10 Tobias said: I will not eat nor drink here * Its heart, &c. The liver, ver. 19. God was pleased to give to shese things a virtue against those proud spirits, to make them, who affected to be like the Most High, subject to such mean corporeal crea- tures, as instruments of his power. # To hell. That is, to the place where the souls of the good w kept before the coming of Christ - & © IC CHAP. VIII, IX. 8 this day, unless thou first grant me my petition, and promise to give me Sara thy daughter. 11 Now when Raguel heard this he was afraid, knowing what had happened to those seven hus- bands, that went in unto her: and he began to fear lest it might happen to him also in like manner: and as he was in suspense, and gave no answer to his petition, e 12 The Angel said to him : Be not afraid to give her to this man; for to him who feareth God is thy daughter due to be his wife: therefore another could not have her. 13 Then Raguél said: I doubt not but God hath regarded my prayers and tears in his sight. 14 And I believe he hath therefore made you come to me, that this maid might be married to one of her own kindred, according to the law of Moses: and now doubt not but I will give her to thee. 15 And taking the right hand of his daughter, he gave it into the right hand of Tobias, saying: The É. of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you ; and may he join you together, and fulfil his blessing in you. - 16 And taking paper they made a writing of the marriage. '...' 17 And afterwards they made merry, blessing O01. 18 And Raguel called to him Anna his wife, and bid her prepare another chamber. 19 And she brought Sara her daughter in thither ; and she wept. -- 20 And she said to her: Be of good cheer, my daughter: the Lord of heaven give thee joy for the trouble thou hast undergone. CHAP. VIII. Tobias burneth part of the fish's liver; and Raphael bindeth the devil. Tobias and Sara pray. *** AND after they had supped, they brought in the 4 *- young man to her. 2 And Tobias remembering the Angel’s word, took out of his bag part of the liver, and laid it upon burning coals. - 3 Then the Angel Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt. 4. Then Tobias exhorted the virgin, and said to her: Sara, arise, and let us pray to God to-day, and to-morrow, and the next day: because for these three nights we are joined to God : and when the third night is over, we will be in our own wedlock. 5 For we are the children of saints; and we must §. be joined together like heathens that know not OOI. 6 So they both arose, and prayed earnestly both together that healtu might be given them. 7 And Tobias said: Lord God of our fathers, may the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains, and the rivers, and all thy creatures that are in them, bless thee. 8 Thou madest Adam of the slime of the earth, and gavest him Eve for a helper. 9 And now, Lord, thou knowest, that not for fleshly lust do l take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which thy maine may be blessed for ever and ever. 10 Sara also said: Have mercy on us, () lord, have mercy on us; and let us grow old both toge. ther in health. 11 And it came to pass about the cock crowing, Raguel ordered his servants to be called for ; and they went with him together to dig a grave. 12. For he said: Lest perhaps it may have lap- pened to him, in like manner as it did to the other Seven husbands, that went in unto her. 13 And when they had prepared the pit, Rague. went back to his wiſe, and said to her : e 14 Send one of thy maids, and let her see iſ he be dead, that I may bury him before it be day. 15 So she sent one of her maid servants, who went into the chamber, and found them safe and sound, sleeping both together. 16 And returning she brought the good news: and Raguel and Anna his wife blessed the Lord ; 17 And said: We bless thee, O Lord God of Is- rael, because it hath not happened as we suspected 18 For thou hast shown thy mercy to us, and hast shut out from us the enemy that persecuted us. 19 And thou hast taken pity upon two only chil. dren. Make them, O Lord, bless thee more fully and to offer up to thee a sacrifice of thy praise, and of their health, that all nations may know, that thou alone art God in all the earth. 20 And immediately Raguel commanded his ser- º to fill up the pit they had made, before it was dy. 21 And he spoke to his wife to make ready a feast, and prepare all kind of provisions that are ne- cessary for such as go a journey. 22 He caused also two fat kine, and four wethers to be killed, and a banquet to be prepared for all his neighbours, and all his friends. 23 And Raguel adjured Tobias, to abide witli him two weeks. 24 And of all things which Raguel possessed, he gave one half to Tobias, and made a writing, that the half that remained should after their decease come also to Tobias. CHAP. IX. The Angel Raphael goeth to Gabelus, receiveth the money, and - bring eth him to the marriage. • HEN Tobias called the Angel to him, whom he took to be a man, and said to him : Brother Azarias, I pray thee, hearken to my words: 2 If I should give myself to be thy servant I should not make a worthy return for thy care. 3 However, I beseech thee, to take with thee beasts and servants, and to goto Gabelus to Rages thee city of the Medes ; and to restore to him his note of hand, and receive of him the money, and desire him to come to my wedding. 4. For thou knowest that my father numbereth the days : and if I stay one day more, his soul will be afflicted. 5 And indeed thou seest how Raguel hath ad jured me whose adjuring Lºnno despise. @#. TOBIAS. ºº: ºn & º's &: &= - º 6 Then Raphael took four of Raguel's servants, and two camels, and went to Rages the city of the Medes; and finding Gabelus, gave him his note of hand, and received of him all the money. 7 And he told him concerning Tobias the son of Tobias, all that had been done; and made him come with him to the wedding. 8 And when he was come into Raguel's house, he ſound Tobias sitting at the table: and he leaped up, and they kissed each other : and Gabelus wept, and blessed God, 9 And said: The God of Israel bless thee, because thou art the son of a very good and just man, and that feareth God, and doeth alms-deeds: 10 And may a blessing come upon thy wife, and Jpon your parents. | | And may you see your children, and your chil- łren's children, unto the third and fourth generation: and may your seed be blessed by the God of Israel, who reigneth for ever and ever. 12 And when all had said, Amen; they went to the ſeast: but the marriage feast they celebrated also with the fear of the Lord. CHAP. X. The parents lament the long absence of their son Tobias. He sets out to return. B UT as Tobias made longer stay upon occasion ** of the marriage, Tobias his father was solicit- ous, saying: Why, thinkest thou, doth my son tarry, o, why is he detained there P 2 Is Gabelus dead, thinkest thou, and no man will pay him the money? 3 And he began to be exceeding sad, both he and Anna his wife with him: and they began both to weep together; because their son did not return t 'hem on the day appointed. 4. But his mother wept, and was quite disconso- late, and said: Wo, wo is me, my son; why did we send thee to go to a strange country, the light of our eyes, the staff of our old age, the comfort of our 'iſe, the hope of our posterity. 5 We having all things together in thee alone, ught not to have let thee go from us. 6 And Tobias said to her : Hold thy peace, and enot troubled; our son is safe: that man with whom we sent him is very trusty. 7 But she could by no means be comforted, but daily running out looked round about, and went into all the ways by which there seemed any hope he might return, that she might if possible see him :oming afar off. 8 But Raguel said to his son-in-law : Stay here, and I will send a messenger to Tobias thy father, that thou art in health. 9 And Tobias said to him: I know that my fa- tner and mother now count the days and their spirit is grievously afflicted within them. 10 And when Raguel had pressed Tobias with many words, and he by no means would hearken to • The dog, &c. This may seem a very minute circumstance to be re- corded in sacred history : but as we learn from our Saviour, St. JMatt. v. 18 there are iotas and tittles in the word of God; that is to say, 384 =º == = Ts him, he delivered Sara unto him, and half of all his substance in men-servants, and women-servants, in cattle, in camels, and in kine, and in much money. and sent him away safe and joyful from him, . 11 Saying: The holy ...}} the Lord be with you in your journey, and bring you through safe, and that you may find all things well, about you! ſº and my eyes may see your children befor" 162, ar 12 And the parents taking their daughter, kissed her, and let her go: 13 Admonishing her to honour her father and mother-in-law, to love her husband, to take care of the family, to govern the house, and to behave her. self irreprehensibly. CHAP. XI. Tobias anointeth his father’s eyes with the fish's gall; and he recovereth his sight. AN D as they were returning they came to Cha- ran, which is in the midway to Ninive, the ele- venth day. 2 And the Angel said: Brother Tobias, thou knowest how thou didst leave thy father. 3 If it please thee therefore, let us go before, and let the family follow softly after us, together with thy wife, and with the beasts. 4 And as this their going pleased him, Raphael said to Tobias: Take with thee of the gall of the fish, for it will be necessary. So Tobias took some of that gall, and departed. - 5 But Anna sat beside the way daily, on the top of a hill, from whence she might see afar off. 6 And while she watched his coming from that place, she saw him afar off, and presently perceived it was her son coming: and returning she told her husband, saying: Behold, thy son cometh. 7 And Raphael said to Tobias: As soon as thou shalt come into thy house, forthwith adore the Lord thy God: and giving thanks to him, go to thy father, and kiss him, - 8 And immediately anoint his eyes with this gall of the fish, which thou carriest with thee. For be assured that his eyes shall be presently opened; and thy father shall see the light of heaven, and shall rejoice in the sight of thee. 9 Then the dog,” which had been with them in the way, ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, showed his joy, by his fawning and wag- ging his tail. 10 And his father that was blind rising up, began to run stumbling with his feet; and giving a servant his hand, went to meet his son. 11 And receiving him, kissed him, as did also his. wife: and they began to weep for joy. 12 And when they had adored God, and given him thanks, they sat down together. 13 Then Tobias taking of the gall of the fish anointed his father’s eyes. - 14 And he stayed about half an hour: and a white things that appear minute, but which have indeed a deep and invste- rious meaning in them. —ºr CHAP Xll, XIII. skin began to come out of his eyes, like the skin of all] (29.9ſe | *And Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes: and immediately he recovered his sight. I6 And they glorified God, both he and his wife, and all that knew him. 17 And Tobias said : I bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because thou hast chastised me, and thou hast saved me : and behold, I see Tobias my son. 18 And after seven days Sara his son's wife, and all the family arrived safe, and the cattle, and the ca- mels, and an abundance of money of his wife's; and that money also which he had received of Gabelus: 19 And he told his parents all the benefits of God, which he had done to him by the man, that conducted him. 20 And Achior and Nabath the kinsmen of To- bias came, rejoicing for Tobias, and congratulating with him for all the good things, that God had done for him. 21 And for seven days they feasted and rejoiced all with great joy. • CHAP XII. Raphael maketh himself known. THEN Tobias called to him his son, and said to -L him: What can we give to this holy man, that is come with thee f 2 Tobias answering, said to his father: Father, what wages shall we give him for what can be wor- thy of his benefits f 3 He conducted me, and brought me safe again; he received the money of Gabelus, he caused me to have my wife; and he chased from her the evil spirit: he gave joy to her parents; myself he deli- vered from being devoured by the fish ; thee also he hath made to see the light of heaven ; and we are filled with all good things through him. What can we give him sufficient for these things? 4. But I beseech thee, my father, to desire him, that he would vouchsafe to accept of one half of all things that have been brought. 5. So the father and the sou calling him, took him aside; and began to desire him that he would vouchsafe to accept of half of all things that they had brought. 6 Then he said to them secretly: Bless ye the God of heaven; give glory to him in the sight of all that live; because he hath shown his mercy to you. 7 For it is good to hide the secret of a king ; but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God. 8 Prayer is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold : 9 For alms delivereth from death; and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting. 10. But they that commit sin and iniquity, are enemies to their own soul. 11 I discover then the truth unto you : and I will not hide the secret from you. - * Jerusalem. What is prophetically delivered here, and in the fol- ‘owing chapter, with relation to Jerusalem, is partly to be understood the rebuilding of the city after the captivity; and partly of the spirit- 12 When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord. 13 And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee. 14 And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son’s wife from the devil. 15 For I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord. 16 And when they had heard these things, they were troubled ; and being seized with fear, they fell upon the ground on their face. 17 And the Angel said to them: Peace be to you; fear not. 18 For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless ye him, and sing praises to him 19 I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men. . 20 It is time therefore that I return to him, tha' sent me: but bless ye God, and publish all his won derful works. 21 And when he had said these things, he was ta ken from their sight; and they could see him no more. 22 Then they lying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed God: and rising up, they told all his wonderful works. CHAP. XIII. Tobias the father praiseth God, eachorting all Isrºel to do the same. Prophesieth the restoration and better state of Jeru- S(1567??. ANP Tobias the elder opening his mouth, bless- ed the Lord, and said: Thou art great, O Lord, for ever, and thy kingdom is unto all ages: 2 For thou scourgest, and thou savest: thou lead- est down to hell, and bringest up again : and there is none that can escape thy hand. 3 Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and praise him in the sight of the Gentiles: 4. Because he hath therefore scattered you among the Gentiles, who know not him, that you may de- clare his wonderful works, and make them know that there is no other almighty God besides him. 5 He hath chastised us for our iniquities: and he will save us for his own mercy. 6 See then what he hath done with us, and with fear and trembling give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal King of worlds in your works. 7 As for me, I will praise him in the land of my captivity: because he hath shown his majesty toward a sinful nation. & 8 Be converted therefore, ye sinners, and do jus- tice before God, believing that he will show his mercy to you. 9 And I and my soul will rejoice in him. 10 Bless ye the Lord, all his elect, keep days of joy, and give glory to him. 11 Jerusalem” city of God, the Lord hath chas tised thee for the works of thy hands. ual Jerusalem, which is the church of Christ, and the eternai J.erusa. i lem in heaven. •. 385 Wºr s====<=== —º JUDIT H. 12 Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in thee, and may call back all the cap- tives to thee, and thou mayst rejoice forever and ever. 13 Thou shalt shine with a glorious light: and all the ends of the earth shali worship thee. 11 Nations from afar shall come to thee: and shall bring giſts, and shall adore the Lord in thee, and shall esteem thy land as holy. 1 For they shall call upon the great name in thee. 16 They shall be cursed that shall despise thee: and they shall be condemned that shall blaspheme thee: and blessed shall they be that shall build thee up. 17 But thou shalt rejoice in thy children; because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered to- gether to the Lord. 18 Blessed are all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy peace. 19 My soul, bless thou the Lord; because the Lord our God hath delivered Jerusalem his city from all her troubles. 30 Ilappy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed, to see the glory of Jerusalem. 21 The gates of Jerusalem shall be built of Sap- phire, and of Emerald, and all the walls thereof round about of precious stones. 22 All its streets shall be paved with white and clean stones: and Alleluia shall be sung in its streets. 23 Blessed be the Lord, who hath exalted it; and may he reign over it for ever and ever; Amen. CHAP. XIV. Old Tobias dieth at the age of a hundred and two years, after eac- harting his son and grand-sons to piety, foreshowing that Ninive shall be destroyed, and Jerusalem rebuilt. The younger Tobias returneth with his family to Raguel ; and dieth happily as he had lived. ND the words of Tobias were ended. And after Tobias was restored to his sight, he lived two and forty years, and saw the children of his grand- children. 2 And after he had lived a hundred and two years, he was buried honourably in Ninive. 3 For he was six and fifty years old when he lost the sight of his eyes, and sixty when he recovered t again 4 And the rest of his life was in joy; and whi great increase of the fear of God he departed in peace 5 And at the hour of his death he called unto him his son Tobias and his children, seven young men, his grand-sons, and said to them: 6. The destruction of Ninive is at hand; for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled: and our bre thren, that are scattered abroad from the land of Is rael, shall return to it. gº 7 And all the land thereof that is desert shall be filled with people; and the house of God which is burnt in it, shall again be rebuilt: and all that fear God shall return thither. © tº 8 And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it. . 9 And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring the King of Israel. e 10 Hearken therefore, my children, to your fa- ther: serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please him: 11 And command vour children that they do ". tice and alms-deeds, and that they be mindful of God, and bless him at all times in truth, and with all their power. 12 And now, children, hear me, and do not stay here: but as soon as you shall bury your mother by me in one sepulchre, without delay direct your steps to depart hence : , 13 For I see that its iniquity will bring it todestruc- £10th. 14 And it came to pass that after the death of his mother, Tobias departed out of Ninive with his wife, and children, and children’s children, and returned to his father and mother-in-law. g 15 And he found them in health in a good old age : and he took care of them, and he closed their eyes: and all the inheritance of Raguel's house came to him : and he saw his children’s children to the fifth generation. 16 And after he had lived ninety-nine years in the fear of the Lord, with joy they buried him. 17 And all his kindred, and all his generation continued in good life, and in holy conversation, so that they were acceptable both to God, and to men, and to all that dwelt in the land. THE BOOK OF JUDITH. The sacred writer of this book is generally believed to be the high priest Eliachim (called also Joachim.) The transactions here- in related, most probably happened in his days, and in the reign of Manasses, after his repentance and return from cap- tivity. It takes its name from that illustrious woman, by whose girtue and fortitude, and armed with prayer, the children of Israel were preserved from the destruction threatened them by Holofernes and his great army. It finishes with her canticle of thanksgiving to God. - CHAP. I. Nabuchodomosor king of the Assyrians over cometh Arphazad king of the Medes Now Arphaxad” king of the Medes had brought many nations under his dominions: and he 386 built a very strong city, which he called Ecbatana, 2 Of stones squared and hewed: he made the walls thereof seventy cubits broad, and thirty cubits high : and the towers thereof he made a hundred cubits high. But on the square of them, each side was extended the space of twenty feet. 3 And he made the gates thereof according to the height of the towers * Arphazad. He was probably the same as is called Dejoces by He- rodotus ; to whom he attributes the building of Ecbatana, the capital city of Media. - * . ..-? . ~ - . . . - “ -... º. ººº-ººº...º. º - * - , -e. • 3 -a < *. • . . . . . . . . . . .'; . . .## ºš.- š §§* N. & Mºre CHAP. ! And he gloried as a mighty one in the force of his army and in the glory of his chariots. . 5 Now in the twelfth year of his reign, Nabu- chodonosor” king of the Assyrians, who reigned in Ninjve the great city, fought against Arphaxad, and overcame him, 6 [n the great plain which is called Ragau, about the Euphrates, and the Tigris, and the Jadason, in the plain of Erioch the king of the Elicians. 7. Then was the kingdom of Nabuchodonosor ex- alted and his heart was elevated: and he sent to all t) at dwelt in Cilicia, and Damascus, and Liba- nuS, & 8 And to the nations that are in Carmelus, and Cedar, and to the inhabitants of Galilee in the great plain of Esdrelon, 9 And to all that were in Samaria, and beyond the river Jordan even to Jerusalem, and all the land of Jesse till you come to the borders of Ethiopia. 10 To all these Nabuchodonosor king of the As- syrians sent messengers: 11 But they all with one mind refused, and sent them back empty, and rejected them without honour. 12 Then king Nabuchodomosor being angry against all that land, swore by his throne and king- dom that he would revenge himself of all those coun- tries. CHAP. II. Nabuchodonosor sendeth Holofernes to waste the countries of the west. IN the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodo- nosor, the two and twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of Na- duchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself. 2 And he called all the ancients, and all the go- vernors, and his officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel: 3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire. 4 And when this saying pleased them all, Nabu- chodonosor the king called Holofernes the general | of his armies, 5 And said to him: G8 out against all the king- doms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment. 6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom ; and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke. 7 Then Holofernes called the captains and offi- ers of the power of the Assyrians: and he mus- ered men for the expedition, as the king command- ed him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men 9n foot, and twelve thousand archers, horsemen. 8 And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a multitude of innumerable camels, with all provisions sufficient for the armies in abundance, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, without number 9 He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Sy- ria in his passage. II, III. 10 But gold and silver he took out of the king's Ouse in great abundance. 11, And he went forth, he and all the army, with the chariots, and horsemen, and archers, who co- vered the face of the earth, like locusts. 12 And when he had passed through the borders of the Assyrians, he came to the great mountains of Ange, which are on the left of Cilicia: and he went up to all their castles, and took all the strong places. 13 And he took by assault the renowned city o Melothus, and pillaged all the children of Tharsis, and the children of Ismahel, who were over-agains, the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon. 14 And he passed over the Euphrates, and came into Mesopotamia: and he forced all the stately cities that were there, from the torrent of Mambre. till one comes to the sea : 15 And he took the borders thereof, from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south 16 And he carried away all the children of Ma- dian, and stripped them of all their riches: and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword. 17 And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest; and he set all the corn on fire; and he caused all the trees and vineyards to be cut down - 18 And the fear of him fell upon all the inhabit. ants of the land. CHAP. III. Man, ubmit themselves to Holofermes. He destroyeth their º: ful their gods, that Nabuchodomosor only might be call ea goal. TH FN the kings and the princes of all the cities and provinces of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Syria Sobal, and Libya, and Cilicia, sent their am bassadors, who coming to Holofernes, said: 2 Let thy indignation towards us cease: for it is better for us to live and serve Nabuchodonosor the great king, and be subject to thee, than to die and to perish, or suffer the miseries of slavery. 3 All our cities and our possessions, all mountains, and hills, and fields, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, and goats, and horses, and camels, and all our goods, and families, are in thy sight: 4 Let all we have be subject to thy law. 5 Both we and our children are thy servants. 6 Come to us a peaceable lord, and use our ser- vice as it shall please thee. 7 Then he came down from the mountains with horsemen in great power, and made himself master of every city, and all the inhabitants of the land. 8 And from all the cities he took auxiliaries vs. liant men, and chosen for war. 9 And so great a fear lay upon all those provin. ces, that the inhabitants of all the cities, both princes and nobles, as well as the people, went out to meet him at his coming. 10 And received him with garlands, and lights, and dances, and timbrels, and flutes. * Nabuchodomosor. Not the king of Babylon, who took and destroy-l Ed Jerusalem, but another of the same name, who reigned in Ninive: He succeeded Asar- and is called by profane historians Saosduchin. 4) A. & P haddon in the kingdom of the Assyrians, and was cotemporary with Manasses king of Judah. e 387 % N JU DITH. 11 And though they did these things, they could not for all that mitigate the fierceness of his heart: 12 For he both destroyed their cities, and cut down their groves. - iš For Nabuchodonosor the king had command- cd him to destroy all the gods of the earth, that he only might be called god by those nations which could be brought under him by the power of Holo- {* T 11 (*S, 14 And when he had passed through all Syria Sobal, and all Apamea, and all Mesopotamia, he came to the Idumeans into the land of Gabaa: 15 And he took possession of their cities, and stay- •d there for thirty days, in which days he command- •d all the troops of his army to be united CHAP. IV. The children of Israel prepare themselves to resist Holofernes. They cry to the Lord for help. WIN HEN the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Juda, hearing these things, were ex- ceedingly afraid of him. 2 Dread and horror seized upon their minds; lesſ he should do the same to Jerusalem and to the tem- ple of the Lord, that he had done to other cities, and their temples. 3 And they sent into all Samaria round about, as far as Jericho, and seized upon all the tops of the mountains : 4. And they compassed their towns with walls, and gathered together corn for provision for war. 5 And Eliachim the priest wrote to all that were over-against Esdrelon, which faceth the great plain near Dothain, and to all by whom there might be a passage of way; that they should take possession of the ascents of the mountains, by which there might be any way to Jerusalem, and should keep watch where the way was narrow between the mountains. 6 And the children of Israel did as the priest of the Lord, Eliachim, had appointed them. 7 And all the people cried to the Lord with great earnestness: and they humbled their souls in fast- ings, and prayers, both they and their wives. 8. And the priests put on hair-cloths; and they caused the little children to lie prostrate before the temple of the Lord ; and the altar of the Lord they covered with hair-cloth. 9 And they cried to the Lord the God of Israel with one accord, that their children might not be made a prey, and their wives carried off, and their cities destroyed, and their holy things profaned; and that they might not be made a reproach to the Gentiles. 10 Then Fliachim the high priest of the Lord went about all Israel, and spoke to them, 11 Saying: Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseyerance in fast- ings and prayers in the sight of the Lord. 12 Remember Moses the servant of the Lord, who overcame Amalec that trusted in his own strength, and in his power, and in his army, and in his shields, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen, not by fighting with the sword, but by holy prayers: 13 So shall all the enemies of Israel be, if you per- severe in this work which *..." have begun: 14 So they being moved by this czhortation of his, prayed to the Lord, and continued in the Sikht of the Lord. & 15 So that even they who offered the holocausts to the Lord, offered the sacrifices to the Lord gird ed with hair-cloths, and with ashes upon their head 16 And they all begged of God with all thei heart, that he would visit his people lsrael. CHAP. V. Achior gives Holofernes an account of the people of Israel. AND it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Is- rael prepared themselves to resist, and had shut up the ways of the mountains. - 2 And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation: and he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon, 3 And he said to them: Tell me what is this pee- ple that besetteth the mountains; or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great; also what is their power, or what is their multitude; or who is the king over their warfare; 4 And why they above all that dwell in the east, have despised us, and have not come out to meet us, that they might receive us with peace? 5 Then Achior captain of all the children of Am- mon answering, said: If thou vouchsafe, my lord, to hear, I will tell the truth in thy sight concerning this people, that dwelleth in the mountains; and there shall not a false word come out of my mouth. 6 This people is of the offspring of the Chal- deans. 7 They dwelt first in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans. 8 Wherefore forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers, which consisted in the worship of many gods, 9 They worshipped one God of heaven, who also commanded them to depart from thence, and to dwell in Charan. And when there was a familie over all the land, they went down into Egypt; and there for four hundred years were so multiplied, that the army of them cquld not be numbered 10 And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and made slaves of them to labour in clay and brick, in the building of his cities, they cried to their Lord; and he struck the whole land of Egypt with divers plagues. 11 And when the Egyptians had cast then out from them, and the plague had ceased from them, and they had a mind to take them again, and bring them back to their service, 12. The God of heaven opened the sea to them in their flight, so that the waters were made to stand firm as a wall on either side; and they walk, d through the bottom of the sea, and passed it dry foot. 13 And when an innumerable army of the Egyp- tians pursued after them in that place, they were so overwhelmed with the waters, that there was not one left, to tell what had happened, to posterity. 14 And after they came out of the Red Sea, they abode in the deserts of mount Sina, in which never man could dwell, or son of man rested. N ºft CHAP. V [. 15 There butter fountains were made sweet for them to drink: and for forty-years they received food from heaven. e 16. Wheresoever they went in without buw and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them, and overcame. 17 And there was no one that triumphed over this people, but when they departed from the wor- ship of the Lord their God. i8 But as often as beside their own God, they worshipped any other, they were given to spoil, and to the sword, and to reproach. 19 And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them power to resist. 20 So they overthrew the king of the Chanaan- ites, and of the Jebusites, and of the Pherezites, and of the Hethites, and of the Hevites, and of the Amorrhites, and all the mighty ones in Hesebon. and they possessed their lands, and their cities: 21 And as long as they sinned not in the sight of their God, it was well with them: for their God hateth iniquity. 22 And even some years ago when they had re- volted from the way which God had given them to walk therein, they were destroyed in battles by many nations; and very many of them were led away captive into a strange land. 23 But of late returning to the Lord their God, from the different places wherein they were scatter- ed, they are come together, and are gone up into all these mountains, and possess Jerusalem again, where their holies are. 24 Now therefore, my lord, search if there be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God; let us go up to them, because their God will surely deliver them to thee, and they shall be brought under the yoke of thy power: 25 But if there be no offence of this people in the sight of their God, we cannot resist them; be- ause their God will defend them; and we shall be a reproach to the whole earth. 26 And it came to pass, when Achior had ceased to speak these words, all the great men of Holo- fernes were angry: and they had a mind to kill him, saying to each other: - 27 Who is this, that saith the children of Israel can resist king Nabuchodonosor, and his armies, men unarmed, and without force, and without skill in the art of war? 28 That Achior therefore may know that he de- ceiveth us, let us go up into the mountains: and when the bravest of them shall be taken, then shall he with them be stabbed with the sword : 29 That every nation may know that Nabucho- donosor is god of the earth, and besides him there is no other. CHAP. VI. flolofernes in great rage sendeth, Achior to Bethulia, there to be slaun with the Israelites. ND it came to pass when they had left off speaking, that Holofermes being in a violent sion. said to Achior: —P g----- a Lº- 2 Because thou hast prophesied unto us, saying that the nation of Israel is defended by their God, to show thee that there is no God, but Nabuchodo- Il OSOF : 3 When we shall slay them all as one man, then thou also shalt die with them by the sword of the Assyrians: and all Israel shall perish with thee: 4 And thou shalt find that Nabuchodonosoi is lord of the whole earth: and then the sword of my soldiers shall pass through thy sides: and thou shall be stabbed, and fall among the wounded of Israel; and thoushalt breathe no more till thou be destroyed with them. 5 But if thou think thy prophecy true, let not thy countenance sink, and let the paleness that is in thy face, depart from thee, if thou imaginest these m . words cannot be accomplished. 6 And that thou may st know that thou shalt ex- perience these things together with them, behold, from this hour thou shalt be associated to their peo- ple; that when they shall receive the punishment they deserve from my sword, thou mayst fall under the same vengeance. 7 Then Holofermes commanded his servants to take Achior, and to lead him to Bethulia, and to deliver him into the hands of the children of Israel. 8 And the servants of Holofernes taking him, went through the plains: but when they came nea- the mountains, the slingers came out against them. 9 Then turning out of the way by the side of the mountain, they tied Achior to a tree hand and foot; and so left him bound with ropes, and returned to their master. 10 And the children of Israel coming down from Bethulia, came to him. And loosing him, they brought him to Bethulia, and setting him in the midst of the people, asked him what was the mat- ter that the Assyrians had left him bound. 11 In those days the rulers there were Ozias ſhe son of Micha of the tribe of Simeon, and Charmi, called also Gothoniel. 12 And Achior related in the midst of the an- cients, and in the presence of all the people, all that he had said, being asked by Holofernes: and how the people of Holofernes would have killed him for this word: 13 And how Holofernes himself being angry had commanded him to be delivered for this cause to the Israelites; that when he should overcome the chil dren of Israel, then he might command Achior also himself to be put to death by divers torments, for having said: The God of heaven is their defender 14 And when Achior had declared all these things all the people fell upon their faces, adoring the Lord, and all of them together mourning and weepins Youred out their prayers with one accord to the ord, © 15 Saying: O Lord God of heaven and earth, behold their pride, and look on our low condition; and have regard to the face of thy saints, and show that thou forsakest not them that trust on thee, and that thou humblest them that presume of themselves, and glory in their ownstrength. % N % JU DITF1. 16 So when their weeping was ended, and the people's prayer, in which they continued all the day, was concluded, they comforted Achior, 17 Saying: The God of our fathers, whose power thou hast set forth, will make this return to thee, that thou rather shalt see their destruction. 18 And when the Lord our God shall give this liberty to his servants, let God be with thee also in the midst of us: that as it shall please thee, so thou with all thine mayst converse with us. 19 Then Ozias, after the assembly was broken up, received him into his house, and made him a great Supper. 20 And all the ancients were invited; and they refreshed themselves together after their fast was OWer. 21 And afterwards all the people were called to- gether; and they prayed all the night long within the church,” desiring help of the God of Israel. CHAP. VII. Holofernes besiegeth Bethulia. The distress of the besieged. B'. Holofernes on the next day gave orders to - his army to go up against Bethulia. 2 Now there were in his troops a hundred and twenty thousand footmen, and two and twenty thou- sand horsemen, besides the preparations of those men who had been taken, and who had been brought away out of the provinces and cities, of all the youth. 3 All these prepared themselves together to fight against the children of Israel, and they came by the hill side to the top, which looketh toward Dothain, from the place which is called Belma, unto Chel- mou, which is over-against Esdrelon. 4. But the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, prostrated themselves upon the ground, putting ashes upon their heads, praying with one accord, that the God of Israel would show his mercy upon his people. 5 And taking their arms of war, they posted them- Selves at the places, which by a narrow path-way tº directly between the mountains; and they guard- ed them all day and night. 6Now Holofernes, ingoing round about found that the ſountain which supplied them with water, ran through an aqueduct without the city on the south side; and he commanded their aqueduct to be cut off. 7 Nevertheless there were springs not far from the walls, out of which they were seen secretly to dr w water, to refresh themselves a little rather than to drink their fill. 8. But the children of Ammon and Moab came to Holofernes, saying: The children of Israel trust not in their spears, nor in their arrows: but the mountains are their defence, and the steep hills and precipices guard them. - 9. Wherefore that thou mayst overcome them with- inſt joining battle, set guards at the springs, that they may not draw water out of them ; and thou shalt ‘destroy them without sword; or at least being wea- ried out they will yield up their city, which they * The church. That is, the synagogue or place where they met for prayer. 390 |suppose, because it is situate in the mountains, tr be impregnable. “º 10 And these words pleased Holofernes, and his officers: and he placed all round about a hundred men at every spring. - º 11 And when they had kept this watch for full twenty days, the cisterns, and the reserve of wa- ters failed among all the inhabitants of Bethulia, so that there was not within the city, enough to sa- tisfy them, no not for one day; for water was daily given out to the people by measure. 12 Then all the men and women, young men, and children, gathering themselves together to Ozias, all together with one voice, - 13 Said: God be judge between us and thee, for thou hast done evil against us, in that thou wouldst not speak peaceably with the Assyrians: and for this cause God hath sold us into their hands. 14 And therefore there is no one to help us, while we are cast down before their eyes in thirst, and sad destruction. - 15 And now assemble ye all that are in the city that we may of our own accord yield ourselves all up to the people of Holofermes. 16 For it is better, that being captives we should live and bless the Lord, than that we should die, and be a reproach to all flesh, after we have seen our wives and our infants die before our eyes. 17. We call to witness this day heaven and earth, and the God of our fathers, who taketh vengeance upon us according to our sins, conjuring you to de liver now the city into the hand of the army of Holo- fernes, that our end may be short by the edge of the sword, which is made longer by the drought of thirst 18 And when they had said these things, there was great weeping and lamentation of all in the as: sembly; and for many hours with one voice they cried to God, saying: - 19 We have sinned with our fathers; we have done unjustly ; we have committed iniquity: 20 Have thou mercy on us, because thou art good ; or punish our iniquities by chastising us thy- self, and deliver not them that trust in thee to a peo. ple that knoweth not thee, 21 That they may not say among the Gentiles Where is their God? 22 And when being wearied with these cries, and tired with these weepings, they held their peace 23 Ozias rising up all in tears, said: Be of good Courage, my brethren; and let us wait these five days for mercy from the Lord. - , 24 For perhaps he will put a stop to his indigna tion, and will give glory to his own name. 25 But if after five days be past, there come no aid, we will do the things which you have spoken CHAP. VIII. The ſhºacter of Judith: her discourse to the ancients. NOW it came to pass, when Judith a widow had heard these words, who was the daughter of Merari, the son of Idox, the son of Joseph, the son of Ozias, the son of Elai, the son of Jamnor, the son of Gºdeon, the son of Raphaim, the son of Achitob, the son of Melchias, the son of Enan, the CHA P 1X. son of Nathanias, the son of Salathiel, the son of Simeon, the son of Ruben :* 2 And her husband was Manasses, who died in ſhe time of the barley harvest : 3 For he was standing over them that bound sheaves in the field ; and the heat came upon his head; and he died in Bethulia his own city, and was buried there with his fathers. 4 And Judith, his relict was a widow now three years and six months. e 5 And she made herself a private chamber in the upper part of her house, in which she abode, shut ip with her maids. • b And she wore hair-cloth upon her loins, and fasted all the days of her life, except the sabbaths, and new-moons, and the feasts of the house of Israel. 7 And she was exceedingly beautiful : and her husband left her great riches, and very many ser- vants, and large possessions of herds ef oxen, and flocks of sheep. 8 And she was greatly renowned among all, be- cause she feared the Lord very much ; neither was there any one that spoke an ill word of her. 9 When therefore she had heard that Ozias had promised that he would deliver up the city after the fifth day, she sent to the ancients Chabri and Charmi. 10 And they came to her; and she said to them : What is this word, by which Ozias hath consented to give up the city to the Assyrians, if within five days there come no aid to us? 11 And who are you that tempt the Lord P 12 This is not a word that may draw down mercy, but rather that may stir up wrath, and enkindle indignation. 13 You have set a time for the mercy of the Lord; and you have appointed him a day, according to your pleasure. 14 But forasmuch as the Lord is patient, let us be penitent for this same thing; and with many tears let us beg his pardon : gº 15 For God will not threaten like man, nor be inflamed to anger like the son of man. 16 And therefore let us humble our souls before him; and continuingin an humblespirit, in his service, 17 Let us ask the Lord with tears, that according to his will so he would show his mercy to us; that as our heart is troubled by their pride, so also we may glorify in our humility: I8. For we have not followed the sins of our fathers, who forsook their God, and worshipped strange gods. 19 For which crime they were given up to their enemies, to the sword, and to pillage, and to con- fusion: but we know no other God but him. 20 Let us humbly wait for his consolation ; and the Lord our God will require our blood of the afflictions of our enemies and he will humble all the nations that shall rise up against us, and bring them to disgrace. 21 And now, brethren, as you are the ancients among the people of God, and their very soul rest th upon you; comfort their hearts by your speech, that they may be mindful how our fathers were tempted, that they might be proved, whether they worshipped their God truly. 22 They must remember how our father Abra ham was tempted, and being proved by many tribu- lations, was made the friend of God. 23 So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations remaining faithful. 24. But they that did not receive the trials with the fear of the Lord, but uttered their impatience and the reproach of their murmuring against the Lond 25 Were destroyed by the destroyer, and perished by serpents. 26 As for us therefore leu us not revenge ourselves for these things which we suffer, 27 But esteeming these very punishments to be less than our sins deserve, let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which like servants we are chastised, have happened for our amendment, and not for our destruction. 28 And Ozias and the ancients said to her: All things which thou hast spoken are true; and there is nothing to be reprehended in thy words. 29 Now therefore pray for us; for thou art a holy woman, and one fearing God. 30 And Judith said to them : As you know that what I have been able to say is of God: 31 So that which I intend to do, prove ye if it be of God, and pray that God may strengthen my design. 32 You shall stand at the gate this night, and I will go out with my maid-servant: and pray ye, tha' as you have said, in five days the Lord may look down upon his people Israel. 33 But I desire that you search not into what l am doing; and till l bring you word let nothing else be done but to pray for me to the Lord our God. 34 And Ozias the prince of Juda said to her: Go in peace, and the Lord be with thee to take revenge of our enemies. So returning they departed. CHAP. IX. Judith’s prayer, to beg of God to fortify her in her undertaking. AND when they were gone, Judith went into her oratory; and putting on hair-cloth, laid ashes on her head : and falling down prostrate before the Lord, she cried to the Lord, saying: 2 O Lord God of my father Simeon, who gavest him a sword f to execute vengeance against stran- # Gavest him a sword, &c. The justice of God is here praised, in punishing by the sword of Simeon the crime of the Sichemites: and not the fact of Simeon, which was justly condemned by his father, Gen. xlix. 5. Though even with regard to this fact, we may distin- guish between his zeal against the crime committed by the ravishers of his sister, which zeal may be considered just; and the manner as his punishing that crime, which was irregular and excessive. 391 N * -ºx * Simeon the son of Ruben. In the Greek it is the son of Israel. For Simeon the patriarch, from whom Judith descended, was not the son, but the brother of Ruben. It seems more probable that the Simeon and the Ruben here mentioned are not the patriarchs; but two of the descendants of the patriarch Simeon : and that the genealogy of Ju- dith, recorded in this place, is not carried up so high as the patriarchs. No more than that of Eicana the father of Samuel, 1 Kings i. 1. and that of king Saul, 1 Kings Ix 1 2 º’T *- `S- - JUL)|'TH. gers, who had defiled by their uncleanness, and un- covered the virgin unto confusion: 3 And who gavest their wives to be made a prey, and their daughters into captivity: and all their spoils to be divided to thy servants, who were zea: lous with thy zeal; assist, I beseech thee, O Lord God, me a widow. 4. For thou hast done the things of old, and hast devised one thing after another: and what thou hast designed hath been done. 5. For all thy ways are prepared, and in thy provi- dence thou hast placed thy judgments. 6 Look upon the camp of the Assyrians now, as thou wast pleased to look upon the camp of the Egyptians, when they pursued armed after, thy Ser- wants, trusting in their chariots, and in their horse- men, and in a multitude of warriors. 7 But thou lookedst over their camp, and dark- ness wearied them. 8 The deep held their feet, and the waters over- whelmed them. 9 So may it be with these also, O Lord, who trust in their multitude, and in their chariots, and in their pikes, and in their shields, and in their arrows, and glory in their spears, 10 And know not that thou art our God, who destroyest wars from the beginning, and the Lord is thy name. 1 I Liſt up thy arm as from the beginning, and crush their power with thy power: let their power fall in their wrath, who promise themselves to violate thy sanctuary, and defile the dwelling-place of thy name, and to beat down with their sword the horn of thy altar. 12 Bring to pass, O Lord, that his pride may be cut off with his own sword. . 13 Let him be caught in the net of his own eyes in my regard; and do thou strike him by the graces of the words of my lips. 14. Give me constancy in my mind, that I may despise him; and fortitude that I may overthrow him. 15 For this will be a glorious monument for thy name, when he shall fall by the hand of a wo- Ill? Il. 16 For thy power, O Lord, is not in a multitude, nor is thy pleasure in the strength of horses ; nor from the beginning have the proud been acceptable to thee: but the prayer of the humble and the meek hath always pleased thee. g 17 O God of the heavens, Creator of the waters, and Lord of the whole creation, hear me a poor wretch, making supplication to thee, and presuming fifthy mercy. 18 Remember, O Lord, thy covenant, and put hou words in my mouth, and strengthen the re- solution in my heart, that thy house may continue in thy holiness: 19 And all nations may acknowledge that thou arl God, and there is no other besides thee. CHAP. X. Judith goeth out towards the camp, and is taken, and brought - to Holofermes. e ND it came to pass, when she had ceased to cry to the Lord, that she rose from the place wherein she lay prostrate before the Lord. 2 And she called her maid; and going down into her house, she took off her hair-cloth, and put away the garments of her widowhood. 3 And she washed her body, and anointed her- self with the best ointment, and plaited the hair of her head, and put a bonnet upon her head, and clothed herself with the garments of her gladness, and put sandals on her feet, and took her bracelets, and lilies, and earlets, and rings. and adorned her- self with all her ornaments. 4 And the Lord also gave her more beauty: be- cause all this dressing up did not proceed from sen- suality, but from virtue: and therefore the Lord in- creased this her beauty, so that she appeared to all men’s eyes incomparably lovely. 5 And she gave to her maid a bottle of wine to carry, and a vessel of oil, and parched corn, and dry figs, and bread and cheese; and went out. 6 And when they came to the gate of the city, they found Ozias and the ancients of the city waiting. 7 And when they saw her, they were astonished, and admired her beauty exceedingly. 8 But they asked her no question; only they let her pass, saying: The God of our fathers give thee grace, and may he strengthen all the counsel of thy heart with his power, that Jerusalem may glory in thee, and thy name may be in the number of the holy and just. 9 And they that were there said, all with one voice: So be it, so be it. 10 But Judith praying to the Lord, passed through the gates, she and her maid. 11 And it came to pass, when she went down the hill, about break of day, that the watchmen of the Assyrians met her, and stopped her, saying: Whence comest thou? or whither goest thou ? 12 And she answered : I am a daughter of the Hebrews, and I am fled from them, because I knew” they would be made a prey to you, because they despised you, and would not of their own accord ; themselves, that they might find mercy in you! Sight. 13. For this reason I thought with myself, saying. I will go to the presence of the prince Holofernes, that I may tell him their secrets, and show him by what way he may take them, without the loss of one man of his army. - - 14 And when the men had heard her words, they beheld her face, and their eyes were amazed ; for they wondered exceedingly at her beauty. ... 15 And they said to her: Thou hast saved thy life by taking this resolution, to comedown to our lord 16 And be assured of this, that when thou shal' * Itectuse I knew, &c. In this and the following chapter, some things are related to have been said by Judith, which seem hard to reconcile with truth l8lit all that is related in scripture of the servants of God is not approved by the scripture; and even the saints in their good en- terprises may sometimes slip into venial sins. 302 CHAI. X1, X11. Wºze- staud before him, he will treat thee well, and thou will be most acceptable to his heart. And they brought her to the tent of Holofernes, telling him of her. - 17 And when she was come into his presence, forthwith Holofernes was caught by his eyes. |8 And his officers said to him : Who can despise the people of the Hebrews, who have such beautiful women, that we should not think it worth our while "or their sakes to fight against them P * 19 And Judith seeing Holofermes sitting under canopy, which was woven of purple and gold, with emeralds and precious stones, - 20 After she had looked on his face, bowed down to him, prostrating herself to the ground. And the servants of Holofernes lifted her up, by the com- mand of their master. CHAP. XI. d Judith’s speech to Holofernes. HEN Holofermes said to her: Be of good com- fort, and fear not in thy heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve Nabuchodono- sor the king. © 2 And if thy people had not despised me, I would never have lifted up my spear against them. 3 But now tell me, for what cause hast thou left them, and why it hath pleased thee to come to us? 4. And Judith said to him : Receive the words of thy handmaid; for if thou wilt follow the words of º handmaid, the Lord will do with thee a perfect thillg. ... 5 For as Nabuchodonosor the king of the earth fiveth, and his power liveth which is in thee for chas- tising of all straying souls: not only men serve him through thee, but also the beasts of the field obey him. 6 For the industry of thy mind is spoken of among all nations: and it is told through the whole World, that thou only art excellent and mighty in all his kingdom; and thy discipline is cried up in all provinces. 7 It is known also what Achior said; nor are we º of what thou hast commanded to be done {O llllll. 8 For it is certain that our God is so offended with sins, that he hath sent word by his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins. 9 And because the children of Israel know they have offended their God, thy dread is upon them. 10 Moreover also a famine hath come upon them; and for drought of water they are already to be count- ed atmong the dead. 11 And they have a design even to kill their cat- tle, and to drink the blood of them. 12 And the consecrated things of the Lord their God which God forbid them to touch, in corn, wine, and oil, these have they purposed to make use of: and they design to consume the things which they ought not to uouch with their hands: therefore be- cause they do these things, it is certain they will be given up to destruction. 13 And I thy handmaid knowing this, am fled from them ; and the Lord hath sent me to tell thee these very things. 3 D 14 For I thy handmaid worship God even now that I am with thee; and thy handmaid will go out. and I will pray to God: 15 And he will tell me when he will repay them for their sins: and I will come and tell thee, so that I may bring thee through the midst of Jerusalem : and thou shalt have all the people of Israel, as sheep that have no shepherd; id there shall not so much as one dog bark against thee: 16 Because these things are told me by the pro- vidence of God. 17 And because God is angry with them. I am sent to tell these very things to thee. 18 And all these words pleased Holofernes, and his servants; and they admired her wisdom; and they said one to another: 19 There is not such another woman upon earth in look, in beauty, and in sense of words. 20 And Holofernes said to her: God hath done well who sent thee before the people, that thou mightest give them into our hands: 21 And because thy promise is good, if thy God, shall do this for me, he shall also be my God; and thou shalt be great in the house of Nabuchodonosor, and thy name shall be renowned through all the earth. CHAP. XII. Judith goeth out in the night to## : she is invited to a ban quet with Holofernes. THEN he ordered that she should go in where his treasures were laid up, and bade her tarry there: and he appointed what should be given her from his own table. 2 And Judith answered him, and said: Now I cannot eat of these things which thou commandest to be given me, lest sin come upon me: but I will eat of the things which I have brought. 3 And Holofernes said to her: If these things which thou hast brought with thee fail thee, what shall we do for thee? 4 And Judith said: As thy soul liveth, my lord, thy handmaid shall not spend all these things till God do by my hand that which l have purposed. And his servants brought her into the tent which h had commanded. 5 And when she was going in, she desired tha. she might have liberty to go out at night and before day, to prayer, and to beseech the Lord. 6 And he commanded his chamberlains, that she might go out and in, to adore her God as she pleas- ed, for three days. 7 And she went out in the nights into the valley of Bethu ia, and washed herself in a fountain ol Water. 8 And as she came up, she prayed to the lord the God of Israel, that he would direct her way to the deliverance of his people. 9 And going in, she remained pure in the tent, until she took her own meat in the evening. 10 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holofernes made a supper for his servants; and said to Vagao his eunuch: Go, and persuade that He- brew woman, to consent of her own accord to dwell with me. 393 --~~ * -- Assºf S- JUDin H. 11 For it is looked upon shameſul among the Assyrians, if a woman mock a man, by doing so as to pass free from him. 12 Then Vagao went in to Judith, and said: Let not my good maid be afraid to go in to my lord, that she may be honoured before his face, that she may eat with him, and drink wine, and be merry. 13 And Judith answered him: Who am I, that I hould gainsay my lord? - 14 All that shall be good and best before his eyes, 1, will do. And whatsoever shall please him, that shall be best to me all the days of my life. 15 And she arose, and dressed herself out with her garments; and going in she stood before his face. 16 And the heart of Flolofernes was smitten, for h; was burning with the desire of her. 17 And Holofernes said to her : Drink now, and sit down, and be merry; for thou hast found favour before me. 18 And Judith said: I will drink, my lord; be- cause my life is magnified this day above all my days. 19 And she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared for her. 20 And Holofernes was made merry on her occa- sion, and drank exceeding much wine, so much as he had never drunk in his life. CHAP. XIII. Judith cutteth off the head of Holofernes, and returneth to Bethulia. ND when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings; and Vagao shut the chamber-doors, and went his way. 2 And they were all overcharged with wine: 3 And Judith was alone in the chamber. 4. But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk. 5 An jail. spoke to her maid, to stand with- out before the chamber, and to watch: - 6 And Judith stood before the bed, praying with tears, and the motion of her lips in silence, 7 Saying: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel; and in this hour look on the works of my hands, that as thou hast promised, thou mayst raise up Jerusa- lem thy city: and that I may bring to pass that which I have purposed, having a belief that it might be done by thee. 8 And when she had said this, she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his word that hung tied upon it. 9 And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head, and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour. * 10 And she struck twice upon his neck, and cut off his head, and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body. ll And after a while she went out, and deliver- ed the head of Holofernes to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet. 12 And they two went out according to their cus- tom, as if it were to prayer: and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they came to the gate of the city 394 - - - - - - - - -— --T -- - F-5° - -till illiºs - <> 13 And Judith from afar off cried to the watch men upon the walls: Open the gates; for God is with us, who hath shown his power in Israel. 14 And it came to pass, when the men had heard her voice, that they called the ancients of the city 15 And all ran to meet her from the least to the greatest: for they had now no hopes that she would COIſle 16 And lighting up lights they all gathered round about her: and she went up to a higher place, and commanded silence to be made. And when all had held their peace, 17 Judith said: Praiseye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him. 18 And by me his handmaid he hath fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel: and he hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night. 19 Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet, and showed it them, saying: Be hold the head of Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians; and behold his canopy, wherein he lay, in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman. 20 But as the same Lord liveth, his angel hath been my keeper both going hence, and abiding there. and returning from thence hither: and the Lord hath not suffered me his handmaid to be defiled; but hath brought me back to you without pollution of sin, rejoicing for his victory, for my escape, and for your deliverance. - 21 Give all of you glory to him, because he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever 22 And they all adored the Lord, and said to her The Lord hath blessed thee by his power; because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought. 23 And Ozias the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the º the most high God, above all women upon the earth. 24 Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. 25 Because he hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men, who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever; for that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy peo- ple; but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God. 26 And all the people said: So be it, so be it. 27 And Achior being called for came; and Judith said to him: The God of Israel, to whom thou gavest testimony, that he revengeth himself of his enemies, he hath cut off the head of all the un, e- lievers this night by my hand. . 28 And that thou mayst find that it is so, behold the head of Holofernes, who in the contempt of his pride despised the God of Israel; and threatened thee, with death, saying: When the people of Israel shall be taken, I will command thy sides to be pierced with a sword. 29 Then Achior seeing the head of Holofernes * CHAP. XIV, XV. oeing seized with a great fear, he fell on his face upon the earth, and his soul swooned away. 30 But after he had recovered his spirits he fell || down at her feet, and reverenced her, and said: 31 Blessed art thou by thy God in every taberna- cle of Jacob, for in every nation which shall hear hy name, the God of Israel shall be magnified on occasion of thee. CHAP. XIV. lites assault the Assyrians, who, finding their general R6 || SPOZ, 'Lº & º, 2 : slain, are seized with a panic fear. NI) Judith said to all the people: Hear me, my brethren, hangye up this head upon our walls: 2 And as soon as the sun shall rise, let every man take his arms, and rush ye out, not as going down beneath, but as making an assault. 3 Then the watchmen must needs run to awake their prince for the battle. 4. And when the captains of them shall run to the tent of Holofermes, and shall find him without his head wallowing in his blood, fear shall fall upon them. * o 5 And when you shall know that they are fleeing, go after them securely; for the Lord will destroy them under your feet. - 6 Then Achior seeing the power that the God of Israel had wrought, leaving the religion of the Gen- tiles, he believed God, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and was joined to the people of Israel, with all the succession of his kindred until this pre- sent day. . 7 And immediately at break of day, they hung up the head of Holofernes upon the walls: and every man took his arms, and they went out with a great noise and shouting. 8 And the watchmen seeing this, ran to the tent Yf Holofermes. 9 And they that were in the tent came, and made a noise before the door of the chamber to awake him, endeavouring by art to break his rest, that Holofernes might awake, not by their calling him, but by their noise. . e 10 For no man durst knock, or open and go into the chamber of the general of the Assyrians. 1 1 But when his captains and tribunes were come, and all the chiefs of the army of the king of the Assyrians, they said to the chamberlains: o 12 Go in, and awake him; for the mice coming out of their holes, have presumed to challenge us to fight. - º; Then Vagao going into his chamber, stood be- fore the curtain, and made a clapping with his hands: for he thought that he was sleeping, with Judith. | | But when with hearkening, he perceived no motion of one lying, he came near to the curtain, and liſting it up, and seeing, the body of Holofernes, lying upon the ground, without the head, weltering in his blood, he cried out with a loud voice, with weeping, and rent his garments. e 15 And he went into the tent of Judith, and not finding her, he ran out to the people, 16 And said: One Hebrew woman hath made confusio. In the house of king Nabuchodonosor; for behold, Holofernes lieth upon the ground, and his head is not upon him. 17 Now when the chiefs of the army of the As- Syrians had heard this, they all rent their garments, and an intolerable fear and dread fell upon them, and their minds were troubled exceedingly. 18 And there was a very great cry in the midst of their camp. CHAP. XV. The Assyrians flee : the Hebrews pursue after them, and are enriched by their spoils. AND when all the army heard that Holofernes was beheaded, courage and counsel fled from them: and being seized with trembling and fear, they thought only to save themselves by flight: 2 So that no one spoke to his neighbour, but hanging down the head, leaving all things behind, they made haste to escape from the Hebrews, who, as they heard, were coming armed upon them, and º by the ways of the fields, and the paths of the ll IS, 3 So the children of Israel seeing them fleeing, followed after them. And they went down sound. ing with trumpets, and shouting after them. 4 And because the Assyrians were not united to- gether, they went without order in their flight; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body, de- feated all that they could find. 5 And Ozias sent messengers through all the cities and countries of Israel. 6 And every country, and every city, sent thei chosen young men armed after them : and they pur- sued them with the edge of the sword, until they came to the extremities of their confines. 7 And the rest that were in Bethulia went into the camp of the Assyrians, and took away the spoils, which the Assyrians in their flight had left behind them ; and they were loaden exceedingly. 8 But they that returned conquerers to Bethulia, brought with them all things that were theirs, so that there was no numbering their cattle, and beasts, and all their moveables, insomuch that from the least to the greatest all were made rich by their spoils. 9 And Joachim the high priest came from Jeru salem to Bethulia with all his ancients to see Judith. 10 And when she was come out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem ; thou art the joy of Israel; thou art the honour of our people : 11 For thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened; because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other : therefore also the hand of the I ord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shall be blessed for ever. 12 And all the people said: So be it, so be it. 13 And thirty days were scarce sufficient for the people of Israel to gather up the spoils of the As- Syrians. 14 But all those things that were proved to be the peculiar goods of Holofernes, they gave to Judith in gold, and silver, and garments, and precious stones, and all household stuff; and they all were delivered to her by º people. 395 ESTH F.R. • * > - 15 And all the people rejoiced, with the women, and virgins, and young men, playing on instruments and harps. CHAP. XVI. The canticle of Judith: her virtuous life and death. W H EN Judith sung this canticle to the Lord. saying: g 2 Begin ye to the Lord with timbrels; sing ye to the Lord with cymbals; tune unto him a new psalm; extol and cal' upon his name. 3 The Lord putteth an end to wars, the Lord is his name. 4. He hath set his camp in the midst of his people, to deliver us from the hand of all our enemies. 5 The Assyrian came out of the mountains from the north in the multitude of his strength : his mul- litude stopped up the torrents ; and their horses covered the valleys. 6 He bragged that he would set my borders on ſire, and kill my young men' with the sword, to make my infants a prey, and my virgins captives. 7 But the almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him. 8 For their mighty one did not fall by young men; neither did the sons of Titan strike him, nor tal giants oppose themselves to him : but Judith the daughter of Merari weakened him with the beauty of her ſace. 9 For she put off her the garments of widow- hood, and put on her the garments of joy, to give joy to the children of Israel. 10 She anointed her face with ointment, and bound up her locks with a crown ; she took a new robe to deceive him. ll Her sandals ravished his eyes ; her beauty made his soul her captive ; with a sword she cut off his head. 12 The Persians quaked at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldness. 13 Then the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my lowly ones appeared, parched with thirst. 14. The sons of the damsels have pierced them through ; and they have killed them like children fleeing away : they perished in battle before the face of the Lord my God. 15 Let us sing a hymn to the Lord a new hymn to our God. let us sing 16 O Adonai Lord, great art thou, and glorious in thy power; and no one can overcome thee. }} et all thy creatures serve thee: because thou hast spoken, and they were made: thou didst send forth thy Spirit, and they were created ; and there | is no one that can resist thy voice. 18 The mountains shall be moved from the foun- dations with the waters: the rocks shall melt as wax before thy face. 19 But they that thee in all things. 20 Wo be to the nation that riseth up against my people: for the Lord almighty will take revenge on them ; in the day of judgment he will visit them. 21 For he will give fire and worms into their flesh, that they may burn, and may feel for ever. 22 And it came to pass after these things, that all the people, after the victory, came to Jerusalem, to adore the Lord : and as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promises. 23 And Judith offered for an anathema of obli- vion” all the arms of Holofernes, which the people gave her, and the canopy that she had taken away out of his chamber. - 24. And the people were joyful in the sight of the sanctuary ; and for three months the joy of this vic- tory was celebrated with Judith. 25 And after those days every man returned to his house: and Judith was made great in Bethulia, and she was most renowned in all the land of lsrael. 26 And chastity was joined to her virtue, so that she knew no man all the days of her life, after the death of Manasses her husband. } 27 And on festival days she came forth with great gíOry. 28 And she abode in her husband's house a hun- dred and five years, and made her handmaid free , and she died, and was buried with her husband in Bethulia. 29 And all the people mourned for seven days. 30 And all the time of her life there was none that troubled Israel, nor many years after her death. 31 But the day of the festivity of this victory is received by the Hebrews in the number of holy days, and is religiously observed by the Jews from that time until this day. * An anathema of oblivion. That is, a gift or offering made to God by way of an everlasting monument, to prevent the oblivion or for getting so great a benefit. THE BOOK OF ESTHER. Ini's book takes its name from queen Esther; whose history is here recorded. The general opinion of almost all commenta- tors on the Holy Scripture makes Mardochai the writer of it : chich also may be collected below from chap. ix. ver. 20. CHAP. H. . IN the days of Assuerus, who reigned from India to Fthiopia over a hundred and twenty-sever provinces: - 2. When he sat on the throne of his kingdom, the city Susan was the capital of his kingdom. 3 Now in the third year of his reign he made a great feast for all the princes, and for his servants, King Assuerus maketh a great feast. Queen Vasthi being sent for refuseth to come : for which disobedience she is derosed. 2_^T <> YS- *çº fear thee, shall be great with 396 CHAP. II. for the most mignty of the Persians, and the nobles of the Medes, and the governors of the provinces in Wis sight, - - 4. ñt he might show the riches of the glory of sis kingdom, and the greatness, and boasting of his power, for a long time, to wit, for a hundred and fourscore days. - 5 And when the days of the feast were expired, he invited all the people that were found in Susan, from the greatest to the least: and commanded a feast to be made seven days in the court of the gar- den, and of the wood, which was planted by the care and the hand of the king. 6 And there were hung up on every side sky- Loloured, and green, and violet hangings, fastened with cords of silk, and of purple, which were put into rings of ivory, and were held up with marble pillars. The beds also were of gold and silver, pla- ced in order upon a floor paved with porphyry and white marble : which was embellished with painting of wonderful variety. 7 And they that were invited, drank in golden cups; and the meats were brought in divers vessels one after another. . Wine also in abundance, and of the best was presented, as was worthy of a king’s magnificence. - 8 Neither was there any one to compel them to drink that were not willing, but as the king had ap- pointed, who set over every table one of his nobles, that every man might take what he would. 9 Also Vasthithe queen made a feast for the women in the palace, where king Assuerus was used to dwell. 10 Now on the seventh day, when the king was tuerry, and after very much drinking was well warmed with wine, he commanded Mauman, and Bazatha, and Harbona, and Bagatha, and Abgatha, and Zethar, and Charcas, the seven eunuchs that served in his presence, 11 To bring in queen Vasthi before the king, with the crown set upon her head, to show her beauty to all the people and the princes : for she was exceed- ing beautiful. 12 But she refused, and would not come at the king’s commandment, which he had signified to her by the eunuchs. Whereupon the king, being angry, and inflamed with a very great fury, - 13 Asked the wise men, who according to the cus- tom of the kings, were always near his person, and all he did was by their counsel, who knew the laws, and judgments, of their forefathers: 14 (Now the chief and nearest him were, Char- Sema, and Sethar, and Admatha, and Tharsis, and Mares, and Marsana, and Mamuchan, seven princes of the Persians, and of the Medes, who saw the face of the king, and were used to sit first after him:) 15 What sentence ought to pass upon Vasthi the queen, who had refused to obey the commandment of king Assuerus, which he had sent to her by the eunuchs? 16 And Mamuchan answered, in the hearing of the king and the princes: Queen Vasthi hath not only injured the king, but also all people and princes that are in all the provinces of king Assuerus. 17 For this deed of the queen will go abroad to all women, so that they will despise their husbands, and Will say: King Assuerus commanded that queen Vasthi should come in to him, and she would not. 18 And by this example all the wives of the princes of the Persians and the Medes will slight the commandments of their husbands: wherefore the king's indignation is just. 19 If it please thee, let an edict go out from thy presence, and let it be written according to the law of the Persians and of the Medes, which must not be altered, that Vasthi come in no more to the king. but another that is better than her, be made queen in her place. 20 And let this be published through all the pro- Vinces of thy empire (which is very wide) and let all wives, as well of the greater as of the lesser, give honour to their husbands. 21, His counsel pleased the king, and the princes and the king did according to the counsel of Ma- muchan. º . 22. And he sent letters to all the provinces of his kingdom, as every nation could hear and read, in divers languages and characters, that the husbands | should be rulers, and masters in their houses: and that this should be published to every people. CHAP. II. Esther is advanced to be queen. Mardochai detecteth a plot against the king. FTER this, when the wrath of king Assuerus was appeased, he remembered Vasthi, and what she had done, and what she had suffered : 2 And the king's servants and his officers said: Let young women be sought for the king, virgins and beautiful : 3.And let some persons be sent through all the provinces to look for beautiful maidens and virgins: and let them bring them to the city of Susan, and put them into the house of the women, under the hand of Egeus the eunuch, who is the overseer and keeper of the king’s women; and let them receive women’s ornaments, and other things necessary for their use. 4 And whosoever among them all shall please the king’s eyes, let her be queen instead of Vasthi. The word pleased the king: and he commanded it should be done as they had suggested. 5 There was a man in the city of Susan, a Jew, named Mardochai, the son of Jair, the son of Se: mei, the son of Cis, of the race of Jemini, 6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem at the time that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon carried away Jechonias king of Juda, 7 And he had brought up his brother's daughter Edissa, who by another name was called Esther: now she had lost both her parents, and was exceeding ſain and beautiful. And her father and mother being dead, Mardochai adopted her for his daughter. 8 And when the king’s ordinance was nosed abroad, and according to his commandment many beautiful virgins were brought to Susan, and were delivered to Egeus the eunuch : Esther also among the rest of the maidens was delivered to him to be (kept in the number of the women. t —º _* - ESTHER. 9 And she pleased him, and found favour, in his eight. And he commanded the eunuch to hasten the wome I’s ornaments, and to deliver to her her part, and seven of the most beautiful maidens of the l,ing's house, and to adorn and deck out both her a d her waiting-maids. 10 And she would not tell him her people nor lier country : for Mardochai had charged her to say nothing at all of that. 1 i And he walked every day before the court of the house, in which the chosen virgins were kept, having a care for Esther’s welfare, and desiring to know what would befall her. - 12 Now when every virgin’s turn came to go in to the king, after all had been done for setting them ff to advantage, it was the twelfth month : so that or six months they were anointed with oil of myrrh : and for other six months they used certain perfumes and sweet spices. 13 And when they were going in to the king, whatsoever they asked to adorn themselves they received : and being decked out, as it pleased them, they passed from the chamber of the women to the king’s chamber. 14 And she that went in at evening, came out in the morning; and from thence she was conducted to the second house, that was under the hand of Su- sagaz the eunuch, who had the charge over the king’s concubines: neither could she return any more to the king, unless the king desired it, and had ordered her by name to come. 15 And as the time came orderly about, the day was at hand, when Esther the daughter of Abihail the brother of Mardochai, whom he had adopted for his daughter, was to go in to the king. But she sought not women's ornaments, but whatsoever Egeus the eunuch the keeper of the virgins had a mind, he gave hel to adorn her. For she was ex- ceeding fair, and her incredible beauty made her ap- pear agreeable and amiable in the eyes of all. 16 So she was brought to the chamber of king Assuerus the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved her more than all the wo- men : and she had favour and kindness before him above all the women : and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi. 18 And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes, and for his servants, for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces, and bestowed gifts accord- ing to princely magnificence. q 19 And when the virgins were sought the second tir me, and gathered together, Mardochai stayed at the king’s gate : 20 Neither had Esther as yet declared her coun- tly, and people, according to his commandment. For whatsoever he commanded, Esther observed : and she did all things in the same manner as she was wont at that time when he brought her up a | ttle one 21 At that time therefore, when Mardochai abode vi the king's gate, Bagºſhan and Thares, two of the 39 king’s eunuchs, who were porters, and presided in the first entry of the palace, were angry: and they designed to rise up against the king, and to kill him 22 And Mardochai had notice of it, and imme diately he told it to queen Esther ; and she to the king in Mardochai’s name, who had reportcd “ht thing unto her. 23 It was inquired into, and found out ; and they were both hanged on a gibbet. And it was put in the histories, and recorded in the chronicles before the king. CHAP. III. Aman advanced by the king, is offended at Mardochai ; and therefore procureth the king’s decree to destroy the whole ma- tion of the Jews. FTER these things, king Assuerus advanced Aman the son of Amadathi, who was of the race of Agag: and he set his throne above all the princes that were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants, that were at the doors of the palace, bent their knees, and worship- ped Aman : for so the emperor had commanded them ; only Mardochai did not bend his knee, nor worship him. 3 And the king’s servants that were chief at the doors of the palace, said to him : Why dost thou alone not observe the king’s commandment f 4 And when they were saying this often, and he would not hearken to them, they told Aman, desi- rous to know whether he would continue in his re- solution : for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 Now when Aman had heard this, and had prov- ed by experience that Mardochai did not bend his knee to him, nor worship him, he was exceedingly angry. 6 And he counted it as nothing to lay his hands upon Mardochai alone : for he had heard that he was of the nation of the Jews ; and he chose rather to destroy all the nation of the Jews that were in the kingdom of Assuerus. - 7 in the first month (which is called Nisan) in the twelfth year of the reign of Assuerus, the lot was cast into an urn, which in Hebrew is called Phur, before Aman, on what day and what month the ma- tion of the Jews should be destroyed : and there came out the twelfth month, which is called Adar. 8 And Aman said to king Assuerus: There is a people scattered through all the provinces of thy kingdom, and separated one from another, that use new laws and ceremonies, and moreover despise the king’s ordinances : and thou knowest very well that it is not expedient for thy kingdom that they should grow insolent by impunity. 9 If it please thee, decree that they may be de- stroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents to thy t]'êaSUll'el'S. 10 And the king took the ring that he used, from his own hand, and gave it to Aman the son of Ama- dathi of the race of Agag, the enemy of the Jews | 1 And he said to him : As to the money which thou promisest, keep it for thyself: aud as to the people, do with them as seemeth good to thee. 12 And the king’s scribes were called in the first <-> *> < . S- | - 2 CHAP. IV. V. month Nisan, on the thirteenth day of the same month: and they wrote, as Aman had commanded, o all the king’s lieutenants, and to the judges of the provinces, and of divers nations, as every nation could read and hear according to their different lan- guages, in the name of king Assuerus : and the let- ters sealed with his ring 13 Were sent by the king’s messengers to all pro- vinces, to kill and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, that is, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is called Adar, and to make a spoil of their goods. 14, And the contents of the letters were to this effect, that all provinces might know, and be ready against that day. 15 The couriers that were sent made haste to ſulfil the king’s commandment. And immediately she edict was hung up in Susan, the king and Aman feasting together, and all the Jews that were in the city weeping. CHAP. IV. - Mardochai desireth Esther to petition the king for the Jews. They join in fasting and prayer. TOW when Mardochai had heard these things, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his head : and he cried with a loud voice in the street in the midst of the city, show- ing the anguish of his mind. 2 And he came lamenting in this manner even to the gate of the palace : for no one clothed with sack- cloth might enter the king’s court. 3 And in all provinces, towns, and places, to which the king’s cruel edict was come, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, wail- ing, and weeping, many using sackcloth and ashes for their bed. 4. Then Esther's maids and her eunuchs went in, and told her. And when she heard it she was in a consternation : and she sent a garment to clothe him, and to take away the sackcloth : but he would not receive it. * 5 And she called for Athach the eunuch, whom the king had appointed to attend upon her ; and she commanded him to go to Mardochai, and to learn of him, why he did this. 6 And Athach going out went to Mardochai, who was standing in the street of the city, before the palace-gate: 7 And Mardochai told him all that had happened, how Aman had promised to pay money into the izing’s treasures, to have the Jews destroyed. 8. He gave him also a copy of the edict which was hanging up in Susan, that he should show it to the queen, and admonish her to go in to the king, and to entieat him for her people. 9 And Athach went back, and told Esther all that Mardochai had said. 10 She answered him, and bade him say to Mar- do hai : ll All the king’s servants, and all the provinces that are under his dominion, know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, cometh into the king’s in- ucr court, who is not called for, is immediately to >+ ==== *—E be put to death without any delay; except the knig shall hold out the golden sceptre to him, in toker of clemency, that so he may live. How then can go in to the king, who for these thirty days now have not been called unto him P 12 And when Mardochai had heard this, 13. He sent word to Esther again, saying: Think not that thou mayst save thy life only, because thou art in the king's house, more than all the Jews : 14 For if thou wilt now hold thy peace, the Jews shall be delivered by some other occasion : and thou and thy father’s house shall perish. And who knoweth whether thou art not therefore come to the kingdom, that thou mightest be ready in such a time as this P 15 And again Esther sent to Mardochai in these words: 16 Go, and gather together all the Jews whom thou shalt find in Susan, and pray ye for me. Nei- ther eat, nor drink for three days and three nights : and I with my handmaids will fast in like manner : and then I will go in to the king, against the law, not being called, and expose myself to death and to danger. 17 So Mardochai went, and did all that Esther had commanded him. CHAP. V. Esther is graciously received : she inviteth the king and Alman to dinner. Aman prepareth a gibbet for Mardochai. AND on the third day Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over-against the king’s hall: now he sat upon his throne in the hall of the palace, over- against the door of the house. 2 And when he saw Esther the queen standing, she pleased his eyes, and he held out toward her the golden sceptre, which he held in his hand: and she drew near, and kissed the top of his sceptre. 3 And the king said to her : What wilt thou. queen Esther? what is thy request P if thou shoulds, even ask one half of the kingdom, it shall be given to thee. 4. But she answered : If it please the king, I be. seech thee to come to me this day, and Aman with thee, to the banquet which I have prepared. 5 Aºid the king said forthwith: Call ye Aman quickly, that he may obey Esther’s will. . So the king and Aman came to the banquet which the queen had prepared for them. 6 And the king said to her, after he had drunk wine plentifully : what dost thou desire should be given thee P and for what thing askest thou? although thou shouldst ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it. - 7 And Esther answered : My petition and re- quest is this: 8 If I have found favour ir, the king's sight, and if it please the king to give me what I ask, and to fulfil my petition; let the king and Aman come to the banquet which l have prepared them ; and to morrow I will open my mind to the king. 9 So Aman went out that day joyful and merry And when he saw Mºlochai sitting before the late $ ESTHER. of the palace, and that he not only did not rise up to honour him, but did not so intuch as move from the place where he sat, he was exceedingly angry: 10 But dissembling his anger. and returning into mis house, he called togetner to him his friends, and Zares his wife: 11 And he declared to them the greatness of his inches, and the multitude of his children, and with how great glory the king had advanced him above all his princes and servants. 12 And after this he said: Queen Esther also hath invited no other to the banquet with the king, but me: and with her I am also to dine to-morrow with the king. 13 And whereas I have all these things, I think I have nothing, so long as I see Mardochai the Jew sitting before the king's gate. 14 Then Zares his wife, and the rest of his friends answer, him. Order a great beam to be prepared, fifty cubits high , and in the morning speak to the king, that Mardochai may be hanged upon it; and so thou shalt go full of joy with the king to the ban- quet. The counsel pleased him; and he commanded a high gibbet to be prepared. - CHAP. VI. The king hearing of the good service done him by Mardochai, commandeth Aman to honour him neart to the king which he performeth HAT might the king passed without sleep; and he commanded the histories and chronicles of former times to be brought him. And when they were reading them before him, 2 They came to that place where it was written, how Mardochai had discovered the treason of Baga- than and Thares the eunuchs, who sought to kill king Assuerus. 3 And when the king heard this, he said: What honour and reward hath Mardochai received for this ſidelity? His servants and ministers said to him : He hath received no reward at all.” 4 And the king said immediately: Who is in the court? for Aman was coming in to the inner court f the king’s house, to speak to the king, that he might order Mardochai to be hanged upon the gib- bet which was prepared for him. 5 The servants answered: Aman standetſ in the court. And the king said: Let him come in. & 6 And when he was come in, he said to him : What ought to be done to the man whom the king is desirous to honour P But Arman thinking in his heart, and supposing that the king would honour no o' her but himself, - 7 Answered : The man whom the king desireth to honour, 8 Ought to be clothed with the king's apparel, and to be set upon the horse that the king rideth tijon, and to have the royal crown upon his head. 9 And let the first of the king’s princes and nobles mold his horse, and going through the street of the city, proclaim before h, m, and say. Thus shall he be honoured, whom the king hath a mind to honour. 10 And the king said to him: Make haste, and take the robe, and the horse; and do as thou hast spoken to Mardochai the Jew, who sitteth before the gates of the palace. Beware thou pass over any of those things which thou hast spoken. 1 1 So Aman took the robe, and the horse, and arraying Mardochai in the street of the city, and setting him on the horse, went before him, and pro- claimed: This honour is he worthy of, whom the king hath a mind to honour. 12 And Mardochai returned to the palace-gate; and Aman made haste to go to his house, mourning and having his head covered : 13 And he told Zares his wife, and his friends all that had befallen him. And the wise men whom he had in counsel, and his wife answered him : If Mardochai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou canst not resist him, but thou shalt fall in his sight. 14 As they were yet speaking, the king’s eunuchs came, and sompelled him to go quickly to the ban- quet which the queen had prepared. CHAP. VII. Esther’s petition for herself and her people : Aman is hanged upon the gibbet he had prepared for Mardochai. O the king and Aman went in, to drink with the → queen. 2 And the king said to her again the second day after he was warm with wine: §. is thy petition, Esther, that it may be granted thee? and what wilt thou have done? although thou ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it. - 3 Then she answered: If I have found favour in thy sight, Q king, and if it please thee, give me my life for which l ask, and my people for which I re (jueSt. 4 For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bond women : the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence: but now we have an enemy whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king. 5 And king Assuerus answered, and said: Who is this, and of what power, that he should do these things f 6 And Esther said: It is this Aman that is our adversary and most wicked enemy. Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished, not being able to bear the countenance of the king and of the queen. 7 But the king benig angry rose up, and wer: from the place of the banquet into the garden sel with trees. Aman also rose up to entreat Esther the queen for his life : for he understood that evil was prepared for him by the king. 8 And when the king came back out of the gar- den set with trees, and entered into the place of the banquet, he found Aman was fallen upon the bed on which Esther lay: and he said: He will force the queen also in my presence, in my own house. The word was not yet gone out of the king's mouth. ant immediately they covered his face. * Nº reirard at all. He received some presents from the king, chap. Ali 5. but these were so inconsiderable in e opinion of the courtiers, that they “steerned them as nothing at all. 40ſ) O -- - ====<= = --> <--- ºqūlīE *T-Y-> —r. "N …' …’T (C- TSS- Aſ ºf CHAP. VIII, IX. . . . Wºre * 9 And Harbona, one of the eunuchs, that stood waiting on the king, said: Behold, the gibbet which he hath prepared for Mardochai, who spoke for the king, standeth in Aman’s house, being fifty cu- bits high. And the king said to him : Hang him upon it. - & 10 So Aman was hanged on the gibbet which he had prepared for Mardochai: and the king's wrath eased. CHAP. VIII. Murdochai is advanced: Aman’s letters are reversed. N that day king Assuerus gave the house of Aman, the Jews' enemy, to queen Esther: and Mardochai came in before the king. For Esther had confessed to him that he was her uncle. 2 Aud the king took the ring which he had com- manded to be taken again from Aman, and gave it to Mardochai. And Esther set Mardochai over her mouse. 3 And not content with these things, she fell down at the king's feet and wept; and speaking to him besought him, that he would give orders that the malice of Aman the Agagite, and his most wick- ed devices which he had invented against the Jews, should be of no effect. 4. But he, as the manner was, held out the golden sceptre with his hand, which was the sign of cle- mency: and she arose up, and stood before him, 5 And said: If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and my request be not dis- agreeable to him, I beseech thee, that the former letters of Aman the traitor and enemy of the Jews, by which he commanded that they should be de- stroyed in all the king’s provinces, may be reversed by new letters. 6 For how can I endure the murdering and slaugh- cer of my people? 7 And king Assuerus answered Esther the queen, and Mardochai the Jew: I have given Aman’s house to Esther; and I have commanded him to be hang- ed on a gibbet, because he durst lay hands on the Jews. 8 Write ye therefore to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal the letters with my ring. For this was the custom, that no man durst gainsay the letters which were sent in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring. 9 Then the king's scribes and secretaries were called for (now it was the time of the third month which is called Siban) the three and twentieth day of the month; and letters were written, as Mardo- chai had a mind, to the Jews, and to the governors, and to the deputies, and to the judges, who were rulers over the hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia; to province and pro- vince, to peonle and people, according to their lan- guages and gnaracters, and to the Jews, according as they could read and hear. 10 And these letters which were sent in the king's .* To revenge, &c. The Jews on this occasion by authority from the king, were made executioners of the public justice, for punishing by name, were sealed with his ring, and sent by posts who were to run through all the provinces, to pre- vent the former letters with new messages. 1] And the king gave orders to them, to speak to the Jews in every city, and to command them to gather themselves together, and to stand for their lives, and to kill and destroy all their enemies with their wives and children and all their houses, and to take their spoil. 12 Andone day of revenge was appointed through all the provinces, to wit, the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar. 13 And this was the content of the letter, that it should be notified in all lands and peoples that were subject to the empire of king Assuerus, that the Jews Were ready to be revenged of their enemies. 14 So the swift posts went out, carrying the mes Sages; and the king’s edict was hung up in Susan 15 And Mardochai going forth out of the palace and from the king's presence, shone in royal apparel, to wit, of violet and sky colour, wearing a golden crown on his head, and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple. And all the city rejoiced, and was glad. 16 But to the Jews a new light seemed to rise, joy, honour, and dancing. 17 And in all peoples, cities, and provinces, whithersoever the king’s commandments came, there was wonderful rejoicing, feasts and banquets, and keeping holy-day: insomuch that many of other na- tions and religion, joined themselves to their wor- ship and ceremonies. For a great dread of the name of the Jews had fallen upon all. CHAP. IX. The Jews kill their enemies that would have killed them. The days of Phurim are appointed to be kept holy. NO on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which as we have said above is called Adar, when all the Jews were designed to be massacred, and their enemies were greedy after their blood, the case being altered, the Jews began to have the upper hand, and to revenge” themselves of their adversa- I'l (2S, 2 And they gathered themselves together in every city, and town, and place, to lay their hands on thei enemies, and their persecutors. And no one durst withstand them; for the fear of their power had gone through every people. 3 And the judges of the provinces, and the go- vernors, and lieutenants, and every one in dignity, that presided over every place and work, extolled the Jews for fear of Mardochai: 4. For they knew him to be prince of the palace, and to have great power: and the fame of his name increased daily, and was spread abroad through all . men’s mouths. 5 So the Jews made a great slaughter of their enemies, and killed them, repaying according to what they had prepared to do to them: 6 Insomuch that even in Susan they killed five hundred men, besides the ten sons of Aman the death a crime worthy of death, viz. A malicious conspiracy for exti rating their whole nation. 401 EST H E it. Yºr- Agagite, the enemy of the Jews: whose names are these : 7 Pharsandatha, and Delphon, and Esphatha, 8 And Phoratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, 9 And Phermesta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Jezatha. 10 And when they had slain them, they would not touch the spoils of their goods. l And presently the number of them that were killed in Susan was brought to the king. 12 And, he said to the queen : The Jews have killed five hundred men in the city of Susan, besides the ten sons of Aman : how many dost thou think they nave slain in all the provinces P What askest thou more, and what wilt thou have me to command to be done? 13 And she answered : If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews, to do to-morrow in Susan as they have dome to-day, and that the ten sons of Aman may be hanged upon gibbets. 14 And the king commanded that it should be so done. And forth with the edict was hung up in Susan, and the ten sons of Aman were hanged. 15 And on the fourteenth day of the month Adar, the Jews gathered themselves together, and they killed in Susan three hundred men: but they took not their substance. 16 Moreover through all the provinces which were subject to the king's dominion the Jews stood for their lives, and slew their enemies and persecu- tors: insomuch that the number of them that were killed amounted to seventy-five thousand, and no man took any of their goods. 17 Now the thirteenth day of the month Adar was the first day with them all of the slaughter, and on the fourteenth day they left off. Which they or- dained to be kept i. so that all times hereaf- ter they should celebrate it with feasting, joy, and oanquets. 18 But they that were killing in the city of Susan, were employed in the slaughter on the thirteenth and fourteenth day of the same month: and on the fiſ- teenth day they rested. And therefore they appointed at day to be a holy-day of feasting and gladness. 19 But those Jews that dwelt in towns not wall- ed, and in villages, appointed the fourteenth day of the month Adar for banquets and gladness, so as to rejoice on that day, and send one another portions of their banquets and meats. • 20 And Mardochai wrote all these things, and sent them comprised in letters to the Jews that abode in all the ºpovinces both those that law near and those afar off, º 21 That they should receive the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month Adar for holy-days, and always at, the return of the year should celebrate them with solemn honour: 22 Because on those days the Jews revenged themse'ves of their enemies, and their mourning and Sorrow were turned into mirth and joy, and that these should be days of feasting and gladness, in which they should send one to another portions of theats, and should give gifts to the poor. J (J2 23 And the Jews undertook to observe with so. lemnity all they had begun to do at that time, which Mardochai by letters had commanded to be done 24 For Aman, the son of Amadathi of the race of Agag, the enemy and adversary of the Jews, had devised evil against them, to kill them and destroy them : and had cast Phur, that is, the lot. 25 And afterwards Esther went in to the king, beseeching him that his endeavours might be mad. void by the king’s letters: and the evil that he had intended against the Jews, might return upon his own head. And so both he and his sons were hanged upon gibbets. 26 And since that time these days are called Phurim, that is, of Lots: because Phur, that is, the lot, was cast into the urn., And all things that were done, are contained in the volume of this epistle, that is, of this book: 27 And the things that they suffered, and that were afterwards changed, the Jews took upon them selves and their seed, and upon all that had a mind to be joined to their religion, so that it should be lawful for none to pass these days without solemnity: which the writing testifieth, and certain times re- quire, as the years continually succeed one another. 28 These are the days which shall never be ſor- got : and which all provinces in the whole world shall celebrate throughout all generations: neither is there any city wherein the days of Phurim, that is, of lots, must not be observed by the Jews, and by their posterity, which is bound to these ceremonies. 29 And Esther the queen the daughter of Abi- hail, and Mardochai the Jew wrote also a second epistle, that with all diligence this day should be established a festival for the time to come. 30 And they sent to all the Jews that were in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of king As- Stierus, that they should have peace, and receive truth, 31 ...And observe the days of lots, and celebrate them with joy in their proper time, as Mardochai and Esther had appointed: and they undertook them to be observed by themselves and by their seed, fasts, and cries, and the days of lots, 32 And all things which are contained in the histo- ry of this book, which is called Esther. CHAP. X. Assuerus's greatness. Mardochai’s digny. ND king Assuerus made all the land, and all the islands of the sea tributary. 2 And his strength and his empire, and the digni- ty and greatness wherewith he exalted Mardochai, are written in the books of the Medes, and of the Persians : 3 And how Mardochai of the race of the Jews, was next after king Assuerus: and great among the Jews, and acceptable to the people of his bre- thren, seeking the good of his people, and speaking those things which were for the welfare of his seed 4. Then Mardochai” said: God hath done these things. * Then Mardochai, &c. Here St Jerome advertiseth the reader that what follows is not in the Hebrew but is found in the septuagin, … 2'T --> *==<>== = º--- ~~Tº —w ..sº ~ F^S CHAP. XI, XII, XIII 5 I remember a dream that I saw, which signified these same things: and nothing thereof hath failed. 6 The little fountain which grew into a river, and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters, is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. 7 But the two dragons: are I, and Aman. 3 The nations that were assembled : are they that endeavoured to destroy the name of the Jews. 9 And my nation' is Israel, who cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved his people: and he delivered us from all evils, and hath wrought great signs and wonders among the nations: 10 And he commanded that there should be two ots, one of the people of God, and the other of all the nations. º 11 And both lots came to the day appointed al- ready from that time before God to all nations: 12 And the Lord remembered his people, and had mercy on his inheritance. 13 And these days shall be observed in the month of Adar on the fourteenth, and fifteenth day of the same month, with all diligence, and joy of the people gathered into one assembly, throughout all the gene- rations hereafter of the people of israel. CHAP. XI. The dream of Mardochai which in the ancient Greek and Latin bibles was in the beginning of the book, but was detached by St. Jerome, and put in this place. IN the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest, and of the Levitical race, and Ptolemy his son brought this epistle of Phurim, which they said Ly- simachus the son of Ptolemy had interpreted in Je- rusalem. g 2 In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great, in the first day of the month Nisan, Mar- dochai the son of Jair, the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of the tribe of Benjamin' 3. A Jew who dwelt in the city of Susan, a great man and among the first of the king's court, had a dream. - 4. Now he was of the number of the captives, whom Nabuchodomosor king of Babylon had carried away from Jerusalem with Jechonias king of Juda: 5 And this was his dream : * Behold, there were voices, and tumults, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon the earth. 6 And behold, two great dragons came forth ready to fight one against another. 7 And at their cry all nations were stirred up to fight against the nation of the just. 8 And that was a day of darkness and danger, of tribulation and distress, and great fear upon the earth. 9 And the nation of the just was troubled, fearing their own evils, and was prepared for death. 10 And they cried to God: and as they were trying, a little fountain grew into a very great river, and abounded into many waters. - 11 The light and the sun rose up, and the hum- ble were exalted, and they devoured the glories. 12 And when Mardochai had seen this, and arose out of his bed, he was thinking what God would do : and he kept it fixed in his mind, desirous to know what the dream should signify? CHAP. XII. Mardochai detects the conspiracy of the two eunuchs. A\º he abode at that time in the king's court with Bagatha and Thara the king's eunuchs, who were porters of the palace. 2 And when he understood their designs, and had diligently searched into their projects, he learn- ed that they went about to lay violent hands on king Artaxerxes, and he told the king thereof. 3 Then the king had them both examined, and after they had confessed, commanded them to be put to death. 4. But the king made a record of what was done and Mardochai also committed the memory of the thing to writing. 5 And the king commanded him to abide in the court of the palace, and gave him presents for the information. 6 But Aman the son of Amadathi the Bugite was in great honour with the king, and sought to hurt Mardochai and his people, because of the two eunuchs of the king who were put to death. CHAP. XIII. A copy of a letter sent by Aman to destroy the Jews. Mardocnn. prayer for the people. AND this was the copy of the letter. Artaxerx- es the great king who reigneth from India to Ethiopia, to the princes and governors of the hun- dred and twenty-seven provinces, that are subject to his empire, greeting. 2 Whereas I reigned over many nations, and had brought all the world under my dominion, I was not willing to abuse the greatness of my power, but to govern my subjects with clemency and lenity, that they might live quietly without any terror, and might enjoy peace, which is desired by all men. 3 But when I asked my counsellors how this might be accomplished, one that excelled the rest in wisdom and fidelity, and was second after the king, Aman by name, 4. Told me that there was a people scattered through the whole world, which used new laws, and acted against the customs of all nations, despised the commandments of kings, and violated by their opposition the concord of all nations. 5 Wherefore having learned this, and seeing one nation in opposition to all mankind using perverse laws, and going against our commandments, and disturbing the peace and concord of the provinces subject to us, 6 We have commanded that all whom Aman shall mark out, who is chief over all the provinces, and second after the king, and whom we honour as a father, shall be utterly destroyed by their enemies, G; eek edition, which the 72 interpreters translated out of the Hebrew, g added by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 26 __---> --> ==-> 2 ºilº _^T *~ ems- * A dream. This dream was prophetical and extraordinary : other wise the general rule is not to observe drearns Esther. Yºº- with their wives and children, and that none shall nave pity on them, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month Adar of this present year: 7 That these wicked men going down to hell in one day, may restore to our empire the peace which they had disturbed. - & But Mardochai besought the Lord, remember- ing all his works 9 And said: Ö Lord, Lord, almighty King, for ll things are in thy power, and there is none that an resist thy will, if thou determine to save Israel. 10 Thou hast made heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven. l I Thou art Lord of all, and there is none that can resist thy majesty 12 Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest hat it was not out of pride and contempt, or any desire of glory that I refused to worship the proud Aman 13 (For I would willingly and readily for the sal- wation of Israel have kissed even the steps of his feet,) 14 But I feared lest I should transfer the honour of my God to a man, and lest I should adore any one except my God. 15 And now, O Lord, O King, O God of Abra- ham, have mercy on thy people, because our enemies resolve to destroy us, ...]". thy inheritance. 16 Despise not thy portion, which thou hast re- deemed for thyself out of Egypt. 17 Hear my supplication, and be merciful to thy 'ot and inheritance, and turn our mourning into joy, that we may live and praise thy name, O Lord, mid shut not the mouth of them that sing to thee. 18 And all Israel with like mind and supplication cried to the Lord, because they saw certain death hanging over their heads. CHAP. XIV. The prayer of Esther for herself and her people. UEEN Esther also, fearing the danger that was at hand, had recourse to the Lord. 2 And when she had laid away her royal apparel, she put on garments suitable for weeping and mourn- ing, instead of divers precious ointments, she cover- ed her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body with fasts: and all the places in which be- fore she was accustomed to rejoice, she filled with her torn hair. 3 And she prayed to the Lord the God of Israel, saying: O my Lord, who alone art our king, help me a desolate woman, and who nave no other help- er but thee. 4 My danger is in my hands. 5 I have heard of my father that thou, O Lord, didst take Israel from among all nations, and our fa- thers from all their predecessors, to possess them as an everlasting inheritance, and thou hast done to them as thou hast promised. 6 We have sinned in thy sight, and therefore| thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies: 7. For we have worshipped their gods. Thou art just, O Lord. * And now they are not content to oppress us --Tº--------ve ---> ~-l 2_2^T <> - with most hard bondage, but attributing the strength of their hands to the power of their idols, 9 They design to change thy promises, and de- stroy thy inheritance, and shut the mouths of them that praise thee, and extinguish the glory of thy tem. ple and altar, 10 That they may open the mouths of Gentiles, and praise the strength of idols, and magnify for ever a carnal king. 11 Give not, Ö Lord, thy sceptre to them that are not, lest they laugh at our ruin: but turn their counsel upon themselves, and destroy him that hath begun to rage against us. 12 Remember, O Lord, and show thyself to us in the time of our tribulation, and give me boldness, O Lord, King of gods, and of all power: 13 Give me a well ordered speech in my mouth in the presence of the lion, and turn his heart to the hatred of our enemy, that both he himself may pe- rish, and the rest that consent to him. 14 But deliver us by thy hand, and help me, who have no other helper, but thee, O Lord, who hast the knowledge of all things. 15 And thou knowest that I hate the glory of the wicked, and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. - 16 Thou knowest my necessity, that I abomirate the sign of my pride and glory, which is upon my head in the days of my public appearance, and de- test it as a menstruous rag, and wear it not in the days of my silence. 17 And that I have not eaten at Aman’s table nor hath the king’s banquet pleased me, and that have not drunk the wine of the drink-offerings: 18 And that thy handroaid hath never rejoiced, since I was brought hither unto this day, but in thee O Lord, the God of Abraham. 19 O God, who art mighty above all, hear the voice of them that have no other hope, and deliver us from the hand of the wicked, and deliver me from my fear. CHAP. XV Esther comes into the king’s presence : she is terrified, but God turns his heart. ANP he commanded her (no doubt but he was Mardochai) to go to the king, and petition for her people, and for her country. 2 Remember (said he) the days of thy low estate, how thou wast brought up by my hand, because Aman the second after the king hath spoken against us unto death. . - 3. And do thou call upon the Lord, and speak to the king for us, and deliver us from death. 4 And on the third day she laid away the gar ments she wore, and put on her glorious apparel. 5 And glittering in royal robes, after she had call- ed upon God the ruler and saviour of all, she took two maids with her, 6 And upon one of them she leaned, as if for de- licateness and overmuch tenderness, she were slot able to bear up her own body: 7 And the other maid followed her lady, bearing up her train flowing on the ground. 404 CHAP. XVI. Yºre 8 But she with a rosy colour in her face, and with gracious and bright eyes, hid a mind full of an- guish, and exceeding great fear. 9 So going in she passed through all the doors in order, and stood before the king, where he sat upon nis royal throne, clothed with his royal robes, and glittering with gold, and precious stones, and he was ºerrible to behold. 10 And when he had lifted up his countenance, and with burning eyes had shown the wrath of his heart, the queen sunk down, and her colour turned !. and she rested her weary head upon her hand- IIl:ll (1. 11 And God changed the king's spirit into mild- ness, and all in haste and in fear he leaped from his throne, and holding her up in his arms, till she came to herself, caressed her with these words: 12 What is the matter, Esther? I am thy brother, fear not. 13 Thou shalt not die: for this law is not made for thee, but for all others. 14 Come near then, and touch the sceptre. 15 And as she held her peace, he took the golden sceptre, and laid it upon her neck, and kissed her, and said: Why dost thou not speak to me? 16 She answered: I saw thee, my lord, as an Angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy majesty. 17 For thou, my lord, art very admirable, and thy face is full of graces. 18 And while she was speaking, she fell down again, and was almost in a swoon. 19 But the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her. CHAP. XVI. A copy of the king's letter in favour of the Jews. TH E great king Artaxerxes, from India to Ethi- opia,” to the governors and princes of a hun- dred and twenty-seven provinces, which obey our command, sendeth greeting. 2 Many have abused unto pride the goodness of princes, and the honour that hath been bestowed up- on them : 3 And not only endeavour to oppress the king’s subjects, but not bearing the glory that is given them, take in hand to practice also against them that gave it. 4. Neither are they content not to return thanks for benefits received, and to violate in themselves the laws of humanity, but they think they can also escape the justice of God who seeth all things. 5 And they break out into so great madness, as to endeavour to undermine by lies such as observe dili-] gently the offices committed to them, and do all things in such manner as to be worthy of all men's praise, 6 While with crafty fraud they deceive the ears of princes that are well-meaning, and judge of others by their own nature. - 7 Now this is proved both from ancient histories, and by the things which are done daily, how the good * From India to Ethiopia. That is, who reigneth from India to Ethiopia → ... Tº ...A designs of kings are depraved by the evil suggestions of certain men. 8 Wherefore we must provide for the peace of all provinces. 9 Neither must you think, if we command differ- ent things, that it cometh of the levity of our mind, but that we give sentence according to the quality and necessity of times, as the profit of the common. wealth requireth. 10 Now that you may more plainly understand what we say, Aman the son of Amadathi, a Mace donian both in mind and country, and having no- thing of the Persian blood, but with his cruelty stain- ing our goodness, was received being a stranger hy UIS . . 11 And found our humanity so great towards him, that he was called our father, and was worshipped by all as the next man after the king : 12 But he was so far puffed up with arrogancy, as to go about to deprive us of our kingdom and life. 13 For with certain new and unheard-of devices he hath sought the destruction of Mardochai, by whose fidelity and good services our life was saved, and of Esther the partner of our kingdom, with all their nation: 14. Thinking that after they were slain, he might work treason against us left alone without friends, and might transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians. 15 But we have found that the Jews, who were by that most wicked man appointed to be slain, are in no fault at all, but contrariwise use just laws, 16 And are the children of the highest and the greatest, and the ever-living God, by whose benefit the kingdom was given both to our fathers and to us and is kept unto this day. 17 Wherefore know ye that those letters which he sent in our name, are void and of no effect. 18 For which crime both he himself that devis- ed it, and all his kindred hang on gibbets, before the gates of this city Susan : not we, but God repaying him as he deserved. 19 But this edict, which we now send, shall be published in all cities, that the Jews may freely fol low their own laws. 20 And you shall aid them that they may kill those who had prepared themselves to kill them, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is called Adar. 21 For the almighty God hath turned this day of sadness and mourning into joy to them. 22 Wherefore you shall also count this day among other festival days, and celebrate it with all joy, that it may be known also in times to come, 23 That all they who faithfully obey the Persians, receive a worthy reward for their fidelity: but they that are traitors to their kingdom, are destroyed for their wickedness. 24. And let every province and city, that will not be partaker of this solemnity, perish by the sword and by fire, and be destroyed in such manner as to be made unpassable both to men and beasts, for an example of contempt, ºd disobedience. THE BOOK OF JOB. This book takes its name from the holy man, of whom it treats : who, according to the more probable opinion, was of the race of £ian ; # the same as Jobah, king of Edom, mentioned Hen. xxxvi. 33. It is uncertain who was the writer of it. Some attribute it to Job himself; others to Moses, or some one of the prophets. In the Hebrew it is written in verse, from t i. beginning of the third chapter to the forty-second chapter. CHAP. I. Job’s virtue and riches. Satan, by permission from God, strip- peth him of all his substance. His patience. . . / HW HERE was a mº - - - - - - - - - - - - gy Tre Il I_0 iTV, IT 2 V V & AJ, & R G is is tº a ſº name was Job, and that man was simpleſ and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil. 2 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a family exceeding great ; and this man was great among all the people of the east. - 4 And his sons went, and made-a feast by hous- es,f every one in his day. And sending they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them : and rising up º them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sin- ned, and have blessed|| God in their hearts. So did Job all days. - 6 Now on a certain day when the sons of God') came to stand before the Lord, Satan alsol was present among them. 7 And the Lord said to him : Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it. 8 And the Lord said to him : Hast thou consi- dered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil P 9 And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain P 10 Hast not thou made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath in- creased on the earth P - - 11 Butstretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he blesseth thee not to thy face. 12 Then the Lord said to Satan : Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand : only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth from he presence of the Lord. 13 Now upon a certain day when his sons and As a i a sºlº I ament. iv. 2 l # Simple. That is, innocent, sincere, and without guile. ! .ºnd made a fast by houses. That is, each made a feast in his own hºuse and had his day, inviting the others and their sisters. I Blessed. For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the scripture both here and ver. 11, and in the following chapter, ver, 5. ind 9. uses the word bless to signify ºntrary. in the land of Hus,” whose early offered holocausts for every one of _------- gº º º T- ====<= = daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, 14. There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them, 15 And the Sabeans rushed in, and took alſ away, and slew the servants with the sword, ai.d 1 alone have escaped to tell thee. 16 And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath consumed them, and i alone have escaped io teii thee. 17 And while he also was yet speaking, theic came another, and said: The Chaldeans made three troops, camels, and taken them, - - V., it iſ iſ iſ º a & 4 & Rºº. * * * * * *-* g 4.5 * * * *=& sº-ºp m and have fallen upon the moreover they have slain the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell thee. . 18 He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their elder brother 19 A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead, and l alone have escaped to tell thee. 20 Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground and worshipped. 21 And said: Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hat! pleased the Lord, so it is done blessed be the name. of the Lord. 22 In all these things Job sinned now by his lips nor spoke he any foolish thing against God CHAP. II. Satan, by God’s permission, striketh Job with ulcers from head to foot : his patience is still invincible. AND it came to pass when on a certain day the sons of God came, and stood before the Lord, and Satan came among them, and stood in his sight, 2 That the Lord said to Satan : Whence comest thou? and he answered, and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it. 3 And the Lord said to Satan: Hast thou con- sidered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and still keeping his inno- cence P But thou hast moved me against him. that ! should afflict him without cause. 4 And Satan answered, anſ' said: Skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for his life. 5 But put forth thy hand, and touch his bone and # The sons of God. The angels. Satan also, &c. This passage represents to us in a figure, accorn. modated to the ways and understandings of men, 1. The restless en deavours of Satan against the servants of God; 2. That he can do nothing without God's permission ; 3. That God doth not permat him to attempt them above their strength ; but assists them by his divine grace in such manner, that the vain efforts of the enemy only serve is illustrate their virtue and increase their merit. CHAP. III, IV. his flesh, and then thou shalt sce that he will bless thee to thy face. 6 And the Lord said to Satan : Behold he is in thy hand, but yet save his life. 7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the Ilord, and struck Job with a very grievous ulcer, from the sole of the foot even to the top of his head: 8 And he took a potsherd and scraped the cor- rup' matter, sitting on a dunghill. 9 And his wife said to him : Dost thou still con- tiuue in thy simplicity? bless God and die. 10 And he said to her: Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women : if we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not re- §§ evil P In all these things Job did not sin with 11S 11pS. 11 Now when Job’s three friends heard all the tvil, that had befallen him, they came every one from his own place, Eliphaz the Themanite, and Baldad the Suhite, and Sophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment to come to- gether and visit him, and comfort him. 12 And when they had lift up their eyes aſar off, Jhey knew him not, and crying out they wept, and rending their garments they sprinkled dust upon Jheir heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no man spoke to him a word : for they saw that his grief was very great. CHAP. III. 'ob eacpresseth his sense of the miseries of man’s life, by cursing the day of his birth. AFTER his Job opened his mouth, and cursed 4 *- his day,” 2 And he said: 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said: a man-child is conceived. 4 Let that day be turned into darkness, let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it. 5 Let darkness, and the shadow of death cover it, let a mist overspread it, and let it be wrapped up in bitterness. 6 Let a darksome whirlwind seize upon that light, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the months. 7 : ,et that night be solitary, and not worthy of praise. 8. Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to raise up a Leviathan. 9 Let the stars be darkened with the mist there- of: let it expect light and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning of the day: 10 Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, nor took away evils from my eyes. 1 l Why did I not die in the womb, why did I not perish when I came out of the belly P 12 Why received upon the knees? why suckled at the breasts P 13 For now I should have been asleep and still, and should have rest in my sleep : - 14 With kings and consuls of the earth, wha build themselves solitudes: 15 Or with princes, that possess gold, and fill their houses with silver: 16 Or as a hidden untimely birth I should not be, É. i. they that being conceived have not seen the Ight. 17 There the wicked cease from tumult, and there the wearied in strength are at rest. . 18. And they sometime bound together without disquiet, have not heard the voice of the Oppressor . 19 The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master. 20.Why is light given to him that is in mistry and life to them that are in bitterness of sou? 21, That look for death, and it cometh not, as they that dig for a treasure. 22, And they rejoice exceedingly when they have found the grave. 23 To a man whose way is hidden, and God hath surrounded him with darkness? 24. Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing wa- ters, So is my roaring: 25 For the fear, which I feared, hath come upon me; and that which I was afraidoſ, hath befallen me 26 Have I, not dissembled * have I not kept si- lencef have I not been quiet? and indignation is COme upon me. CHAP. IV. Eliphaz charges Job with impatience, and pretends that Goa never afflicts the innocent. THEN Eliphaz the Themanite answered, and S&l IO . 2 If we begin to speak to thee, perhaps thou wilt take it ill, but who can withhold the words he hath conceived P - 3 Behold, thou hast taught many, and thou has. strengthened the weary hands: 4 Thy words have confirmed them that were stag- gering, and thou hast strengthened the trembling knees: * 5 But now the scourge is come upon thee, and thou ſaintest: it hath touched thee, and thou art troubled. 6 Where is thy fear, thy fortitude, thy patience, and the perfection of thy ways? 7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished ne- ing innocent? or when were the just destroyed? 8. On the contrary I have seen those who work iniquity, and Sow sorrows, and "eap them, 9 Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed |by the spirit of his wrath. 10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions are broken: 1 1 The tiger hath perished for want of prey and the young lions are scattered abroad. 12 Now there was a word spoken to me in pri- vate, and my ears by stealth as it were received the veins of its whisper. .*. Cursed his day. Job cursed the day of his birth, not by way of wishing evil to any thing of God's creation; but only to express in a _-----> –2 31||R2 <> stronger manner his sense of human miseries in general, and c f bus own calamities in particular. - ->====--~~ Tº----- 2–--> º <& 407 J()15. 13 m tae horror of a vision by night, when deep slee is wont to hold men, 14 Fear seized upon me, and trembling, and all my bones were aſſrighted: g 15 And when a spirit passed before me, the hair of my flesh stood up. ió There stood one whose countenance I knew not, an image before my eyes, and I heard the voice as it were of a gentle wind : 17 Shall man be justified in comparison of God,” or shall a man be more pure than his maker f 18 Behold, they that serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he found wickedness: 19 How much more shall they that dwell in houses of clay, who have an earthly foundation, be consumed as with the moth f 20 From morning till evening they shall be cut down: and because no one understandeth, they shall perish for ever. 21 And they that shall be left, shall be taken away from them: they shall die, and not in wisdom. CHAP. V. Eliphaz proceeds in his charge, and exhorts Job to acknowledge his sins. ALL now iſ there be any that will answer thee, and turn to some of the saints. 2 Anger indeed killeth the foolish, and envy slay- 2th the little one. 3 I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I cursed his beauty immediately. 4. His children shall be far from safety, and shall be destroyed in the gate, and there shall be none to deliver them. 5 Whose harvest the hungry shall eat, and the armed man shall take him by violence, and the thirsty shall drink up his riches. 6 Nothing upon earth is done without a cause, and sorrow doth not spring out of the ground. 7 Man is born to labour, and the bird to fly. 8 Wherefore I will pray to the Lord, and address my speech to God: 9 Who doeth great things, and unscarchable and wonderful things without number: 10 Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and watereth all things with waters: 1 Who setteth up the humble on high, and com- forteth with health those that mourn. 12 Who bringeth to nought the designs of the malignant, so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had begun: 13 Who catcheth the wise in their craftiness, and disappointeth the counsel of the wicked : 1}. They shall meet with darkness in the day, and grope at noon-day as in the night. 15 But he shall save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent. 16 And to the needy there shall be hope, but ini- quity shall draw in her mouth. 17 Blessed is the man whom God correcteth, refuse not therefore the chastising of the Lord: 18 For he woundeth, and cureth, he striketh and his hands shall heal. 19 In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch thee. 20 In famine he shall deliver thee from death; and in battle from the hand of the sword. 21 Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue. and thou shalt not fear calamity when it cometh. - 22 In destruction and famine thou shalt laugh and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23 But thou shalt have a covenant with the stones of the lands, and the beasts of the earth £hall be at peace with thee. - - 24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace, and visiting thy beauty thou shalt not sin. 25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be multiplied, and thyoffspring like the grass of the earth. 26 Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in its season. 27 Behold, this is even so, as we have searched out: which thou having heard, consider it thorough ly in thy mind. CHAP. VI. Job maintains his innocence, and complains of his friends UT Job answered and said: 2 O that my sins, # whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance. º 3. As the sand of the sea this would appear heavier: therefore my words are full of sorrow: 4. For the arrows of the Lord are in me, the rage whereof drinketh up my spirit, and the terrors of the Lord war against me. - 5 Will the wild ass bray when he hath grass f or will the ox low when he standeth before a full manger ? 6 Or can an unsavoury thing be eaten, that is not seasoned with salt f or can a man taste that which when tasted bringeth death P 7 The things which before my soul would no touch, now through anguish are my meats 8 Who will grant that my request may come: and that God may give me what I look for P 9 And that he that hath begun may destroy me, that he may let loose his hand, and cut me off? 10 And that this may be my comfort, that afflict- ing me with sorrow, he spare not, nor I contradict the words of the Holy one. 11 For what is my strength, that I can hold out? or what is my end that I should keep patience f 12 My strength is not the strength of stones, nor is my flesh of brass. 13 Behold, there is no help for me in myself and my familiar friends also are departed from me. 14. He that taketh away mercy from his friend, forsaketh the fear of the Lord. * Shall man be justified in comparison of God, &c. These are the words which Eliphaz had heard from an Angel, which, ver, 15, he calls a spirit. * My sins, &c. IIe does not mean to compare his sufferings with * * * - - - <> - - - - - - --~ T-->†<ºſſº F =- his real sins; but the imaginary crimes which his friends imputed to him: and especially with his wrath, or grief, expressed in the third chapter, which they so much accused. Though, as he tells them here, it bore no proportion with the greatness of his calamity % R - CHAP. VII, VIII 15 My brethren have passed by me, as the tor rent that passeth swiftly in the valleys. 16 They that fear the hoary frost, the snow shall fall upon them. 17. At the time when they shall be scattered they shall perish: , and after it groweth hot they shall be melted out of their place. 18 The paths of their steps are entangled : they shall walk in vain, and shall perish. 19 Consider the paths of Thema, the ways of Saba, and wait a little while. 20. They are confounded, because I have hoped: they are come also even unto me, and are covered with shame. - 21 Now you are come : and now seeing my if- fliction you are afraid. 22 Did I say: Bring to me, and give me of your substance P - 23 Or deliver me from the hand of the enemy, and rescue me out of the hand of the mighty F 24 Teach me, and I will hold my peace : and * I have been ignorant in any thing, instruct me. 25 Why have you detracted the words of truth, whereas there is none of you that can reprove me? 26 You dress up speeches only to rebuke, and you utter words to the wind. 27 You rush in upon the fatherless, and you en- deavour to overthrow your friend. 28 However, finish what you have begun : give ear and see whether I lie. 29 Answer, I beseech you, without contention: and speaking that which is just, judge ye. 30 And you shall not find iniquity in my tongue, neither shall folly sound in my mouth. CHAP. VII. Job declares the miseries of man’s life; and addresses him- self to God. THE life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. 2 As a servant longeth for the shade, as the hire- ling looketh for the end of his work, - 3 So I also have had empty months, and have numbered to myself wearisome nights. 4. If I lie down to sleep, I shall say: When shall I arise 2 and again I shall look for the evening, and shall be filled with sorrows even till darkness. 5 My flesh is clothed with rottenness and the filth of dust, my skin is withered and drawn together. 6 My days have passed more swiftly than, the web is cut by the weaver, and are consumed without any hope. . 7 Remember that my life is but wind, and my eyes shall not return to see good, things. 8 Nor shall the sight of man behold me: thy eyes are upon me, and I shall be no more. 9 As a cloud is consumed, and passeth away: so he that shall go down to hell shall not come up. i0 Nor shall he return any more into his house, neither shall his place know him any more. 11 Wherefore I will not spare my mouth, I will speak in the affliction of my spirit: I will talk with the bitterness of my soul. ſ 12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou hast en closed me in a prison f 13. If I say: My bed shall comfort me, and I shall be relieved speaking with myself on my couch: ... 14 Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and ter- rify me with visions. 15 So that my soul rather chooseth hanging, und my bones death. 16 I have done with hope, I shall now live 1.< longer: spare me, for my days are nothing. 17 What is a man that thou shouldst magnify him? or why dost thou set thy heart upon him? 18 Thou visitest him early in the morning, and thou provest him suddenly. 19. How long wilt thou not spare me, nor suffel me to swallow down my spittle? 20 I have sinned, what shall I do to thee, O keeper of men? why hast thou set me opposite to thee, and I am become burdensome to myself? 2l Why dost thou not remove my sin, and whv dost thou not take awa” mine iniquity ? T3ehold now, I shall sleep in the dust: and if thou seek me in the morning, I shall not be. CHAP. VIII. Baldad, under pretence of defending the justice of God, accuses Job, and eachorts him to return to God. W H EN Baldad the Suhite answered, and said: 2 How long wilt thou speak these things, and º shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong W11) (1 . 3 Doth God pervert judgment, or doth the Al. mighty overthrow that which is just? 4. Although thy children have sinned against him, and he hath left them in the hand of their iniquity 5 Yet if thou wilt arise early to God, and wilt beseech the Almighty: 6 If thou wilt walk clean and upright, he will presently awake unto thee, and will make the dwelling of thy justice peaceable: 7 In so much, that if thy former things were small, thy latter things would be multiplied exceed ingly. 8. For inquire of the former generation, search diligently into the memory of the fathers: 9 (For we are but of yesterday, and are ignorant that our days upon earth are but a shadow :) 10 And they shall teach thee : they shall speak to thee, and utter words out of their hearts. 11 Can the rush be green without moisture? or a sedge-bush grow without water? 12. When it is yet in flower, and is not plucked up with the hand, it withereth before all herbs 13 Even so are the ways of all that forget God and the hope of the hypocrite shall perish : 14. His folly shall not please him, and his tru shall be like the spider’s web. - 15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall stand; he shall prop it up, and it shall not rise : 16 He seemeuh to have moisture before the sun cometh, and at his rising his blossom shall shoot forth. 17 His root shall be thick upon a hean of stoiles, and among the stones hºshall abide. and J (JB. 18 If one swallow him up out of his place, he slall deny him, and shall say: I know thee not. 19 For this is the joy of his way, that others may spring again out of the earth. 20 God will not cast away the simple, nor reach out his hand to the evil doer: 21 Until thy mouth be filled with laughter, and thy lips with rejoicing 22 They that hate thee, shall be clothed with confusion : and the dwelling of the wicked shall not stand. CHAP. IX. Job acknowledges God's justice; although he often afflicts the 2nnocent. ND Job answered and said: 2 Indeed I know it is so, and that man cannot be justified, compared with God. 3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one for a thousand. 4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength : who hath resisted him, and hath had peace? 5 Who hath removed mountains, and they whom he overthrew in his wrath, knew it not. 6 Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. 7 Who commandeth the sun and it riseth not : and shutteth up the stars as it were under a seal. 8 Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and walketh upon the waves of the sea. 9 Who maketh Arcturus,” and Orion, and Hy- ades, and the inner parts of the south. 10 Who doeth things great and incomprehensi- ble, and wonderful, of which there is no number. 1 | If he come to me, I shall not see him: if he depart I shali not understand. 12 If he examine on a sudden, who shall answer mim P or who can say: Why doest thou so P 13 God, whose wrath no man can resist, and un- der whom they stoop that bear up the world. 14 What am I then, that I should answer him, and have words with him? - 15 I, who although I should have any just thing, would not answer but would make supplication to 'my judge. 16 And if he should hear me when I call, I should not believe that he had heard my voice. 17 For he shall crush me in a whirlwind, and multiply my wounds even without cause.f 18. He alloweth not my spirit to rest, and he fill- eth me with bitterness. 19 iſ strength be demanded, he is most strong: if cquity of judgment, no mandare bear witness for me. 20 If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I would show myself inno- tent, he shall prove me wicked. 21 Although I should be simple, even this my soul shall be ignorant of, and I shall be weary of my life. 22 One thing there is that I have spoken, both the innocent and the wicked he consumeth. 23 If he scourge, let him kill at once, and not laugh at the pains of the innocent. 24. The earth is given into the hand 5f the wick ed, he covereth the face of the judges thereof: and if it be not he, who is it then? 25 My days have been swifter than a post: they have ſled away and have not seen good. o 26 They have passed by as ships carrying fruits as an eagle flying to the prey. 27 If I say: I will not speak so : I change my face and am tormented with sorrow. 28 I feared all my works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender. 29 But if so also l am wicked, why have I la boured in vain f 30 If I be washed as it were with snow-waters, and my hands shall shine ever so clean : 31 Yet thou shalt plunge me in filth, and my garments shall abhor me. - 32 For I shall not answer a man that is like my- self: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment. 33 There is none that may be able to reprove both, and to put his hand between both. 34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me. 35 H will speak, and will not not answer while I am in fear. CHAP. X. Job laments his afflictions, and begs to be deliverea. Y soul is weary of my life, I will let go my speech against myself, I will speak in the bit. terness of my soul. 2 I will say to God: Do not condemn me : tell me why thou judgest me so. 3 Doth it seem good to thee that thou shouldst calumniate me, and oppress me, the work of thy own hands, and help the counsel of the wicked? 4 Hast thou eyes of flesh: or shalt thou See as man seeth f 5 Are thy days as the days of man, and are thy years as the times of men: 6 That thou shouldst inquire after my iniquity, and search after my sin f 7 And shouldst know that I have done no wick- ed thing, whereas there is no man that can deliver out of thy hand. 8 Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me wholly round about, and dost thou thus cast me down headlong on a sudden? 9 Remember, l beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and thou wilt bring me into dust &l 98 lll . § 10 Hast thou not milked me as milk, and curdled me like cheese ? - 11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh thou hast put me together with bones and sinews 12 Thou hast granted me life and mercy, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. 13 Although thou conceal these things in thy heart, yet I know that thou rememberest all things 14. If I have sinned and thou hast spared me joi fear him : for I can -º-ºp * Arcturus, &c. These arc names of stars or constellations. In Hebrew, Ash, Cecil, and Cimah. See note ch. xxxviii. ver, 31. J 1 ſ) # Without cause. That is, without my knowing the cause: or with out any crime of mine. () }} A l’. X , XI 1. an hour. why dost thou not suffer me to be clean from my iniquity? 15 And if I be wicked, wo unto me: and iſ just, shall not lift up my head, being filled with affliction and misery. 16 And for pride thou wilt take me as a lioness, and returning thou tormentest me wonderfully. 17 Thou renewest thy witnesses ag inst me, and multipliest thy wrath upon me, and pain ; war against ll tº. 18 Why didst thou bring me forth out of the womb PO that I had been consumed, that eye might not see me! 19 I should have been as if I had not been, car- ried from the womb to the grave. - 20 Shall not the fewness of my days be ended shortly f suffer me, herefore, that I may lament my sorrow a little: 21 Before I go and return no more, to a land that is dark and covered with the mist of death: 22 A land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting hor- or dwelleth. CHAP. XI. Sophar reproveth Job for justifying himself, and traviteth him to repentance. HEN Sophar the Naamathite answered, and --- said : - 2 Shall not he that speaketh much, hear also? or shall a man full of talk be justified? g 3 Shall men hold their peace to thee only P and when thou hast mocked others, shall no man con- fute thee? - 4. For thou hast said: My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight. 5 And I wish that (Rod would speak with thee, and would open his lips to thee, 6 That he might show thee the secrets of wis- dom and that his law is manifold, and thou mightest understand that he exacteth much less of thee, than thy iniquity deserveth. 7 Peradventure thou wilt comprehend the steps of God, and wilt find out the Almighty perfectly? 8 He is higher than heaven, and what wilt thou do? He is deeper than hell, and how wilt thou know P 9 The measure of him is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. 10 If he shall overturn all things, or shall press them together, who shall contradict him P ll For he knoweth the vanity of men, and when he seeth iniquity, doth he not consider it 2 12 A vain man is lifted up into pride, and thinketh himself born free like a wild ass’s colt. 13 But thou hast hardened thy heart, and hast spread thy hands to him. 1 * If thou wilt put away from thee the iniquity that is in thy hand, and let not injustice remain in thy tabernacle: 15 Then mayst thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear. 16 Thºu shalt also forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away. _------ C: º : ~~~ <=<>= 17 Aud brightness like that of the noon-day, shall arise to thee at evening; and when thou shalt think thyself consumed, thou shaft rise as the day-star. 18 And thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee; and being buried thou shalt sleep secure 19 Thou shalt rest, and there shall be none to make thee afraid; and many shall entreat thy face. 20 But the eyes of the wicked shall decay, and the way to escape shall fail them, and their hope the abomination of the soul. C H AP. XII. Job’s reply to Sophar. He ea tols God’s power and wisdom HEN Job answered, and said: 2 Are you then men alone, and shall wisdom die with you: 3 I also have a heart as well as you: for who is ignorant of these things, which you know P 4. He that is mocked by his friend as I, shall call upon God and he will hear him : for the simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn. 5 The lamp despised in the thoughts of the rich is ready for the time appointed. 6 The tabernacles of robbers abound, and they provoke God boldly, whereas it is he that hath given all into their hands: But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee: and the birds of the air and they shall tell thee. 8 Speak to the earth and it shall answer thee and the fishes of the sea shall tell. 9 Who is ignorant that the hand of the Lord hath made all these things? 10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all flesh of man. 11 Doth not the ear discern words, and the Lalate of him that eateth, the taste? 12 In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days prudence. 13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. 14 If he pull down, there is no man that can build up: if he shut up a man, there is none that can open 15 If he withhold the waters, all things shall be dried up: and if he send them out they shall over- turn the earth. 16 With him is strength and wisdom ; he know eth both the deceiver, and him that is deceived. 17 He bringeth counsellors to a foolish end, and judges to insensibility. 18 He looseth the belt of kings, and girdeth their loins with a cord. - 19 He leadeth away priests without glory, and overthroweth nobles. 20 He changeth the speech of the true speakers and taketh away the doctrine of the aged. 21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and re- lieveth them that were oppressed. 22 He discoverern deep things out of darkness, and bringeth up to light the shadow of death. 23 He multiplieth nations, and destroyeth them, and restoreth them again after they were overthrown. 24. He changeth the heart of the princes of the people of the earth, and deceiveth them that they walk in vain where there is no way gr--—— ſº- sººm º JOB. 25 They shall grope as in the dark, and not in || the light: and he shall make them stagger like men that are drunk. C[IAP. XIII. Job persists in maintaining his innocence ; and reproves his friends. B EHOLD my eye hath seen all these things, and º my ear hath heard them, and I have under- stood them all. 2 According to your knowledge I also know : neither am I inferior to you. 3 But yet I will speak to the Almighty, and I de- sire to reason with God. 4 Having first shown that you are forgers of lies, and maintainers of perverse opinions. 5 And I wish you would hold your peace, that you might be thought to be wise men. 6 Hear ye therefore my reproof, and attend to the iudgment of my lips. 7 Hath God any necd of your lie, that you should speak deceitfully for him P 8 Do you accept his person, and do you endea- vour to judge for God P 9 Or shall it please him, from whom nothing can be concealed? or shall he be deceived as a man, with your deceitful dealings f © 10. He shall reprove you, because in secret you accept his person. º ! I As soon as he shall move himself, he shall trouble you: and his dread shall fall upon you. 12 Your remembrance shall be compared to ash- es, and your necks shall be brought to clay. l3 Hold your peace a little while, that I may speak whatsoever my mind shall suggest to me. 14 Why do I tear my flesh with my teeth, and carry my soul in my hands f 15 Although he should kill me, I will trust in him: but yet l will reprove my ways in his sight. 16 And he shall be my saviour: for no hypocrite shall come before his presence. 17 Hear ye my speech, and receive with your ears hidden truths. 18 If I shall be judged, I know that I shall be found just. 19 Who is he that will plead against me? let him come: why am I consumed holding my peace P 20 Two things only do not to me, and then from thy face I shall not be hid: 21 Withdraw thy hand far from me, and let not thy dread terrify me. 22 Call me, and I will answer thee: or else I will speak, and do thou answer me. 23 How many are my iniquities and sins? make me know my crimes and offences. 24 Why hidest thou thy face, and thinkest me thy enemy? 25 Against a leaf, that is carried away with the wind, thou showest thy power; and thou pursuest a dry straw. 26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and wilt consume me for the sins of my youth. * That thou mayst protect me in hell. That is, in the state of the dead, and in the place where the souls are kept waiting for their Redeemer. 27 Thou hast put my feet in the stocks, and has observed all my paths, and last considered the steps of my feet: 28 Who am to be consumed as rottenness, and as a garment that is moth-eaten. CHAP. XIV. |Job declares the shortness of man's days; and professes his be. lief of a resurrection. AN born of a woman, living for a short time is filled with many miseries. 2 Who cometh forth like a flower, and is de stroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never conti- nueth in the same state. 3 And dost thou think it meet to open thy eyes upon such a one, and to bring him into judgment with thce? - 4 Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed f is it not thou who only art? 5 The days of man are short, and the number of his months is with thee: thou hast appointed his bounds which cannot be passed. • 6 Depart a little from him, that he may rest, un- til his wished for day come, as that of the hireling. 7. A tree hath hope : if it be cut, it groweth green again, and the boughs thereof sprout. 8. If its root be old in the earth, and its stock be dead in the dust, 9. At the scent of water it shall spring, and bring forth leaves, as when it was first planted. 10 But man when he shall be dead, and strip- ped and consumed, i pray you where is he P ! I As if the waters should depart out of the sea, and an emptied river should be dried up : 12 So man when he is fallen asleep shall not rise again till the heavens be broken: he shall not awake, nor rise up out of his sleep. 13 Who will grant me this, that thou mayst pro- tect me in hell,” and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember II].6 : - 14 Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live again f all the days, in which I am now in warfare, I expect until my change come. 15 Thou shalt call me, and I will answer thee . to the work of thy hands thou shalt reach out thy right hand. 16 Thou indeed hast numbered my steps, but spare my sins. 17 Thou hast sealed up my offences as it were in a bag, but hast cured my iniquity. 18. A mountain falling cometh to monght. and a rock is removed out of its place. 19. Waters wear away the stones, and with in undation the ground by little and little is washed away; so in like manner thou shalt destroy man. 20 Thou hast strengthened him for a little while that he may pass away for ever: thou shalt change his face, and shalt send him away. - 21 Whether his children come to honour or dis- honour, he shall not understand. 22 But yet his flesh, while he shall live, small have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him. 412 CHAP. XV, XVI. CHAP. XV. Fliphaz returns to the charge against Job, and describes the wretched state of the wicked. ANºlipinº the Themanite answered, and Sał(i = 2 Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking in the wind, and fill his stomach with burning heat? 3 Thou reprovest him by words, who is not equal o thee, and thou speakest that which is not good for thee. 4. As much as in thee, thou hast made void fear,” and hast taken away prayers from before God. 5 For thy iniquity hath taught thy mouth, and thou imitatest the tongue of blasphemers. 6 Thy own mouth shall condemn thee, and not I : and thy own lips shall answer thee. 7 Art thou the first man that was born, or wast thou made before the hills P 8 Hast thou heard God’s counsel, and shall his wisdom be inferior to thee P - 9 What knowest thou that we are ignorant off what dost thou understand that we know not P 10 There are with us also aged and ancient men, .much elder than thy fathers. 11 Is it a great matter that God should comfort thee P but thy wicked words hinder this. 12 Why doth thy heart elevate thee, and why dost thou stare with thy eyes, as if thou wert thinking great things? g 13 Why doth thy spirit swell against God, to ut- er such words out of thy mouth? 14 What is man that he should be without spot, and he that is born of a woman that he should ppear just? 15 Behold, among his saints, none is unchange- able: and the heavens are not pure in his sight. 16 How much more is man abominable, and un- profitable, who drinketh iniquity like water? 17 | will show thee, hear me: and I will tell thee what I have seen. 18 Wise men confess, and hide not their fathers:f 19 To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger hath passed among them. 20 The wicked man is proud all his days: and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain. 21 The sound of dread is always in his ears: and when there is peace, he always suspecteth treason. 22 He believeth not that he may return from darkness to light, looking round about for the sword on every side. - 23 When he moveth himself to seek bread, he fººth that the day of darkness is ready at his * Ilúl, 24 Tribulation shall terrify him; and distress shall ºnd him, as a king that is prepared for the i.Jattle. 25 For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and hath strengthened himself against the Al- mighty. 26 He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck. 27 Fatness hath covered his face: and the ſal hangeth down on his sides. 28 He hath dwelt in desolate cities, and in de- Sert houses that are reduced into heaps. 29 He shall not be enriched; neither shall his Substance continue; neither shall he push his root in the earth. 30 He shall not depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his branches, and he shall be taken away by the breath of his own mouth. 31 He shall not believe, being vainly deceived by errot, that he may be redeemed with any price. 32 Before his days be full, he shall perish: and his hands shall wither away. 33 He shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower, and as an olive-tree that cast- eth its flower. 34 For the congregation of the hypocrite is bar- ren, and fire shall devour their tabernacles, who love to take bribes. 35 He hath conceived sorrow, and hath brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepareth deceits. CHAP. XVI. Job ea postulates with his friends ; and appeals to the judg ment of God. HEN Job answered, and said: 2 I have often heard such things as these, you are all troublesome comforters. . 3 Shall windy words have no end ? or is it any trouble to thee to speakf 4 I also could speak like you : and would God your soul were for my soul. 5 I would comfort you also with words, and would wag my head over you. 6 I would strengthen you with my mouth, and would move my lips as sparing you. 7 But what shall I do? If I speak, my pain will not rest : and if I hold my peace, it will not depart from me. - 8. But now my sorrow hath oppressed me, and all my limbs are brought to nothing. 9 My wrinkles bear witness against me, and a falso speaker riseth up against my face, contradicting me. 10. He hath gathered together his fury against me, and threatening me he hath gnashed with his teeth upon me : my enemy hath beheld me with terrible eyes. © 11 They have opened their mouths upon me, and reproaching me they have struck me on the check- they are filled with my pains. 12 God hath shut me up with the unjust man and hath delivered me into the hands of the wicked. 13 I that was formerly so wealthy, am all on a sudden broken to pieces: he hath taken me by my neck; he hath broken me, and hath set me up to be his mark. 14. He hath compassed me round about with his * Thou hast made void fear. That is, cast off the fear of offending God . # Wise men confess, and hide not their fathers. That is, the knowledge and documents they have received from their fathers they are not usua med to own. 4 13 JO ſam, es, he hath wounded my loins ; he hath not spared, and hath poured out my bowels on the earth. 15 He hath torn me with wound upon wound : he hath rushed in upon me like a giant. 16 have sowed sackcloth upon my skin, and have covered my flesh with ashes. 17 My face is swoln with weeping, and my eye- .nds are dim. 18 These things have I suffered without the ini- 11ity of my hand, when I offered pure prayers to God. 19 O carth, cover not thou my blood, neither let my cry find a hiding place in thee. 20 For behold, my witness is in heaven, and he that knoweth my conscience is on high. © 21 My friends are full of words: my eye poureth out tears to God. 22 Aud O that a man might so be judged with God, as the son of man is judged with his companion' 23 For behold, short years pass away, and I am walking in a path by which I shall not return. CHAP. XVII. .lob’s hope in God: he eacpects rest in death. Y spirit shall be wasted : my days shall be shortened; and only the grave remaineth for me. 2 I have not sinned,” and my eye abideth in bit- ("I'll CSS. 3 Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside thee, and let any man’s hand fight against me. 4. Thou hast set their heart far from understand- lug, therefore they shall not be exalted. 5 He promiseth a prey to his companions; and the eyes of his children shall fail. 6 He hath made me as it were a by-word of the people ; and I am an example before them. 7 My eye is dim through indignation ; and my limbs are brought as it were to nothing. 8 The just shall be astonished at this ; and the innocent shall be raised up against the hypocrite. 9 And the just man shall hold on his way: and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. 10 Wherefore be you all converted, and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man. ll My days have passed away; my thoughts are dissipated, tormenting my heart. 12 They have turned night into day ; and after darkness I hope for light again. 13 If I wait, hellf is my house; and I have made my bed in darkness. 14 I have said to rottenness: Thou art my father; to worms: my mother and my sister. 15 Where is now then my expectation, and who considereth my patience? 16 All that I have shall go down into the deepest pit ºf thinkest that there at least I shall have rest? CHAP. XVIII. Bn:dad again reproves Job ; ºffscribe the miseries of the 7/?? C. K. 66%, 7|WHEN Baldad the Suhite answered, and said: 2. How long will ye throw out words? un- deistand first, and so let us speak. 3 Why are we reputed as beasts, and counted vile before you? 4 Thou that destroyest thy soul in thy fury, shall the earth be forsaken for thea, and shall rocks be removed out of their place? * 5 Shall not the light of the wicked be ext n guished, and the flame of his fire not shine? 6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle and the lamp that is over him, shall be put out. 7 The step of his strength shall be straightened' and his own counsel shall cast him down headlong. 8 For he hath thrust his feet into a met, and walk- eth in its meshes. 9 The sole of his foot shall be held in a snare; and thirst shall burn against him. 10 A gin is hidden for him in the earth. and his trap upon the path. 11 Fears shall terrify him on every side, and shall entangle his feet. 12 Let his strength be wasted with famine, and let hungcr invade his ribs. 13 Let it devour the beauty of his skin, let 1be first-born death consume his arms. 14. Let his confidence be rooted out of his taber- nacle, and let destruction tread upon him like a king. 15 Let the companions of him that is not, dwell in his tabernacle: let brimstone be sprinkled in his tent. 16 Let his roots be dried up beneath, and his harvest destroyed above. se 17 Let the memory of him perish from the earth. and let not his name be renowned in the streets. 18 He shall drive him out of light into darkness, and shall remove him out of the world. 19 His seed shall not subsist, nor his offspring among his people, nor any remnants in his country. 20 They that come after him shall be astonished at his day: and horror shall fall upon them that went before. 21 These then are the tabernacles of the wicked, and this the place of him that knoweth not God. CHAP. XIX. Job complains of the cruelty of his friends: he describes his own sufferings, and his belief of a future resurrection. HEN Job answered, and said: 2 How long do you afflict my soul, and break me in pieces with words? - 3 Behold, these ten times you confound me, an I are not ashamed to oppress me. 4. For if I have been ignorant, my ignorance shal be with me. 5 But you set yourselves up against me, and re- prove me with my reproaches. 6 At least now understand, that God natn not aſ flicted me with an equal judgment,' and compass ed me with his scourges. 7. Behold, I shall crysuffering violence, and no one will hear: I shall cry aloud, and there is none to judge. 8 He hath hedged in my path round about, and I cannot pass: and in Iny way he hath set darkness * JN of sinned That is, I am not guilty of such sins as they charge me with. £– 14 | º - : “He- T+ Hell. Seol. The region of the dead. f Deepest pit. Literally, Hell. * With an equal judgment. St. Gregory explains these words thus C1 IAP. XX. 9 He hath stript me of my glory, and hath taken ..he crown from my head. - 10. He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am lost: and he hath taken away my hope, as from a tree that is plucked up. I 1 His wrath is kindled against me: and he hath counted me as his enemy. 12 His troops have come together, and have made themselves a way by me, and have besieged my ta- inernacle round about. 13. He hath put my brethren far from me : and my acquaintance like strangers have departed from lil C. 14, My kinsmen have forsaken me; and they that knew me have forgotten me. © 15 They that dwell in my house, and my maid- servants have counted me as a stranger; and I have been like an alien in their eyes. 16 I called my servant, and he gave me no an- swer: I entreated him with my own mouth. 17 My wife hath abhorred my breath: and I en- treated the children of my womb. 18 Even fools despised me: and when I was gone from them, they spoke against me. 19 They that were some time my counsellors, have abhorred me: and he whom I loved most, is turned against me. 20 The flesh being consumed, my bone hath cleaved to my skin: and nothing but lips are left about my tecth. 21 Have pity on me, have pity on, me, at least you my friends; because the hand of the Lord hath (ouched me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God, and glut yourselves with my flesh? 23 Who will grant me that my words may be written? who will grant me that they may be mark- ed down in a book, 24. With an iron pen, and in a plate of lead, or else be graven with an instrument in flint-stone P 25 * For I know that my Redeemer liveth; and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth: 26 And I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God; 27 Whom I myself shall see, and my eyes shall behold, and not another: this my hope is laid up in my bosom. 28 Why then do you say now : Let us persecute him; and let us find occasion of word against him f 29 Flee then from the face of the sword, for the sword is the revenger of iniquities: and know ye that there is a judgment. CHAP. XX. ophar declares the shortness of the prosperity of the wicked, and their sudden downfall. "I"HEN Sophar the Naamathite answered, and 2 Therefore various thoughts succeed one ano ther in me; and my mind is hurried away to differ. ent things. 3 The doctrine with which thou reprovest me, I will hear; and the spirit of my understanding shail answer for me. 4. This I know from the beginning, ince man was placed upon the earth, 5 That the praise of the wicked is she t, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. 6 If his pride mount up even to heavy n, and his head touch the clouds: 7 In the end he shall be destroyed like a dung- hill: and they that had seen him, shall say. Where is he? 8 As a dream that fleeth away he shall not be found; he shall pass as a vision of the night: 9 The eyes that had seen him, shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. 10 His children shall be oppressed with want and his hands shall render to him his sorrow. 11 His bones shall be filled with the vices of his youth; and they shall sleep with him in the dust. 12 For when evil shall be sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue. 13. He will spare it, and not leave it; and will hide it in his throat. 14 His bread in his belly shall be turned into the gall of asps within him. 15 The riches which he hath swallowed, he shal) vomit up: and God shall draw them out of his belly, 16 He shall suck the head of asps; and the vi- per’s tongue shall kill him. 17 (Let him not see the streams of the river, the brooks of honey and of butter.) 18. He shall be punished for all that he did, and yet shall not be consumed: according to the multi- tude of his devices,t so also shall he suffer. 19 Because he broke in and stript the poor: he º violently taken away a house which he did not l] l l (). 20 And yet his belly was not filled: and when he hath the things he coveted, he shall not be able to possess them. 2] There was nothing left of his meat; and there- fore nothing shall continue of his goods: 22 When he shall be filled, he shall be straitem- ; he shall burn, and every sorrow shall fall upon | II). 23 May his belly be filled, that God may send forth the wrath of his indignation upon him, and rain down his war upon him. 24 He shall flee from weapons of iron, and shal fall upon a bow of brass. 25 The sword is drawn out, and cometh forth from its scabbard, and glittereth in his bitterness the terrible ones shall go and come upon him. said: Job being a just man, and truly considering his own life, thought that his affliction was greater than his sins deserved; and in that respect. that the punishment was not equal: yet it was just, as coming from God who gives a crown of justice to thise who suffer for righteousness' alce, and proves the Just with tribulations, as gold is tried by fire. Vy R. 29, 26, and 27, show Job's explicit belief in his Redeemer <=--~ 24&IRE - and also of the resurrection of the flesh: not as one tree riseth in place of another, but that the self-same flesh shall rise at the last di y by the power of God, changed in quality but not in substance, every one tº receive sentence according to his works in this life. + .4ccording to the multitude of his devices. That is, his sº ratagems to gratify his passions, and to "Pºº and destroy the poor. 3 JOB. 26 All darkness is hid in his secret places: a fire tha' is not kindled shall devour him: he shall be afflicted when left in his tabernacle. 27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The offspring of his house shall be expos- ed, he shall be pulled down in the day cf God’s wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God and the inheritance of his doings from the Lord. CHAP. XXI. Job shows that the wick, d often prosper in this world, even to the end of their life; but that their judgment is in another world. W HEN Job answered, and said: - 2 Hear, I beseech you, my words, and do penance. 3 Suffer me, and I will speak; and after, if you plcase, laugh at my words. Is my debate against man, that I should not have just reason to be troubled? 5 Hearken to me and be astonished; and lay vour finger on your mouth. 6 As for me, when I remember, I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. 7 Why then do the wicked live, are they advan- ced, and strengthened with riches? 8 Their º continueth before them, a multitude of kinsmen, and of children’s children in their sight. 9 Their houses are secure and peaceable: and the rod of God is not upon them. 10 Their cattle have conceived, and failed not: their cow hath calved, and is not deprived of her fruit. 1 Their little ones go out like a flock; and their children dance and play. 12 They take the timbrel, and the harp, and re- joice at the sound of the organ. 13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell: 14 Who have said to God : Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him P and what doth it profit us if we pray to him? 16 Yet because their good things are not in their hand, may the counsel of the wicked be far from me. 17 How often shall the lamp of the wicked be put out, and a deluge come upon them, and he shall distribute the sorrows of his wrath? 18 They shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth. 19 God shall lay up the sorrow of the father for nis children: and when he shall repay, then shall he know. 20 His eyes shall see his own destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what is it to him what befalleth his house after him : and if the number of his months be di- minished by one half? —w— ºpy: 22 Shall any one teach God knowledge, who judgeth those that are high? © - 23 One man dieth strong and hale, rich and hap 24 His bowels are full of fat, and his bones are moistened with marrow. - 25 But another dieth in bitterness of soul with out any riches: º 26 And yet they shall sleep together in the dus' and worms shall cover them. 27 Surely I know your thoughts, and your un- just judgments against me. 28 For you say: Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling-places of the wicked? 29 Ask any one of them that go by the way, and you shall perceive that he knoweth these same things. 30 Because the wicked man is reserved to the day of destruction, and he shall be brought tº the day of wrath. 31 Who shall reprove his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? 32 He shall be brought to the graves, and shall watch in the heap of the dead. 33 He hath been” acceptable to the gravel of Co- cytus; and he shall draw every man after him, and there are innumerable before hini. 34. How then do ye comfort me in vain, whereas your answer is shown to be repugnant to truth? CHAP. XXII. Eliphaz falsely imputes many crimes to Job; but promises him, prosperity if he will repent. THEN Eliphaz the Themanite answered, ant S&ll (1 . 2 Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge P 3 What doth it profit God iſ thou be just? or what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted P 4. Shall he reprove thee for fear, and come with thee into judgment: 5 And not for thy manifold wickedness, and thy infinite iniquities? 6 For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause, and stript the naked of their clothing. 7 Thou hast not given water to the weary; thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry. 8 In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land; and being the most mighty thou holdest it. 9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless thou hast broken in pieces 10 Therefore art thou surrounded with snares, and sudden fear troubleth thee. Il And didst thou think that thou sºck:'dst not see darkness, and that thou shouldst not be covered with the violence of overflowing waters? 12 Dost not thou think that God is higher than heaven, and is elevated above the height of the stars? * Acceptable to the gravel of Cocytus. The Hebrew word, which St. :eroine has here rendered by the name Cocytus (which the poets re- present as a river in hell,) signifies a valley or a torrent; and in this place is taken for the low region of death and hall: which willingly, as it were, receives the wicked at their death; who are ushered in by innumerable others that have gone before them, and are followed by multitudes above number * 4 G UHAP. XXIII, XXIV. 13 And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he judgeth as it were through a mist. 14. The clouds are his covert ; and he doth not consider our things; and he walketh about the poles of heaven. 15 Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages, which wicked men have trodden f 16 Who were taken away before their time, and a flood hath overthrown their foundation: 17 Who said to God: Depart from us; and look- ed upon the Almighty as if he could do nothing: 18 Whereas he had filled their houses with good things; whose way of thinking be far from me. 19 The just shall see, and shall rejoice: and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn. 20 1s not their exaltation cut down, and hath not fire devoured the remnants of them P 21 Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace: and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits. 22 Receive the law of his mouth ; and lay up his words in thy heart. 23 If thou wilt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle. 24. He shall give for earth flint, and for flint tor- rents of gold. 25 And the Almighty shall be against thy ene- ies; and silver shall be heaped together for thee. 26 'Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Al- mighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God. - 27 Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee; and thou shalt pay vows. 23 Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall come to thee; and light shall shine in thy ways. 29 For he that hash been humbled shall be in i. and he that shall bow down his eyes, shall be Sºl W' (*(l. 30 'The innocent shall be saved; and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands. CHAP. XXIII. Job wishes to be tried at God's tribunal. 7 IW HEN Job answered, and said: 2 Now also my words are in bitterness : and the hand of my scourge is more grievous than my mourning. - 3 Who will grant me that I might know and find him, and come even to his throne? 4 I would set judgment before him, and would fill my mouth with complaints. 5 That I might know the words that he would answer me, and understand what he would say to ºë. 6 would not that he should contend with me with much strength, nor overwhelm me with the weight of his greatness. - 7. Let him propose equity against me, and let my tudgment come to victory. - 8 But if I go to the east, he appeareth not; if to the west, I shall not understand him. 9 If to the left hand, what shall I do? I shall not take hold on him : if I turn myself to the right hand, I shall not see him. 10 But he knoweth my way, and has tried me as gold that passeth through the fire: Il My foot hath followed his steps. I have kept his way, and have not declined from it. 12 I have not departed from the commandments of his lips: and the words of his mouth I have hid in my bosom. . 13 For he is alone, and no man can turn awa his thought: and whatsoever his soul hath desired, that hath he done. 14 And when he shall have fulfilled his will in me, many other like things are also at hand with him. 15 And therefore I am troubled at his presence; º when I consider him I am made pensive with €ºl I’. 16 God hath softened my heart, and the Almighty hath troubled me. - 17 For I have not perished because of the dark- ness that hangs over me, neither hath the mist covered my face. CHAP. XXIV. God’s providence often suffers the wicked to go on a long time in their sins; but punisheth them in another life. TIMEs are not hid from the Almighty: but they that know him, know not his days. 2 Some have removed land-marks, have taken away flocks by force, and fed them. 3. They have driven away the ass of the father- less, and have taken away the widow’sox fora pledge. 4. They have overturned the way of the poor, and have oppressed together the meek of the earth. 5 Others like wild asses in the desert go forth to their work: by watching for a prey, they get bread for their children. 6 They reap uhe field that is not their own, and gather the vintage of his vineyard whom by violence they have oppressed 7 They send men away naked, taking away their clothes who have no covering in the cold : 8 Who are wet with the showers of the mountains, and having no covering embrace the stones. 9 They have violently robbed the fatherless and stript the poor common people. 10 From the naked and them that go without clothing, and from the hungry they have taken away the ears of corn. 11 They have taken their rest at noon among the stores of them, who after having trodden the wine- presses suffer thirst. 12 Out of the cities they have made men to groan and the soul of the wounded hath cried out; and God doth not suffer it to pass unrevenged. - 13 They have been rebellious to the light; they have not known his ways; neither have they return- ed by his paths. 14. The murderer riseth at the very break of day- he killeth the needy, and the poor man : but in the night he will be as a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer observetr, darkness saying: No eye shall see me: and he will cover his face. 16 He diggeth through houses in the dark as in JOB. the day they had appointed for themselves, and they have not known the light. © & 17 If the morning suddenly appear, it is to them the shadow of death: and they walk in darkness as if it were in light. 18 He is light upon the face of the water: curs- ed be his portion on the earth : let him not walk by the way of the vineyards. 19 Let him pass from the snow waters to exces- sive heat, and his sin even to hell 20 Let mercy forget him : may worms be his sweetness; let him be remembered no more, but be roken in pieces as an unfruitful tree. 21 For he hath fed the barren that beareth not : and to the widow he hath done no good. 22 He hath pulled down the strong by his might: º when he standeth up, he shall not trust to his ll (2. 23 God hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride: but his eyes are upon his Ways. 24. They are liſted up for a little while, and shall not stand, and shall be brought down as all things, and shall be taken away; and as the tops of the ears of corn they shall be broken. 25 And if it be not so, who can convince me that I have lied, and set my words before God? CJHAP. XXV. Baldad represents the justice of God, before whom no man can be justified. "IY HEN Baldad the Sullite answered, and said: 2 Power and terror are with him, who maketh peace in his high places. 3 ls there any numbering of his soldiers? and up- on whom shall not his light arise P 4 Can man be justified compared with God, or he that is born of a woman appear clean * 5 Behold, even the moon doth not shine, and the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 Ilow much less man that is rottenness, and the son of man who is a worm P CHAP. XXVI. Job declares his sentiments of the wisdom and power of God. HEN Job answered, and said: 2 Whose helper art thou? is it of him that is weak f and dost thou hold up the arm of him that has no strength f 3 To whom hast thou given counsel’ perhaps to him that hath no wisdom; and thou hast shown thy very great prudence. 4 Whom hast thou desired to teach P was it not him that made life P 5 Behold, the giants groan under the waters, and they that dwell with them. 6 Hell is naked before him, and there is no co- * c ring for destruction. 7 Ile stretched out the north over the empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his clouds, so that they break not out and fall down together. He withholdeth the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud over it. 10 He hath sct bounds about the waters, till light and darkness come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and dread at his beck. 12 By his power the seas are suddenly gathered together, and his wisdom has struck the proud one 13 His spirit hath adorned the heavens, and his obstetric hand brought forth the winding serpent.* 14 Lo, these things are said in part of his ways: and seeing we have heard scarce a little drop of his word, who shall be able to behold the thunder of his greatness? CHAP. XXVII. Job persists in asserting his own innocence, and that hypocrites will be punished in the end. JOB also added, taking up his parable, and said 2. As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who hath brought my soul to bitterness: - 3. As long as breath remaineth in me, and the Spirit of God in my nostrils, 4. My lips shall not speak iniquity, neither shall my tongue contrive lying. 5 God forbid that I should judge you to be just : till I die I will not depart from my innocence. 6 My justification, which I have begun to hold, I will not forsake: for my heart doth not reprehend me in all my life. 7 Let my enemy be as the ungodly, and my ad versary as the wicked one. 8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, if through covetousness he take by violence. and God deliver not his soul. - 9 Will God hear his cry, when distress shall come upon him f 10 Or can he delight himself in the Almighty, and call upon God at all times P - 11 I will teach you by the hand of God, what the Almighty hath; and I will not conceal it. 12 Behold you all know it: and why do you speak vain things without cause f 13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the inheritance of the violent, which they shall receive of the Almighty. 14 If his sons be multiplied, they shall be for the lº and his grandsons shall not be filled with Těžl (l, 15 They that shall remain of him, shall ne buried in death, and his widows shall not weep. 16 Iſ he shall heap together silver as earth, and prepare ralment as clay: 17. He shall prepare indeed; but the Just man shall be clothed with it, and the innocent shall divide the silver. * His obstetric hand brought forth the winding serpent. That is, the umnipotent power of God, which brought forth all things created in eternity The une, but conceived in the Divine iniid from all ** winding serpent, a constellation of fixed stars winding round the north pole, called Draco. This appears from the foregoing part of the same verse: II is spirit hat/s adorned the heavens. 2 N 4 H % § N the place of understanding P CHAP. XXV III, XXIX. 18 He hath built his house as a moth ; and as a keeper he hath made a booth. - 19 The rich man when he shall sleep shall take away nothing with him: he shall open his eyes, and find nothing. g - e 20 Poverty like water shall take hold on him, a tempest shall oppress him in the night: 21 A burning wind shall take him up, and carry h.m. away, and as a whirlwind shall Snatch him trom his place. e 22 And he shall cast upon him, and shall not spare: out of his hand he would willingly flee. 23 He shall clasp his hands upon him, and shall hiss at him, beholding his place. CHAP. XXVIII. Man’s industry searcheth out many things ; true wisdom is taught by God alone. STEVER hath beginnings of its veins; and gold }-2 hath a place wherein it is melted. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth; and stone melted with heat is turned into brass. 3 He hath set a time for darkness, and the end of all things he considereth, the stone also that is in the dark, and the shadow of death. 4. The flood divideth from the people that are on their journey, those whom the foot of the needy man hath forgotten, and who cannot be come at. 5 The land out of which bread grew in its place, hath been overturned with fire. 6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and the clods of it are gold. 7 The bird hath not known the path, neither hath the eye of the vulture beheld it. 8 The children of the merchants have not trod- len it; neither hath the lioness passed by it. 9 He hath stretched forth his hand to the flint: he hath overturned mountains from the roots. 10 In the rocks he hath cut out rivers, and his eye hath seen every precious thing. | 1 The depths also of rivers he hath searched : and hidden thing, he math brought forth to light. 12 But where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding P 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of them that live in delights. 14 The depth saith : It is not in me: and the sea saith : It is not with me. 15 The finest gold shall not purchase it: neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it. 16 It shall not be compared with the dyed colours of India, or with the most precious stone sardonyx, or the sapphire. . 17 Gold or crystal cannot equal it; neither shall Any vessels of gold be changed for it. 18 High and eminent things shall not be men- tioned in comparison of it: but wisdom is drawn ut of Secret places. 19. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal to it. neither shall it be compared to the cleanest dying. 20 Whence then cometh wisdom P and where is 2. It is hid from the eyes of all living, and the fowls of the air know it not. 27 - - - - -wº -sk –—” <--~~~~ 2_^T 22 Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard the fame thereof. 23 God understandeth the way of it; and he knoweth the place thereof. - 24 For he beholdeth the ends of the world: and looketh on all things that are under heaven. 25 Who made a weight for the winds, and weigl ed the waters by measure. 26 When he gave a law for the rain, and a way for the sounding storms. 27 Then he saw it, and declared, and prepared, and searched it. 28 And he said to man: Behold the fear cf the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. CHAP. XXIX. Job relates his former happiness, and the respect that all men showed him. OB also added, taking up his parable, and said. 2 Who will grant me, that I might be accord- ing to the months past, according to the days in which God kept me * 3. When his lamp shined over my head, and I walked by his light in darkness P 4. As I was in the days of my youth, when God was secretly in my tabernacle P 5 When the Almighty was with me, and my ser- vants round about me * 6 When I washed my feet with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil P 7. When I went out to the gate of the city, and in the street they prepared me a chair P 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the old men rose up and stood. 9 The princes ceased to speak, and laid the finger on their mouth. 10 The rulers held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to their throat. - 11 The ear that heard me blessed me ; and the eye that saw me gave witness to me: 12 Because I had delivered the poor man tha cried out, and the fatherless that had no helper. 13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me : and I comforted the heart of the widow. 14 I was clad with justice: and I clothed myselſ with my judgment, as with a robe and a diadem. 15 l was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame 16 I was the father of the poor: and the cause which I knew not, I searched out most diligently. 17 | broke the jaws of the wicked man : and out of his teeth I took away the prey. 18 And I said : I shall die in my nest, and as a palm-tree shall multiply iny days. 19 My root is opened beside the waters ; and dew shall continue in my harvest. 20 My glory shall always be renewed : and my bow in my hand shall be repaired. 21 They that heard me, waited for my sentence and being attentive held their peace at my counsel 22 To my words they durst add nothing: and my specch dropped ºn them. ~~ *Tºº JOB. 23 They waited for me as for rain; and they opened their mouth, as for a latter shower. 24 Ifat any time I laughed on them, they believed not ; and the light of my countenance fell not on the earth. 25 If I had a mind to go to them, I sat first: and when I sat as a king, with his army standing about him. vet I was a comforter of them that mourned. CHAP. XXX. Jº shows the wonderful change of his temporal estate, from wel- fare to great calamity. UT now the younger in time” scorn me, whose fathers I would not have get with the dogs of my flock : © 2 The strength of whose hands was to me as º and they were thought unworthy of life I (St. f. 3 Barren with want and hunger, who gnawed in the wilderness, disfigured with calamity and misery. 4 And they ate grass, and barks of trees: and the root of junipers was their food. 5 Who snatched up these things out of the valleys: and when they had found any of them, they ran to them with a cry. - 6 They dwelt in the desert places of torrents, and in caves of the earth, or upon the gravel. 7 They pleased themselves among these kind of º and counted it delightful to be under the } || 1:l I’S. 8 The children of foolish and base men, and not appearing at all upon the earth : Now I am turned into their song, and am be- come their by-word. 10 They abhor me, and flee far from me, and are not afraid to spit in my face. 11 For he hath opened his quiver, and hath aſſlict- ed me, and hath put a bridle into my mouth. 12 At the right hand of my rising, my calamities forthwith arose: they have overthrown my feet, and have overwhelmed me with their paths as with Wºl V6XS. 13 They have destroyed my ways; they have lain in wait against me; and they have prevailed; and there was none to help. 14. They have rushed in upon me, as when a wall is broken, and a gate opened, and have rolled them- selves down to my miseries. - 15 I am brought to nothing: as a wind thou hast taken away my desire: and my prosperity hath passed away like a cloud. 16 And now my soul fadeth within myself; and he days of affliction possess me. 17 lm the night my bone is pierced with sorrows : al, they that feed upon me, do not sleep. 18 With the multitude of them my garment is con- sumed : and they have girded me about, as with the Collar of my coat. 19 I am compared to dirt, and am likened to em- bers and ashes. 20 I cry to thee, and thou hearest me not : 1 |stand up, and thou dost not regard me. 21 Thou art changed to be cruel toward me, and in the hardness of thy hand thou art against me. 22 Thou hast lifted me up, and set me as it were upon the wind : and thou hast mightily dashed me. 23 I know that thou wilt deliver me to death. where a house is appointed for every one that liveth. 24 But yet thou stretchest not forth thy hand te their consumption : and if they shall fall down, thou wilt save. 25 I wept heretofore for him that was afflicted and my soul had compassion on the poor. 26 ſ expected good things, and evils are come up- on me : I waited for light, and darkness broke out 27 My inner parts have boiled without any rest the days of affliction have prevented me. 28 I went mourning without indignation ; I rose up and cried in the crowd. 29 I was the brother of dragons,f and companion of ostriches. . f 30 My skin is become black upon me, and my bones are dried up with heat. 31 My harp is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of those that weep. CHAP. XXXI. Job, to defend himself from the unjust judgments of his friends gives a sincere account of his own virtues. MADE a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so much as think upon a virgin. 2 For what part should God from above have in me, and what inheritance the Almighty from on high P 3 Is not destruction to the wicked, and aversion to them that work iniquity P 4 Doth not he consider my ways, and number all | my steps ? 5 If I have walked in vanity, and my foot hath made haste to deceit: 6 Let him weigh me in a just balance ; and let God know my simplicity. 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and if my heart hath followed my eyes, and if a spot hath cleav- ed to my hands : 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat: and let my offspring be rooted out. 9 If my heart hath been deceived upon a woman, and if I have laid wait at my friend’s door: 10 Let my wife be the harlot of another, and let other men lie with her. 11 For this is a heinous crime, and a most griev. ous iniquity. 12 It is a fire that devoureth even to destruction and rooteth up all things that spring. 13 If I have despised to abide judgment with my man-servant, or my maid-servant, when they had any controversy against me: 14 For what shall I do when God shall lise to judge P and when he shall examine, what shall ſ * But the younger in time : that is, younger than I am, and is as it were obscure, when I was conspicuous and in magnificence; they now look down on me. answer him? # Brother ºf Dragons, &c. Imitating these creatures in their lament. able noise _-- = sº-si - = 2=º-º-º: Es g *—º-iſ-ſº 4?0 $|4 %|S CHAP. XXXI 1. 15, 1)id not he that made me in the womb make him also: and did not one and the same form me in the womb? 16 If I have denied to the poor what they desir- ed, and have made the eyes of the widow wait: 17 If I have eaten my morsel alone, and the fa- therless hath not eaten thereof: 18 (For from my infancy mercy grew up with me and it came out with me from my mother's womb :) - 19 If I have despised him that was perishing for want of clothing, and the poor man that had no co- Vt "I liſh ºf . }*ś his sides have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep : 21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fa- tnerless, even when I saw myself superior in the ate : É 22 Let my shoulder fall from its joint: and let my arm with its bones be broken. 23 For I have always feared God as waves swell- ing over me, and his weight I was not able to bear. 24. If I have thought gold my strength, and have said to fine gold : My confidence: f 25 If I have rejoiced over my great riches, and because my hand had gotten much : 26 If I beheld the sun” when it shined, and the Inoon going in brightness: 27 And my heart in secret hath rejoiced, and I have kissed my hand with my mouth: 28 Which is a very great iniquity, and a denial against the most high ğ. 29 If I have been glad at the downfall of him that º me, and have rejoiced that evil had found lill. 30 For I have not given my mouth to sin, by wishing a curse to his soul. 31 If the men of my tabernacle have not said : Who will give us of his flesh that we may be filled? 32 The stranger did not stay without; my door was open to the traveller. 33 If as a man I have hid my sin, and have con- cealed my iniquity in my bosom: 34. If I have been afraid at a very great multi- tude, and the contempt of kinsmen hati, terrified |Y162 : gone out of the door : 35 Who would grant me a hearer, that the Al- mighty may hear my desire: and that he himself that judgeth would write a book: 36 That I may carry it on my shoulder, and put it about me as a crown P 37 At every step of mine, I would pronounce it, and offer it as to a prince. 38 If my land cry against me, and with it the turrows thereof mourn; 39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without mo- ney, and have afflicted the soul of the tillers thereof: and l have not rather held my peace, and not 40, Let thistles grow up to me, instead of whea. and thorns instead of barley. The words of Job are ended _*: CHAP. XXXII. Eliu is angry both with Job and his friends. He boasts of himself O these three men ceased to answer Job, because he seemed just to himself. 2 And Eliu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, was angry and was moved to indignation: now he was angry against Job, because he said he was just before God. 3 And he was angry with his friends, because they had not found a reasonable answer, but only had condemned Job. 4. So Eliu waited while Job was speaking, be. cause they were his elders that were speaking. 5 But when he saw that the three were not able to answer, he was exceedingly angry. 6 Then Eliu the son of Barachel the Buzite an- swered, and said: I am younger in days, and you are more ancient; therefore hanging down my head. I was afraid to show you my opinion. 7 For I hoped that greater age would speak, and that a multitude of years would teach wisdom. 8 But, as I see, there is a spirit in men, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding. 9 They that are aged are not the wise men; nei- ther do the ancients understand judgment. 10 Therefore I will speak: Hearken to me: I also will show you my wisdom. 11 For I have waited for your words: I have given ear to your wisdom, as long as you were dis puting in words. | 12 And as long as l thought you said something, | considered : but, as I see, there is none of you tha can convince Job and answer his words. 13 Lest you should say: We have found wisdom God hath cast him down, not man. 14. He hath spoken nothing to me, and I will not answer him according to your words. 15 They were afraid, and answered no more, and they left off speaking. 16 Therefore because l have waited, and they have not spoken; they stood and answered no more. 17 I also will answer my part, and will show my knowledge. 18 For I am full of matter to speak of, and the spirit of my bowels straiteneth me. 19 Behold, my belly is as new wine which want eth vent, which bursteth the new vessels. 20 I will speak, and take breath a little: I will open my lips, and will answer. 21 I will not accept the person of man; and I wil. not level God with man.f 22 For I know not how long I shall continue , and whether after a while my maker may take tne away. *=– -* =ºm, * If I beheld the sun, &c. If I behold the sun and moon with admira- tion, knowing them to be created and governed by the power of God, I call on my adversaries to produce any thing against me, whereby I could be charged with worshipping the sun or moon # I will not level God with man. Here Eliu considers that Job hath put himself on a level with God, by the manner he assumed to justify his own life in speaking to God as if he spoke to an equal : Elia ex presses in the following ver. 22 his fear of punishment thereafter for such an attempt %| N §| 4% JUB CHAP. XXXIII. Elin blames Joh for asserting his own innocence. H EAR therefore, O Job, my speeches, and hear- ken to all my words. 2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth let my tongue speak within my jaws. . 3. My words are from my upright heart, and my "ips shall speak a pure Sentence. 4. The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the almighty gave me life. 5 If thou canst, answer me, and stand up against my face. 6 Behold, God hath made me as well as thee; and of the same clay I also was formed. 7 But yet let not my wonder terrify thee, and let not my eloquence be burdensome to thee. 8 Now thou hast said in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words: 9 I am clean, and without sin: I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Because he hath found complaints against une, therefore he hath counted me for his enemy. 11 He hath put my feet in the stocks, he hath observed all my paths. 12 Now this is the thing in which thou art not justified: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. 13 Dost thou strive against him, because he hath not answered thee to all words? 14 God speaketh once and repeateth not the ſ self same thing the second time. 5 By a dream in a vision by night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, and they are sleeping in their beds: 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and teach- ing instructeth them in what they are to learn. 17 That he may withdraw a man from the things he is doing, and may deliver him from pride. 18 Rescuing his soul from corruption: and his ife from passing to the sword. 19 He rebuketh also by sorrow in the bed, and he maketh all his bones to wither. 20 Bread becometh abominable to him in his life, and to his soul the meat which before he desired. 2l His flesh shall be consumed away, and his bones that were covered, shall be made bare. 22 His soul hath drawn near to corruption, and his life to the destroyers. 23 If there shall be an Angel speaking for him, one among thousands, to declare man’s uprightness. 24. He shall have mercy on him, and shall say: Deliver him, that he may not go down to corruption: I have found wherein I may be merciful to him. 20 His flesh is consumed with punishments, let it return to the days of his youth. - 26 He shall pray to God, and he will be gra- cious to him: and he shall see his face with joy, and he will render to man his justice. 27 He shall look upon men, and shall say: I have sinned, and indeed I have offended; and I have not received what I have deserved. 28 He hath delivered his soul from going into destruction. that it may º and see the light. ZL2T ~ *= 29 Behold, all these things God worketh three times within every one. 30 That he may withdraw their souls from cor- hº and enlighten them with the light of the 1V Ing. 31 Attend, Job, and hearken to me: and hoſſ thy peace, whilst I speak. 32 But if thou hast any thing to say, answer me, speak: for I would have thee to appear just, 33 And if thou have not, hear me: hold thw peace, and l will teach thee wisdom. CHAP. XXXIV. Eliu charges Job with blasphemy; and sets for th the power and justice of God. AND Eliu continued his discourse, and said: 2 Hear, ye wise men, my words: and ye learn- ed, hearken to me: 3 For the ear trieth words, and the mouth dis- cerneth meats by the taste. 4 Let us choose to us judgment, and let us see among ourselves what is the best. 5 For Job hath said: I am just; and God hath overthrown my judgment. 6 For in judging me, there is a lie: my arrow is violent without any sin. - 7 What man is there like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? * - 8 Who goeth in company with them that work iniquity, and walketh with wicked men? For he hath said: Man shall not please God. although he run with him. 10 Therefore, ye men of understanding, heal me: far from God be wickedness, and imiquity from the Almighty. 11 For he will render to a man his work: and according to the ways of every one he will reward them. 12 For in very deed God will not condemn with- out cause: neither will the Almighty pervert judg- Inent. 13 What other hath he appointed over the earth? or whom hath he set over the world which he made? 14 If he turn his heart to him, he shall draw his spirit and breath unto himself. 15 All flesh shall perish together: and man shall return into ashes. 16 If then thou hast understanding, hear what is said, and hearken to the voice of my words. 17 Can he be healed that loveth not judgment? and how dost thou so far condemn him that is justf 18 Who saith to the king: Thou art an apos- tate: who calleth rulers ungodly: 19 Who accepteth not the persons of princes; nor hath regarded the tyrant, when he contended against the poor man: for all are the work of his hands, 20 They shall suddenly die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight; and they shall pass, and take away the violent without hand. 21 For his eyes are upon the ways of men, and he considereth all their steps. 22 There is no darkness, and there is no shadow of death. where they may be hid who work iniquit v. TºSs. % S. CHAP. XXXV, XXXV1. 23 For it is no longer in the power of man to en- wer into judgment with God. 24. He shall break in pieces many and innumera- Lle; and shall make others to stand in their stead. 25 For he knoweth their works: and therefore ne shall bring right on them; and they shall be de- stroyed. * > 26 He wata struck them as being wicked, in open sight, - º; Who as it were on purpose have revolted from aim, and would not understand all his ways: 28 So that they caused the cry of the needy to come to him, and he heard the voice of the poor. 29 For when he granteth peace who is there that can condemn? When he hideth his countenance, who is there that can behold him, whether it regard nations, or all men? © 30 Who maketh a man that is a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people? 31 Seeing then I have spoken of God, I will not hinder thee in thy turn. 32 If I have erred, teach thou me: if l have spo- ken iniquity, I will add no more. 33 Doth God require it of thee, because it hath displeased thee P for thou begannest to speak, and not l ; but if thou know any thing better, speak. 34 Let men of understanding speak to me; and let a wise man hearken to me. 35 But Job hath spoken foolishly, and his words sound not discipline. 36 My father, let Job be tried even to the end: cease not from the man of iniquity. 37 Because he addeth blasphemy upon his sins, let him be tied fast in the mean time among us: and then let him provoke God to judgment with his speeches. - CHAP. XXXV. Eliu declares that the good or evil done by man cannot reach God. OREOVER, Eliu spoke these words: 2 Doth thy thought seem right to thee, that thou shouldst say: I am more just than God? 3 For thou saidst: That which is right doth not please thee: or what will it profit thee if I sin P 4. Therefore I will answer thy words, and thy friends with thee. 5 Look up to heaven, and see, and behold the sky, that it is higher than thee. 6 If thou sin, what shalt thou hurt him P and if § iniquities be multiplied, what shalt thoudoagainst III] { - 7 And if thou do justly, what shalt thou give him, or what shall he receive of thy hand P 8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man that is like thee : and thy justice may help the son of man. 9. By reason of the multitude of oppressors they shall ºry out; and shall wail for the violence of the arm of tyrants. 10 And he hath not said: Where is God, who made me, who hath given songs in the night? * Out of the narrow mouth. That is, out of hell, whose entrance is nar- ow, and its depth bottomless, but figuratively meant here, that is, from his miseries and calamity to be restored to his former state of uappiness. 11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and instructeth us more than the fowls of the 311F. 12 There shall they cry, and he will not hear. because of the pride of evil men. 13 God therefore will not hear in vain and the Almighty will look into the causes of every ºne. 14 Yea when thou shalt say: He conside reth not be judged before him, and expect him. 15 For he doth not now bring on his fury: neither doth he revenge wickedness exceedingly. 16 Therefore Job openeth his mouth in vain. and multiplieth words without knowledge. CHAP. XXXVI. Eliu proceeds in setting forth the justice and power of God. E LIU also proceeded, and said: 2 Suffer me a little, and I will show thee: for I have yet somewhat to speak in God’s behalf. 3 l will repeat my knowledge from the beginning, and I will prove my maker just. 4. For indeed my words are without a lie: and perfect knowledge shall be proved to thee. 5 God doth not cast away the mighty, whereas he himself also is mighty. 6 But he saveth not the wicked: and he giveth judgment to the poor. 7 He will not take away his eyes from the just: and he placeth kings on the throne for ever, and they are exalted. 8 And if they shall be in chains, and be bound with the cords of poverty, 9 He shall show them their works, and their wicked deeds, because they have been violent. 10 He also shall open their ear, to correct them and shall speak, that they may return from iniquity 11 If they shall hear and observe, they shall ac- complish their days in good, and their years in glory 12 But if they hear not, they shall pass by the sword, and shall be consumed in folly. 13 Dissemblers and crafty men prove the wrath of God: neither shall they cry when they are bound. 14 Their soul shall die in a storm, and their life among the effeminate. 15. He shall deliver the poor out of his distress, and shall open his ear in affliction. 16 Therefore he shall set thee at large out of the narrow mouth,” and which hath no foundation un- derit: and the restof thy table shall be full of fatness 17 Thy cause hath been judged as that of the wicked : cause and judgment thou shalt recover. 18 Therefore let not anger overcome thee, to op- press any man: neither let multitude of gifts turr thee aside. 19 Lay down thy greatness without tribulation and all the mighty of strength. 20 Prolong not the night, that people nray come up for them. 21 Beware thou turn not aside to imiquity: for this thou hast begun to follow after misery.f # For this thou hast begun to follow after misery. Eliu charges J ob that notwithstanding his misery, he does not fear God as he ought but in his judgment, falls into iniquity. 423 JUB 22 Bchold, God is high in his strength: and none is like him among the lawgivers. 23 Who can search out his ways? or who can say to him Thou hast wrought iniquity? 24 Remember that thou knowest not his work, concerning which men have sung. 25 All men see him: every one beholdeth afar off. 26 Behold, God is great, exceeding our know- 2dge : Jhe number of his years is inestimable. 27 He lifteth up the drops of rain, and poureth but showers like floods; 28 Which flow from the clouds that cover all above. 29 If he will spread out clouds as his tent, 30 And lighten with his light from above, he shall cover also the ends of the sea. 3] For by these he judgeth people, and giveth food to many mortals. 32 In his hands he hideth the light, and com- mandeth it to come again. 33 He showeth his friend concerning it, that it is his possession, and that he may come up to it. CHAP. XXXVII. Eliu goes on in his discourse, showing God’s wisdom and power, by his wonderful works. T this my heart trembleth, and is moved out of • its place. 2 Hear ye attentively the terror of his voice, and the sound that cometh out of his mouth. 3 He beholdeth under all the heavens; and his light is upon the ends of the earth. 4. After it a noise shall roar: he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty, and shall not be found out, when his voice shall be heard. 5 God shall thunder wonderfully with his voice, he that doeth great and unsearchable things. 6 He commandeth the snow to go down upon the earth, and the winter rain, and the shower of his strength. 7 He sealeth up" the hand of all men, that every one may know his works. 8 Then the beast shall go into his covert, and shall abide in his den. 9 Out of the inner parts shall a tempest come, and cold out of the north. * 10 When God bloweth, there cometh frost; and again the waters are poured out abundantly. 1 I Corn desireth clouds, and the clouds spread their light: 12 Which go round about, whithersoever the will of him that governeth them shall lead them, to what- soºyer he shall command them upon the face of the whole earth : 13 Whether in one tribe, or in his own land, or in what place soever of his mercy he shall command hem to be found. ll Hearken to these things, Job: Stand, and con- sider the wondrous works of God. \ 15 Dost thou know when God commanded the rains, to show the light of his clouds? 16. Knowest thou the great paths of the clouds, and the perfect knowledges? 17 Are not thy garments hot, when the south wind blows upon the earth f 18 Thou perhaps hast made the heavens with him, which are most strong, as if they were of mal- ten brass. 19 Show us what we may say to him : for we are wrapped up in darkness: 20 Who shall tell him the things I speak f even if a man shall speak, he shall be swallowed up.f 21 But now they see not the light: the air on a sudden shall be thickened into clouds, and the wind shall pass and drive them away. 22 Gold cometh out of the north, and to God praise with fear. 23 We cannot find him worthily: he is great in strength, and in judgment, and in justice, and he is ineffable. 24. Therefore men shall fear him : and all that seem to themselves to be wise, shall not dare to be- hold him. e CHAP. XXXVIII. God interposes; and shows from the things he hath matte, that man cannot comprehend his power and wisdom. THEN the Lordſ answered Job out of a whirl. wind, and said: 2 Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in un- skilful words P - 3 Gird up thy loins like a man : I will ask thee, and answer thou me. 4. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth P tell me if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it f 6 Upon what are its bases grounded? or who laid the corner stone thereof, 7 When the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful melody ? 8 Who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb: 9 When I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in Swaddling bands? 10 l set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors; - 11 And I said: Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further: and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves. 12 Didst thou since thy birth command the morn ing, and show the dawning of the day its place? 13 And didst thou hold the extremities of the earth shaking them, and hast thou shaken the un, sº out of it? 14. The seal shall be restored as clay, and shall stand as a garment: - ºsmº • He sealeth up, &c. When he sends those showers of his strength, that is, those storms of rain, he seals up, that is, he shuts up the hands of me: from their usual works abroad, and confines them within doors, to consider his works; or to forecast their works, that is, what they wne misselves are to do __--Tº-F - ----> * T ~~ x #. He shall be swallowed up. All that man can say when he speaks of - God, is so little and inconsiderable in comparison with the subject, that man is lost, and as it were swallowed up in so immense an ocean | The Lord. That is, an angel speaking in the name of the Lord. 424 UHAP. XXXIX. - 15 From the wicked their light shall be taken away, and the high arm shall be broken. 16"Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the lowest parts of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the darksome doors? 13 Hast thou considered the breadth of the earth? tell me, if thou knowest all things? 19. Where is the way where light dwelleth, and where is the place of darkness: to 20 That thou mayst bring every thing to its own bounds, and understand the paths of the house thereoſ. 21 Didst thou know then that thou shouldst be born? and didst thou know the number of thy days? 22 Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or hast thou beheld the treasures of the hail: 23. Which I have prepared for the time of the en- emy, against the day of battle and war? 2í. By what way is the light spread, and heat di- vided upon the earth? 25 Who gave a course to violent showers, or a way for noisy thunder: 26 That it should rain on the earth without man in the wilderness, where no mortal dwelleth: 27 That it should fill the desert, and desolate land, and should bring forth green grass? 28 Who is the father of rain? or who begot the drops of dewf 29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the frost from heaven who hath gendered it? 30 The waters are hardened like a stone, and the surface of the deep is congealed. 31 Shalt thou be able to join together the shining stars the Pleiades,” or canst thou stop the turning about of Arcturus? 32 Canst thou bring forth the day-star in its time, and make the evening-star to rise upon the children of the earth P 33 Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason thereof on the earth? 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, thnt an abundance of waters may cover thee P 35 Canst thou send lightnings, and will they go and will they return, and say to thee: Here we are? 36 Who hath put wisdom in the heart of man, or who gave the cock understanding ºf 37 Who can declare the order of the heavens, or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep F 38 When was the dust poured on the earth, and the clods fastened together f 39 Wilt thou take the prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of her whelps, 40 When they couch in the dens, and lie in wait in holes f 41 Who provideth food for the raven, when her young ones cry to God, wandering about, because they have no meat P * Pleiades. Hebrew, Cimah. A cluster of seven stars in the constel- tation Taurus, or the Bull. Arcturus a bright star in the constellation Rootes. The Hebrew name Cesil is variously interpreted; by some Orion, by others, the great Bear is understood CHAP. XXXIX. The wonders of the power and providence of God in many of his creatures. NOWEST thou the time when the wild goats bring forth among the rocks, or hast thou ov served the hinds when they fawn f 2 Hast thou numbered the months of their con ceiving, or knowest thou the time when they ring forth P 3 They bow themselves to bring forth young, an they cast them, and send forth roarings. 4. Their young are weaned, and go to feed : they go forth, and return not to them. 5 Who hath sent out the wild-ass free, and who hath loosed his bonds f 6 To whom l have given a house in the wilderness and his dwellings in the barren land. 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, he hear- eth not the cry of the driver. 8 He looketh round about the mountains of his pasture, and seeketh for every green thing. 9 Shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve thee, or will he stay at thy crib P 10 Canst thou bind the rhinoceros with thy thong to plough, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee P 11 Wilt thou have confidence in his great strength and leave thy labours to him P 12 Wilt thou trust him that he will render thee the seed, and gather it into thy barn-floor? 13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings the heron, and of the hawk. 14. When she leaveth her eggs on the earth, thou perhaps wilt warm them in the dust. 15 She forgetteth that the foot may tread upon them, or that the beast of the field may break them 16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: she hath laboured in vain, no fear constraining her. 17 For God hath deprived her of wisdom, neithel hath he given her understanding. 18 When time shall be, she setteth up her wings on high : she scorneth the horse and his rider. 19 Wilt thou give strength to the horse, or clothe his neck with neighing f 20 Wilt thou lift him up like the locusts P the glory of his nostrils is terror. 21 He breaketh up the earth with his hoof, he pranceth boldly, he goeth forward to meet armed II] ell. 22 He despiseth fear, he turneth not his back to the sword. 23 Above him shall the quiver rattle, the spray and shield shall glitter. 24 Chasing and raging he swalloweth the ground. neither doth he make account when the noise of the trumpet soundeth. 25. When he heareth the trumpet, he saith. Ha, # Understanding. . That instinct by which he distinguishes the times of crowing in the night. 425 JOB. na he smelleth the battle aſar off, the encouragingſ of the captains, and the shouting of the army. 26 Doth the hawk wax feathered by thy wisdom, spreading her wings to the south f 27 Will the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest in high places f - 28 She abideth among the rocks, and dwelleth among cragged flints, j stony hills, where there is no access. 29 From thence she looketh for the prey, and me eves behold afar off. 30 Her young ones shall suck up blood: and wheresoever the carcass shall be, she is immediate- ly there. y 31 And the Lord went on, and said to Job: 32 Shall he that contendeth with God be so easi- ly silenced P surely he that reproveth God ought to answer him. 33 Then Job answered the Lord, and said: 34 What can I answer, who have spoken incon- siderately P" l will lay my hand upon my mouth. 35 One thing I have spoken, which I wish I had not said : and another, to which I will add no more. CHAP. XL. Of the power of God in the behemoth and the leviatham. ND the Lord answering Job out of the whirl- wind, said: 2 Gird up thy loins like a man : and do thou tell me. 3 Wilt thou make void my judgment: and con- demn me, that thou mayst be justified ? 4 And hast thou an arm like God, and canst thou , hunder with a voice like him f 5 Clothe thyself with beauty, and set thyself up on high, and be glorious, and put on goodly garments. 6 Scatter the proud in thy indignation, and be- nold every arrogant man, and humble him. 7 Look on all that are proud, and confound them, and crush the wicked in their place. 8 Hide them in the dust together, and plunge their faces into the pit. 9 Then I will confess that thy right hand is able to save thee. 10 Behold behemothf whom I made with thee, he eateth grass like an ox. 11 His strength is in his loins, and his force in the navel of his belly. 12 He setteth up his tail like a cedar, the sinews of his testicles are wrapped together. 13 His bones are like pipes of brass, his gristle ike plates of iron. 14. He is the beginning of the ways of God, who made him : he will apply his sword.[ [5 To him the mountains bring forth grass: there l the beasts of the field shall play. 16 He sleepeth under the shadow, in the covert I the reed, and in moist places. I will ask thee, 17 The shades cover his shadow, the willows of the brook shall compass him, about. 18 Behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder: and he trusteth that the Jordan may run into his mouth. 19 In his eyes as with a hook he shall take him and bore through his nostrils with stakes. 20 Canst thou draw out the leviathanº with a hook, or canst thou tie his tongue with a cord? 21 Canst thou put a ring in his nose, or bore through his jaw with a buckle? 22 Will he make ºny supplications to thee, or speak soft words to thee; 23 Will he make a covenant with thee, and wilt thou take him to be a servant for ever? 24 Shalt thou play with him as with a bird, or tie him up for thy handmaids f 25 Shall friends cut him in pieces, shall mer chants divide him? 26 Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, and the ca- bins of fishes with his head? 27 Lay thy hand upon him: remember the bat tle, and speak no more. 28 Behold his hope shall fail him, and in the sight of all he shall be cast down. CHAP. XLI. A further description of the leviathan I WILL not stir him up, like one that is cruel: for who can resist my countenance? 2 Who hath given me before that I should repay him? All things that are under heaven are mine. 3 I will not spare him, nor his mighty words, and framed to make supplication. 4. Who can discover the face of his garment? O] who can go into the midst of his mouth: 5 Who can open the doors of his face P his teeth are terrible round about. 6 His body is like molten shields, shut close up with scales pressing upon one another. 7 One is joined to another, and not so much as any air can come between them: 8 They stick onc to another, and they hold one another fast, and shall not be separated. 9 His sneezing is like the shining of fire, and his eyes like the eye-lids of the morning. 10 Out of his mouth go forth lamps, like torches of lighted fire. 11 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, like that of a pot heated and boiling. 12 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame cometh forth out of his mouth. 13 In his neck strength shall dwell, and want goeth before his face. 14 The members of his flesh cleave one to ano ther; he shall send lightnings against him, and they shall not be carried to another place. * Spoken inconsiderately. If we discuss all Job's words (saith St. Gre- ory,) we shall find nothing impiously spoken; as may be gathered from the words of the Lord himself, chap. xlii. ver. 7, & 8, but what was reprehensible in him, was the manner of expressing himself at times, speaking too much of his own affliction, and too little of God's goodness towards him, which here he acknowledges as inconsiderate. + Behemoth, in Hebrew behema, which signifies in general an animal but many authors explain, that here it is put for the Elephant. 1. He will apply his sword. This text is variously explained: some ex plain the sword, the horn given to the animal for his defence: others the power that God hath given to man to slay him. notwithstanding his great size and strength. * * Leviathan. The whale, or some sea monster. º 426 Ż CHAP. 15 His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith's anvil. 16 When he shall raise him up, the angels” shall fear, and being affrighted shall purify themselves. 17 When a sword shall lay at him, it shall not be able to hold, nor a spear, nor a breast-plate. 18 For he shall esteem iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. e 19 The archer shall not put him to flight, the stones of the sling to him are like stubble. 20 As stubble will he esteem the hammer, and me will laugh him to scorn who shaketh the spear. 21 The beams of the sun shall be under him,t and he shall strew gold under him like mire. 22 He shall make the deep sea to boil like a pot, and shall make it as when ointments boil. 23 A path shall shine after him, he shall esteem the deep as growing old.ſ 24 i. is no power upon earth that can be compared with him who was made to fear no one. 25 He beholdeth every high thing, he is kings over all the children of pride. CHAP. XLII. Job submits himself. God pronounces in hisfavour. Job affers sacrifice for his friends. He is blessed with riches and chil- dren, and dies happy. HEN Job answered the Lord, and said: 2 I know that thou canst do all things, and no thought is hid from thee. 3 Who is this that hideth counsel without know- ledge? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and things that above measure exceeded my knowledge. 4 Hear, and I will speak: I will ask thee, and do thou tell me. 5 With the hearing of the ear I have heard thee, ºut now my eye seeth thee. 6 Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes. 7 And after the Lord had spoken these words to * Angels. Elim, Hebrew: which signifies here, the mighty, the most valiant, shall fear this monstrous fish, and in their fear shall seek to be purified. # Under him. He shall not value the beams of the sun; and gold to him shall be like mire. XLII. Job, he said to Eliphaz the Themanite: My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends, because you have not spoken the thing that is righ, before me, as my servant Job hath. 8 Take unto you therefore seven oxen, and se- ven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust: and my servant Job shall pray for you: his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you; for you have not spoken right things before me, as my servant Job hath. 9. So Eliphaz the Themanite, and Baldad the Suhite, and Sophar the Naamathite, went, and did as the Lord had spoken to them: and the Lord ac- cepted the face of Job. 10 The Lord also was turned at the penance of Job, when he prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 And all his brethren came to him, and all his sisters, and all that knew him before, and they eat bread with him in his house: and bemoaned him, and comforted him upon all the evil that God had brought upon him. And every mangave him one ewe, and one ear-ring of gold. 12 And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. And he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. 13 And he had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of one Dies, and the name of the second Cassia, and the name of the third Cornustibij. 15 And there were not found in all the earth wo- men so beautiful as the daughters of Job: and !. father gave them inheritance among their bre. thren. 16. And Job lived after these things, a hundred and forty years, and he saw his children, and his children's children, unto the fourth generation: aud he died an old man, and full of days. f. The deep as growing old. Growing hoary, as it were, with the froth which he leaves behind him. * He is king, &c., He is superior in strength to all that are great pnd strong amongst living creatures: mystically it is understood of the devil, who is king over all the prou *-** = 2. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoeve, he shall do shall prosper. 4. Not so the wicked, not so : but like the aust which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. 5 Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners,jn the council of the just. *SALſ MS 4. 6 F or the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and ſhe way of the wicked shall perism PSALM II. Quare fremuerunt. The prin efforts of persecutors against Christ and his church. HY have the gentiles raged, and the people de- vised vain things f 2 The kings of the earth stood up, and the prin- ces inet together, against the Lord, and against his Clarist 3 I.et us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us. 4 He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them : and the lord shall deride them. 5 Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and rouble them in his rage. 6 But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, preaching his commandment. 7 The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have l begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I will give thee the gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 10 And now, O ye kings, understand : receive in- struction you that judge the earth. | 1 Serve ye the Lord with fear : and rejoice unto him with trembling. 12 Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. 13 When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trustin him. PSALM III. Domine, quid multiplicati. The prophet’s danger and delivery from his son Absalom: mys- tically the passion and resurrection of Christ. e | "I'he psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom. [2 Kings xv.] 2 HY, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me. 3 Many say to my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. - 4. But thou, O Lord, art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. 5 I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he nat, heard me from his holy hill. 6 l have slept and have taken my rest: and I h:... e risen up, because the Lord hath protected me. 7 I will not fear thousands of the people, surround- ºng me : arise, O Lord ; save me, O my God. 8 For thou hast struck all them who are my ad- versaries without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. 9 Salvation is of the Lord : and thy blessing is upon thy people. - * Unto the end. Or, as St. Jerome renders it, victori, to him that over- roseth; which some understand of the chief musician; to whom they suppose the psalms, which bear that title, were given to be sung: we rather understand the psalms thus inscribed to refer to Christ, who is the end of the law, and the great conqueror of death and hell, and to the New Testament. |hid. In perses in carminibus. In º Hebrew it is neghinoth, suppo- +==<>==== zz- *- ~~ PSALM IV Cum invocarem. The prophet teacheth us to fies to God in tribulation, with conſt dence in him. I Unto the end, * in verses. A psalm for David 2 W HEN I called upon him, the God of my jus tice heard me ; when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 3 O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull # heart? why do you love vanity, and seek after Ing: y 4. Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him. 5 Be ye angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds. 6 Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord : many say, Who showeth us good things? 7 The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart. 8 By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they are multiplied. In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest: - 10 For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope. PSALM V. Verba mea auribus. A prayer to Gud against the iniquities of men. | Unto the end, for her that obtaineth the inherit- ance.f. A psalm for David. 2 IVE ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry. 3 Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my king and my God. 4. For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morn- ing thou shalt hear my voice. - 5 In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest lil 1(IU. It W. - § Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes. 7 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. º bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will 311)|l () I’. 8 But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy house; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear. 9 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice. because of my enemies, direct my way in thy sight. 10 For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain. ll Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God Let them fall from their devices: according to gº--~ w º --~~~ N- sed by some to be a musical instrument, with which this psalm was to be sung. Ibid. For David, or to David, rö Aavid, that is, inspired to David himself, or to be sung. C | For her that obtaineth the inheritance. That is, for the church o rist. § % R PsALMS VI, VII, VIII the multitude of their wickednesses cast, them out: for they have provoked thee, O Lord. 12 But let all them be glad that hope in thee: Jhey shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. * | And all they that love thy name shall glory in thee : 13 For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will. PSALM Wł. Domine, ne in furore. A prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God. The first penitential Psalm. 1 Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for q the octave.” - 2 LORD, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: 'heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 4 And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long? 5 Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy’s sake. 6 For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell? 7 I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears. 8 My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies. . 9 Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. 10 The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer. 11 Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily. PSALM VII. Domine Deus meus. David, trusting in the justice of his cause, prayeth for God’s help against his enemies. 1 The psalm of David which he sungtothe Lord, for the words of Chusi the son of Jemini. [2 Kings xvi.] 2O LORD my God, in thee have I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. - - 3 Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save. 4 O Lord my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands: 5 If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies. t; Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust. 7. Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded: 8 And a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high. 9 The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my Justice, and according to my innocence in me. 10 The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and thou shalt direct the just : the search er of hearts and reins is God. Just 11 is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart. 12 God is a just judge, strong and patient' is he angry every day? 13. Except you will be converted, he will bran dish his sword: he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 14 And in it he hath prepared the instruments of .." he hath made ready his arrows for them that Uil"l). 15 Behold, he hath been in labour with injustice he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity. 16 He hath opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made. 17 His sorrow shall be turned on his own head : and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown. 18 I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high. PSALM VIII. Domine Dominus noster God is wonderful in his works; especially in mankind, stags. larly eacalted by the incarnation of Christ. 1 Unto the end, for the presses: a psalm for David. 2 O L&RD our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! - For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens. 3 Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger. 4. For l will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded. 5 What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? 6 Thou hast made him a little less than the An- gels, thou hast crowned him with glory and ho nour: 7 and hast set him over the works of thy mands 8 Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, * º and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the €|{IS. 9 The birds of the air and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea: 10 O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy maine in all the earth! - * For the octave. That is, to be sung on an instrument of eight strings. St. Augustine understands it mystically, of the last resurrection, and the world to come; which is, as it were, the octave, or eighth day, atter the seven days of this mortal life : and for this octave, sinners'ſ must dispose themselves like David, by bewailing their sins, whilst they are here upon earth. & e + For them that burn. That is, against the persecutors of his Sainus t The presses. In Hebrew Gittith, supposed to oe a musical instru meat. % 499 PSALMS. PSALM IX. Confitebor tibi, Domine. I'he church praiseth God for his protection against her enemies. | Unto the end, for the hidden things of the son.” A psalm for David. 2 I Will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will relate all thy wonders. 3 ſ will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high. 4. When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened, and perish before thy face. 5 For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice. 6 Thou hast rebuked the gentiles, and the wick- ed one hath perished: thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. 7 The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities thou hast destroyed. Their memory hath perished with a noise: 8 But the Lord remaineth for ever. He hath prepared his throne in judgment: 9 and he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the people in justice. 10 And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time in tribulation. 11 And let them trust in thee who know thy name: | thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Iord. 12 Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among the gentiles: 13 For requiring their blood he hath remembered them: he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor. 14 Ilave mercy on me, O Lord: see my humilia- tion which l suffer from my enemies. 15 Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion. 16 l will rejoice in thy salvation: the gentiles have tuck fast in the destruction which they prepared. Their foot hath been taken in the very snare which they hid. 17 The Lord shall be known when he executeth udgments: the sinner hath been caught in the works of his own hands. º 18 The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God. 19 For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience of the poor shall not perish for e Ver. 20 Arise, O J ord, let not man be strengthened: let the geutiles be judged in thy sight. 2’ Appoint, Q Lord, a law-giver over them, that the gentiles may know themselves to be but men.f Psalm X. according to the Hebrews. I Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off? why just thous!!ght usin our wants, in the tune of trouble? 2 Whilst the wicked man is proud, he poor is sº 4 on fire; they are caught in the counsels which they devise. 3 For the sinner is praised in the soul: and the unjust man is blessed. 4. The sinner hath provoked the Lord: according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him 5 God is not before his eyes: his ways are filiny at all times. Thy judgments are removed from his sight; h shall rule over all his enemies. 6 For he hath said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil. - 7 His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness. and of deceit: under his tongue are labour and sorrow. 8 He sitteth in ambush with the rich in private places, that he may kill the innocent. His eyes are upon the poor man: he lieth in waſ in secret like a lion in his den. He lieth in ambush that he may catch the pool man: to catch the poor, whilst he draweth him to him. 10 In his net he will bring him down: he wil crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the |)OOr. ! I For he hath said in his heart: God hath for. gotten, he hath turned away his face not to see to the end. 12 Arise, O Lord God, let thy hand be exalter forget not the poor. 13 Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God? fo he hath said in his heart: He will not require it. 14 Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and Sorrow : that thou mayst deliver them into thy hands To thee is the poor man left: thou wilt be a helper to the orphan. 15 Break thou the arm of the sinner and of the ºut. his sin shall be sought, and shall not be ()ll l l (1. 16 The Lord shall reign to etermity, yea for eve. and ever: ye gentiles shall perish from his land. 17 The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor thy ear hath heard the preparation of their heart, 18 To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no more presume to magnify himsel upon earth. . PSALM X. In Domino confido. The just man's confidence in God in the midst of persecutions 1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 IN the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain like a sparrow? 3 For lo, the wicked have bent their bow they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark the upright of heart. 4 For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: but what has the just man done? * The Aidders things of the son. The humility and sufferings of Christ, the Son of God; and of good christians, who are his sons by adoption; are called hidden things, with regard to the children of this world, who snow not the value and merit of them. i * Here the late llebrew doctors divide this psalm into two, making esires ſ his * ºr ver, 22 the beginning of psalm x. And again they join the psalms cxlvi., & cºlvii. into one, in order that the whole number of psalms should not exceed 150. And in this manner the psalms are numbered in the protestant bible. 430 PSALMS X1, XII, XIII, XIV, XV. Wºre 5 The Lord is in his holy temple: the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes look on the poor man: his eye-lids ex- amine the sons of men. 6 The Lord trieth the just and the wicked: but he that loveth iniquity hateth his own soul. 7 He shall rain smares upon sinners: fire and brim stone and storms of winds shall be the portion of their cup. 8 For the lord is just, and hath loved justice: his countenance hath beheld righteousness. PSALM XI. Salvum me fac. The prophet calls for God's help against the wicked. | Unto the end: for the octave, a psalm for David. 2 SAY. me, O Lord, for there is now no Saint; truths are decayed from among the children of men. 3 They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbour: with deceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken. 4 May the î. destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things. 5. Who have said: 'we will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us? 6 By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety; l will deal confidently in his regard. 7 The words of the Lord are pure words: as sil- wer tried by the fire, purged from the earth refined seven times. S Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us and keep us from this generation for ever. 9 The wicked walk round about ; according to .hy highness, thou hast multiplied the children of men. PSALM XII. Usquequo, Domine. A prayer in tribulation. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. OW long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end ? how long dost thou turn away thy face from me f 2 How long shall I take counsels in my soul, Sor- row in my heart all the day f 3 How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 4. Consider, and hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death : 6 lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him. Tney that trouble me will rejoice when I am moved: 6 but l have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation: I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things: yea I will sing to the name of the Lord the most high. PSALM XIII. Dixit insipiens. 1. The general corruption of man before our redemption by Christ. I Unto the end, a psalm for Dayid. . HE º hath said in his heart: There is no (Hot es They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doeth good, no not Olle, 2 The Lord hath looked down from heaven up- on the children of men, to see if there be any tha understand and seek God. 3. They are all gone aside, they are become un profitable together: there is none that doeth good, 110 Il Ot One. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with then tongues they acted deceitfully ; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. 4 Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread P 5 They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. 6 For the Lord is in the just generation : you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope. 7 Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Is. rael P when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Is rael shall be glad. PSALM XIV. Domine, quis habitabit. What kind of men shall dwell in the heavenly Sion. 1 A psalm for David. ORD, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle f or who shall rest in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh without blemish, and worketin justice : 3 He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue: Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours. 4. In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing' but he glorifieth them that fear the É. He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not, 5 he that hath not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent : He that doeth these things shall not be moved for ever. PSALM XV. Conserva me, Domine Christ’s future victory and triumph over the world, and aeatn | The inscription of a title” to David himself. PRESERVE me, O Lord, for I have put my trust in thee. 2 I have said to the Lord, thou ar my God, for thou hast no need of my goods 3 To the saints who are in his land, he hath made wonderful all my desires in them. 4. Their infirmities were multiplied : afterwards they made haste. •e sº- .…,’ <--→ NS- * The inscription of a title. That is, of a pillar or monument; rºof , pia, which is as much as to say, that this psalm is most worthy to ot engraved on an everlasting monument. 431 PSALMS. ! will not gather together their meetings for blood- offerings nor will I be mindful of their names by iny lips. 5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup : it is thou that wilt restore my inherit- {tl|("t f () tº 62. 5 The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places: for aly inheritance is goodly to me. 7 ſ will bless the Lord, who hath given me un- i rstanding moreover my reins also have corrected me even till night. 3 I set the Lord always in my sight: for he is at my right hand, that I be not moved. () }. my heart hath been glad, and m tongue hath rejoiced : moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption. 1 | Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to the end. PSA LM XVI. Exaudi, Domine, justitiam. of just man's prayer in tribulation against the malice of his enemies. 1 The prayer of David. [. EAR, O Lord, my justice: attend to my sup- 1 plication. Give car unto my prayer, which proceedeth not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my judgment come forth from thy counte- nance : let thy eyes behold the things that are equitable. 3 Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night; thou hast tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me : 4. That my mouth may not speak the works of men: for the sake of the words of thy lips, I have kept hard ways. 5 Perfect thou my goings in thy paths: that my footsteps be not moved; * 6 I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline thy ear unto me, and hear || my words. 7 Show forth thy wonderful mercies ; thou who savest them that trust in thee. 8 From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings. 9 From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies have surrounded my soul: 10 they have shut up their fat:” their mouth hath spoken proudly. Il They have cast me forth, and now they have surrounded me: they have set their eyes bowing lown to the earth. 12 They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the viey, and as a young lion dwelling, in secret places. | 13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, and supplantſ him ; deliver my soul from the wicked one; thy Sword 14 from the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the fewf of the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores.f They are full of children and they have left tº their little ones the rest of their substance. 15 But as for me, I will appear before thy sigh- in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. PSALM XVII. Diligam te, Domine. David’s thanks to God for his delivery from all his enemies. I Unto the end, for David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all liis enemies, and from the hand of Saul. [2 Kings xxii. 2 I Will love thee, O J ord, my strength : 3 The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support. 4 Praising I will call upon the Lord : and I sha. be saved from my enemies. 5 The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me. 6 The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me. 7 In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and . cried to my God: And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came into his ears. 8 The earth shook and trembled : the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved because he was angry with them. 9 There went up a smoke in his wrath ; and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it 10 He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 11 And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew upon the wings of the winds. 12 And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him: dark waters in the clouds of the air, 13 At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. 14 And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire. 15 And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them 16 Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the ſoundations of the world were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast ºf Jhe spiri of thy, wrath, * Their fat. That is, their bowels of compassion: for they have none for me. + Divide º: the few, &c. That is, cut them off from the earth, and the few triſling things thereof; which they are so proud of, or di- ps le them from the felp; that is from thy elect, who are but few; that they 1.4) uo longer have it in their power to oppress ºvern. It is not meant 432 A. º.º. by way of a curse or imprecation; but, as many other the like passa ges in the psalms, by way of a prediction, or prophecy of what should come upon them, in punishment of their wickedness. f Thy hidden stores. thy secret treasures, out of which thou furnish est those earthly goods, which with a bountiful hand thou hast listr ..buted both to the good and the bad. PSALM XVIII s 17 He sent from on high, and took me: and re- ceived me out of many waters. 18 He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. 19 They prevented me in the day of my afflic- tion : and the Lord became my protector. 20 And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me. 21 And the Lord will reward ine according to my justice; and will repay me according to the clean- mess of my hands: 22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God. 23 For all his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me. - 24. And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity. y - 25 And the Lord will reward me according to my justice: and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes. 26 With the holy, thou wilt he holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent: 27 And with the elect thou wilt be elect: and with he perverse thou wilt be perverted. • 28 For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt 3ring down the eyes of the proud. 29 For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord: O my God, enlighten my darkness. 30 For by thee I shall be delivered from tempta- tion: and through my God I shall go over a wall. 31 As for my God, his way is undefiled: the words of the Lord are fire-tried: he is the protector of all that trust in him. 32 For who is God but the Lord? or who is God but our God P 33 God who hath girt me with strength, and made my way blameless. 34 Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me upon high places. 35 Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like a brazen bow. 36 And thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up: And thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end: and thy discipline the same shall teach me. 37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and iny feet are not weakened. 38 I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn again till they are con- sumed. 39 I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet. 40 And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them that rose "ip against me. 41 And thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast destroyed them that hated me. 42 They cried, but there was none to save them: to the Lord, but he heard them not. 43 And I shall beat them as small as the dust be- fore the wind: I shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets. 44 Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people: thou wilt make me head of the gentiles A people, which I knew not, hath served me at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me. 46 The children that are strangers have lied to me: Strange children have faded away, and have halted from their paths. 47 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God: and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 48 O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my deliverer from my enemies 49 And thou will lift me up above them that rise up against me: from the unjust man thou wilt de- liver me. 50 Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord. among the nations, and I will sing a psalm to thy El H II) (2. o . 51 Giving great deliverance to his king, and show ing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever. PSA LM XV || I. Coeli enarrant. The works of God show forth his glory : his law is greatly to be esteemed and loved. 1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 HE heavens show forth the glory of God, and - the firmament declareth the work of his hands. 3 Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night showeth knowledge. 4 There are no speeches nor languages where their voices are not heard. 5 Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. 6 He hath set his tabernacle in the sum : and he as a bridegroom coming out of his bride-chamber, Hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way: 7 II is going out is from the end of heaven, And his circuit even to the end thereof: and there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. 8 The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. 9 The justices of the Lord are right, refoicing hearts: the commandment of the Lord is lightsome. enlightening the eyes. 10 The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring ſo. ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true. justified in themselves. 11 More to be desired than gold and many pre cious stones: and sweeter than honey and the honey-comb. 12 For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a great reward. 13 Who can understand sins f from my secre ones cleanse me, O Lord : 14 and from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no dominion over me, then shall I be without spot : and I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin. 15 And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please: and the meditation of my heart always in thy sight. O Lord, my helper, and my redeemer 4.3.3 PSALMS. PSA LM XIX. Exaudiatte Dominus. A prayer for the king. | Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 MAX the Lord hear thee in the day of tribula- - tion: may the name of the God of Jacob urotect thee. wº 3 May he send thee help from the sanctuary: and lefend thee out of Sion. 4 May he be mindful of all thy sacrifices: and may thy whole burnt-offering be made fat. #, May he give thee according to thy own heart ; and confirm all thy counsels. (; We will rejoice in thy salvation ; and in the name of our God we shall be exalted. 7 The Lord fulfil all thy petitions : now have I known that the Lord hath saved his anointed. He will hear him from his holy heaven: the sal- vation of his right hand is in powers.” 8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. 9 They are bound, and have fallen : but we are risen, and are set upright. O Lord, save the king : that we shall call upon thee. PSALM XX. Domine, in virtute. Praise to God for Christ’s eacaltation after his passion. | Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 IN thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly. 3 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire : and hast not withholden from him the will of his lips. 4. For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness : thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones. 5 He asked life of thee : and thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation : glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him. 7 For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ver and ever : thou shalt make him joyful in glad- ness with thy countenance. 8 For the king hopeth in the Lord : and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. 9 Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies: let thy right hand find out all them that hate thee. 10 Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy anger:- the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour them. 11 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth : and their seed from among the children of men. 12 For they have intended evils against thee: they have devised counsels which they have not been alle to establish. and hear us in the day 13 For thou shalt make them turn their back. -1. thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face. F 14 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength we will sing and praise thy power. PSALM XXI. Deus Deus meus. Christ’s passion ; and the conversion of the Genrites 1 Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David. 2 O God my God, look upon me why has thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.] 3 O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou will not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. 4. É. thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. 5 In thee have our fathers hoped ; they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them. 6 They cried to thee, and they were saved : they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 7 But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. 8 All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn. º have spoken with the lips, and wagged the l{2:1 (1. 9. He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him : let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him. 10 For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb : my hope from the breasts of my mother. ll I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother’s womb thou art my God, 12 depart not from me. For tribulation is very near : for there is none to help me. 13 Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me. 14. They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring. 15 I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels. 16 My strength is dricd up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death. 17 For many dogs have encompassed me ; the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet. 18. They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon me. 19 They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. 20 But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me ; look towards my defence. 21 Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword my only one from the hand of the dog. - smºm-m ºr * * The salvation of his right hand is in powers. That is, in strength. His right hand is strong and mighty to save them that trust in him. # In thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face : or thou shalt set thy reinnants against their faces. That is ‘hou shalt make them see what punishments remain for them hereafter from thy justice. Instead •f remnants, St. Jerome renders it funes. that is cords or strings, viz of ** * --~~~~ ºve lº-Cº ~~~ wº <> the bow of divine Justice, from which God directs his arrows against the faces of his enemies. 1 The words of my sins. That is, the sins of the world, which I have taken upon myself, cry out against me, and are the cause of all me sufferings. PSALMS XXII, XXIII, XXIV. Yºne 22 Save me from the lion's mouth; and my low-ſ ness from the horns of the unicorns. 23 I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee. 24 Ye that fear the Lord praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob glorify him. © 25 Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. cither hath he turned away his face from me: pnd when I cried to him he heard me. 26 With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him: 27 The poor shall eat and shall be filled; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever. 28 All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight. 29 For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he shall have dominion over the nations. 30 All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him. 31 And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him. 32 There shall be declared to the Lord a gene- ration to come: and the heavens shall show forth iiis justice to a people that shall be born, which the ł. hath made. PSALM XXII. Dominus regit me. God’s spiritual benefits to faithful souls. 1 A Psalm for David. HE Lord ruleth me:* and I shall want nothing. 2 He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refresh- ment: 3 he hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name's sake. 4. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me. 5 #. hast prepared a table before me, against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my shalice which inebriateth me how goodly is it! flººd thy mercy will follow me all the days of iny life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, unto length of days. PSALM XXIII. Domini est terra. Who are they that shall ascend to heaven ; Christ’s tº tumphant ascension thither. 1 On the first day of the week, a psalm for David. VIV HE earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: the world and all they that dwell therein. * Ruleth me. In Hebrew, Is my shepherd, viz. to feed, guide, and go- •ern ine 28 . - 2 For he hath ſounded it upon the seas; and hath prepared it upon the rivers. 3 W. shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord : or who shall stand in his holy place f 4. The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitful- ly to his neighbour. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mº from God his Saviour. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye liſt ed up, O eternal gates; and the King of Glory shal enter lin. 8 Who is this King of Glory P the Lord who is strong and mighty : the Lord mighty in battle 9 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O. eternal gates. and the King of Glory shall €nter II). 10 Who is this King of Glory? the Lord of hosts he is the King of Glory. PSALM XXIV. Ad te, Domine, levavi. A prayer for grace, mercy, and protection against our enemies 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. To thee, O Lord, have I liſted up my soul. 2 In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. 3 Neither let my enemies laugh at me : for none of them that wait on thee shall be confounded. 4 Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. Show, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths. 5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion, º mercies that are from the beginning of the WOTIOI. 7 The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. 8 The Lord is sweet and righteous : therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way. 9 É. will guide the mild in judgment : he will teach the meek his ways. 10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testi- monies. 11 For thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt par don my sin : for it is great. 12 Who is the man that feareth the Lord f Iſe hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen. 13 His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the 'and. Hº 14. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear * and his covenant shall be made manifest to the In. 15 My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet ou! of the Snare. 5 PSALMS. 17 The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deli- me all my sins. 20 Keep thou my soul, and deliver me: l shall to me: because I have waited on thee. Judica me, Domine. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. and shall not be weakened. 3 For thy mercy is before my eyes: and I am ther will l go in with the doers of unjust things. 6 I will wash my hands among the innocent; and tell of all thy wondrous works. 9 Take not away my soul, O God, with the wick- is filled with giſts. 12 My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the Dominus illuminatio. H E Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I be afraid P My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been ple, my heart shall not fear. - | One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will wer me from my necessities. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are multipli- ot be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee. 22 Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations. David’s prayer to God in his distress, to be delivered, that he UDGE me, O Lord, for l have walked in my 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me ; burn my reins well pleased with thy truth. 5 I have hated the assembly of the malignant; will compass thy altar, O Lord, 8 I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; ed: nor my life with bloody men. ll But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: churches I will bless thee, O Lord. David’s faith and hope in God. shall I fear P 2. Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat weakened, and have fallen. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will | seek after; that I may dwell in the house of de for f an alone and poor. 18 See my abjection and my labour ; and forgive ed, and have hated me with an unjust hatred. 21 The innocent and the upright have adhered PSALM XXV. may come to worship him in his tabernacle. J innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and my heart. º 4 I have not sat with the council of vanity: nei- and with the wicked I will not sit. 7 That I may hear the voice of thy praise : and and the place where thy glory dwelleth. 10 In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand redeem me, and have mercy on me. PSALM XXVI. 1 The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is the protector of my life ; of whom my flesh. 3 If armies in camp should stand together against | be conſident. Lord, all the days of my life. 16 Look thou upon me; and have mercy on me;| . Th; | visit his temple. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may 5 For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle: in the |day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle. 6 He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his ta- bernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord. * -- 7 Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me, and hear me. 8 My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek. - 9 Turn not away thy face from me: decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour. 10 For my father and my mother have left me. but the Lord hath taken me up. - - 11 Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies. - 12 Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me: for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself. 13 l believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Expect the ford, "do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord. PSALM XXVII. Ad te, Domine, clamabo. David's prayer that his enemies may not prevail over him. 1 A psalm for David himself. UNTO thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. - § Draw me not away together with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. * 4 Give them according to their works, and accord ing to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward. - 5 Because they have not understood the works ol the Lord, and the operations of his hands; thou shalt destroy them and shalt not build them up. - 6 Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. º - . 7 The Lord is my helper and my protector - in him hath my heart confided, and l have been helped ...And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. 8 The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. 9 Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheri ance; and rule them and exalt them for ever .*. 436 PSALMS XXVIII, XXIX, XXX. HºSALM XXVIII. Aſſerte Domino. An invitation to glorify God, with a commemoration of his mighty works. 1 A psalm for David, at the finishing of the taber- nacle. - I RING to the Lord, O ye children of God; bring to the Lord the offspring of rams. º 2 Bring to the Lord glory and honour; bring to he Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court. 3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; theſ| God of majesty bath thundered, the Lord upon || many waters. º 4. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence. 5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, ..he Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus. 6 And shall reduce them to pieces,” as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns. 7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire: 8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades. 9 The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory. - 10 The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. - The Lord will give strength to his people: [.ord will bless his people with peace. PSALM XXIX. Exaltabote, Domine. Dand praiseth God for his deliverance, and his merciful deal- ings with him. 1 A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house. 2 I WILL extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast up- rejoice over me. held me: and hast not made my enemies to 3 O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. 4 Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. - 5. Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness. 6 For wrath is in his indignation ; and life in his good will. - In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness. 7 And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved. - 8 O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I be- c 1me troubled. 9 To thee, O Lord, will I cry; and I will make supplication to my God. sea- the * Shall reduce them to pieces, &c. In Hebrew, Shall make them to skip 'ike a calf. The psalmist here describes the effects of thunder (which he calls the voice of the Lord) which sometimes breaks down the tall- **t and strongest trees and makes their broken branches skip, &c. | 10 Have mercy on me, 10 What profit is there in my blood, whilst 1 go down to corruption P Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth * 11 The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper. 12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into º : thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compass ed me with gladness: - 13 To the end that my glory may sing to thee and I may not regret: O'Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever. PSALM XXX. In te, Domine, speravi. . . . . A prayer of a just man under affliction. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstacy 2 IN thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded : deliver me in thy justice. 3 Bow down thy car to me: make haste to deil- Ver In C. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge to save me. - - 4. For thou art my strength and my refuge, and for thy name's sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish II].62. 5 Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector 6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. 7 Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord : 8 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast ºd my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. 9 And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place O Lord, for I am afflict ed: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly. , 11 For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. - My strength is weakened through poverty: and my bones are disturbed. 12. I am become a reproach among all my ene- mies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me. 13 I am ſofº as one dead from the heart. - am become as a vessel that is destroyed. 14 For º heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life. 15 But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord . . said: Thou art my God. 16 Mylots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me. 17 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant, save me in thy mercy. All this is to be understood mystically, of the powerful voice of God's word in his church; which has broke the pride of the great ones of this world, and brought many of then meekly and joyfully to submist their necks to the sweet yoke ºirºt. 43 PSAIMS. 18 1,0t me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. 19 Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse. 20 O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, º | ºrd, which thou hast hidden for them that fear |C( : . . Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men. 21 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. 22 Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shown his wonderſul mercy to me in a fortified city. 23 But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee. 24 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abun- dantly that act proudly. 25 Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strength- ened, all ye that hope in the Lord. PSALM XXXI. Beati quorum. The second penitential psalm. 1 To David himself, understanding. LESSED are they whose iniquities are forgiv- en, and whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. Because ! was silent,” my bones grew old ; whilst I cried out all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turnedt in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened. 5 I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord; and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin. 6 For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee, in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him. 7 Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me. 8 I will give thee understanding, and I will in- struct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go : will fix my eyes upon thee. 9 Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee. - 10 Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mer. cy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord. 11 Be glad | º Lord, and rejoice ye just, and lory all ye right of heart. ****"...sº Xxxii. Exultate justi. An exhortation to praise God, and to trust in him. A psalm for David ſº RE! OICE in the Lord, O ye just: praise becom- eth the upright. o 2 Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten string 3 Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise. cº º 4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with faithfulness. 5 He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord, the heavens were es- tablished: and all the power of them by the spirit of his mouth : ſº 7 Gathering together the waters of the sea, as in a vessel; laying up the depths in store-houses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be in awe of him. 9 For he spoke, and they were made : he com- manded, and they were created. 10 The Lord bringeth to nought the counsels of nations; and he rejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of princes. 11 But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord the people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance 13 The Lord hath looked from heaven: he hath beheld all the sons of men. - he hath looked upon all that dwell on the earth. 15 He who hath made the hearts of every one or them : who understandeth all their works. 16 The king is not saved by a great army: not shall the giant be saved by his own great strength. 17 Vain is the horse for safety: neither shall he be saved by the abundance of his strength. 18 Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him: and on them that hope in his mercy 19 To deliver their souls from death: and ſeed them in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: for he is our helper and protector. 21 For in him our heart shall rejoice: and in his holy name we have trusted. have hoped in thee. r PSALM XXXIII. Benedicam Dominum. An eachortation to the praise, and service of God. 1 For David when he changed his countenance be fore Achimelech who dismissed him, and he went his way. [l Kings xxi.] * Because I tras silent, &c. That is, whilst I kept silence, by conceal- ºf or refusing to confess my sins, thy hand was heavy upon me, &c. l mn turned. Nc. That is, I turn and roll about in my bed, to seek ** ease in my pain, whilst the thorn of thy justice pierces my flesh, and sticks fast in me. Or, I am turned; that is, I am converted to thee iny God, by being brought to a better understanding by thy chastise. ments. In the Hebrew it is, my moisture is turned into the droughts of the Stºjkº’s -T. ----, -e ~ ~ - - lº -- - 3||||B- - £- === zº- *==== = sº 14. From his habitation which he hath prepared, 22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as wo 4.3.3 PSALM XXXIV. 2 I WILL bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth. - 3 In the Lord shall my soul be praised; let the ameek hear and rejoice. 4, O magnify the Lord with me: and let us extol his ſame together. 5 I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all my troubles. 6 Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be confounded. 7 This poor man cried ; and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 8 The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. 9 O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet : bless- cd is the man that hopeth in him. 10 Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 11 The rich have wanted, and have suffered hun- ger: But they that seek the Lord shall not be de- prived of any good. 12 Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 13 Who is the man that desireth life; who loveth to see good days? 14 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 15 Turn away from evil, and do good: seek after peace, and pursue it. 16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers. 17 But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things; to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 18 The just cried ; and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. 19. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of , a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit. 20 Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them. - 21 The Lord keepeth all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. 22 The death of the wicked is very evil: and they that hate the just shall be guilty. 23 The Lord will redeem the souls of his ser- º: and none of them that trust in him shall of- €ll(1, PSALM XXXIV. Judica, Domine, nocentes me. David, in the person of Christ, prayeth against his persecutors; prophetically foreshowing the punishments that shall full upon them. - 1 For David himself. J UDGE thou, O Lord, them that wrong me: over- throw them that fight against me: 2 Take hold of arms and shield ; and rise up to help me. - 3 Bring out the sword, and shut up the º them that persecute me : say to my soul: I am thy salvation. 4 Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back, and be confounded |that devise evil against me. 5 Let them become as dust before the wind aud let the Angel of the Lord straiten them. 6. Let their way become dark and slippery; and let the Angel of the Lord pursue them. 7 For without cause they have hidden their ne: for me unto destruction: without cause they have upbraided my soul. 8 Let the snare which he knoweth not come t p on him : and let the net which he hath hidden catch him : and into that very snare let him fall. 9. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; an shall be delighted in his salvation. 10 Aſl my bones shall say: Lord, who is like to thee P - Who deliverest the poor from the hand of them that are stronger than he ; the needy and the pool from them that strip him. ll Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not. 12 They repaid me evil for good: to the depriv- ing me of my soul. 13 But as for me when they were troublesome to me, I was clothed with hair-cloth. I humbled my soul with fasting: and my praye shall be turned into my bosom. 14 As a neighbour and as an own brother, so did please: as one mourning and sorrowful, so was humbled. tº 15 But they rejoiced against me, and came to gether: Scourges were gathered together upon me and I knew not. 16 They were separated, and repented not : they tempted me, they scoffed at me with scorn : they guashed upon me with their teeth. 17 Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? rescue thou my soul from their malice; my only one from, the lions. 18 I will give thanks to thee in a great church, I will praise thee in a strong people. 19 Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; who have hated me without cause, and wink with the eyes. 20 For they spoke indeed peaceably to me: and speaking in the anger of the earth they devised guile. 21 And they opened their mouth wide against me ; they said: Well done, well done, our eyes have seen it. 22 Thou hast seen, O Lord, be not thou silent. O Lord, depart not from me. - 23 Arise, and be attentive to my judgment; tº: my cause, my God and my Lord. 24 Judge me, O Lord my God, according tº thy justice ; and let them not rejoice over me 25 Let them not say in their hearts: It is well, it is well, to our mind : neither let them say . We have swallowed them up. 26 Let them blush, and be ashamed together who rejoice at my evils. Let them be clothed with confusion and shaine, who speak great things against me. 27 Let them rejoice, and be glad, who are well PSALMS. leased with my justice : and let them say always : l'he Lord be magnified, who delights in the peace of his servant. to e 28 And my tongue shall meditate thy justice, thy praise all the day long PSALM XXXV. Dixit injustus. The malice of sinners, and the goodness of God. 1 Unto the end, for the servant of God David himself. . - 2 T HE unjust hath said within himself, that he would sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes. 3 For in his sight he hath done deceitfully, that his iniquity may be found unto hatred.” 4 The words of his mouth are iniquity and guile: he would not understand that he might do well. 5 He hath devised iniquity on his bed: he hath set himself on every way that is not good, but evil he hath not hated. - 6 O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven: and thy truth reacheth even to the clouds. º 7 Thy justice is as the mountains of God: thy judgments are a great deep. - Men and beasts thou wilt preserve, O Lord: 8 O how hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! - But the children of unen shall put their trust un- der the covert of thy wings. 9 They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: and thou shalt make them drink of the tor- rent of thy pleasure. 10 For with thee is the fountain of life: and in thy light we shall see light. 11 Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them that are right in heart. 12 Let not the foot of pride come to me: and let not the hand of the sinner move me. 13 There the workers of iniquity are fallen: they are cast out, and could not stand. PSALM XXXVI. Noli acmulari. An eachortation to despise this world, and the short prosperity of the wicked ; and to trust in providence. 1 A psalm for David himself. BE not emulous of evil doers; nor envy them that work iniquity. 2 For they shall shortly wither away as grass: and as the green herbs shall quickly fall. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. 4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart. 5 Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it. 6 And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noon day. 7 Be subject to the Lord, and pray to him. Envy not the man who prospereth in his way: the man who doeth unjust things. 8 Cease irom anger, and leave rage; have norm ulation to do evil. 9 For evil doers shall be cut off; but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not #: and thou shalt seek his place and shalt not nd it. 11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace. 12 The sinner shall watch the just man; and shall gnash upon him with his teeth. º 13 But the Lord shall laugh at him. for he fore- Seeth that his day shall come. 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow, º To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the up- right of heart. - 15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts; and let their bow be broken. - 16 Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just. 18.The Lord knoweth the days of the undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever. - 19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled: 20 because the wicked shall perish. . And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing, and vanish like smoke. 21. The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again but the just showeth mercy, and shall give. 22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land. but such as curse him shall perish. 23. With the Lord shall the steps of a man be di. rected, and he shall like well his way. 24. When he shall fall, he shall not be bruised; for the Lord putteth his hand under him. 25 I have been young, and now am old: and I º seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking TC&l (1. , 26 He showeth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing. 27 Decline from evil, and do good, and dwell for ever and ever. - - 28. For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. .The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish. º 29. But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore. 30 The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom and his tongue shall speak judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart and his steps shall not be supplanted. w 32 The wicked watcheth the just man, and seek. eth to put him to death. - - 33 But the Lord will not leave him in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged. 34 Expect the Lord, and keep his way: and h will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see. ! - 2s-–––––– --------------Tº - - r l - }* º * Unto hałred. That is, hateful to God. 440 sº. PSALMS XXXVII, XXXVIII, XXXIX. 35 I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and liſted up like the cedars of Libanus. 36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him, and his place was not found. 37 Keep innocence, and behold justice; for there are remnants for the peaceable man. - 38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish. 39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord: and he is their protector in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him. PSALM XXXVII. Domine, ne in furore. A prayer of a penitent for the remission of his sins. penitential psalm. l A psalm for David, for a remembrance” of the sabbath. 2 REPUK. me not, O Lord, in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath. 3 For thy arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong upon me. 4 There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins. 5 For my iniquities are gone over my head; and as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me. - ‘6 Mysores are putrefied and corrupted, because of my foolishness. 7 I am become miserable, and am bowed down Even to the end: I walked sorrowful all the day long. 8 For my loins are filled with illusions; and here is no health in my flesh. 9 I am afflicted, and humbled exceedingly: I roared with the groaning of my heart. 10. Lord, all my desire is before thee: and my groaning is not hidden from thee. 11 My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me : and the light of my eyes itself is not with me. 12 My friends and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against me. And they that were near me stood afar off; 13 and they that sought my soul used violence. And they that sought evils to me spoke vain things, and studied deceits all the day long. 14 But I, as a deaf man, heard not ; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth. 15 And I became as a man that heareth not, and that hath no reproofs in his mouth. 16 For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. 17 For I said: Lest at any time my enemies re- ioice over me ; and whilst my feet are moved, they speak great things against me. 18 For I am ready for scourges: and my sorrow is continually before me. 19 For 1 will declare my iniquity; and I will think for my sin. The third * For a remembrance, viz. of our miseries and sins; and to be sung on the sabbath-day 44 ====== 20. But my enemies live, and are stronger than I and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 21 They that render evil for good, have detract- ed me, because I followed gºodness. 2 Forsake me not, O Lord my God do not thou depart from me. 23 Attend unto my help, O Lord, the God of niv salvation. PSALM XXXVIII. Dixi, custodiam. Ajust man's peace and patience in his suifferings; considerin the vanity of the world, and the providence of God. | Unto the end, for Idithun himself, a canticle of David. - 2 T SAID: I will take heed to my ways, that sin not with my tongue. have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me. 3 I, was dumb, and was humbled, and kept si lenge from good things: and my sorrow was renewed. * My heart grew hot within me, and in my medi. tation a fire shall flame out. 5 spoke with my tongue: O Lord, make me know my end. And what is the number of my days: that I may know what is wanting to me. tº § Behold, thou hast made my days measurable and my substance is as nothing before thee. And indeed all things are vanity, every man living. 7. Surely man passeth as an image: yea, and he is disquieted in vain. He storeth up ; and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things. & And now what is my hope P is it not the Lord? and my substance is with thee. 9 Deliver thou me from all my iniquities: thou hast made me a reproach to the fool. 10 I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it. II Remove thy Scourges from me, The strength of thy hand hath made me faint in rebukes; 12 thou hast corrected man for iniquity. And thou hast made his soul to waste away like a spider. Surely in vain is any man disquieted. 13 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication. give ear to Iny tears. Be not silent; for I am a stranger with thce, and a sojourner as all my fathers were. 14.0 ſorgive ine, that I may be refreshed, before I go hence, and be no more. PSA LM XXXIX. Expectans expectavi. Christ's coming, and redeeming mankind. LUnto the end, a psalm for David himself. 2 WI. expectation I have waited for the Lord. and he was attentive to me. 3 And he heard my prayers, and brought me out of the pit of misery and the mire of dregs. And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed ny Steps l [? SA LM S. •eng to our God. Many shall see, and shall fear: and they shall hope in the Lord. & O 6 Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and who hath not had regard to vani- ties, and lying follies. 6 Thou hast multiplied thy wonderful works, O ſort' my God: and in thy thoughts there is no one ike to thee. I have declared, and I have spoken ultiplied above number. 7 Sacriſice and oblation thou didst not desire; but ... thou hast pierced ears for me.….. . . . . . . . . Burnt-offering and sin-offering thou didst not re- quire : 8 then said l: Behold, I come. In the head of the book it is written of me 9 that they are I should do thy will : O my God, I have desired it, * 17 1 y 1 I L, ca * * * r * ºf A * * and ihy law in the midst of m rt. I () ſº declared thy justice in a great church : lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord thou knowest it: 1 l l have not bid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy truth and thy Salvation. I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth from a great council. 12 Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mer- cies from me : thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me. 13 For evils without number have surrounded me: my iniquities” have overtaken me, and I was not able to see. They are multiplied above the hairs of my head : and my heart hath forsaken me. 14 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: look down, O Lord, to help me. 15 Let them be confounded and ashamed toge- ther, that seek after my soul to take it away. Let them be turned backward, and be ashamed that desire evils to me. - 16 Let them immediately bear their confusion, that say to me: 'Tis well, 'tis well.f 17 Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee : and let such as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnific d. 18 But I am a beggar and poor ; the Lord is careful for me. Thou art my helper and my protector; O my God, be not slack. PSALM XL. Beatus qui intelligit. The happiness of him that shall believe in Christ; notwithstand- ing the humility and poverty in which he shall come : the ma- lice of his enemies, especially of the traitor Judas. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David himself. 2 D LESSED is he that understandeth concern- ing the needy and the poor: the Lord will eliver him in the evil day. 3 The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. - 4 The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: thou hast turned all his couch in his sickness. 4 And he put a new canticle into my mouth, aſ 5 I said: O Lord, be ‘hou merciſul to me: hea my soul, for I have sinned against thee. 6 My enemies have spoken evils against me • when shall he die, and nis name perish f 7 And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things; his heart gathered together iniquity to itself. He went out, and spoke to the same purpose. 8 All my enemies whispered together against me thev devised evils to me. They determined against me an unjust word shall he that sleepeth rise again no more? g 10 For even the man of my peace, in whom trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly supplante. Il But thou, O Lord, have mercy, on me, and raise me up again : and I will requite them. 12 By this I know that thou hast had a good will for me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me. 13 But thou hast upheld me by reason of my in- nocence ; and hast established me in thy sight for €Weſ. 14 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from etermity to eternity. So be it. So be it. PSALM XLI. Quemadmodum desidcrat. The fervent desire of the just after God: hope in afflictions. 1 Unto the end, understanding for the sons of Core *AS the hart panteth after the fountains of wa ters; so my soul panteth after thee, O God. 3. My soul, hath thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I come, and appear before the face of God? - 4 My tears have been my bread day and might, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God? 5 These things I remembered, and poured out my soul in me: for l shall go over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise; the noise of one feasting. 6 Why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou trouble me P Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him the Salvation of my countenance, 7 and my God. ly soul is troubled within myself: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan and Hermoniim, from the little hill. 8 Deep calleth on deep, at the noise of thy flood gates. - All thy heights and thy billows have passed over II] e. 9. In the day time the Lord hath commanded his mercy, and a canticle to him in the night. With me is, prayer to the God of my life, 10 | will say to God: Thou art my support. Why hast thou forgotten mº and why go 1 mourning, whilst my enemy afflicteth me? 11 Whilst my bones are broken, my enemies who trouble me have reproached me. G Whils they say to me day by day: Where is thy OO! : |- * My iniquities. That is, the sins of all mankind, which I have taken upon ine _2^ <--~~~ >“. * - ~- f'Tis tºll. ...The Hebrew here is an interjection of msult and 3er sion, like the Wah. JMatt. xxvii 40. - Yºº- 442 PSALMS XLII, XLIII, XLIV 12 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? #. thou in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God. PSALM XL|l. Judica me, Deus. The prºphet aspireth after the temple and altar of God. 1 A psalm for David. - Jº me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. 2 Fol thou art God my strength: why hast thou sast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? 3 Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. 4 And I will go in to the altar of God, to God who giveth joy to my youth. 5 To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me: 6 Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God. - PSALM XI, IHI. Deus, auribus nostris. The church commemorates former favours, and present afflic- tions; under which she prays for succour: 1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core to give under- standing. - 2 E have heard, O God, with our cars: our fa- thers have declared to us, The work thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old. 3 Thy hand destroyed the gentiles, and thou \lantedst them: thou didst afflict the people and cast them out. 4. For they got not the possession of the land by |. own sword: neither did their own arm save them, But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of º countenance: because thou wast pleased with the Iſl. 5 Thou art thyself my king and my God; who commandest the saving of Jacob. 6 Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will de- spise them that rise up against us. 7 For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me. 8 But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us; and hast put them to shame that hate us. 9 in God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will give praise for ever: 10 But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies. 11 Thou hast made us turn our back to our ene- mies: and they that hated us plundered for them- selves. - 12 Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered us among the nations. 13 Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them. 1.4 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neigh- bours, a scoff and derision to them that are round about us. Q 15, Thou hast made us a by-word among the gentiles; a shaking of the head anſong the peoples 16 All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me, 17 At the voice of him that reproacheth and de- ºleil me; at the face of the enemy and perst cu- Ol". 18 All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant. 19 And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way. 20 For thou hast humbled us in the place of aſ fliction: and the shadow of death hath covered us. 21. If we have forgotten the name of our God, º: if we have spread forth our hands to a strange god : 22 Shall not God search out these things P ſo. he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long : we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord Parise, and cast us not off to the end. 24 Why turnest thou thy face away P and forget- test our want and our trouble? 25 For our soul is humbled down to the dus our belly cleaveth to the earth. 26 Arise, O Lord, help us : and redeem us fol thy name’s sake. PSALM XLIV. Eructavit cor meum. The eaccellence of Christ’s kingdom, and the endowments of his church. 1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed,” ſor the sons of Core, for understanding: A canticle for the beloved.t 2 MY heart hath uttered a good word : I speak my works to the king : My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly. 3 Thou art beautiful above the sons of men’ grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever. 4 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O theu most mighty. 5 With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, pro- ceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully. 6 Thy arrows are sharp : under thee shall people fall, into the hearts of the king's enemies. 7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness. 8 Thou hast loved justice, and hatedst iniquity: therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. * For them that shall be changed, i. e. For souls happily changed by being converted to God. # The beloved, viz. Our Lord *" Christ. £re— ===<==== —º o -- zºº’. T - • * - - - PSA LMS. 9 Myr h and stacte and cassia perfume thy gar- ments, from the ivory houses : out of which 10 the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded cloth- ing: surroundcq with variety. 11 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy car: and forget thy people and thy father's house. 12 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty : for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore. 13 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy counte- | | | | IMC (2. 14 All the glory of the king's daughter is within in golden borders, 15 clothed round about with varie- ! I ("S. - After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee. 16 They shall be brought with gladness and re- º: : they shall be brought into the temple of the Ill (ſ. 17 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth. 18 They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever, yea for ever and ever. PSALM XLV. Deus noster refugium. The church in persecution trusteth in the protection of God. | Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden. 2 OUR God is our refuge and strength : a help- inal er in troubles, which have found us exceed- lingly. 3 Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled : and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea. * Their waters roared, and were troubled : the mountains were troubled with his strength. 5 The stream of the river maketh the city of God |. the most High hath sanctified his own ta- CI’ll &l (2.62. 6 God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be mov- ed: God will help it in the morning early. 7 Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were º down : he uttered his voice; the earth trem- } |(}(i. 8 The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Ja- cob is our protector. 9 Come, and behold ye the works of the Lord : what wonders he hath done upon earth, 10 making wars to cease even to the end of the earth. He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in the fire. ll Be still and see that I am God; I will be ex- alted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. 12 The Lord of armies is with us : the God of Jacob is our protector. PSALM XLVI. to Omnes gentes, plaudit. The Gentiles are invited to praise God for the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. l Unto the end, for the sons of Core. 2O CLAP your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy 3 For the Lord is high, terrible; a great king over all the earth. 4 He hath subdued the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 5 He hath chosen for us his inheritance, the beau- ty of Jacob which he hath loved. - 6 God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet. 7 Sing praises to our God, sing ye. sing praises to our king, sing ye. 8 For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely. 9 God shall reign over the nations: God sitteth on his holy throne. 10 The princes of the people are gathered toge- ther, with the God of Abraham : for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted. PSALM XLVII. e Magnus Dominus. - God is greatly to be praised for the establishment of his church 1 A psalm of a canticle, for the sons of Core, on the second day of the week. 2 GREAT is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy In Ountain. 3 With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king. 4. In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her. 5 For behold, the kings of the earth assembled themselves: they gathered together. 6. So, they saw, and they wondered; they were troubled : they were moved : 7 trembling took hold of them. - There were pains as of a woman in labour. 8 With a vehement wind thou shalt break in pieces the ships of Tharsis. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: Goč hath founded it for ever. 10 We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 11 According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of iustice. º 12 Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad , because of thy judgments, O Lord. 13 Surround Sion, and encompass her . tell ye in her towers. 14, Set your hearts on her strength; and distri. bute her houses, that ye may relate it in another ge- Ileration. 15 For this is God our God unto eternity, and or ever and ever: he shall rule us for evermore. PSALM XLVIII. Audite haec, omnes gentes. The folly of worldlings who live on in sin, without thinking ºf death or hell. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core. 2 HEAR these things, all ye nations: give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world. £===& 444 PSA LM XLIX. 3 All you that are earth-born, and you sons of men : both rich and poor together. 4. My mouth shall speak wisdom ; and the medi- ration of my heart understanding. - 5 I will incline my ear to a parable ; I will open mv proposition on the psaltery. 6 W. shall I fear in the evil day f the iniquity of my heel” shall encompass me. 7 They that trustf in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches, 8 No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem : he shall not give to God his ransom. 9 Nor the price of the redemption of his soul : and shall labour for ever, Í 10 and shall still live unto the end. 11 He shall not see destruction,' when he shall see the wise dying the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave their riches to strangers : 12 and their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever. Their dwelling places to all generations: they have called 1 their lands by their names. 13 And man when he was in honour did not un- lerstand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them. 14. This way of theirs is a stumbling-block to them; and afterwards they shall delight in their mouth.** 15 They are laid in hell like sheep: death shall feed upon them. - And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning ::ff and their help shall decay in hell from their glory.ff 16 But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me. 17 Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. 18 For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his glory descend with him. 19 For in his life-time his soul will be blessed ; . he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to } |IIl. - 20 He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: and he shall never see light. 21 Man when he was in honour did not under- stand: he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them. CHAP. XLIX HDeus deorum. The coming of Christ: who prefers virtue and inward purity ºf fore the blood of victims. 1 A psalm for Asaph. THE God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth, From the rising of the sun to the going down thereof: 2 out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty 3 God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. - A fire shall burn before him : and a mighty tem- pest shall be round about him. 4. He shall call heaven from above, and the earth to judge his people. • 5 Gather ye together his saints to him, who set his covenant before sacrifices. 6 And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge. 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God thy God. 8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt-offerings are always in my sight. 9 I will not take calves out of thy house; nor he- goats out of thy flocks. 10 For all the beasts of the woods are mine; the cattle on the hills, and the oxen. 11 I know all the fowls of the air; and with me is the beauty of the field. 12 If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks P or shall l drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God the sacrifice of praise : and pay thy vows to the most High. 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble : I will ſideliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 16 But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth? 17 Seeing thouhast hated discipline, and hast cast my words behind thee. 18 If thou didst see a thief, thou didst run with him: and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker. 19 Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits. 20 Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, * The iniquity of my heel. That is, the iniquity of my steps or ways; or the iniquix, of my pride, with which, as with the heel, I have spurn- ed and kicked at my neighbours; or the iniquity of my heel, that is, the iniquity in which I shall be found in death. The meaning of this verse is, why should I now indulge those passions and sinful affections, or commit now those sins, which will cause me so much fear and an- guish in the evil day: when the sorrows of death shall compass me, and the perils of hell shall find me? # They that trust, &c. As much as toºsay, let them fear, that trust in their strength or riches; for they have great reason to fear: seeing no brother or other man, how much a friend soever, can by any price or labour rescue them from death. f.And shall labour for ever, &c., This seems to be a continuation of the foregoing sentence; as much as to say, no man can by any price or ransom prolong his life, that so he may still continue to labour here, and live to the end of the world. Others understand it of the eternal sorrows and dying life of hell, which is the dreadful consequence of dying in sin. He shall not see destruction, &c. or, shall he not see destruction Au much as to say, however thoughtless he may be of his death, he must not expect to escape: when even the wise and the good are not ex- empt fom dying. T They have called, &c. That is, they have left their names on their graves, which alone remain of their lands. * They shall delight in their mouth. Notwithstanding the wretched way in which they walk, they shall applaud them selves with their mouths, and glory in their doings. # In the morning. That is, in the resurrection to a new life: when the just shall judge and condemn the wicked. - ft. From their glory. That is, when their short-lived glory in this world shall be past, and be no more. H 445 PSALMS. and didst lay a scandal against thy mother's son : 21 these things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest unjustly that I shall be like to thce : but I will reprove thce, and set before thy face. 22 Understand these things you that forget God; lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deli- We r y()II. 23 The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will show him the sal- vation of Cod. PSALM L. Miserere. The repentance and confession of David after his sin. fourth penitential psalm. ("uto the end, a psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the trophet came to him, after he had sinned with j. [2 Kings xii.] 3 HAVº mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mer- cies, blot out my iniquity. 4. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. 6 To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee; that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged. 7 For behold, I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. 8 For behold, thou hast loved truth: the uncer- tain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. 9 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 10 To my hearing thou shalt give joy and glad- ness; and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. 11 Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot put all my iniquities. 12 Create a clean heart in me, O God: and re- new a right spirit within my bowels. 13 Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 14 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 15 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee. 16 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 17 O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 18 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt-offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 19 A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a con- trite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not de- Spise. The | 20 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good-will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be buil |). & º 21. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justic. oblations and whole burnt-offeri:gs: then qall they lay calves upon thy altar. PSAI.M LI Quid gloriaris. David condemneth the wickedness of Doeg, and foretellet n h, destruction. 1 Unto the end, understanding for David, 2 wher. Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul: David went to the house of Achimelech. [l Kings XXii. 9. e 3 HY dost thou glory in malice, thou that art mighty in iniquity? º º 4 All the day long thy tongue hath devised in justice: as a sharp razor, thou hast wrought deceit 5 Thou hast loved malice, more than goodness and iniquity rather than to speak righteousness. 6 Thou hast loved all the words of ruin, O de- ceitful tongue. 7 Therefore will God destroy thee for ever: he will pluck thee out, and remove thee from thy dwell ing place; and thy root out of the land of the living. 8. The just shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, and say: 9 Behold the man that made not God his helper; But trusted in the abundance of his riches, and prevailed in his vanity. - 10 But I, as a fruitful oºve-tree in the house of God, have hoped in the mercy of God for ever, yea ſor ever and ever. 1 l I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name, for it is good in the sight of thy saints. PSALM LII. Dixit insipiens. The general corruption of man before the coming of Christ. 1 Unto the end, for Maeleth” understandings to David. HE fool said in his heart: There is no God. 2 They are corrupted, and become abomina- ble in iniquities: there is none that doeth good. 3 God looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. 4 All have gone aside, they are become unprofit, able together: there is none that doeth good, no not Oil C. 5 Shall not all the workers of in ºily know, who eat up my people as they eat bread: - They have not called upon God there havi. they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. fº God hath scattered the bonest of them tha please men: they have been confounded, because God hath despised them. 7 Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Is. rael? when God shall bring back the captivity of —- sº **- - == zº S) sº * Maeleth, or Machalath. A musical instrument, or a chorus of thusicians: for St. Jerome renders it, per chorum. $ God hath scattered the bones, &c. That is, God has brought to no- 446 thing the strength of all those that seek to please meu, to the preju- dice of their duty to their maker PSALMS Lll 1, Ll V, LV mis ſcore Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be gla PSALM LIII. Deus, in nomine tuo. A prayer for help in distress. 1 Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David 2. When the men of Ziph had come, and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us? (1 Kings xxiii. 19.] BSAWſ, me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength. 3 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth. 5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul; and they have not set God before their eyes. 6 For behold, God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul. 7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies: and cut them off in thy truth. - 8 I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good: 9 For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies. PSALM LIV. Exaudi, Deus. A prayer of a just man under persecution from the wieked. It agrees to Christ persecuted by the Jews, and betrayed by Judas. . | Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 2 HEAR, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication : 3 be attentive to me, and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and am troubled, l, at the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me. 5 My heart is troubled within me . and the fear of death is fallen upon me. - 6 Fear and trembling are come upon arkness hath covered me. 7 And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest ? 8 Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the wilderness. 9 I waited for him that hath saved me from pu- sillanimity of spirit, and a storm. 10 Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city. 1 l Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon ts walls ; and in the midst thereof are labour, 12 and injustice. - And usury and deceit have not departed from its streets me ; and | 13 For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it. Aud if he that hated me had spoken great things against me: I would perhaps have hidden myseii from him. 14 But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar. - 15 Who didst take sweet meats together with me in the house of God we walked with consent. 16 Let death” come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell. For there is wickedness in their dwellings in the midst of them. 17 But I have cried to God: and the Lord will S&l V C Ill C. 18. Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare ; and he shall hear my voice. 19. He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me: for among manyi they were with me. 20 God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God; 21 he hath stretched forth his hand to repay. They have defiled his covenant : 22 they are di- videdf by the wrath of his countenance ; and his heart hath drawn near. His words are smoother than oil, and the same are darts. 23 Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever. 24 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out hall their days: but I will trust in thee, O Lord. PSALM LV. Miserere mei Deus. A prayer of David in danger and distress. | Unto the end, for a people that is removed at a distance from the sanctuary: for David, for an inscription of a title (or pillar) when the Philis- times held him in Geth. 2 HAVE mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me under foot : all the day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me. 3 My enemies have trodden on me all the day long ; for they are many that make war against me. 4. From the height of the day || | shall fear; but I will trust in thee. 5 in God I will praise my words:$ in God | have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do against me. 6 All the day long they detested my words: all their thoughts were against me unto evil. 7 They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. ºr * Let death, &c. This, and such like imprecations, which occur in the psalms, are delivered prophetically: that is, by way of foretelling the punishments which shall fall upon the wicked from divine justice, and approving the righteous ways of God: but not by way of ill will or uncharitable curses, which the law of God disallows. # Among many, &c. That is, they that dreie near to attack me were marty in coinpany, all combining to fight against me They are divided, &c. Dispersed, scattered, and brought to nothing, by the wrath of God : who looks with indignation on their wicked and deceitful ways. | The height of the day. That is, even at noon day, when the snr. is the highest, I am still in danger. * My words. The words or promises God has made in my favour, PSALMS. As they have waited for my soul, 8 for nothing shalt thou save them : * in thy anger thou shalt break the people in pieces. © O God, 9 ſ have declared to thee my life: thou mast set my tears in thy sight, - As also in thy promise. 10 Then shall my ene- miies bc turned back. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, behold, i know thou art my God. 11 In God will I praise the word; in the Lord will I praise his speeeh. In God have I hoped will not fear what man can do to me. 12 In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to thee. 13 Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from falling: that I may please in the sight of God, in the ſight of the living. PSALM LVſ. Miscrere mei, Deus. The prophet prays in his | and praises God for his delivery. I Unto the end, destroy not, f for David, for an in- scription of a title, when he fled from Saul into the cave. [l Kings xxiv.] 2 HA'ſ mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth in thee. And in the º of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity pass away. 3 I will cry to God the most High; to God who hath done good to me. 4 Ile hath sent from heaven, and delivered me: he hath made them a reproach that trod upon me. God hath sent his mercy and his truth: 5 and he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions. I slept troubled. The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 6 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above all the earth. 7 They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul. They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it. ºr * 8.My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and rehearse a psalm. .9 Arise, O my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise early. 10 I will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing a psalm to thee among the nations. ll For thy mercy is magnified even to the hea- vens; and thy truth unto the clouds. 12 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and why glory above all the earth. PSALM LVII. Si vere utique. Jurid reproveth the wicked, and foretelleth their punishment. | Unto the end, destroy not, f for David, for an in- scription of a title. • * For nothing shalt thou save them. That is, since they lie in wait to ruin my sºul, thou shalt for no consideration favour or assist them, but *xecute thy justice upon then. Destroy not. Suſſer the not to be destroyed. - - * Before your thorns, &c. That is, before your thorns grow up, so as | º _------- www.rºr ====== 2 TF in very deed you speak justice: Judge right things, ye sons of men. 3 For in your heart you work iniquity your hands forge injustice in the earth. 4. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray from the womb they have spoken false things. - 5 Their madness is according to the likeness ol a serpent; like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears: 6 Whild will not hear the voice of the charmers; tior of the wizard that charmeth wisely. 7 God shali break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions. 8. They shall come to nothing, like water running down: he hath bent his bow till they be weakened. 9 Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not See the sum. 10 Before your thornst could know the briar; he Swalloweth them up, as alive, in his wrath. ll The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall wash his hands® in the blood of the sinner. 12 And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just; there is indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth. PSALM LVIII. Eripe me. A prayer to be delivered from the wicked, with confidence ºn God’s help and protection. It agrees to Christ and his eno. mies the Jews. 1 Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an in- scription of a title, when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him. [l Kings jºb 2 D.E.Y., me from my enemies, O my God and defend me from them that rise up against me. 3 Deliver me from them that work save me from bloody men. 4 For behold, they have caught my soul: the mig ty have rushed in upon me: 5 Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord, without iniquity have I run, and directed my steps. 6 Rise up thou to meet me, and behold: even thou, O Lord the God of hosts, the God of Israel. Attend to visit all the nations: have no mercy on all them that work iniquity. 7 They shall return at evening, and shall suffer hunger like dogs; and shall go round about the city. 8 Behold, they shall speak with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips: for who, say they, hath heard us? • 9 But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them : thou shalt bring all the nations to nothing. 10 I will keep my strength to thee: for thou art my protector : ll My God, his mercy shall preven IIlê. 12 God shall let me see over my enemies : slay them not, lest at any time inv people forget. - iniquity, and to become strong briars, they shall be overtaken and consumed by di vine justice, swallowing them up, as it were, alrve in his wrath. * Shall wash his hands, &c. Shall applaud the justice of God, and take occasion from the consideration of the punishment of the witked to wash and cleanse his hands from sin. 448 PSALMS LIX, LX. LXſ Scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord my protector. 13 For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips : and let them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and lying they shall be taſk- ed of, 14 when they are consumed ; when they are consumed by thy wrath, and they shall be no more. And they shall know that God will rule Jacob, and all the ends of the earth. & 15 They shall return at evening, and shall suffer hunger like dogs; and shall go round about the city. - # They shall be scattered abroad to eat, and shall murmur if they be not filled. 17 But I will sing thy strength ; and will extol thy mercy in the morning. For thou art become my support, and my refuge, in the day of my trouble. 18 Unto thee, O my helper, will I sing ; for thou art God my defence ; my God my mercy. PSALM LIX. - Deus, repulisti nos. After many afflictions, the church of Christ shall prevail. | Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription of a title, to David himself, for doctrine, 2 when he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal ; and Joab returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the salt-pits, twelve thousand men. 3 O GOD, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroy- ed us ; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us. 4 Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled 't : heal thou the breaches thereof; for it has been moved. 5 Thou hast shown thy people hard things; thou mast made us drink the wine of sorrow. 6 Thou hast given a warning to them that fear nee : that they may flee from before the bow ; That thy beloved may be delivered. 7 Save me with thy right hand, and hear me. 8 God hath spoken in his holy place : I will re- ſoice, and I will divide Sichem ; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles. 9 Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine : and Ephraim is the strength of my head. Judais my king: 10 Moab is the pot of my hope.* Into Edom will I stretch out my shoe : to me the foreignerst are made subject. 1 | Who will bring me into the strong city ? who will lead me into Edom P 12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off P and wilt not thou, O God, go out with our armies f 13 Give us help from trouble : for vain is the salvation of man. © O 14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing them that afflict us. * PSALM LX Exaudi, Deus. A prayer for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, which shas. have no end. 1 Unto the end, in hymns, for David. 2 HEAR, O God, my supplication : be attentive to my prayer. 3 To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth ; when my heart was in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock. Thou hast conducted me; 4 for thou nast been my hope ; a tower of strength against the face of the enemy. 5 In thy tabernacle I shall dwell for ever: I shall be protected under the covert of thy wings. 6 For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy lla III (2. .7 Thou wilt add days to the days of the king, his years even to generation and generation. 8 He abideth for ever in the sight of God : his mercy and truth who shall search F 9 So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day. PSALM LXI. Nonne Deo. The prophet encourageth himself and all others to trust in Goa and serve him. 1 Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David. 2 GW H ALL not my soul be subject to God P ſol from him is my salvation. - 3 For he is my God and my saviour: he is my protector; I shall be moved no more. 4 How long do you rush in upon a man f you all kill, as if you were thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence. 5 But they have thought to cast away my price: I ran in thirst : they blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart. 6 But be thou, O my soul, subject to God: for from him is my patience. 7 For he is my God and my saviour: he ws my helper, I shall not be moved. 8 In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God. 9 Trust in him all ye congregation of people: pour out your hearts before him: God is our helper for ever. 10 But vain are the sons of men, the sons of men are liars in the balances:f that by vanity they may together deceive. 11 Trust not in iniquity, and ( over not rollbe ries: if riches abound, set not your heart upon then 12 God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, 13 and mel y smºs-- * The pot of my hope; or, my watering pot. That is, a vessel for neaner uses, by being reduced to serve me, even in the meanest em- olov inents. e c # Foreigners So the Philistines are called who had no kindred with h. Israeſites: whereas the Edomites, Moabites, &c. were originally he same family t.Are liars in the balances, &c. They are so vain and light. tha if they are put into the scales, they will be found to be of no weig ti and to be mere lies, deceit, and vanity. Or, They are liars in their si lances, by weighing things by false weights, and preferring the teti o ra) before the cternal. PSALMS. to thee, O Lord; for thou wilt render to every man according to his works. PSALM LXII. Deus Deus meus, ad te. The prophet aspireth after God. | A psalm of David when he was in the desert of Edom. O ºp my God, to thce do I watch at break of * Clay. For thee my soul hath thirsted ; for thee my flesh, O how many ways! 3 In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no watcr: so in the sanctuary have I come be- fore thee, to see thy power and thy glory. 4. For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips shall praise. 5 Thus will I bless thee all my life long; and in thy name I will lift up my hands. 6 Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fat- º and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful | | }.S. º, If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning: 8 because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings: 9 My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me. 10 But they have sought my soul in vain, they slall go into the lower parts of the earth: 11 They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes. 12 But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him : because the amouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things. PSALM LXIII. Exaudi, Deus, orationem. A prayer in affliction, with confidence in God that he will bring to nought the machinations of persecutors. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. 2 HEAli, O God, my prayer, when I make sup- plication to thee: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy. 3 Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity; 4. For they have whetted their tongues like a sword ; they have bent their bow a bitter thing, 5 to shoot in secret the undeſiled. 6 They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them? 7 They have scarched after iniquities: they have ſailed in their search. M. un shall come to a deep heart:* 8 and God shall be exalted. JO The arrows of children are their wounds:f 9 and their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them were troubled; 10 and every man was afraid. And they declared the works of God: and under- stood his doings. 11 The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him : and all the upright in heart shall be praised. PSALM LXIV. Te decet. God is to be praised in his church, to which all nations shall be called. 1 To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremias and Ezechiel to the people of the capti- vity, f when they began to go out. 2 HYMN, O Č. becometh thee in Sion : and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem. 3 O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee. 4. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt pardon our transgressions. 5 Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen, and ta- ken to thee : he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of th” house; holy is thy temple, 6 wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the Sea afar off. 7 Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded with power: 8 who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The gentiles shall be troubled, 9 and they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful: 10 Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plenti- fully watered it ; thou hast many ways enriched it. The river of God is, filled with water, thou hast prepared their food : for so is its preparation. ! I Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multi. ply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers. - 12 Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness : and thy fields shall be filled with plenty. 13 The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with y. 14 The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, vea. they shall sing a hymn. PSALM LXV. Jubilate Dec An invitation to praise God. 1 Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resu TeCt 101). SHOUT with joy to God, all the earth, 2 sing ye a psalm to his name ; give glory to his praise * A deep heart. That is, crafty, subtle, deep projects and designs; which nevertheless shall not succeed; for God shall be eralted in bring- ng them to nought by his wisdom and power. H. The arrows of children are their wounds That is, the wounds, stripes, a blºws, they seek to inflict upon the just, are but like the weak ef. iºn- - _-------- <=ress 2-º-º-º-Tº as . 31||||IDS **{= forts of children's arrows, which can do no execution: and their tongues that is, their speeches against them, come to nothing. t Of the captivity. That is, The people of the captivity of Babylon. This is not in the Hebrew, but is found in the ancient translation of the Septuagint. ... •. \ -º-º- \ - º 450 - PSALMS LXVI, LXVII. 3 Say unto God. How terrible are thy works, O Lºrd! in the multitude of thy strength thy enemies shull lie to thee. º 4. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: Yet it sing a psalm to thy name. 5 Come and see the works of God: who is terri- ble in his counsels over the Sons of men. 6 Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river incy shall pass on foot: there shall we rejoice in 1III , 7 W lio by his power ruleth for ever: his eyes be- hold the nations; let not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves. e 8 () bless our God, ye gentiles ; and make the voice nf his praise to be heard. 9 Vyho hath set my soul to live : and hath not suffered my feet to be moved. 10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as silver is tried. - 11 Thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions on our back: 12 thou hast set men over our heads. We have passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment. 13 I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings: I Y. pay thee my vows, 14 which my lips have ut- tered, And my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer u row, with burnt-offerings of rams: thee bullocks with goats. 16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God : and I . tell you what great things he hath done for my $OUll, 17 I cried to him with my mouth : and I extolled him with my tongue. 18 If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. 19 Therefore hath God heard me, and hath at- tended to the voice of my supplication. 20 Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. PSALM LXVI. Deus misereatur. A prayer for the propagation of the church. 1 Unto the end, in hyº psalm of a canticle for a V10. 2 MAY God have mercy on us, and bless us: * may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us. to thee holocausts full of mar- I will offer to 3 That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations. 4 Let people confess to thee, O God: let all peo ple give praise to thee. 5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice for thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth. 6 Let, the people, O God, confess to thee. let all the people give praise to thee: 7 the earth hath yield- ed her fruit. May God our God bless us, 8 may God bless us and all the ends of the earth fear him. PSALM LXVII. Exurgat Deus. | The glorious establishment of the church of the Aero Testament, préfigured by the benefits bestowed on the people of Israel. 1 Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle for David himself. 2 LET God arise, and let his enemies be scat- tered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face. - 3. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked pe rish at the presence of God. 4 And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness. 5 Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west.” the Lord is his name, Rejoice ye before him: but the wicked shall be troubled at his presence, 6 who is the father of or- phans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place: 7 God who maketh men of one mannerf to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were boundſ in strength; in like manner them that provoke, 'that dwell in sepulchres. - 8 O God, when thou didst go forth in the sight of thy people, when thou didst pass through the desert: 9 The earth was moved, and the heavens drop ped at the presence of the God of Sina, at the pre sence of the God of Israel. 10 Thou shalt set aside for thy inheritance a free rain, O God: and it was weakened, but thou hast made it perfect. 11 In its shall thy animals dwell; in thy sweet- ness, O God, thou hast provided for the poor. 12. The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings" with great power. * Who ascendeth upon the west. Super occasum. St. Gregory under- stands it of Christ, who after his going down, like the sun, in the west, by his passion and death, ascended more glorious, and carried all be. fore him. St. Jerome renders it, who ascendeth, or cometh up, through fºe deserts. Of one manner. That is, agreeing in faith, unanimous in love, and ſolowing the same manner of discipline. . It is verified in the servants of God living together in his house, which is the church. 1 Tim. iii. 15. f Them that were bound, &c. The power and mercy of God appears, in his bringing out of their captivity those that were strongly bound in their sins: and in restoring to his grace those whose behaviour had been most provoking; and who by their evil habits were not only dead, but buried in their sepulchres. | A free rain. The manna, which rained plentifully from heaven m favour of God's inheritance, that is, of his people Israel: which was weakened indeed under a variety of afflictions, but was made perfect by God, that is, was still supported by divine providence, and brought on to the promised land. . It agrees particularly to the church of Christ, his true inheritance, which is plentifully watered with the free rain oi heavenly grace; and through many infirmities, that is, crosses and tribu lations, is made perfect, and fitted for eternal glory. ! In it, &c. That is, in this church, which is thy fold and thy ink- ritance, shall thy animals, thy sheep, dwell where thou hast plentiful, y provided for them. * To them that preach good tidings. Erangelizantibus. that is, to he preachers of the gospel; who receiving the word from the Lord shala 451 29 PSALMS. 13 'The king of powers” is of the beloved, of the beloved; and the beauty of the house shall di- vide spoils. . 14. 'If you sleep among the midst of lots;f you shall be as the wings of a dove covered with sil- ver, and the hinder parts of her back with the pale- ness of gold. - 15. When he that is in heaven appointeth kings OVer hº shall be whited with snow in Sel- mon, 16. The mountain of God,ll is a fat moun- £al Il. A curdled mountain, a fat mountain. suspect ye curdled mountains?$ Á mountain in which God is well pleased to dwell: for there the lord shall dwell unto the end: 18 The chariot of God'ſ is attended by ten thou- sands: thousands of them that rejoice: the Lord is among them in Sina, in the holy place. 19. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive;” thou hast received gifts in men. Yea for those also that do not believe, the dwel- ling of the Lord God. 20 Blessed be the Lord day by day: the God of our salvation will make our journey prosperous to us. 21 Our God is the God of salvation: and of the Lord, of the Lord are the issues from death.ft 22. But God shall break the heads of his enemies: the hairy crown of them that walk on in their sins. 23 The Lord said: I will turn them from Ba- san, if I will turn them into the depth of the sea; 2. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of 17 Why thy enemies; the tongue of thy dogs be red with the same. . 25 They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God: of my king who is in his Sanctuary. 26 Princes SS went before joined with singers, in the midst of young damsels playing on timbrels 27 in the churches bless ye God the Lord, from the fountains of Israel.11 28 There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstacy of mind, The princes of Juda are their leaders: the prin. ces of Zabulon, the princes of Nephtali. 29 Command thy strength,” O God: confirm, O God, what thou hast wrought in us. 30 From thy temple in Jerusalem, kings shall offer presents to thee. 31 Rebuke the wild beasts of the recds,fff the congregation of bulls with the kine of the people; who seek to exclude them who are tried with silver. Scatter thou the nations that delight in wars: 32 embassadors shall come{f} out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God. 33 Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth: sing ye to the Lord; Singye to God, 34 who mounteth above the hea- ven of heavens, to the east.]]|| - Behold, he will give to his voice the voice of pow er.SSS 35 give ye glory to God for Israel, his mag nificence, and his power is in the clouds. 36 God is wonderful in his saints: the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength to his people. Blessed be God. with great power and efficacy preach throughout the world the glad tidings of a Saviour, and of eternal salvation through him. • The king of powers. That is, the mighty King, the Lord of hosts, is of the beloved, of the beloved: that is, is on the side of Christ his most be- tovºu son: and his beautiful house, viz. the church, in which God dwells for ever, shall by her spiritual conquests divide the spoils of many na- tions. The Hebrew (as it now stands pointed) is thus rendered, The kings of armies have ſled, they have fled, and she that dwells at home (or the beauty of the house) shall divide the spoils. G # If you sleep anongst the midst of lots, (inter medios, cleros §c.) viz. In such dangers and persecutions, as if your enemies were casting lots for your goods and persons: or in the midst of the lots (inter medios terminos, as St. Jerome renders it) that is, upon the very bounds or borders of the dominions of your enemies: you shall be secure never- theless under the divine protection; and shall be enabled to fly away, like a dove, with glittering wings, and feathers shining like the palest and most precious gold; that is, with great increase of virtue, and glowing with the fervour of charity. | Kings over her. That is, pastors and rulers ºver his church, viz. the apostles and their successors. Then by their ministry shall men be made whiter than the snow which lies on the top of the high mountain Selimon. | The mountain of God. The church, which, Isaiah ii. 2, is called The mountain of the house of the Lord upon the top of mountains. It is hero called a fe; and a curdled mountain; that is to say, most fruitful, and enriched by the spiritual gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost. * Why suspect ye curdled mountains f. Why do ye suppose or imagine nere may be any other such curdled mountains 2 You are mistaken: the mountain thus favoured by God is but one; and this same he has chosen for his dwelling for ever. * The chariot of God, descending to give his law on Mount Sina; as also of Jesus Christ his Son. ascending into heaven, to send from thence the Holy Ghost, to publish his new law, is attended with ten thousands, that is, with an innumerable multitude of joyful angels. * Les exptivity captive. Carrying away with thee to heaven those who beſore had been the captives of Satan; and receiving from God the Father gifts to be distributed to men; even to those who were be- lore unbelievers. 452 ~ * —ºve * => F 2-ºxº-3 tº 2–~ 2_2^T Sº- # The issues from death. The Lord alone is master of the issues, by which we may escape from death. if I will turn them from Basan, &c. I will cast out my enemies from their rich possessions, signified by Basan, a fruitful country : and will drive them into the depth of the sea: and make such a slaughter o. them, that the feet of my servants may be dyed in their blood, &c. || Thy goings. Thy ways, thy proceedings, by which thou didst fol- merly take possession of the promised land in favour of thy people, * gº." afterwards of the whole world, which thou shalt subdue to thy Son. § Princes. The apostles, the first converters of nations: attended by numbers of perfect souls, singing the divine praises, and virgins consecrated to God. - TV From the fountains of Israel. From whom both Christ and his apos- tles sprung. By Benjamin, the holy fathers on this place understand St. Paul, who was of that tribe, named here a youth, because he was the last called to the apostleship. By the princes of Juda, Zabulon, and Nephtali, we may understand the other apostles, who were of the tribe of Juda; or of the tribes of Zabulon and Nephtali, where our Lord began to preach, JMatt. iv. 13. &c. *** Command thy strength. Give orders that thy strength may be al- ways with us. ## Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds : or the wild beasts, which lie hid in the reeds. That is, the devils, who hide themselves in order to surprise their prey. Or by wild beasts, are here understood persecutors, who, for all their attempts against the Church, are but as weak reeds, whica cannot prevail against them who are supported by the strength of the Almighty. The same are also called the congregation of bulls (from their rage against the Church) who assemble together all their kins, that is, the people, their subjects, to exclude, if they can, from Christ . inheritance, his constant confessors, who are like silver tried y nre. iłł Embassadors shall come, &c. It is a prophecy of the conversion of the gentiles, and by name of the Egyptians and Ethiopians. || To the east. From Mount Olivet, which is on the east side of Jerusalem. {}} The voice of power. That is, he will make his voice to b; a powerfu. voice : by calling from death to life, such as were dead in mortal sin PSALMS LXVIII, LXIX. PSALM LXVIII. Salvum me fac, Deus. Christ in his passion declareth the greatness of his sufferings, and the malice of his persecutors the Jews ; and foretelleth their reprobation. I Unto the end, for them that shall be changed;” for David. * S AVE me, O God: for the waterst are come in even unto my soul. 3 I stick fast in the mire of the deep :..and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea; and a tem- pest hath overwhelmed me. 4 I have laboured with crying: my jaws are be- come hoarse : my eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God 5 They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrong- fully persecuted me : then did I pay that which I took not away.f 6 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences|| are not hidden from thee. 7 b et not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, ( ) Lord the Lord of hosts. Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee, O God of Israel. 8 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach ; shame hath covered my face. 9 I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother. 1) For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. J 1 And I covered my soul in fasting ; and it was made a reproach to me. 12 And I made hair-cloth my garment: and I be- came a by-word to them. - 13 They that sat in the gate spoke against me : and they that drank wine made me their song. 14 But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O ford; for the time of thy good pleasure, O God. In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. 15 Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 16 Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep swallow me up : and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. 17 Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind ; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. 18 And turn not away thy face from thy servant: for I am in trouble, hear me speedily. as at the last day he will by the power of his voice call all the dead from their graves. * For them that shall be changed. remember the passion of Christ. # The waters; of afflictions and sorrows. JMy soul is sorrowful even unto death. JMatt. xxvi f I pay that which I took nºt away. Christ in his assion made restitu- A psalm for Christian converts, to tion of what he had not taken away, by suffering the punishment due to our sins, and so repairing the injury we had done to God. --T -—º 19 Attend to my soul, and deliver it save me because of my enemies. 20 Thou knowest my reproach, and my confu- Sion, and my shame. 21 In thy sight are all they that afflict me: my heart hath expected reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: j for one that would comfort me, and I found none. 22 And they gave me gall for my food: and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 23 Let their table; become as a snare before them, and a recompense, and a stumbling-block. 24. Let their eyes be darkened that they wee not; and their back bend thou down always. 25 Pour out thy indignation upon them. and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 26 Let their habitation be made desolate; and let there be none to dwell in their tabernacles. 27 Because they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten ; and they have added to the grief of my wounds. 28 Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come into thy justice. 29 Let them be blotted out of the book of the liv. ing : and with the just let them not be written. 30 But I am poor and sorrowful : thy salvation, O God, hath set me up. 31 I will praise the name of God with a canticle and I will magnify him with praise. 32 And it shall please God better than a youn calf, that bringeth forth horns and hoofs. 33 Let the poor. See and rejoice; seek ye God, and your soul shall live. 34 For the Lord hath heard the poor, and hath not despised his prisoners. 35 Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every thing that creepeth therein. 36 For God will save Sion, l and the cities of Juda shall be built up. And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by in- heritance. 37 And the seed of his servants shall possess it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein PSALM LXIX. Deus, in adjutorium. A prayer in persecution. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David, to bring to re- membrance that the Lord saved him. 2 O GOD, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me. 3 Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul: 4 Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire evils to me : |JMyfoolishness and my offences; , which my enemies impute to me or the follies and sins of men, which I have taken upcn myself. * Let their table, &c. What here follows in the style of an impreca tion, is a prophecy of the wretched state to which the Jews should be reduced in punishment of their wilful obstinacy. * Sion. The catholic church. The cities of Judah, &l her places o worship, which shall be established throughout the world. And there viz. in this church of Christ, shall his servants dwell, &c. 2-2T PSALMS. Let them be presently turned away blushing for shame that say to me: 'Tis well, 'tis well.” e 5. Let all that seek thee rejoice, and be glad in Jie: ; and let such as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnified. 6 But I am needy and poor; O God, help me. Thou art my helper and my deliverer: O Lord, make no delay. PSALM LXX. In te Domine. A prayer for perseverance. 1 A psalm for David. Of the sons of Jonadab,f and the former captives. - - IN thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never, be put to confusion: 2 deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. Incline thy ear unto me, and save me. 3 Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength: that thou maySt make me safe. For thou art my firmament and my refuge. 4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner, and out of the hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust. 5 For thou art my patience, O Lord : my hope, O Lord, from my youth. 6 By thee have I been confirmed from the womb from my mother’s womb thou art my protector. Of thee shall I continually sing: 7 I am become unto many as a wonder, but thou art a strong helper. 8 Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory ; thy greatness all the day long. 9 Cast me not off in the time of old age: when my strength shall fail, do not thou forsake me. 10 For my enemies have spoken against me; and they that watched my soul have consulted together. ll Saying: God hi forsaken him; pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him. 12 O God, be not thou far from me: O my God, Inake haste to my help. 13 Let them be confounded, and come to nothing that detract my soul; let them be covered with con- fusion and shame that seek my hurt. 14 But I will always hope; and will add to all thy praise. 15 My mouth shall show forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day long. Because I have not known learning,f 16 I will enter into the powers of the Lord: O Lord, l will be mindful of thy justice alone. 17 Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth : and till now I will declare thy wonderful works, 18 And unto old age and grey hairs: O God, for- sake me not, - Until I show forth thy arm to all the generation that is to come : » Thy power, 19 and thy Justice, O God, even to |the highest great things thou hast done: O God who is like to theef 20 How great troubles hast thou shown me. many and grievous: and turning thou hast brought to life, and hast brought me back again from the depths of the earth : 2] Thou hast multiplied thy magnificence. and turning to me thou hast comforted me. 32 For f will also confess to thee thy truth with the instruments of psaltery: O God, I will sing to thee with the harp, thou holy one of Israel. 23 My lips shall greatly rejoice, when I shall sing to thee : and my soul which thou hast re- deemed. 24 Yea, and my tongue shall meditate on thy Jus- tice all the day : when they shall be confounded and put to shame that seek evils to me. PSALM LXXI. Deus, judicium tuum. A prophecy of the coming of Christ, and of his kingdom ; prº- figured by Solomºn and his happy reign. 1 A psalm on Solomon. 2 IVE to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king's son thy justice: To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment. 3 Let the mountains receive peace for the peo- ple, and the hills justice. 4. He shall judge the poor of the people: and he shall save the children of the poor: and he shall humble the oppressor. 5 And he shall continue with the sun, and before the moon, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the fleece: and as showers falling gently upon the earth. 7 In his days shall justice spring up, and abun- dance of peace, till the moon be taken away. 8 And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9 Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down : and his enemies shall lick the ground. 10 The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall of fer presents: the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts: 11 And all kings of the earth shall adore him : all nations shall serve him. -- 12 For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty and the needy that had no helper. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls of the poor. 14. He shall redeem their souls from usuries and lºy : and their name shall be honourable in his S19.ht. *'. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Arabia; for him they shall always adore, they shall bless him all the day. 16And there shall be a firmament on the earth, * "Tis well, 'tis well. Euge, euge. St. Jerome renders it, vah, vah / which is the voice of one insulting and deriding. Some understand it as a detestation of deceitful flatterers. # Of the sons of Jonadab. The Rechabites, of whom see Jeremias v w w x 13v this addition of the seventy-two interpreters, we gather Rechabites, and of those who were first carried away into captivity. ! Learning. As much as to say, I build not upon human learning. but only on the power and justice of God. | A finnament on the earth, &c. This may be understood of the chorck of Christ, ever firm and visible; and of the flourishing condition of its tº 1,is psalm was usually sung in the synagogue, in the person of the l] congregation. 454 _--~~T º -- 4----> = ~E:3;= --> PSALMS LXX11. LXXIII. on the tops of mountains: above Libanus shall the fruit thereof be exalted : and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth. 17 Let his name be blessed for evermore : his name continueth before the sun. And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: all nations shall magnify him. 18 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who alone doeth wonderful things. 19 And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever and the whole earth shall be filled with his majesty So be it. So be it. 29 he praises of David the son of Jesse are end- ed. g PSALM LXXII. Quam bonus Israel Deus. The temptation of the weak, upon seeing the prosperity of the wicked, is overcome by the consideration of the justice of God, who will quickly render to every one according to his works. 1 A psalm for Asaph. HOW good is God to Israel, to them that are of a right heart! 2. But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipt. 3 Because I had a zeal on occasion of the wick- ed, seeing the prosperity of sinners. 4. For there is no regard to their death; nor ws there strength in their stripes. 5 They are not in the labour of men: neither shall they be scourged like other men. 6 Therefore pride hath held them fast : they are covered with their iniquity and their wickedness. 7 Their iniquity hath come forth, as it were from º :f they have passed into the affection of the eart. 8 They have thought and spoken wickedness. they have spoken iniquity on high. 9 They have set their mouth against heaven: and their tongue hath passed through the earth. 10 Therefore will my people return here: Í and full days shall be found in them. ll And they said: How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High P 12 Behold, these are sinners ; and yet abounding in the world they have obtained riches. 13 And I said: Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent. 14 And I have been scourged all the day : and my chastisement hath been in the mornings. 15 If I said: | I will speak thus; behold, I should condemn the generation of thy children. 16 I studied that I might know this thing, it is a (abour in my sight: 17 Until I go into the sanctuary of Gnd, and understand concerning their last ends. 18 But indeed for deceits thou hast put it to them:" when they were liſted up, thou hast cast them down. 19 How are they brought to desolation they have suddenly ceased to be : they have perished by reason of their iniquity. 20 As the dream of them that awake, O Lord ; so in thy city thou shalt bring their image to nothing. 21 For my heart hath been inflamed, and my reins have been changed : 22 and I am brought to nothing, and I knew not. 23 l am become as a beast before thee : and am always with thee. 24 Thou hast held me by my right hand : and by thy will thou hast conducted me, and with thy glory thou hast received me. 25 For what have I in heaven? and besides thce what do I desire upon earth P 26 For thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away ; thou art the God of my heart and the God that is my portion for ever. 27. For behold, they that go far from thee shall perish : thou hast destroyed all them that are dis- loyal to thee. 28 But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God : - That I may declare all thy praises. in the gates of the daughter of Sion. PSALM LXXIII. Ut quid, Deus. A prayer of the church under grievous persecutions. 1 Understanding for Asaph. O GOD, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture ? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou has possessed from the beginning ; The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed ; mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt. 3 Liſt up thy hands against their pride unto the end ; see what things the enemy hath done wicked- ly in the sanctuary. 4 And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns iſ for signs: 5 and they knew not both in the going out, and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees, 6 they have cut down at once the gates thereof: with axe and hatchet they have brought it down. 7. They have set fire to thy sanctuary : they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth * Are ended. By this it appears that this psalm, though placed here, was in order of time the last of those which David composed. f Fatness. Abundance, and temporal prosperity, which hath en- bouraged them in their iniquity; and made them give themselves up so their irregular affections. + Return here; or hither. The weak among the servants of God, will be apt often to return to this thought, and will be shocked when they consider the days, that is, the long and prosperous life of the wicked; and will he tempted to make the reflections against prºvi- lence which are set down in the following verses ==T-sº - •quil, £re— E=- - | If I said, &c. That is, if I should indulge such thoughts as these § Thou hast put it to them. In punishment of their decents, ºr for de ceiving them, thou hast brought evils upon them in their last en I which in their prosperity they never apprehended. T Their ensigns, &c. They have fixed their colours for signs and trophies, both on the gates, and on the highest top of the temple: and they knew not, that is, they regarded not the sanctity of the place. This psalm manifestly foretells the time of the Mºte. and the profanation of the temple by Antiochus. 45% PSALMS 8 They said in their heart, the whole kindred of then together: },et us abolish all the festival days of God from the land. 9 Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more. 10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach F is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever ? 11 Why dost thou turn away thy hand P and thy ight hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever? 12 But God is our king before ages; he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm :* houdidst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon : thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians. 15 Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.t 16 Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hastmade the morning light and the sun. 17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth : the summer and the spring were formed by thee. 18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord : and a foolish people hath provoked thy I}{l II) (2. 19 Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thce : and forget not to the end the souls of thy \OOT. l 20 Have regard to thy covenant : for they that are the obscure of the earthſ have been filled with dwellings of iniquity. 21 Let not the humble be turned away with con- fusion : the poor and needy shall praise thy name. 22 Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remem- ber thy reproaches with which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day. 23 Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually. PSALM LXXIV. Confitebimur tibi. There is a just judgment to come : therefore let the wicked take CGIrf”. 1 Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph. 2 WE will praise thce, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name. We will relate thy wondrous works : 3 when I shall take a time,' I will judge justices. - 4. The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein : I have established the pillars thereof. 5 I said to the wicked : Do not act wickedly : and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn. 6 Liſt not up your horn on high : speak not ini- quity against God. 7 For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert hills: 8 for God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth up 9 for in the hand of the Lord there is a cup o' strong wine full of mixture. - And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied : all the sinners of the earth shall drink. 10 But I will declare for ever : I will sing to the God of Jacob. 11 And I will break all the horns of sinners - but the horns of the just shall be exalted. PSALM LXXV. Notus in Judaea. God is known in his church: and eacerts his power in protecting it. . It alludes to the slaughter of the Assyrians, in the days of king Ezechias. 1 Unto the end, in praises, a psalm for Asaph : a canticle to the Assyrians. 2 Nº God is known : his name is great in Srael : s: And his place is in peace: and his abode in IOI] . 4. There hath he broken the powers of bows, the shield, the sword, and the battle. 5 Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the ever- lasting hills : 6 All the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their sleep : and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands. 7 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have ali slumbered that mounted on horseback. 8 Thou art terrible, and who shall resist thee : from that time'll thy wrath - 9 Thou hast caused judgment to be heard from heaven : the earth trembled, and was still, 10 When God arose in judgment to save all the meek of the earth. 11 For the thought of man shall give praise to thee : and the remainders of the thoughts shall keep holyday to thee. w 12 Wow ye, and pay to the Lord your God: all you that round about him bring presents. To him that is terrible, 13 even to him who taketh away the spirit of princes: to the terrible with the kings of the earth. PSALM LXXVI. Voce mea. The faithful have recourse to God in trouble of mind, with con - Jidence in his mercy and power. 1 Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of Asaph. 2 || Cried to the Lord with my voice ; to God with my voice ; and he gave ear to me. 3 In the day of my trouble I sought God, with * The sea firm. By making the waters of the Red sea stand like firm walls, whilst Israe; passed through ; and destroying the Egyptians, called here dragor from their cruelty, in the same waters, with their king ; casting up their bodies on the shore to be stript by the Ethio- pians, inhabiting in those days the coast of Arabia. v Ethan rivers. That is, rivers which run with strong streams. This was verified in Jordan, Josue iii. and in Arnon, JNumb. xxi. 14. : The obseure ºf the earth. Mean and ignoble wretches have been fill- ed, that is, enriched, with houses of iniquity, that is, with our estates and possessions, which they have Mnjustly acquired. | Corrupt not. "Tis believed to have been the beginning of some ode or hymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung. St. Au- gustine and other fathers take it to be an admonition of the Spirit of God, not to faint or fail in our hope; but to persevere with constancy in good; because God will not fail in his due time to render to ever, man according to his works. } When I shall take a time. In proper times. particularly at the last day, when the earth shall melt away at the presence of the great judge. the same who originally laid the foundations of it, and as it were esta blished its pillars. T From that time, &c. out. From the time that thy wrath shull break 456 PSALM LXXVII. my hands lifted up to him in the night: and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted : 4 I remember- ed God, and was delighted, and was exercised : and my spirit swooned away. 5 My eyes prevented the watches: I was trou- bled, and I spoke not. 6 I thought upon the days of old : and l had in my mind the eternal years. 7 And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised, in." swept my spirit. 8 Will God then cast off for ever P or will he never be more favourable again * 9 Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from gene- ration to generation f 10 Or will God forget to show mercy r or will he in his anger shut up his mercies f 11 And I said, Now have I begun : this is the change of the right hand of the most High. - 12 I remembered the works of the Lord : for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning. 13 And I will meditate on all thy works: and will be employed in thy inventions. 14 Thy way, O God, is in the holy place : who is the great God like our God f 15 Thou art the God that doest wonders. Thou hast made thy power known among the nation : 16 with thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob and of Joseph. 17 The waters saw thee, O God: the waters saw thee: and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled. 18 Great was the noise of the waters: the clouds sent out a sound. For thy arrows pass; 19 the voice of thy thun- der in a wheel. Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled. 20 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters: and thy foot-steps shall not be known. 21 Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. PSALM LXXVII. Attendite. ºod's great benefits to the people of Israel, notwithstanding their ingratitude. 1 Understanding for Asaph. TTEND, O my people, to my law: incline 4. our ears to the words of my mouth. 2 } will open my mouth in parables: I will utter propositions” from the beginning: 3 How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us. © 4. They have not been hidden from their children, in another generation. iDeclaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, and his wonders which he hath done. 5 And he set up a testimony in Jacob: and made a law in Israel. l How great things he commanded our fathers that they should make the same known to their ºn: 6 that another generation might know © Iſl. The children that should be born, and should rise Ulp, and declare them to their children; 7. That they may put their hope in God, and may not forget the works of God: and may seek his commandments. 8 That they may not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation. A generation that set not their heart aright whose spirit was not faithful to God. .9 The sons of Ephraim who bend and sºno with the bow: they have turned back in the day of battle. 10 They kept not the covenant of God: and in his law they would not walk. 11 And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shown them. 12 Wonderful things did he do in the sight of #. fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Žl 11 IS. 13. He divided the sea, and brought them through. and he made the waters to stand as in a vessel. 14 And he conducted them with a cloud by day and all the night with a light of fire. 15 He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep. 16 He brought forth water out of the rock: and made streams run down as rivers. 17 And they added yet more sin against him they provoked the most High to wrath in the place without water. 18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking meat for their desires. 19 And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people f 21 Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry : and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel. 22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation. 23 And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven. 24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven. 25 Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance. 26 He removed the south-wind from heaven ; and by his power brought in the south-west wind. 27 And he rained upon them flesh as dust; and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea. 28 And they fell in the midst of their camp, round about their pavilions. 29 So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and • Pror sitions. Deep and mysterious sayings. By this it appears that Jhe historical facts of ancient times, commemorated in this psalm, were M deep and mysterious ; as being figures of great truths appertaining to the time of the new testament. 457 PSALMS. and he gave them their desire : 30 they were not de- frauded of that which they craved. As yet their meat was in their mouth: 31 and the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones amongst them, and brought down the chosen men of Isracl. 32. In all these things they sinned still: and they believed not for his wondrous works. 33 And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years in haste. º 3} When he slew them, then they sought him : and they returned, and came to him early in the ºne ling. • 35 And they remembered that God was their help- er and the most high God their redeemer. 36 And they loved him with their mouth: and with their tongue they lied unto him : 37 But their heart was not right with him: nor were they counted faithful in his covenant. 38 But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins; and will not destroy them. And many a time did he turn away his anger; and did not kindle all his wrath. 39 And he remembered that they are flesh; a wind that goeth and returneth not. 40 How often did they provoke him in the desert; º, move him to wrath in the place without wa- ter 41 And they turned back and tempted God; and grieved the holy one of Israel. 42 They remembered not his hand in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of him that afflicted them : 43 How he wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Tamis. 4! And he turned their rivers into blood, and their showers that they might not drink. 45 He sent amongst them divers sorts of flies, º devoured them ; and frogs which destroyed Khelm. 46 And he gave up their fruits to the blast, and their labours to the locust. - 47. And he destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry-trees with hoar frost. 48 And he gave up their cattle to the hail, and their stock to the fire. 49 And he sent upon them the wrath of his in- dignation: indignation and wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels. 50 He made a way for a path to his anger: he spared not their souls from death ; and their cattle he shut up in death. 51 And he killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt : the first-fruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Cham. 52 And he took away his own people as sheep; and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53. And he brought them out in hope, and they feared not: and the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctuary: the mountain which his right hand had purchased. And he cast out the gentiles before them . and by lot divided to them their land by a line of distribution. 55 And he made the tribes of Israel to dwell tu their tabernacles. 56 Yet they tempted, and provoked the most high God: and they kept not his testimonies. 57 And they turned away, and kept not the co- venant: even like their fathers they were turned aside as a crooked bow. 58 They provoked him to anger on their hills; and moved him to jealousy with their graven things. 59 God heard, and despised them: and he reduced Israel exceedingly as it were to nothing. 60 And he put away the tabernacle of Silo, his' tabernacle where he dwelt among men. 61 And he delivered their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy. 62 And he shut up his people under the sword. and he despised his inheritance. 63 Fire consumed their young men: and their maidens were not lamented. 64. Their priests fell by the sword: and their widows did not mourn. 65 And the Lord was awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that hath been surfeited with WW II) e. 66 And he smote his enemies on the hinder parts he put them to an everlasting reproach. 67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph ; and chose not the tribe of Ephraim : 68 But he chose the tribe of Juda, mount Sion which he loved. - 69 And he built his sanctuary as of unicorns,” in the land which he founded for ever. 70 And he chose his servant David, and took him from the flocks of sheep : he brought him from fol lowing the ewes great with young, 71 To feed Jacob his servant, and Israel his in heritance. 72 And he fed them in the innocence of his heart and conducted them by the skilfulness of his hands PSALM LXXVIII. Deus, venerunt gentes. The church in time of persecution prayeth for relief. It seems to belong to the time of the Maccabees. 1 A psalm for Asaph. GOD, the heathens are come into thy inherit- ance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. 2 They have given the dead bodies of thy ser- vants to be meat for the fowls of the air; the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood as water, º about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury then). 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours a scorn and derision to them that are round about us * As of ºnicorns. That is, firm and strong, like the horn of the uni- showing the firm establishment of the one, true, and everlasting sana corn. This is one of the chiefest of the propositions of this psalm, fore- tuary of God and his church. —º 458 PSALMS LXXIX, LXXX. b How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire? 6 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee; and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. 7 Because they have devoured Jacob; and have laid waste his place. 8 Remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily prevent us, for we are become ex- seeding poor. 9 Help us, O God our Saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us: and forgive us our sins for thy name’s sake: 10 Lest they should say among the gentiles: Where is their God? And let him be made known among the nations belx re our eyes, By the revenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed: l l let the sighing of the prisoners come in before thee. According to the greatness of thy arm, take pos- session of the children of them that have been put to death. 12 And render to our neighbours seven-fold in Jheir bosom, the reproach wherewith they have re- proached thee, O Lord. 13 But we thy people, and the sheep of thy pas- ture, will give thanks to thee for ever. We will show forth thy praise, unto generation and generation. PSALM LXXIX. Qui regis Israel. A prayer for the church in tribulation, commemorating God’s Jormer favours. 1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, a testimony for Asaph, a psalm. 2 G|Y} ear, O thou that rulest Israel; thou that - leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest upon the cherubims, shine forth 3 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. Stir up thy might, and come to save us. 4 Convert us, O God: and show us thy face, and we shall be saved. * 5 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy servant? 6 How long wilt thou feed us with the bread of tears: and give us for our drink tears in measure? 7 Thou hast made us to be a contradiction to our neighbours: and our enemies have scoffed at us. 8 O God of hosts, convertus' and show thy face, and we shall be saved. 9 Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the gentiles, and planted it. 10 Thou wast the guide of its journey in its sight thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land. 1 l The shadow of it covered the hills: branches thereof the cedars of God. 12 It stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs unto the river. 13 Why hast thou broken down the hedge there- of; so that all they who pass by the way do pluck it. 14 The boar out of the wood hath laid it waste' and a singular wild beast hath devoured it. 15 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard: 16 And perfect the same which thy right hand hath planted; and upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself. 17 Things set on fire” and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 18 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand;f and upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself. 19 And we depart not from thee, thou shalt quicken us: and we will call upon thy name. 20 O Lord God of hosts, convert us: and show thy face, and we shall be saved. PSALM LXXX. Exultate Deo. An invitation to a solemn praising of God. 1 Unto the end, for the wine-presses,f a psalm for Asaph himself. 2 Rºjoſº to God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob. 3 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel: the pleasant psaltery with the harp. 4 Blow up the trumpet on the new moon on the noted day of your solemnity. - 5 For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judg- ment to the God of Jacob. 6 He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt: he heard a tongue which he knew not. 7. He removed his back from the burdens: his hands had served in baskets. - 8 Thou calledst upon me in affiiction, and I de- livered thee : I heard thee in the secret place of tem- pest: I proved thee at the waters of contradiction. Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me, 10 there shall be no new god in thee: neither shalt thou adore a Strange god. 11 For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 12 But my people heard not my voice: and Is. rael hearkened not to me. 13 So I let them go according to the desires of their heart: they shall walk in their own inventions. 14 If my people had heard me; if Israel had walked in my ways; 15 I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on them that troubled them. and the * Things set on fire, &c. So this vineyard of thine, almost consumed nlready, must perish if thou continue thy rebukes. f The man of thy right hand. Christ. t For the wine presses, &c torcularibus. It either signifies a musical - Lº ºn instrument, or that this psalm was to be sung at the feast of the taber nacles after the gathering in of the vintage. # In the secret place of tempest. Heb. Of thunder. When thou soughtest to hide thyself from the tempest : or, when I came down to mount Sina, hidden from thy eºn a storm of thunder. # = PSALMS. 16 The encrules of the ſlord have lied to him:ſ and their time shall be for ever.” | 7 And he ſed them with the ſat of wheat, and ſilled them with honey out of the rock. PSALM LXXXI. Deus Stetit. An exhortation to judges and men in power ſº 1 A Psalm for Asaph. OD bath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them, he judgeth gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly; and accept the persons of the wicked * 3 Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor. the hand of the sinner. 5 They have not known nor understood; the walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved. 6 I have said: you are gods, and all of you the sons of the most High. 7 But you like men shall die; and shall fall like one of the princes. 8 Arise, O God, judge thou the earth : for thou shalt inherit among all the nations. PSALM LXXXII. Deus, quis similis. A prayer against the enemies of God’s church. 1 A canticle of a psalm for Asaph. 2 GOD, who shall be like to thee P hold not thy peace; neither be thou still, O God. 3 Forlo, thy enemies have made a noise: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 4. They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have consulted against thy saints. 5. They have said: Come, and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation : and let the name of Israel be remembered no more. / 6 For they have contrived with one consent: they have made a covenant together against thee, 7 the tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites: Moab, and the Agarens, 8 Čehai, and Ammon, and Amalec: the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre. 9 Yea, and the Assyrian also is joined with them: they are come to the aid of the sons of Lot. 10 Do to them as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara: as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson: 11 Who perished at Endor; and became as dung for the earth. 12 Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmana. All their princes, 13 who have said: Let us pos- sess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance. 1}, O my God, make them like a wheel ; and as it ubble before the wind: 15 As fire which burneth the wood; and as a flame burning mountains. smºsºm-º. 16 So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest and shalt trouble them in thy wrah. 17 Fill their faces with shame: and they shal seek thy name, O Lord. 18 Let them be ashamed and troubled for even and ever: and let them be confounded and perish. 19 And let them know that the Lord is thy maine thou alone art the most High over all the earth. PSALM LXXXIII. Quam dilecta. The soul aspireth after heaven ; rejoicing in the mean time, in being in the communion of God’s church upon earth. 1 Unto the end, for the wine-presses, a psalm for the sons of Core. |2 HQW lovely are thy fabernacles, O Lord of 4. Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of hosts! 3 my soul longeth and fainteth for the | courts of the Lord. G y heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living O(, , 4. For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may law her young ones: e hy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my OOl. 5 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, C Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever. 6 Blessed is the man whose help is from thee in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps,f 7 | in the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set. 8 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing; they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. 9 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. 10 Behold, O God, our protector; and look on the face of thy Christ. | For better is one day in thy courts above thou- Sºl I) (IS. I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sin- Ile I’S. 12 For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory. 13. He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. PSALM LXXXIV. Benedixisti, Domine. The coming of Christ to bring peace and salvation to man. 1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm. . 2 LORD. thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. 3 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all their sins. 4 Thou hast mitigated all thy anger: thou has turned away from the wrath of thy indignation. 5 Convert us, O God our saviour: and turn off thy anger from us. * Their time shall be for ever. Imnonitent sinners shall suffer for ever. + In his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps, &c. ascensiones in corde ruo disposuit. on a hill ; so the good christian ascends towards the eternal temple by As by steps men ascended to the temple of God, situated certain steps of virtue disposed or ordered within the heart; and this whils he lives as yet in the body, in this pale of tears, the place which man hath set that is, which he hath brought himself to ; being cast out of paralia, for his sin. 460 PSALM LXXXV. LXXXVI, LXXXVII. 6 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation ? 7 Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life : and thy people shall rejoice in thee. 8 Show us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation. 9 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people : And unto his saints: and unto them that are con- verted to the heart. 10 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him : that glory may dwell in our land. 11 Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peac - have kissed. 12 Truch is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven. 13 For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit. 14 Justice shall walk before him ; and shall set his steps in the way. PSALM LXXXV. Inclina, Domine. A prayer for God’s grace to assist us to the end. 1 A prayer for David himself. INCLINE thy ear, O Lord, and hear me : for l am needy and poor. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am holy:* save thy ser- want, O my God, that trusteth in thee. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day. 4 Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. 5 For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild ; and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition. 7 I have called upon thee in the day of my troubke; because thou hast heard me. 8. There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord : and there is none according to thy works. 9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord : and they shall glorify thy name. 10 For thou art great, and doest wonderful things: thou art God alone. 1 I Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name. 12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart: and I will glorify thy name for ever: 13 For thy mercy is great towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell. 14 O God, the wicked are risen up against me; and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set thee before their eyes. 15 A1.d thou. O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true. 16 O look upon me, and have mercy on me give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid. 17 Show me a token for good : that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me, and hast comforted me PSALM LXXXVI. Fundamenta ejus. The glory of the church of Christ. 1. For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticſ.c. º THE foundations thereof are in the holy moun tains:f 2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. 4 I will be mindful of Rahabi and of Babylon knowing me. Behold the foreigners and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians, these were there. 5 Shall not Sion say:|| This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest himself hath found- ed her. º 6 The Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, of them that have been in her. 7 The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing PSALM LXXXVII. Domine Deus salutis. A prayer of one under grievous affliction: it agrees to Christ in his passion, and alludes to his death and burial 1 A canticle of a psalm for the sons of Cole unto the end, for Maheleth,S. to answer, understanding" of Eman the Ezrahite. 2 O LORD the God of my salvation: I have cried . in the day, and in the night before thee. 3 Let my prayer come in before thee: incline thy ear to my petition. 4 For my soul is filled with evils; and my life hath drawn nigh to hell. - 5 am counted among them that go down to the pit: I am become as a man without help, 6 free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cast of from thy hand. 7 They have laid me in the lower pit; in the dark places, and in the shadow of death. 8 Thy wrath is strong over me: and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me. 9 Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth: 10 my eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried to thee, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to thee. 11 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead or shal. physicians raise to life, and give praise to thce? * I am holy. I am by my office and profession dedicated to thy ser- VICe. # The holy mountains. The apostles and prophets. Eph. ii. 20. ! Rahal. Egypt, &c. To this Sion, which is the church of God, many shall resort from all nations. | Shall tip; Sirn say, &c. The meaning is, that Sion, viz. the church, shall not only be able to commemorate this or that particular person of renown born in her, but also to glory in great multitudes of peºple and princes, of her communion; who have been foretold in the writings of the prophets, and registered in the writings of the apostles. * Maheleth. ... A musical instrument, or chorus of musicians, to an swer one another. * Understanding. Or a psalm of instruction composed by E Ezrahite, or by David, in iſ. Iname. p y Eman the Ts =T =>†<=f @S: 46% Ş| ? PSALMS. 12 Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mer- , v, and thy truth in destruction? 13 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark; and tly justice in the land of forgetfulness? 1%. But I, O Lord, have cried to thee; and in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee. 15 Lord, why casteth thou off my prayer: why turnest thou away thy face from me: 16 I am poor, and in labours from my youth; and being exalted have been humbled and troubled. 17 Thy wrath hath come upon me: and thy ter- rors have troubled me. 18 They have come round about me like water all the day: they have compassed me about together. 19 Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me; and my acquaintance, because of misery PSALM LXXXVIII. Misericordias Domini. The perpetuity of the church of Christ, in consequence of the promises of God; which notwithstanding, God permits her to suffer sometimes most grievous afflictions. 1 Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite. 2 HE mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will show forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation. § For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them. A. I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant: 5 Thy seed will I set- tle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation. 6The heavensshall confess thy wonders, O Lord; and thy truth in the church of the saints. 7 For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to (iod? 8 God who is glorified in the assembly c f the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him. 9 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou #. mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about the (*. 10 Thou rulest the power of the sea: and ap- peasest the motion of the waves thereof. I 1 Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scat- tered thy enemies. 12 Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth : the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded : 13 the north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall. rejoice in thy name: 14 thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted: 15 justice and judginent are the prepara- tion of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face: 16 bless- ed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance: 17 and in thy name they shall rejoice all the day; and in thy justice they shall be exalted 18 For thou art the glory of their strength ; and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted. 19 For our protection is of the Lord, and of out king the holy one of Israel. 20 Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is nighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people. 21 I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him. 22 For my hand shall help him: and my arm: shall strengthen him. 23 The enemy shall have no advantage over him. nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him. 24, And I will cut down his enemies before his face: and them that hate him I will put to flight. 25 Aud my truth and my mercy shall be with him. and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 26 And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers. 27. He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father; my God, and the support of my salvation. 28 And I will make him my first-born, high above the kings of the earth. 29 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him. 30 And I will make his seed to endure for ever more ; and his throne as the days of heaven. 31 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 32 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments; 33 I will visit, their iniquities with a rod ; and their sins with stripes. 34 But my mercy I will not take away from him : nor will I suffer my truth to fail. 35 Neither will I profane my covenant: and the Wº's that proceed from my mouth I will not make WOI (i. 36 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David : 37 his seed shall endure for ever. 38 And his throne as the sun before me; and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven. 39 But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed. 40 Thou hast overthrown the covenant” of thy ºt: thou hast profared his sanctuary on the €al'ſ h. 41 Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear. . .42 All that pass by the way have robbed him. he is become a reproach to his neighbours. 43 Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him : thou hast made all his enemies to e JOICe. 44 Thou hast turned away the help of his sword and hast not assisted him in battle. * 45 Thou hast made his purification to cease: ano thou hast cast his throne down to the ground. • Overthrown the corenant, &c. All this seems to relate to the time of the captivity of Babylon, in which, for the sins of the people and % RS their princes, God seemed to have set aside for a while the covenant he inade with David. *Nº. 462 pSALMS 1,XXXIX, XC. 46 Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion. 47 How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end ? shall thy anger burn like fire f 48 Hemember what my substance is: for hast thou made all the children of men in vain? 49 Who is the man that shall live, and not see death; that shall deliver hissoul from the hand of hell? 50 Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, accord- ing to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth? 51 Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations : 52 Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord ; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed. e 53 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it, so be it. PSALM LXXXIX. Domine, refugium. A prayer for the mercy of God; recounting the shortness and miseries of the days of man. 1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God. LQRP, thou hast been our refuge from genera- tion to generation. 2 Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed ; from etermity and to etermity thou art God. 3 Turn not man away” to be brought low ; and thou hast said: Be, converted, O ye sons of men. 4. For a thousand years in thy sight are as yester- day, which is past. And as a watch in the night, 5 things that are counted nothing, shall their years be. 6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away; in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither. 7 For in thy wrath we have ſainted away; and are troubled in thy indignation. 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes ; our life in the light of thy countenance. 9 For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spiderſ : 10 the days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years : and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us :f and we shall be corrected. 11 Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and fºr thy fear 12 can numler thy wrath f So make thy right hand known, and men learned in heart in wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord, how long 2 and be entreated n favour of thy servants. 14. We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days. 15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbledus; for the years in which we have se” evils. 16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works. and direct their children. 17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands Over us; yea the work of our hands do thou direct. PSALM XC. Qui habitat. The just is secure under the protection of God. 1 The praise of a canticle for David. E that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. 2 He shall say to the Lord: thou art my protec- tor, and my refuge : my God, in him will l trust. 3 For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. 5 His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night; 6 Of the arrow that flieth in the day; of the bu- siness that walketh about in the dark ; of invasion, or of the noon-day devil. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thou- Sand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 But thou shalt consider with thy eyes; and shalt see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou, O Lord, art my hope : thou hast made the Most High thy refuge. 10 There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling. Il For he hath given his Angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. 12. In their hands they shall bear thee up ; lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. - 14. Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him : I will protect him, because he hath known my name 15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him : ] am with him in tribulation : I will deliver him, and I will glorify him. 16 l will fill him with length of days : and l will show him my salvation. PSALM XCI. Bonum est confiteri. God is to be praised for his wondrous trorks. 1 A psalm of a canticle on the sabbath-day. 2 IT is good to give praise to the Lord : and to sing to thy name, O Most High: 3 To show forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night: 4. Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery ; with a canticle upon the harp. * Turn not man away, &c. Suffer him not quite to perish from thee, since thou art pleased to call upon him to be converted to thee. T.As a spider. As frail and weak as a spider's web ; and miserable withal, whilst, like a spider, we spend our bowels in weaving webs to catch flies. # JMildness is come upon us, &c. God's mildness correc sus, inasmuct as he deals kindly with us, in shortening the days of this miserabia life; and so weaning our affections from all its transitory euloyments and teaching us true wisdom. 463 PSALMs. b For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in hy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall re- ()1("(*. J 6 O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep. 7 The sensciess man shall not know : nor will the fool understand these things. 8 When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear, That they may perish for ever and ever : 9 but th yu, O Lord, art Most High for evermore. 10 For behold, thy enemies, O Lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish : and all the workers of ini- quity shall Je scattered. l l But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn ; and my old age in plentiful mercy. 12 My eye also hath looked down upon my ene- mics: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me. 13 The just shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus. 14 They that are planted in the house of the {{...} shall flourish in the courts of the house of our (){!. 15 They shall still increase in a fruitful old age; and shall be well treated, 16 that they may show, That the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him. PSALM XCII. Dominus regnavit. The glory and stability of tºº that is of the church of Q?". Slº. Praise tri the way of a canticle, for David himself, on the day before the sabbath, when the earth was founded. 1 ſ \ H E Lord hath reigned : he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved. © 2 Thy throne is prepared from of old : thou art from everlasting. 3 The floods have liſted up, O Lord ; the floods have liſted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves, 4 with the noise of many waters. - Wonderful are the surges of the sea : wonderful Is the Lord on high. 5 Thy testimonics are become exceedingly credi-| ble : holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto iength of days. PSALM XCIII. I)eus ultionum. tiod shall judge and punish the oppressors of his people. A psalm for David himself, on the fourth day of the week. { H E Lord is the God to whom revenge belong- eth: the God of revenge hath acted freely. 2 Lift up thyself, thou that judgest the earth : ren der a reward to the proud. 3 How long shall sinners, O Lord. how long shal! sinners glory P 4. Shall they utter, and speak iniquity shall all speak who work injustice f 5 Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low and they have afflicted thy inheritance. 6 They have slain the widow and the stranger and they have murdered the fatherless. 7 And they have said: The Lord shall not see neither shall the God of Jacob understand. 8 Understand, ye senseless among the people " and you fools, be wise at last. 9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? Or he that formed the eye, doth he not consider * 10 He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke: he that teacheth man knowledge P 11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain. w 12 Blessed is the man whom thou shalt instruct, O Lord ; and shalt teach him out of thy law. * 13 That thou mayst give him rest from the evil days:* till a pit be dug for the wicked... . . 14 For the Lord will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his own inheritance. 15 Until justice be turned into judgment:f and they that are near it are all the upright in heart. 16 Who shall rise up for me against the evil doers? or who shall stand with me against the workers of In IGuity. 17 Unless the Lord had been my helper; my soul had almost dwelt in hell. º 18 If I said : My foot is moved; thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me. 19 According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul. 20 Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee,f who framest labour in commandment P 21 They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn innocent blood. 22 But the Lord is my refuge ; and my God the help of my hope. 23 And he will render them their iniquity: and in their malice he will destroy them: the Lord our God will destroy them. PSALM XCIV. Venite, exultemus. An invitation to adore and serve God, and to hear his voice. Praise of a canticle for David himself. | COM; let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our Saviour. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanks- giving ; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his. • f § * Rest from the evil days. That thou mayst mitigate the sorrows, to which he is exposed, during the short and evil days of his mortality. Until justice be turned into judgrient, &c. By being put in execu- tion; which will be agreeable to all the upright in heart. * lºoth the seat qf iniquity stick to thee, &c. That is, wilt thou, O God, 46.4 _s=-“Tº . ump-º who art always just, admit of the seat of iniquity; that is, of injustice or unjust judges, to have any partnership with thee 3 Thou who framesi, or makest, labour in commandment, that is, thou who obligest us to labour with all diligence to keep thy commandments. a...E.T-> -* , º - y il Assº" * º PSALMS XCV, XCVI, XCVII, XCVIII. 5 For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us adore and fall down, and weep hefore the Lord that made us. 7 For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. 8 To-day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts: 9 As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works. 10 Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart. ! l And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest. PSALM XCV. Cantate Domino. A 1 eachortation to praise God for the coming of Christ and his kingdom. 1 A canticle for David himself, when the house was built” aſter the captivity. ING ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the A. Y. lº, all the earth. 2 Sing ye to the Lord, and bless his name: show ſorth his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the gentiles; his won- (\ers among all people. 4 For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Praise and beauty are before him; holiness and majesty in his sanctuary. 7 Bring ye to the Lord, O ye kindreds of the gentiles, bring ye to the Lord glory and honour : 8 bring to the fºr. glory unto his name. Bring up sacrifices, and come into his courts: 9 adore ye the Lord in his holy court. Let all the earth be moved at his presence. 10 Say ye among the gentiles: The Lord hath reigned. For he hath correcºrd the world, which shall not be moved : he will judge the people with justice. ll Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad : let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof: 12 the fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful. Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice 13 before the face of the Lord, because he cometh; because he cometh to judge the earth. He shail judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth. PSALM XCVI. Dominus regnavit. All are invited to rejoice at §: glorious coming and reign of - hrist. For the same David, when his land was restored again to him. lſ E Lord hath reigned ; let the earth rejoice: -º- let many islands be glad. 2 Clouds and darknessf are round about him justice and judgment are the establishment ol his throne. 3. A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about. 4 His lightnings have shone forth to the world the earth saw, and trembled. 5 The mountains melted like wax, at the pre- sence of the Lord ; at the presence of the Lord, all the earth. 6 The heavens declared his justice: and all people saw his glory. 7 Let them be all confounded that adore graven things, and that glory in their idols. Adore him, all you his Angels: 8 Sion heard and was glad. And the daughters of Juda rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O Lord. 9. For thou art the most high Lord over all the earth: thou art exalted exceedingly above all gods. 10 You that love the Lord, hate evil: the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints: he will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner. 11 Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart. 12 Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord: and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness. PSAI.M. X (XVII. Cantate Domino All are again invited to praise the Lord, for the victories of Christ. 1 A psalm for David bimself. SING ye to the Lord a new capticle: because he hath done wonderful things, His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy. 2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the gentiles. 3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God. 4 Sing joyfully to God, all the earth make melo- dy, rejoice and sing. 5 Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm : 6 with long trumpets, and sound of cornet, Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king 7 let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. 8 The rivers shall clap their hands, the mºun- tains shall rejoice together 9 at the presence of the Lord ; because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with equity. PSALM XCVIII. Dominus regnavit. The reign of the Lord in Sion ; that is, of Christ in his Church. 1 A psalm for David himself. * When the house was built, &c. Alluding to that time, and then or- dered to be sung : , but principally relating to the building of the church of Christ, after our redemption from the captivity of satan. | # Clouds and darkness. The coming of Christ in the clouds with great terror and majesty to judge the world, is here prophesied 3ºE Yºre 465 PSALMS. HE Lord hath reigned, let the people be angry: * I he that sitteth on the cherubims: let the earth be moved. e Zºº e º 2 The Lord is great in Sion, and high above all people. 3 Let them give praise to thy great name: for it is terrible and holy : 4 and the king's honour loveth judgment.f e - © f hou hast prepared directions:f thou hast done judgment and justice in Jacob. 5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore his ſoot-stool, for it is holy. º º 6 Moses and Aaron among his priests:$ and Yū ºn TYY tº --- ~~ * r * o, Il l n \ ^ ºn T \\ A \_º IT. T. T. Mº i º Tºi i i ij vºj e T - Samuel among them that call u They called upon the Lord, and he heard them: -ſ 7 he spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud. They kept his testimonies, and the command-| ment which he gave them. 8 Thou didst hear them, O Lord our God: thou wast a merciful God to them, and taking vengeance on all their inventions." 9 Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore at his holy mountain: for the Lord our God is holy. PSALM XCIX Jubilate Deo. All are invited to rejoice in God the Creator of all. 1 A psalm of praise. 2 SING joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness. Come in before his presence with exceeding great Oy. J 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God : he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: , and give glory to him. Praise ye his name: 5 for the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to gene- ration and generation. PSALM C. Misericordiam & judicium. The prophet exhorteth all by his example, to follow mercy and justice. 1 A psalm for David himself. MFlº and judgment I will sing to thee, O ,ord : I will sing, 2 and I will understand” in the un- spotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house. Q 3 I did not set before my eyes any unjust thing' I hated the workers of iniquities. 4 The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know. - 5 The man that in private detracted his neigh- bour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatia- ble heart, I would not eat. 6 My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me. 7. He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the . . . . . .4-4- !---- ---. l. -_ - - - - - l. - - 4- - *- ** a v 4 » ºf A. * Y- *L* ºf e Tº ºv ; , , - midst Of iny flouse : iie that speaketh unjust things--| *-*- - - - - - - - - - - - - - did not prosper before my eyes. 8 in the morning I put to deatly all the wicked of the land; that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord. PSALM CI. Domine, exaudi. A prayer for one in affliction : the fifth penitential psatiſt. 1 The prayer of the poor man, when he was anxious and poured out his supplication before the Lord. |2 HEAR, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee. 3 Turn not away thy face from me : in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. * In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily. 4. For my days are vanished like smoke, and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire. - 5 I am smitten as grass, and my heart is wither- ed: because I forgot to eat my bread. 6 Through the voice of my groaniug, my bone |hath cleaved to my flesh. 7 I am become like to a pelicantt of the wilder- ness: I am like a night-raven in the house. 8 I have watched, and am become as a sparrow, all alone on the house-top. 9 All the day long my enemies reproached me and they that praised me did swear against me. 10 For I did eat ashes like bread, and mingleq my drink with weeping. 1 I Because of thy anger and indignation: for having lifted me up thou hast thrown me down. 12 My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass. * Let the people be angry. Though many enemies rage, and the whole earth be stirred up to oppose the reign of Christ, he shall still revai) P | Loreth judgment. Requireth discretion. Directions. Most right and just laws to direct men. |ºllº. his foot-stool. The ark of the covenant was called, in the etº testament, God's foot-stool: over which he was understood to sit, on his propitiatory, or mercy-seat, as on a throne, between the wings of the cherubins, in the sanctuary : to which the children of Israel paid a great veneration. But as this psalm evidently relates to Christ, and the new testament, where the ark has no place, the holy fathers understand this text, of the worship paid by the church to the body and blood of Christ in the sacred mysteries: inasmuch as the humani- tv of Christ is as it were, the ſoot stool of the divinity. So St. Am- brose, L. 3. de Spiritu Sancto c. 12' and St. Augustine upon this .psalm. $ JMoses and Aaron among his priests. By this it is evident, that Mo- ses also was a priest, and indeed the chief priest, inasmuch as he con secrated Aaron, an offered sacrifice for him. Leviticus viii. So that his pre-eminence over Aaron makes nothing for lay-church headship T.All their intentions. That is, all the enterprises of their enemies against them, as in the case of Core, Dathan and Abiron. ** I will understand, &c., That is, I will apply my mind, I will do my endeavour, to know and to follow the perfect way of thy command- ments : not trusting to my own strength, but relying cn thy coming to me by thy grace. # Jipelican, &c. I am become, through grief, like birds tha' aſſº solitude and darkness. _º_T--~~ 466 PSALMS CII, CIII 13 But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever; and thy memorial to all generations. 14 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy on Sion : for it is time to have mercy on it; for the time is UOIIl C - 15 For the stones thereof have pleased thy ser- vauts: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof. 16 And the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, sad all the kings of the earth thy glory. 17 For the Lord hath built up Sion : and he shall be seen in his glory. 18 He hath had regard to the prayer of the hum- ble: and he hath not despised their petition. 19 Let these things be written unto another gene- ration: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord : 20 Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth: 21 That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters: that he might release the children of the slain : 22 That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem. 23 When the people assembled together, and kings to serve the Lord, 24. He answered him in the way of his strength ;” Declare unto me the fewness of my days. 25 Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation. 26 In the beginning, O Lord, thou foundedst the earth : and the heavens are the works of thy hands. 27 They shall perish, but thou remainest : and all of them shall grow old like a garment : And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed. 28 But thou art always the self- same, and thy years shall not fail. 29. The children of thy servants shall continue : and their seed shall be directed for ever. PSALM CII. Benedic, anima. Thanksgiving to God for his mercies. - 1 For David himself. * Bº. the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is - within me bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all he hath done for thee. 3 Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases: ..] Who redeemeth thy life from destruction : who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion : 5 Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord doeth mercies and judgment for all filat suffer wrong. 7 He hath made his ways known to Moses; his wills to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful: lous suffering and plenteous in mercy. He will not always be angry: nor will he threaten for ever. 10 He hath not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For according to the height of the heaven above the earth; he hath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us. 13 As a father hath compassion on his children. so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him 14 for he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust: 15 man’s days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish. 16 For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be : and he shall know his place no more. 17 But the mercy of the Lord is from etermity and unto etermity upon then that fear him : And his justice unto children's children, 18 to such as keep his covenant, And are mindful of his commandments to do them. 19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven and his kingdom shall rule over all. 20 Bless the Lord, all ye his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearken- ing to the voice of his orders. 21 Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts: you ministers of his that do his will. 22 Bless the Lord, all his works: in every place of his dominion, O my soul, bless thou the Lord. PSALM CHI I. Benedic, anima. God is to be praised for his mighty works, and wonderful provi dence. 1 Fer David himself. LESS the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God. thou art exceedingly great. Thou hast put on praise and beauty : 2 and art clothed with light as with a garment. Who stretchest out, the heaven like a pavilion : 3 who coverest the higher rooms thereof with water Who makest the clouds thy chariot : who walk- est upon the wings of the winds. 4 Who makest thy Angels spirits; and thy minis- ters a burning fire: 5 Who hast founded the earth upon its own bases it shall not be moved for ever and ever. - 6 The deep like a garment is its clothing: above the mountains shall the waters stand. 7 At thy rebuke they shall flee : at the voice of |thy thunder they shall fear. 8 The mountains ascend, and the plains descend into the place which thou hast ſounded for them. 9 Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass over: neither shall they return to cover the earth. * He answered him in the way of his strength. That is, the people men- tioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this psalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength; that is, accord- ing to the best of his power and strength; or when he was in the flower of his age and strength ; inquiring after the fewness of his days, to know if he should live long enough to see the happy restoration of Sion, &c. 30 467 PSALMS 10 Thou sendest ſoºtn springs in the vales: be- ween the midst of the hills the waters shº!! pass. II All the beasts of the field shall drink: the wild asses shall expect in their thirst. 12 Over them the birds of the air shall dwell: from the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices. 13 Thou waterest the hills from thy upper rooms: the earth shall be filled with the fruit of thy works: 14 Bringing forth grass for cattle, and herb for the ervice of men. That thou mayst bring bread out of the earth: 15 and that wine may cheer the heart of man. That he may make the face cheerful with oil; and that bread may strengthen man's heart. 16 The trees of the field shall be filled, and the cedars of Libanus which he hath planted: 17 there the sparrows shall make their nests. The highest of them is the house of the heron. 18 The high hills are a refuge for the harts, the rock for the irchins. 19 He hath made the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. 20 Thou hast appointed darkness, and it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about. 21 The young lions roaring after their prey, and seeking their meat from God. 22 The sun ariseth, and they are gathered toge- ther: and they shall lie down in their dens. 23 Man shall go forth to his work, and to his la- bour until the evening. 24 How great are thy works, O Lord! thou hast made all things in wisdom the earth is filled with thy riches. 25 So is this great sea, whicn stretcnetn wide its arms: there are creeping things without number; Creatures little and great. 26 There the ships shall go. - This sea-dragon which thou hast formed to play therein. 27 All expect of thee that thou give them food in season. 28 What thou givest to them they shall gather up: when thou openest thy hand, they shall all be filled with good. 29 But if thou turnest away thy face, they shall be troubled; thou shalt take away their breath, and they shall ſail, and shall return to their dust. 30 Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created: and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; ..he Lord shall rejoice in his works. 32 He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble: he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke. 33 l will sing to the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 3) Let my speech be acceptable to him: but I will take delight in the Lord. 35 let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and the unjust, so that they be no more: O my soul, bless thou the Lord. PSALM CIV Confitemini Domino. A thanksgiving to God for his benefits to his people Israel. Alleluia. G.I.Y. glory to the Lord, and call upon his name; declare his deeds among the gentiles. 2 Sing to him, yea sing praises to him: relate all his wondrous works. 3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord. - 4 Seek ye the Lord, and be strengthened: seek his face evermore. 5 Remember his marvellous works which he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth. 6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant; ye sons of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. - 8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever: the word which he commanded to a thousand generations: | 9 Which he made to Abraham ; and his oath to Sºlà (“. 10 And he appointed the same to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting testament: l I Saying: To thee will I give the land of Cha- maan, the lot of your inheritance. 12 When they were but a small number, yea very few and sojourners therein : 13 And they passed from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people. 14. He suffered no man to hurt them : and he re- proved kings for their sakes. 15 Touch ye not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets. 16 And he called a famine upon the land: and he broke in pieces all the support of bread. 17. He sent a man before them; Joseph, who was sold for a slave. - 18 They humbled his feet in ſetters: the iron pierced his soul, 19 until his word came. . The word of the Lord inflamed him. 20 The king sent, and he released him ; the ruler of the people, and he set him at liberty. 21 He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possession. 22 That he might instruct his princes as himself, and teach his ancients wisdom. - 23 And Israel went into Egypt; and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Cham. 24 And he increased his people exceedingly; and strengthened them over their enemies. 25 He turned their heart”, to hate his people; and to deal deceitfully with his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant; Aaron the mail whom he had chosen. - 27 He gave them power to show his signs, and his wonders in the land of Cham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it obscure : and grieved not his words.f * }le turned their heart, &c. Not that God (who is never the author of sun) inoved the Egyptians to hate and persecute his people ; but that the Fgyptians tºok occasion of hating and envying theim, from the sight of the benefits which ( , od bestowed upon them. t Grieved not his words : That is, he was not wanting to fulfil his words: or he did not grieve his words, that is, his sons, the children ol *: who enjoyed light whilst the Egyptians were oppressed with ai’kſleSS, 468 PSALM. C.W. 29 He turned their waters into blood, and de- stroyed their fism. e 30 Their land brought forth frogs, in the inner chambers of their kings. gº . e 31 He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies, and cinifes” in all their coasts. e 32 He gave them hail for rain, a burning fire in their land. 33 And he destroyed their vineyards and their fig- trees: and he broke in pieces the trees of their coasts. 34. He spoke, and the locust came, and the bru- chus,f of which there was no number. ſº 35 And they devoured all the grass in their land, and consumed all the fruit of their ground. 36 And he slew all the first born in their land ; the first fruits of all their labour. 37 And he brought them out with silver and gold : and there was not among their tribes one that was feeble. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed : for the fear of them lay upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for their protection, and fire to give them light in the night. 40 They asked, and the quail came : and he fill- ed them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and waters flowed: ri- vers ran down in the dry land. 42 Because he remembered his holy word, which he had spoken to his servant Abraham. 43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness. 44 And he gave them the lands of the gentiles: and they possessed the labours of the people : 45 That they might observe his justifications,f and seek after his law. PSALM CV. Confitemini Domino. A confession of the manifold sins and ingratitudes of the Israelites. Alleluia. IVE glory to the Lord, for he is good : for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Who shall declare the powers of the Lord P who shall set forth all his praises f 3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all times. - •º 4 Remember us, O Lord, in the favour of thy people: visit us with thy salvation. 5. That we may see the good of thy chosen, that we may rejoice in the joy of thy nation : that thou tnayst be praised with thy inheritance. 6 We have sinned with our fathers: we have atted unjustly : we have wrought iniquity. - 7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt: they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies. And they provoked to wrath going up to the sea even the ...]" Séa. - 8 And he saved them for his own naine's sake that he might make his power known. 9 And he rebuked the Red sea, and it was dried up; and he led them through the depths as in a wilderness. 10 And he saved them from the hand of them that hated them : and he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. ll And the water covered them that afflicted them : there was not one of them left. 12 And they believed his words: and they sang his praises. 13 They had quickly done: they forgot his works: and they waited not for his counsel. 14 And they coveted their desire in the desert: and they tempted God in the place without water. 15. And he gave them their request: and sent ful- ness into their souts. 16 And they provoked Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord. - 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan: and covered the congregation of Abiron. 18 And a fire was kindled in their congregation: the flame burned the wicked. 19 They made also a calf in Horeb : and they adored the graven thing. 20 And they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass. 21 They forgot God, who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, 22 wondrous works in the laud of Cham: terrible things in the Red sea. 23 And he said that he would destroy them ; had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach To turn away his wrath lest he should destroy . 24 And they set at nought the desirable &l Il Cl. - They believed not his word : 25 and they mur- mured in their tents: they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. 26 And he liſted up his hand over them, to over- throw them in the desert: 27 And to cast down their seed among the na tions, and to scatter them in the countries. 28 They also were initiated] to Beelphegor; an- ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29 And they provoked him with their inventions and destruction was multiplied among them. 30 Then Phinees stood up, and pacified him and the slaughter ceased. 31 And it was reputed to him unto justice, to generation and generation for evermore. 32 They provoked him also at the waters of con tradiction: and Moses was afflicted for their sakes 33 because they exasperated his spirit. And he distinguished with his lips. 34. They * Cinifes See the annotation, Exod. viii. 16. Bruchus, an insect of the locust kind. | His justifications. That is, his commandments; which here and in many other places of the scripture, are called justifications, because the keeping of them makes man just. The Protestants render it by the word statutes, in favour of their doctrine, which does not allow good works to justify | Initiated. That is, they dedicated, or consecrated themselves to the idol of the Moabites and Madianites, called Beelphegor, or Baal Peor. JWumb. xxv. 3. Ibid. The dead, viz. idols without life. • He distinguished with his lips. Moses, b v occasion of the people's rebellion and incredulity, was guilty of discinguishing with his lips. when, instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded, he said 469 §|| $4 PSAILMS. did not destroy the nations of which the Lord spoke untº them. 35 And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works; 36 and served their idols: and it became a stumbling block to them . 37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daugh- ters to devils. - 38 And they shed innocent blood ; the blood of their sons and of their daughters which they sacri- ficed to the idols of Chamaan. And the land was polluted with blood, 39 and was defiled with their works: and they went aside after their own inventions. 40 And the Lord was exceedingly angry with his people: and he abhorred his inheritance. 41 And he delivered them into the hands of the nations: and they that hated them had dominion over them. 42 And their enemies afflicted them: and they were humbled under their hands: 43 many times did he deliver them. But they provoked him with their counsel; and they were brought low by their iniquities. 44 And he saw when they were in tribulation : and he heard their prayer. 45 And he was mindful of his covenant; and re- pented according to the multitude of his mercies. 46 And he gave them unto mercies, in the sight of all those that had made them captives. 47 Save us, O Lord, our God: and gather us from among the nations: That we may give thanks to thy holy name, and may glory in thy praise. 8 Blessed be the Lord the God of lsrael from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say: So be it, so be it. PSAI.M CVI. Confitemini Domino. dil are invited to give thanks to God for his perpetual provi- dence over men. Alleluia. IVE glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Let them say so that have been redeemed by he Lord, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the countries, 3 From the rising and from the setting of the sun, from the north and from the sea. 4 They wandered in a wilderness, in a place without water: they found not the way of a city for their habitation. - 5 They were hungry and thirsty: their soul faint- ed in them. 6 And they cried to the Lord in their tribulation: and he delivered them out of their distresses. 7. And he led them into the right way, that they i:light go to a city of habitation. 8 Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him; and his wonderful works to the children of men. * - to the people, with a certain hesitation in his faith, Hear, ye rebel.ious ** increduous : Cun we from this rock bring out water for you ? Nunb. a v. O 47() --> <- -- ~~~ * 9 For he hath satisfied the empty soul; and har filled the hungry soul with good things. 10 Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in want and in iron. 11 Because they had exasperated the words of God; and provoked the counsel of the Most High. 12 And their heart was humbled with labours: they were weakened, and there was lione to help them. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction and he delivered them out of their distresses. 14 And he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder. 15 Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him. and his wonderful works to the children of men. 16 Because he hath broken gates of brass, and burst iron bars. 17 He took them out of the way of their iniquity. for they were brought low for their injustices. 18 Their soul abhorred all manner of meat: and they drew nigh even to the gates of death. 19 And they cried to the Lord in their affliction. and he delivered them out of their distresses. 20 He sent his word, and healed them : and de- livered them from their destructions. 21 Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men. 22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise and declare his works with joy. 23 They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters: 24. These have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. 25 He said the word, and there arose a storm of wind : and the waves thereof were lifted up. 26 They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the depths: their soul pined away with evils. 27 They were troubled, and reeled like a drunk. en man : and all their wisdom was swallowed up. 28 And they cried to the Lord in their affliction and he brought them out of their distresses. 29 And he turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still. - 30 And they rejoiced because they were still: and he brought them to the haven which they wished for. 31. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men. 32 And let them exalt him in the church of the people: and praise him in the chair of the ancients. 33 lie hath turned rivers into a wilderness, and the sources of waters into dry ground: 34. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wick edness of them that dwell therein. 35 He hath turned a wilderness into pools of wa- ters, and a dry land into water springs. 36 And hath placed there the hungry: and they made a city for their habitation. - 37And they sowed fields, and planted vine-yards: and they yielded fruit of birth. - 38 And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly: and their cattle he suffered not to de (. 1" (2:\S62. 39 Then they were brought to be few: and they gr---— º_- % PSALMS CV II, CVl ll. were afflicted through the trouble of evils and sorrow. 10 Contempt was poured forth upon their princes: and he . them to wander where there was no passing, and out of the way. 41 And he helped the poor out of poverty; and made him families like a flock of sheep. 42 The just shall see, and shall rejoice : and all miquity shall stop her mouth. 43 Who is wise, and will keep these things, and will understand the mercies of the Lord P ſ’SALM CWII. l'aratum cor meum. The prophet praiseth God for benefits received. | A canticle of a psalm for David himself. 2 Y heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and will give praise, with my glory. 3 Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp : 1 will arise in the morning early. 4 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people : and I will sing unto thee among the nations. 5 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth even unto the clouds. 6 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory over all the earth: 7 that thy beloved may be delivered. Šº: with thy right hand, and hear me. 8 God hath spoken in his holiness : I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem: and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles. 9 Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine : and Ephraim the protection of my head. Juda is my king : 10 Moab the pot of my hope. Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe : the aliens are become my friends. 1 | Who will bring me into the strong city P who will lead me into Edom P 12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our armies? 13 O grant us help from trouble : for vain is the help of man. 14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he will bring our enemies to nothing. PSALM CVIII. Deus laudem mean. David in the person of Christ| against his persecutors : more especially the traitor Judas : foretelling and approving his just punishment for his obstinacy in sin, and final impeni- tence. 2 O GOD, be not thou silent in my praise : for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me. 3 They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they have compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against me with- Ollt CauSe. * Set thou the sinner over him, &c. Give to the devil, that arch-sin- ner, power over him : let him enter into him, and possess him. The inprecations, contained in the thirty verses of this psalm, are opposed * \ - 1 - ( to the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed our Lord; and are te be taken as prophetic denunciations of the evils that should be- I Unto the end, a psalm for David. 4 instead of making me a return of love, they (le tracted me: but I gave myself to prayer. 5 And they repaid me evil for good, anºl hatred for my love. 6 Set thou the sinner over him :* and may the devil stand at his right hand. 7. When he isjudged, may he go out condemned and may his prayer be turned to sin. 8 May his days be few : and his bishopric let an: other take. 9 May his children be latnerless, and his wife a widow. 10 Let his children be carried about vagabonds, and beg : and let them be cast out of their dwellings. 11 May the usurer search all his substance: and let strangers plunder his labours. 12 May there be none to help him ; nor none to pity his fatherless offspring. 13 May his posterity be cut off; in one genera- tion may his name be blotted out. 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remember- ed in the sight of the Lord : and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. 15 May they be before the Lord continually, and let the memory of them perish from the earth : 16 because he remembered not to show mercy : 17. But persecuted the poor man and the beggar, and the broken in heart to put him to death. 18 And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him : and he would not have blessing, and it shall be far from him. And he put on cursing like a garment: and it went in like water into his entrails, and like oil in his bones. 19 May it be unto him like a garment which co. vereth him; and like a girdle with which he is gird- ed continually. 20 This is the work of them who detract me be- fore the Lord, and who speak evils against my soul. 21 But thou, O Lord, do with me for thy name's sake : because thy mercy is sweet. Do thou deliver me, 22 for I am poor and needy, and my heart is troubled within me. 23 I am taken away like the shadow when it de- climeth; and I am shaken off as locusts. 24 My knees are weakened through fasting: and my flesh is changed for oil.f . 25 And I am become a reproach to them : they saw me, and they shaked their heads. te 26 Help me, O Lord my God: save me accord- ing to thy mercy. 27. And let them know that this is thy hand; and that thou, O Lord, hast done it. * 28 They will curse, and thou wilt bless: let the in that rise up against me be confounded : but thy ser vant shall rejoice. 29 Let them that detract me be clothed with shame : and let them be covered with their conſu- sion as with a double cloak. fall the traitor and his accomplices the Jews; and not properly *A[. CU rS6S. # For oil, propter oleum. The meaning is, my flesh is changed, being perfectly emaciated and dried up, as having lost all its oil ºr fatness 47A PSA LMS. 30 I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth ; and in the midst of many I will praise him. 31 Because he hath stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from persecutors. PSA LM CIX Dixit Dominus. Christ’s exaltation, and everlasting priesthood. 1 A psalm of David. ſ W | lºrd said to my Lord : Sit thou at my right lºl Il (1 . Until I make thy enemies thy footstool. 2 The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy © || Cll 16°S. 3 With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength ; in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day-star I begot thee. 4 The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent : Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech. 5 The Lord at thy right hand hath broken kings in the day of his wrath. 6 He shall judge among nations; he shall fill ruins ; he shall crush the heads in the land of many. 7 He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. PSALM CX. Confitebor tibi, Domine. God is to be praised for his graces, and benefits to his church. e Alleluia. I WILL praise thee, O Lord, with my whole * heart; in the council of the just, and in the con- gregation. 2 Great are the works of the Lord; sought out according to all his wills. . 3. His work is praise and magnificence: and his justice continueth for ever and ever. 4. He hath made a remembrance of his wonder- ful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: 5 he hath given food to them that fear him. He will be mindful for ever of his covenant: 6 he will show forth to his people the power of his works: 7 That he may give them the inheritance of the gentiles: the works of his hands are truth and judg- (11611t. 8 All his commandments are faithful : confirmed fºr ever and ever, made in truth and equity. 9 He hath sent redemption to his people : he hath commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and terrible is his name: 10 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding to all that do it: his praise continueth for ever and ever. PSALM CXI. Beatus vir. The good man is happy. All luia, of the returning” of Aggeus and Zacharias. l, ESSEI) is the man that feareth the Lord : he shall delight exceedingly in his command- [I] ell (S 2 His sced shall be mighty upon earth : the gene ration of the righteous shall be blessed. 3 Glory and wealth shall be in his house: and his justice remaineth for ever and ever 4. To the righteous a light is risen up in dark- ness : he is merciful, and compassionate and just. 5 Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth : he shall order his words with judgment 6 because he shall not be moved for ever. 7. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not fear the evil hearing. - His heart is ready to hope in the Lord : 8 his heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies. 9 He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor : his justice remaineth for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory. 10 The wicked shall see, and shall be angry. he shall gnash with his teeth, and pine away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. PSALM CXII. Laudate, pueri. God is to be praised, for his regard to the poor and humble Alleluia. RAISE the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, from hence- forth now and for ever. 3. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy ol praise. 4 The Lord is high above all nations: and his glory above the heavens. 5. Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, 6 and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth P 7 Raising up the needy from the earth, and lift- ing up the poor out of the dunghill: - 8 %. he may place him with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children. PSALM CXIII In exitu Israel. * God hath shown his power in delivering his people. idols are vain. The Hebrews divide this into two Psalms. Alleluia. W HEN Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people: 2 Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his do- minion. 3 The sea saw, and fled: Jordan was turned back 4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock. 5 What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou didst flee; and thou, O.Jordan, that thou wast turned back * 6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams. and ye hills, like lambs of the flock : 7 At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob: RS - - - - - - r - —t - T - Y - - - - - - - * Of the returning, &c. This is in the Greek and Latin, but not in the Hebrew: it signifies that this psalm was proper to be sung at the tiune of the return of the people from their captivity; to inculcate to 472 22–27 - --------> * -----, * ~ : - ===<=== <> Yº- them, how happy they might be, if they would be constant in the ser vice of God wº PSALMS CXIV, CXV, CXVI, CXVI 1. 8 Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hill into fountains of water. I Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory. 2 For thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake: lest the gentiles should say: Where is their God? 3. But our God is in heaven: he hath done all things whatsoever he would. 4. The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. 5 'They have mouths, and speak not: they have eyes, and see not : 6 They have ears, and hear not: they have noses, and smell not: 7 They have hands, and feel not: they have feet, and walk not; neither shall they cry out through their throat. 8 Let them that make them become like unto them, and all such as trust in them. 9 The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector. 10 The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector. 11 They that ſear the Lord have hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector. 12 The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us. He hath blessed the house of Israel: he hath blessed the house of Aaron. e 13 He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great. • 14 May the Lord add blessings upon you; upon wou, and upon your children. 15 Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven of heaven is the Lord's: but the earth he hath given to the children of men. 17 The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord ; nor any of them that go down to hell. e 18 But we that live bless the Lord, from this time now and for ever. PSALM CXIV. Dilexi The prayer of a just man in affliction, with a lively confidence in God. Alleluia. HAVE loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer. 2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him. 3 The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me. I met with trouble and sorrow: 4 and I called upon ine name of the Lord. --- O Lord, deliver my soul. 5 The Lord is mer- ciful and just, and our God showeth mercy. 6 The Lord is the keeper of little ones: numbled, and he delivered me. 7 Turii, O my soul, into thy rest: for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. . 8 For he hath delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears; my feet from falling. 9 I will please the Lord in the land of the living I was PSALM CXV. Credidi. This in the Hebrew is joined with the foregoing Psahn, and con- tinues to eacpress the faith and gratitude of the Psalmist. Alleluia. 10 T HAVE believed, therefore have I spoke.) . but I have been humbled exceedingly. ll I said in my excess: Every man is a liar. 12 What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that he hath rendered to me? 13 l will take the chalice of salvation: and l will call upon the name of the Lord. 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord, before all his people: 15 precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy ser vant, and the son of thy handmaid. Thou hast broken my bonds : 17 l will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people : 19 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. PSALM CXVI. Laudate Dominum. All nations are called upon to praise God for his mercy and fruth. Alleluia. PRAISE the Lord, all ye nations: praise him all ye people. 2 For his mercy is confirmed upon us" and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. PSALM CXVII. ſº Confitemini Domino. The psalmist praiseth God for his delivery from evils; putteth his whole trust in him; and foretelletk the coming of Christ. Alleluia. IVE praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, that he is good; that his mercy endureth for ever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercv endureth for ever. 4 Let them that fear the Lord now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 5 In my trouble I called upon the Lord: and the Lord heard me, and enlarged me. 6 The Lord is my helper: I will not fear what man can do unto me. 7 The Lord is my helper' and I will look over my enemies. - 8 It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man. 9 It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes. - 10 All nations compassed me about: and in the name of the Lord I have been revenged on them. 11 Surrounding me, they compassed me about and in the name of the Lord I have been revenged on them. .12 They surrounded me like bees, and they burn ed like fire among thorns: and in the name of the Lord I was revenged on them. ge 473 PSA LMS. 13 Being pushed, I was overturned that I might fall: but the }. supported me. 14. The Lord is my strength and my praise: and he is become iſly salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just. '6 The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength: the right hand of the Lord hath exalted m2: the right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength. 17 J shall not die, but live: and shall declare the w Yrks of the Lord. 18 The Lord chastising hath chastised me: but he hath not delivered me over to death. 19 Open ye to me the gates of justice: I will go in to them, and give praise to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it. 21 f". give glory to thee, because thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected; the same is become uhe head of the corner. 23 This is the Lord’s doing: and it is wonderful in our eyes. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made : let us be glad, and rejoice therein. 25 O Lord, save me: O Lord, give good success. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he hath shone upon us. Appoint a solemn day, with shady boughs, even to the horn of the altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, and I will exalt thee. I will praise thee, because thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 29 O praise ye the Lord, for he is good: for his umercy endureth for ever. PSALM CXVIII. Beati immaculati. t ºf the excellence of virtue consisting in the love and observance of the commandments of God. lleluia. ALEPH.* LESSED are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that search his testimonies;f that seek him with their whole heart. 3 For they that work iniquity, have not walked in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded thy commandments to be kept most diligently. 5. O' that my ways may be directed to keep thy ºustifications. 6 Then shall I not be confounded, when I shall look into all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned the Judgments of thy Justice. & 8 I will keep thy justifications: O ! do not thou utterly forsake me. - HETH. 9. By what doth a young man correct his way f by observing thy words. 10 With my whole heart have I sought after thee: let me not stray from thy commandments. 11 Thy words have I hidden in my heart, that . may not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O Lord : teach me thy jus- tifications. 13 With my lips I have pronounced all the judg- ments of thy month. 14 I have been delightcd in the way of thy testi monies, as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on thy commandments: and I will consider thy ways. 16 I will think of thy justifications: I will not forget thy words. G|MEL. 17. Give bountifully to thy servant; enliven me, and I shall keep thy words. 18 Open thou my eyes : and l will consider the wondrous things of thy law. ſº 19 I am a sojourner on the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. 20 My soul hath coveted to long for thy Justifica. tions, at all times. 21 Thou hast rebuked the proud: they are cursed who decline from thy commandments. 22 Remove from me reproach and contempt. because I have sought after thy testimonies. 23 For princes sat, and spoke against me: but thy servant was employed in thy justifications. 24 For thy testimonies are my meditation: and thy justifications my counsel. DALETH. 25 Mysoul hath cleaved to the pavement: quicken thou me according to thy word. 26 I have declared my ways, and thou hast heard me: teach me thy justifications. 27 Make me to understand the way of thy justi- fications: and I shall be exercised in thy wondrous works. - 28 My soul hath slumbered through heaviness strengthen thou me in thy words. 29 Remove from me the way of iniquity: and out of thy law have mercy on me. 30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy Judg ments I have not forgotten. 31 I have stuck to thy testimonies, O Lord : put me not to shame. 32 I have run the way of thy Commandments when thou didst enlarge my heart. . with what humility, and submission to the Church they are tº be read. # His testimonies. The commandments of God are called his testis-e- nies, because they testify his holy will unto us. Note here, that in ºl most every verse of this psalin (which in number are 176) the word a 14 law of God, and the love and observance of it, is perpetually incult a ted, under a variety of denominations, all signifying the same thing £z- * ALEPH. The first eight verses of this psalm in the original be- gin with ALEPH, which is the name of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The second eight verses begin with BETH, the name of the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet: and so to the end of the whole alphabet, in all twenty-two letters, each letter having eight verses. This order is variously expounded by the holy fathers; which shows the diſficulty of understanding the holy scriptures, and conse- º 474 PSA LM CXV || 1. HE. 33 Set before me for a law the way of thy justifi- rations, O Lord : and I will always seek after it. 34 Give me understanding, and I will search thy law ; and I will keep it with my whole heart. 35 Lead me into the path of thy commandments; for this same I have desired. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to COVétCUSIles.S. 37 Turn away my eyes that they may not be- hold vanity: quicken me in thy way. 38 Establish thy word to thy servant, in thy fear. 39 Turn away my reproach, which I have ap- prehended: for thy judgments are delightful. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy justice. VA U. 41 Let thy mercy also come upon me, O Lord ; thy salvation according to thy word. 42 So shall I answer them that reproach me in any thing; that I have trusted in thy words. 43 And take not thou the word of truth utterly out of my mouth : for in thy words I have hoped exceedingly. 44. So shall I always keep thy law, for ever and ever. 45 And I walked at large, because I have sought after thy commandments. - 46 And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings; and I was not ashamed. 47 I meditated also on thy commandments, which I lovcd. 48 And I lifted up my hands to thy command- ments, which I loved: and I was exercised in thy iustification. ZAIN. 49 Be thou mindful of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope. 50 This hath comforted me in my humiliation : because thy word hath enlivened me. 51 The proud did iniquitously altogether: but I declined not from thy law. 52 I remembered, O Lord, thy judgments of old : and I was comforted. 53 A fainting hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law. 54, Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage. 55 In the night I have remembered thy name, O Lord ; and have kept thy law. 56 This happened to me, because I sought after hy justifications. HETH. 57 O Lord, my portion, I have said, I would keep (hy law. 58 I entreated thy face with all my heart: have mercy on me according to thy word. 59 I have thought on my ways ; and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60 I am ready, and am not troubled ; that I may keep thy commandments. 61 The cords of the wicked have encompassed ine : but I have not forgotten thy law. 62 I rose at midnight to give praise to thee, for the judgments of thy justification. 3 I am a partaker with all them that fear thee, and that keep thy commandments. 64. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy : teach me thy justifications. - TETH. 65 Thou hast done well with thy servant, O I,ord, according to thy word. - 66 Teach me goodness and discipline and know- ledge ; for I have believed thy commandments. 67. Before I was humbled, I offended ; therefore have I kept thy word. 68 Thou art good; and in thy goodness teach me thy justifications. 69 The iniquity of the proud hath been multipli- ed over me : but I will seek thy commandments with my whole heart. 70 Their heart is curdled like milk : but I have meditated on thy law. 71. It is good for me that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy justifications. 72 The law of thy mouth is good to me, above thousands of gold and silver. OD. 73 Thy hands have made me and formed me: give me understanding, and I will learn thy com- mandments. 74. They that fear thee shall see me, and shall be glad ; because I have greatly hoped in thy words. 75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments art equity: and in thy truth thou hast humbled me. 76 O ! let thy mercy be for my comfort, accord ing to thy word unto thy servant. 77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, and I shall live : for thy law is my meditation. 78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they have done unjustly towards me: but I will be employed in thy commandments. 79 Let them that fear thee, turn to me, and they that know thy testimonies. 80 Let my heart be undefiled in thy justifications, that I may not be confounded. CAPH. 81 My soul hath fainted after thy salvation: and in thy word I have very much hoped. 82 My eyes have failed for thy word, saying. When wilt thou comfort me P 83 For I am become like a bottle in the frost I have not forgotten thy justifications. 84 How many are the days of thy servant: when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? 85 The wicked have told me fables, but not as thy law. 86 All thy statutes are truth: they have perse- cuted me unjustly : do thou help me. 87 They had almost made an end of me upon earth : but I have not forsaken thy commandments. 88 Quicken thou me according to thy mercy : and I shall keep the testimonies of thy mouth. LAM ED. 89 For ever, O Lord, thy word standeth firm in heaven. 475 PSALMS. 90 Thy truth unto all generations: thou hast ſounded the earth, and it continueth. 91 By thy ordinance the day goeth on : for all things serve thee. 92 Unless thy law had been my meditation, I had then perhaps perished in my abjection. 93. Thy justifications I will never forget; for by hºm thou hast given me life. 9) I am thine, save thou me : for I have sought ſhy justifications. 95 The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me /but I have understood thy testimonies. 96 I have seen an end of all perfection: thy com- mandment is exceeding broad. HEM. 97 O how have I loved thy law, O Lord! it is my meditation all the day. 98 Through thy commandment, thou hast made me wiser than my enemies : for it is ever with me. 99 I have understood more than all my teachers ; because thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I have had understanding above ancients; because I have sought thy commandments. 101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way ; that I may keep thy words. 102 I have not declined from thy judgments; be- cause thou hast set me a law. 103 How sweet are thy words to my palate more than honey to my mouth. 104. By thy commandments I have had under- standing: therefore have I hated every way of iniquity. 105 Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. 106 I have sworn, and am determined to keep the indgments of thy justice. 107 I have been humbled, O Lord, exceeding- ly : quicken thou me according to thy word. 108 The free offerings of my mouth make ac- ceptable, O Lord : and teach me thy judgments. 109 My soul is continually in my hands : and I have not forgotten thy law. 1 10 Sinners have hi a snare for me: but I have not erred from thy precepts. Ill I have purchased thy testimonies for an in- ºute for ever ; because they are the joy of my 10%lrt. l 12 I have inclined my heart to do thy justifica- tious for ever, for the reward. SAMECH. | 113 I have hated the unjust; and have loved thy & WV. - 114 Thou art my helper and my protector: and in thy word I have greatly hoped. - - | 15 Depart from me, ye malignant: and I will search the commandments of my God. . 16 Uphold me according to thy word, and I shall live : and let me not be confounded in my expectation. 117 Help me and I shall be saved: and I will || meditate always on thy justifications. l 18 Thou hast despised all them that fall off from thy judgments : for their thought is unjust. _z=Tºs-e- Lº ~ 20TBs 119 I have accounted all the sinners of the earth prevaricators: therefore have I loved thy testimonies. 120 Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear: for I ain afraid of thy judgments. Ail 121 I have done judgment and justice: give uſe not up to them that slander me. 122 Uphold thy servant unto good : let not the proud calumniate me. 123 My eyes have fainted after thy salvation, and for the word of thy justice. 124 Deal with thy servant according to thy mer. cy: and teach me thy justifications. 125 I am thy servant : give me understanding that I may know thy testimonies. 126 It is time O Lord, to do: they have dissi- pated thy law. 127 Therefore have I loved thy commandments above gold and the topaz. 128. Therefore was I directed to all thy command- ments: I have hated all wicked ways. PH E. 129 Thy testimonies are wonderful : therefore my soul hath sought them. 130 The declaration of thy words giveth light: and giveth understanding to little ones. 131 I opened my mouth, and panted : because | longed for thy commandments. 132 Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of them that love thy l] &ll]] (*. 133 Direct my steps according to thy word: and let no iniquity have dominion over me. 134 Redeem me from the calumnies of men: that I may keep thy commandments. 135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant and teach me thy justifications. 136 My eyes have sent forth springs of wate- because they have not kept thy law. SADE. 137 Thou art just, O Lord : and thy judgment is right. 138 Thou hast commanded justice thy testimo- nies, and thy truth exceedingly. 139 My zeal hath made me pine away; because my enemies forgot thy words. 140 Thy word is exceedingly refined ; and thy servant hath loved it. 14] I am very young and despised ; but I forgot not thy justifications. 142 Thy justice is justice for ever: and thy law is the truth. wº 143 Trouble and anguish have found me thy commandments are my meditation. 14.4 Thy testimonies are justice for ever me understanding, and I shall live. - COPH. 145 I cried with Lord : I will seek thy justifications. 146 cried unto thee, save me: that I may keep thy commandments. 147 I prevented the dawning of the day, and tri. ed: because in thy words I very much hoped give ( & * & .sº my whole heart, hear me, () J.76 PSAI.MS CXIX, CXX, CXXl. 148 My eyes to thee have prevented the morning: that I might meditate on thy words. 149 Hear thou my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy, and quicken me according to thy judg- ment. 150 They that persecute me have drawn nigh to iniquity ; but they are gone far off from thy law 151 Thou art near, O Lord : and all thy ways' are trutſl. tº tº 152 I have known from the beginning concern- ing thy testimonies; that thou hast founded them for ever. - RES. 153 See my humiliation, and deliver me : for I have not forgotten thy law. 154. Judge my judgment and redeem me: quick- n thou me for thy word’s sake. 155 Salvation is far from sinners; because they have not sought thy justifications. 156 Many, O Lord, are thy mercies: quicken me according to thy judgment. 157 Many are they that persecute me, and afflict me ; but I have not declined from thy testimonies. 158 I beheld the transgressors, and I pined away; because they kept not thy word. 159 Behold, I have loved thy commandments, O Lord : quicken me thou in thy mercy. 160 The beginning of thy words is truth: all the judgments of thy jšº are for ever. S - 161 Princes have persecuted me without cause: and my heart hath been in awe of thy words. 162 I will rejoice at thy words, as one that hath found great spoil. 163 l have hated and abhorred iniquity: but I have loved thy law. 164 Seven times a day I have given praise to thee, for the judgments of thy justice. 165 Much peace have they that love thy law : and to them there is no stumbling-block. 166 I looked for thy salvation, O Lord: and I 'oved thy commandments. - 167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies, and hath loved them exceedingly. 168 I have kept thy commandments and thy tes- timonies; because all ºMºs are in thy sight. 169 Let my supplication, O Lord, come near in thy sight; give me understanding according to thy word. 170 Let my request come in before thee: deliver thou me according to thy word. 171 My lips shall utter a hymn, when thou shalt 'each me thy justifications. 172 My tongue shall pronounce thy word: be- cause all thy commandments are justice. 173 Let thy hand be with me to save me; for I have chosen thy precepts. 174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord: and thy law is my meditation. 175 My soul shall live, and shall praise thee; and thy judgments shall help me. 76 l have gone astray like a sheep that is lost: seek thy servant, because I have not forgotten thy commandments. PSALM CXIX. Ad Dominum. A prayer in tribulation. A gradual canticle.” N my trouble I cried to the Lord ; and he heard II] e. 2 O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue. 3 What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to a deceitful tongue? 4. The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste. 5 Wo is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: 6 my soul hath been long a sojourner. 7 With them that hated peace I was peaceable when I spoke to them they fought against me with: Out CauSe. PSALM CXX. Elevavi oculos. God is the keeper of his servants. - A gradual canticle. I HAVE lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me. 2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keepeth thee. 4. Behold, he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel. - 5. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy pro- tection upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not burn thee by day; nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul. 8 May the Lord keep thy coming in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever. PSALM CXXI. Laetatus sum in his. The desire and hope of the just for the coming of the kingdom of God, and the peace ºf his church. A gradual canticle. REJOICED at the things that were said to me • We shall go into the house of the Lord. 2 Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Je rusalem. 3 Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together. 4. For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord; the testimony of Israel, to praise the name * The following psalms, in number fifteen, are called gradual psalms or canticles, from the word gradus, signifying steps, ascensions, or de- s: either because they were appointed to ho sung on the fifteen wers, by which the people ascended to the temple: or that in the sing- ing of them the voice was to be raised by certain steps or ascensions : or that they were to be wrºng by the people returning from their captivi- ſ - ~ of the Lord. ty and ascending to Jerusalem which was seated amongst mountains The holy fathers, in a mystical sense, understand these steps, or ascen sions, of the degrees by which christians spiritually ascend to virtus and perfect on ; and to the true temple of God the heavenly Jeru. salem. * * 3ºDºº :- -- —º PSALMS. 6 Berause their seats have sat in judgment, seats Jon the house of David. º 6 Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of jerusalem; and abundance for them that love thee. 7 Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers. 8 For the sake of my brethren and of my neigh- bours, I spoke peace of thee. 9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought gocºl things for thee. PSA LM CXXII. Ad te levavi. A prayer in affliction with confidence in God. A- gradual canticle. O thee have i in heaven. 2 Behold. as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, A - . 1. - . . . . . . . . iſ a 1-...-- 1. I • 1 wº ... [. 1, . l (* As tile eyes oi iiiu; iſailu-inai (i are on the hall (1S Ol her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us. 3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us; for we are greatly filled with contempt. 4. For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich, and contempt to the proud. PSA LM CXX|| ||. Nisi quia Dominus. The church giveth glory to God for her deliverance from the hands of her cnemics. A gradual canticle. F it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say: 2 If it had not been that the ford was with us, When men rose up against us, 3 perhaps they had swallowed us up alive. When their fury was enkindled against us, 4 per- haps the water had swallowed us up. 5 Our soul hath passed through a torrent ; per- haps our soul had passed through a water insupport- able. - 6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth. 0. 7 Our soul hath been delivered, as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and we are delivered. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. PSA LM CXXIV. Qui confidumt. The just are always under God’s protection. A gradual canticle. ſ IV HEY that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth 2 in Jerusalem. Mountains are round about it : so the Lord is rºund about his people from henceſorth now and for ever. 3 For the lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity. 4. Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart. I liſted up my eyes, who dwellest || shall lead out with the workers of iniquity bears upon Israel. p PSA LM CXXV. In convertendo. The people of God rejoice at their delivery from captit’s y A gradual canticle. e G W HEN the Lord brought back the captivity x Sion, we became like men comforted. 2 Then was our mouth filled with gladness ; and our tongue with joy. º Then shall they say among the gentiles: " : Lord hath done great things for them. 3 The Lord hath done great things for us : W C are become joyful. in the south. - - 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. 7 But coming, they shall come with joyfulness carrying their sheaves. PSAI.M CXXVI. Nisi Dominus. Nothing can be done without God’s grace and blessing. A gradual canticle of Solomon. NLESS the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. 2 It is vain for you to rise before light:* rise ye aſter you have sitten, you that eat the bread of Sor- l'OW. When he shall give sleep to his beloved : 3 Be- hold, the inheritance of the Lord are children, the reward, the fruit of the womb. 4. As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken. 5 Blessed is the man that hath filled his desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate. PSA LM CXXVII. Beationues. The fear of God is the way to happiness. A gradual canticle. LESSED are all they that fear the Lord ; that walk in his ways. 2 For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands. blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee. 3 Thy wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of thy house. º children as olive plants, round about thy tal) it”. - 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fear eth the Lord. 5 May the Lord bless thee out of Sion : and mayst thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 6 And mayst thou see thy children's children peace upon Israel. 5 But such as turn asiſ, into bonds, the Lord |: __" >~~~~ Y- * It is vain fºr you to rise before light. That is, your early rising our labour, and worldly solicitude, will be pain, that is, will avail you nothing, without the light. grace, and blessing of God. 4 Turii again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream rSA : Ivi S CXXVIII, CXXIX CXXX, CXXXI, CXXX11, CXXXIII. PSALM CXXVIII. Saepe expugnaverunt. The church of God we invincible : her persecutors come to nothing. - A gradual canticle. FTEN have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say. 2 Often have they fought against me from my th: but they could not prevail over me. 8 The wicked have wrought upon my back : they have lengthened their iniquity. 4. The Lord who is just, will cut the necks of sinners : 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back, that hate Sion. 6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses, which withereth before it be plucked up: 7 Where with the mower filleth not his hand ; nor he that gathereth sheaves, his bosom. 8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you : we have blessed you in the name of the Lord. PSALM CXXIX. De profundis. 4 prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The 6th penitential psalm. - A gradual canticle. OUT of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord : 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my sup- plication. 3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand it? 4. For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word : 5 My soul hath hoped in the Lord. 6 From the morning watch even until night, let srael hope in the Lord. 7 Because with the Lord there is mercy; and with him plentiful redemption. - 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniqui- ties. PSA LM CXXX. Domine, non est. The promhet’s humility. A gradual canticle of David. ORD, my heart is not exalted : nor are my eyes lofty. Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me. 2 If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul: As a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul. 3 Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth ow and for ever. PSA LM CXXXI. Memento, Domine. A prayer for the fulfilling of the promise made to David. A gradual canticle. l,OBD, remember David, and all his meek- IlêSS : * We have heard of it in Ephrata. When I was woung, and lived in Bethelein, otherwise called Ephrata, I heard of God’s tabernacle and ark, and had a devout desire of seeking it ; and accordingly I found _----Rs ==--→ . --> -->~~--> --> wº - y - >- <> 2 How he swore to the Lord : to the God of Jacob. - ... 3 If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house. if I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie; 4 If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eye-lids, 5 Or, rest to my temples; until I find out a place for the rºl, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob 6 Befold, we have heard of it in Ephrata:* wr have found it in the fields of the wood. 7 We will go into his tabernacle: we will adoir in the place where his feet stood. 8 Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place; thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified. 9 Let thy priests be clothed with justice: and let thy saints rejoice. 10 For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thy anointed. ll The Lord hath sworn truth to David ; and he will not make it void : of the fruit of thy womb will set upon thy throne. - 12 If thy children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them • Their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne. 13 For the Lord hath chosen Sion : he hath cho- Sen it for his dwelling. 14. This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. 15 Blessing I will bless her widow ; I will satis- fy her poor with bread. 16 l will clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy. 17 There will l bring forth a horn to David : I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him shall my sanctification flourish PSA LM CXXX}|. Ecce, quam bonum. The happiness of brotherly love and concord A gradual canticle of David. EHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity: 2 Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, Which ran down to the skirt of his garment : 3 as the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon mount Sion. For there the Lord hath commanded blessing, and life for evermore. - PSAI,M CXXX||}. Ecce, nunc benedicite. An eahortation to prºtise God continually. A gradual canticle. Eii OLD, now, bless ye the Lord, all ye se, vants of the Lord, Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 2 In the nights liſt up your hands to the holy places, and bless ye the Lord. * he vowed a vow it, at Cariathiarim, the city of the woods where t was tilt it was re moved to Jerusalem Ser 1 Paralipomi. xiii 479 `-- PSALMS. 3 May the Lord out of Sion bless thee, he that n.de heaven and earth. PSA LM CXXXIV. Laudate nomen. An eahortation to praise God: the vanity of idols. * 1 Alleluia. PIAlsº ye the name of the lord : O you his servants, praise the Lord. 2 You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, 3 Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good : sing ye to his name, for it is sweet. 4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself: Israel for his own possession. à For I have known that the Lord is great, and our God is above all gods. 6.What ºver the Cord pleased he hath done, in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps. 7 He bringeth up clouds from the end of the earth : he hath made lightnings for the rain. IIe bringeth forth winds out of his stores. 8. He i. the first-born of Egypt, from man even unto )CaSt. 9 He sent forth signs and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt; upon Pharao, and upon all his S(*I'ValltS. 10 He smote many nations; and slew mighty kings : Il Sehon, king of the Amorrhites, and Og, king of Basan, and all the kingdoms of Chanaan : 12 And gave their land for an inheritance, for an inheritance to his people Israel. 13 Thy name, O rial, O Lord, unto all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge his people, and will be entreated in favour of his servants. 15 The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of men's hands. 16 They have a mouth, but they speak not : they have eyes, but they see not. 17 They have ears, but they hear not: neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Let them that make them be like to them : nd every one that trusteth in them. 19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel : bless the ſlord, O house of Aaron. 20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: you that fear the Lord, bless the Lord. 21 Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwell- rth in Jerusalem. PSALM CXXXV. Confitemini Domino. God is to be *ſº his wonderful works. € l l 1:1. RAISE the Lord,” for he is good: for his mercy - endureth for ever. 2 Praise ye the God of gods: for his mercy en- lureth for ever. 3 Praise ye the Lord of lords: for his mercy en- dureth for ever. ord, is for ever: thy memo- || 4 Who alone doeth great wonders. for his mercy endureth for ever. e e 5 Who made the heavens in understanding: for his mercy endureth for ever. 6 Who established the earth above the waters for his mercy endureth for ever. º Who made the great lights: for his mercy eli- dureth for ever. 8 The sun to rule the day: for his mercy endulºth for ever. 9 The moon and the stars to rule the night : for his mercy endureth for ever. º º 10 Who smote Egypt with their first-born : ſo his mercy endureth for ever. I l Who brought out Israel from among them for his mercy endureth for ever: 12 With a mighty hand and with a stretched- out arm : for his mercy endureth for ever. 13 Who divided the Red sea into parts : for his mercy endureth for ever. 14 And brought out Israel through the midst thereof: for his mercy endureth for ever: 15 And overthrew Pharao and his host in the Red sea : for his mercy endureth for ever. 16 Who led his people through the desert: fo his mercy endureth for ever. 17 Who smote great kings: for his mercy endu- reth for ever. 18 And slew strong kings: for his mercy endu reth for ever. 19 Sehon king of the Amorrhites: for his mercy endureth for ever. 20 And Og king of Basan : for his mercy endu- reth for ever. 21 And he gave their land for an inheritance for his mercy endureth for ever. 22 For an inheritance to his servant Israel: for his mercy endureth for ever - 23 For he was mindful of us in our affliction: for his mercy endureth for ever. 24 And he redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. 25 Who giveth food to all flesh : for his mercy endureth for ever. 26 Give glory to the God of Heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. 27 Give glory to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. PSALM CXXXVI. Super flumina. The lamentation of the people ºf God in their captivity in Babylon. A psalm of David, for Jeremias.f TPON the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept ; when we remembered Sion : 2 On the willows in the midst thereof we hul.g up our instruments. 3 For there they that 'ed us into captivity, required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. * * Praise the Lord. . By this invitation to praise the Lord, thrice re- treated, we protess the l8lessed Trinity, One God in three distinct Per- sout, the F., her, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost # For Jeremias. For the time of Jeremias, and the captiv, ºy of ſºa bylon. 184) PSALMS CXXXVII, CXXXVIII, CXXXIX. 4 How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land f 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. 6 Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee : If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem: e Who say: Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 8 O daughter of Babylon miserable: blessed shall he be who shall repay thee thy payment which thou nast paid us. - e 9 Blessed he that shall take and dash thy little ones” against the rock. PSALM CXXXVII. Confitebor tibi. Thanksgiving to God for his benefits. For David himself. WILL praise thee, O Lord, with my whole * heart : for thou hast heard the words of my mouth. I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the Angels: 2 I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to thy name : For thy mercy, and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all. 3. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me : thou shalt multiply strength in my soul. 4 May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee: for they have heard all the words of thy mouth. 5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord : for great is the glory of the Lord. 6 For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low: and the high he knoweth afar off. 7 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, thou wilt quicken me : and thou hast stretched forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies: and thy right hand hath saved me. 8 The Lord will repay for me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: O despise mol the works f thy hands. - PSA LM CXXXVII). Domine, probasti. God’s special providence over his servants 1 Unto the end, a psalm of David. ORD, thou hast proved me, and known me : – 2 thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. - 3 Thou hast understood my thoughts aſar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out. 4. And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there .s no speechi in my tongue. 5 Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and those of old : thou hast formed me, and hast laid thy hand upon me. 6 Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me it is high, and I cannot reacn to it. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face P . 8 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10. Even there also shall thy hand lead me; and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures. 12 But darkness shall not be dark to thee; and night shall be light as the day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof, are alike to thee. 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magni. fied : wonderful are thy works, and my soul know eth right well. 15 My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in secret ; and my substance in the lower parts of the earth. 16 Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written : days shall be formed, and no one in them. 17 But to me thy friends, O God, are made ex- ceedingly honourable : their principality is exceed- ingly strengthened. 18 I will number them, and they shall be multi- plied above the sand : I rose up, and am still with thee. 19. If thou wilt kill the wicked, O God: ye men of blood, depart from me : 20 Because you say in thought:f They shall re- ceive thy cities in vain. 21 Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee ; and pined away because of thy enemies P 22 I have hated them, with a perfect hatred and they are 'lecome en mies to me. 23 Prove me, O God, and know my heart: ex amine me, and know my paths: 24 And see if there be in me the way of iniquity and lead me in the eternal way. PSALM CXXXIX. Eripe me, Domine. A proxyer to be delivered from the wicked. 1 Unto the end, a psalm of David. 2 ELIVER me, O Lord, from the evil man rescue me from the unjust man. 3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles. 4. They have sharpened their tongues like a ser. pent: the venom of asps is under their lips * Dash thy little ones, &c. in the spiritual sense, we dash the little ones of Babylon against the rock, when we mortify ourpassions, and stifle the first motions of them, by a speedy recourse to the rock, which is Christ. f There is no speech, &c. viz. unknown to thee : or when there is no speech in my tongue: vet my whole interior and my inost secret thoughts are known to thee. e I Because you say in thought, &c. Depart from me you wicked, who | plot against the servants of God, and think to cast them out of the cities of their habitation ; as if they have received them in vain, and to the purpose. º & ! I have hated then. Not with an hatred of malice, but a zeal for the observance of God's cominandments; which he saw were despised by the wicked, who are to be considered eneinies to God. * 481 PSALMS. 5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wick- ed: and from unjust men deliver ine. Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 the pic ud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling-block by the way side. 7 I said to the Lord: Thou art my God: hear, O Lord. the voice of my supplication. 8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. 9 (iive me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph. 10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them. | l Burning coals shall fall upon them: thou wilt east them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand. 12 A mau full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evils shall catch the unjust man unto destruction. 13 l know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the ºoor. 14. But as for the just, they shall give glory to tly name: and the upright shall dwell with thy Ct)ulltell all Cé. PSALM CXL. Domine, clamavi. A prayer against sinful words, and deceitful flatterers. A psalm of David. HAVE cried to thee, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee. ſº 2 Let my prayer lic directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of tuy hands, as evening sacrifice: 3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; and a door round about my lips. 4. Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins, With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them. 5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner” fatten my head. ſº © © For my prayerfalso shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased : 6 their judgesſ ſalling upon the rock have been swallowed up. . They shall hear my words, for they have prevail- cd 7 as when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground: Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away, my soul. e 9 Keep me from the smare, which they have laid itr me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them that work iniquity. 10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am aloneš until I pass. ſ PSALM CXLI. Voce mea. A prayer of David in eatremity of danger. 1 Of understanding for David. A prayer when he was in the cave. I Kings xxiv 2T CRIED to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord. 3 In his sight I pour out my prayer; and be- fore him l declare my trouble. 4. When my spirit failed me, then thou knewest my paths. In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me. 5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld : and there was no one that would know me Flight hath failed me: and there is no one tha. hath regard to my soul. 6 l cried to thee, O Lord ; I said: Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living. 7 Attend to my supplication : for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than 1 8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the just wait for me, until thou reward me PSALM CXLII. Domine, exaudi. tribulation calleth upon God for his delivery The psalmist in The seventh penitential psalm. | A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him. 2 Kings xvii. HEAR, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my sup: plication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice, 2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight no man living shall be justified. 3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought down my life to the earth He hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old : 4 and my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled 5 I remembered the days of old : I meditated on l º works: I meditated upon the works of thy 3I) C. S. 6 I stretched forth my hands to thee: my soul is as earth without water unto thee. 7 Hear me speedily, O Lord : my spirit hath fainted away. Turn not away thy face from me, lest l be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee have I hoped. Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk : for I have lifted up my soul to thee. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled: 10 teach me to do thy will, for thou ar. my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land * Let not the oil ºf the sinner, &c. That is, the flattery, or deceitful ral St”. f i For my prayer, &c. So far from coveting their praises, who are never well pleased but with things that are evil, I shall continually pray tº be preserved from such things as they are delighted with. | Their judges, &c. Their rulers, or chiefs quickly vanish and perish, like ships dashed against the rocks, and swallowed up by the waves. Let them then hear-my words, for they are powerful and will prevail; or, as it is in the Hebrew, for they are sweet. * I am alone, &c. Singularly protected by the Almighty, writil I pass all their nets and snares 482 TSALMS CXLIII, CXLIV, CXLV. 11 for thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt quickenſ me in thy justice. 'Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble : 12 and in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies. And thou wilt cut off all them that afflict my soul: for l am thy servant. PSALM CXLIII. Benedictus Dominus. The prophet praiseth God, and prayeth to be delivered from his enemies. No worldly happiness is to be compared with that of serving God. A psalm of David against Goliath. I.ESSED be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war. 2 My mercy, and my refuge; my support, and my deliverer; My protector, and I have hoped in him; who sub- dueth my people under me. 3 Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him P or the son of man, that thou makest ac- count of him P - 4 Man is like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow. 5 Lord, bow down thy heavens, and descend : touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. 6 Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter º: shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them. 7 Put forth thy hand from on high ; take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children : 8 Whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity. 9 To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee: 10 Who givest salvation to kings: who hast re- deemed thy servant David from the malicious sword: II deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children; whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity: 12 Whose sons are as new plants in their youth: Their daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple: h 13 Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth : 14 their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor cry- ing out in their streets. 15 They have called the people happy, that hath these things: but happy is that people whose God is the Lord. PSALM CXLIV. Exaltabote, Deus. A psalm of praise, to the infinite majesty of God. «» Praise, for David himself. I WILL extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever. 3 Great is the i. and greatly to be praised: nd of his greatmess there is no end. 22*- 2–~~<ſº ſº *w- <> 4 Generation and generation shall praise thy works: and they shall declare thy power. 5 They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness; and shall tell thy wondrous Works. 6 And they shall speak of the might of thy terri ble acts; and shall declare thy greatness. 7 They shall publish the memory of the abun * of thy sweetness; and shall rejoice in thy jus- ICC. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. , 9 The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mer- cies are over all his works. 10 Let all thy works, O Lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee. 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom and shall tell of thy power: 12 To make thy might known to the sons of men and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom 13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages; and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works. 14. The Lord liſteth up all that fall; and setteth up all that are cast down. 15 The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord : anc thou givest them meat in due season. 16 Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with bless Tº Tºrº grº ing every Hving creature. 17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him ; to all that call upon him in truth. 19 He will do the will of them that fear him and he will hear their prayer, and save them. 20 The Lord keepeth all them that love him but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever, yea for ever and ever. PSALM CXLV. Lauda, anima. We are not to trust in men, but in God alone. 1 Alleluia, of Aggeus and Zacharias. 2 PRAISE the Lord, O my soul: in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. º Put not your trust in princes, 3 in the children or men, in whom there is no salvation. 4. His spirit shall go forth ; and he shall return into º earth : in that day all their thoughts shal; DéI ISI!. D 5 Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them : 7 Who keepeth truth for ever ; who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong ; who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are ſettered : 8 the | Lord enlighteneth the blind. 483 Ş ſ! l'he lord liſteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just. 9 The Lord keepeth the strangers: he will sup- port the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy. 10 The Lord shall reign for ever; thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation. - PSALM CXLVI. Laudate Dominum. An eachortation to praise God for his benefits. Alleluia. P RAISE ye the Lord, because psalm is good: to our God be joyful and comely praise. . 2 The Lord buildeth up Jerusalem : he will ga- ther together the dispersed of Israel. g 3 Who healeth the broken of heart, and bindeth up their bruises. 4 Who telleth the number of the stars; and call- eth them all by their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and great is his power: and of his wisdom there is no number. 6 The Lord liſteth up the meck; and bringeth the wicked down even to the ground. 7 Sing ye to the Lord with praise: sing to our God upon the harp. 8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds; and Prº rain for the earth. ho maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the service of men. 9 Who giveth to beasts their food; and to the young ravens that call upon him. 10 He shall not delight in the strength of the horse; inor take pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him; and in them that hope in his mercy. PSALM CXLVII. Lauda, Jerusalem. The church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and favours to his people. In the Hebrew this psalm is join - ed to the foregoing. Alleluia. 12 PRAISE the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion. 13 Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates: he hath blessed thy children within thee. 14 Who hath placed peace in thy borders; and filleth thee with the fat of corn. 15 Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth : his word runneth swiftly. 16 Who giveth snow like wool; scattereth mists like ashes. 17 He sendeth his crystal” like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold P 18 He shall send out his word, and shall melt them : his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run. 19 Who declareth his word to Jacob; his justi- ces and his judgments to Israel. 20 He hath not done in like manner to every na- tion; and his judgments he hath not made manifest vo them. Alleluia. • H. *endeth his crystal. That is his ice. Some understand it of ai bioh is as it were ice, divided into particles or ºversels * 484 - _------> \ ------ --> 2&_^T ſ’SALMS. PSALM CXLVIII. Laudate Dominum de coelis. All creatures are invited to praise their Creator Alleluia. RAISE ye the Lord from the heavens: praise e him in the high places. e 2 Praise ye him, all his Angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. e 3 Praiseye him, O sun and moon: Praise him, an ye stars and light. • - 4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: and let all the waters that are above the heavens, 5 praise the name of the Lord. For he spoke, and they were made : he command- ed, and they were created. * 6 He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass :l Wºl W. *praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all ye deeps: 8 Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which ful. fil his word: -[. 9 Mountains, and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10 Beasts, and all cattle: serpents, and feathered fowls : 1 1 Kings of the earth, and all people: princes and all judges of the earth : 12 Young men, and maidens : let the old with the younger praise the name of the Lord : 13 for his name alone is exalted. • 14. The praise of him is above heaven and earth : and he hath exalted the horn of his people. A hymn to all his saints : to the children of Israel a people approaching to him. Alleluia. PSALM CXLIX. Cantate Domino. The church is particularly bound to praise God. Alleluia. . SN Gye to the Lord a new canticle: let his praise 2 - be in the church of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king. 3 Let them praise his name in choir : let them sing to him with the timbrel and the psaltery. 4. For the Lord is well pleased with his people: and he will exalt the meek unto salvation. 5. The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds. 6 The high praises of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands: 7 To execute vengeance upon the nations chas- tisements among the people : 8 To bind their kings with fetters, and their no- bles with manacles of iron. * 9 To execute upon them the judgment that is written: this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia. PSALM CL. Laudate Dominum in sanctis. An eachortation to praise God with all sorts of instruments. Alleluia. -qūlū- PRAISE ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power % S CHAP. I, II. 2 Praise ye him for his mighty acts: praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness, . 3 Praise him with sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with timbrel and chor: praise hum with strings and organs. g 5 Praise him on high-sounding cymbals. . praise him on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia. THE Book of PRoverbs. This book is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty sentences, regulating the morals of men, and directing them to wisdom and virtue. And these sentences are also called PARABLEs ; because great truths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes. CHAP. I. The use and end of the proverbs. An exhortation to jlee the company of the wicked: and to hearken to the voice of wis- dom. HE parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, ( > . 2 To know wisdom, and instruction: 3 To understand the words of prudence, and to receive the instruction of doctrine, justice, and judg- ment, and equity: ſº 4. To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding. 5 A wise man shall hear, and shall be wiser: and he that understandeth, shall possess govern- mentS. 6 He shall understand a parable, and the inter- pretation, the words of the wise, and their myste- rious sayings. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis- dom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9. That grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck. 10 My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent ot to them. 11 If they shall say: Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood; let us hide snares for the inno- cent without cause: 12 Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit. 13 We shall find all precious substance; we shall fill our houses with spoils. 14 Castin thy lot with us; letus all have one purse. 15 My son, walk not thou with them: restrain thy foot from their paths. 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17 But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings. 18 And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood, and practise deceits against their own souls. 19 So the ways of every covetous man destroy the souls of the possessors. • . 20 Wisdom preacheth abroad: she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 At the head of multitudes she crieth out: in = 2==<> 2^* T ~~ the entrance of the gates of the city she uttereth her words, saying: 22 O children, how long will you love childish- ness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge. 23 Turn ye at my reproof: behold, I will utter my spirit to you, and will show you my words. 24. Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out my hand; and there was none that regarded. 25 You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions. 26 I also will laugh in your destruction; and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared. 27 When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand; when tribulation and distress shall come upon you; 28 Then shall they call upon me, and I will no: hear: they shall rise in the morning, and shall not find me: 29 Because they have hated instruction, and re ceived not the fear of the Lord, - 30 Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof. g - 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices. 32 The turning away of little ones shall kill them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shallenjoyabundance, without fear of evils CHAP. II. The advantages of wisdom; and the evils from which it deuvers. MY son, if thou wilt receive my words, and wilt hide my commandments with thee, 2 That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: incline thy heart to know prudence. 3. For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and inchite thy heart to prudence ; 4. If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find the knowledge of God. 6 Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge. 7 He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity: 8 Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints. 9. Then shalt thou understand justice, and judg- ment, and equity, and every good path. 10. If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy,soul: PROVERBS. 11 Cºunsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee, G 12 That thou mayst be delivered from the evil wav, and ſroin the man that speaketh perversethings: .3 Wholeave the right way,and walk by darkways: 14 Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things: e 15 Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous. 16 That thou mayst be delivered from the strange woman, and from the stranger, who softeneth her words ; 17 And forsaketh the guide of her youth, 18 And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: .." | house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell. 19 None that go in unto her, shall return again, neither shall they take hold of the paths of life. 20 That thou mayst walk in a good way, and mayst keep the paths of the just. } For they that are upright, shall dwell in the earth: and the simple shall continue in it. 22 But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it. & CHAP. III. An eachortation to the practice of virtue. MY son, forget not my law, and let thy heart keep *— my commandments. 2 For they shall add to thee length of days, and years of life, and peace. 3 Let not mercy and truth leave thee: put them º thy neck, and write them in the tables of thy |Cart: 4 And thou shalt find grace, and good understand- ing before God and men. 5 Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not upon thy own prudence. 6 In all thy ways think on him, and he will di- 1ect thy steps. 7 Be not wise in thy own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil: 8 For it shall be health to thy navel, and moist- ening to thy bones. 9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and give him of the first of all thy fruits: 10 And thy barns shall be filled with abundance; and thy presses shall run over with wine. 11 My son, reject not the correction of the Lord: and do not faint when thou art chastised by him: 12 For whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth: and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself. 13 Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and is rich in prudence. 14 The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver, and her fruit than the chiefest and purest gold : 15 She is more precious than all riches: and all the , things that are desired, are not to be compared with her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in uci left hand riches and glory. - 486 = ~Eºs £- ~ <> S- 17 Her ways are beautiful ways; and all her paths are peaceable. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her : and he that shall retain her is blessed. 19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth hath established the heavens by prudence: 20 By his wisdom the depths have broken out iland the clouds grow thick with dew. 21 My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes; keep the law and council : 22 And there shall be life to thy soul, and grace to thy mouth. G 23 Then shalt thou walk confidently in thy way and thy foot shall not stumble : 24, # thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shall rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet. * 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee. 26 For the Lord will be at thy side, and will keep thy foot that thou be not taken. 27 Do not withhold him from doing good, who is able : if thou art able, do good thyself also. 28 Say not to thy friend : Go, and come again. and to-morrow I will give to thee: when thou canst, give at present 29 Practise not evil against thy friend, when he hath confidence in thee. 30 Strive not against a man without cause, when he hath done thee no evii. 31 Envy not the unjust man, and do not follow his ways ; 32 For every mocker is an abomination to the Lord ; and his communication is with the simple 33 Wantis from the Lord in the house of the wick- ed: but the habitations of the just shall be blessed. 34. He shall scorn the scorners; and to the meek he will give grace. 35 The wise shall possess glory: the proinotion of fools is disgrace. CHAP. IV. A further eachortation to seek after wisdom. EAR, ye children, the instruction of a father; and attend that you may know prudence. 2 I will give you a good gift: forsake not my law 3 For I also was my father's son, tender and as an only son in the sight of my mother : 4 And he taught me, and said : Let thy heart re- ceive my words; keep my commandments, and thou shalt live. p 5 Get wisdom ; get prudence: forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth. t 6 Forsake her not; and she shall keep thee: love her ; and she shall preserve thee. 7. The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom ; and with all thy possession purchase prudence. 8 Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt em brace her. 9 She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee with a noble crown. 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my words, thal years of life may be multiplied to thee. CHAP. V., VI. 11 I will show thee the way of wisdom: I will lead thee by the paths of equity: 12 Which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened: and when thou runnest thou shalt not meet a stumbling block. 13 Take hold on instruction; leave it not: keep it, because it is thy life. 14 Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked: neither let the way of the evil men please thee. 15 Flee from it: pass not by it: go aside, and for- sake it. - 16 For they sleep not, except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall. 17 They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity. 18 But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is darksome : they know not where they fall. 20 My son, hearken to my words; and incline thy ear to my sayings. 2! Let them not depart from thy eyes : keep them in the midst of thy heart 22 For they are life to those that find them, and health to all flesh. 23 With all watchfulness keep thy heart, be- cause life issueth out from it. 24 Remove from thee a froward mouth : and let detracting lips be far from thee. 25. Let thy eyes look straight on : and let thy eve-lids gº before thy steps. - 26 Make strait the path for thy feet, and all thy ways shall be established. - - 27 Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left: turn away thy foot from evil. For the Lord know- eth the ways that are on the right hand : but those are perverse which are on the left hand. But he will make thy courses straight: he will bring for- ward thy ways in peace. - CHAP. V. An eachortation to fly unlawful lust, and the occasions of it. Y son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy º ear to my prudence, 2 That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of fl WOllſlåll. 3 For the lips of a harlot are like a honey comb dropping : and her throat is smoother than oil. 4. But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword. - 5 Her feet go down into death; and her steps go in as far as hell 6 They wal., not by the path of life; her steps are wandering, and unaccountable. 7 Now therefore, my son, hear me; and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her ; and come not nigh the doors of her house. 9 Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel. 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours be in another man's house. | | 11 And thou mourn at the last, when thou shall have spent thy flesh and thy body, and say: 12 Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof; 13 And have not heard the voice of them that taught me, and have not inclined my ear to masters ? 14 I have almost been in all evil, in the midst of the church and of the congregation. 15 Drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own well. 16 Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad : and in the streets divide thy waters. 17 Keep them to thyself alone: neither let stran- gers be partakers with thee. 18 Let thy vein be blessed; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be thy dearest hind, and most agree. able ſawn : let her breasts inebriate thee at all times: be thou delighted continually with her love. 20 Why art thou seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and art cherished in the bosom of another 21. The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his steps. 22 His own iniquities catch the wicked : and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins. 23 He shall die, because he hath not received in- struction; and in the multitude of his folly he shall be deceived. - CHAP. VI. Documents on several heads. MY son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast thy hand to a stranger : 2 Thou art ensnared with the words of thv induth. and caught with thy own words. 3 Do therefore, my son, what I say, and delive- thyself: because thou art fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run about, make haste, stir up thy friend : - 4. Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eye- lids slumber. 5 Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom : 7 Which, although she hath no guide, nor mas- ter, nor captain, 8 Provideth her meat for herself in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard P when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep F 10 Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber 4 little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep : 11 And want shall come upon thee, as a travel- ler, and poverty as a man armed. But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain ; and want shall flee far from thee. 12 A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable mau walketh with a perverse mouth. 13. He winketh with the eyes; presseth with the foot; speaketh with the finger. 14. With a wicked heart he deviseth evil' and at all times he soweth discord. 15 To such a one his §struction shall presently S- 3) PROVERBS. rome and he shal suddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy. 16 Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth : 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, 19 A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him hat Soweth discord among brethren. 20 My son, keep the commandments of thy fa- ..her, and forsake not the law of thy mother. 21 Bind them in thy heart continually, and put them about thy neck. 22 When thou walkest, let them go with thee: when thou sleepest, let them keep thee: and when thou awakest, talk with them. 23 Because the commandment is a lamp, and the º light, and reproofs of instruction are the way O 1I (2 : 24. That they may keep thee from the evil wo- man, and from the flattering tongue of the stranger. 25 Let not thy heart covet her beauty; be not caught with her winks: - 26 For the price of a harlot, is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man. 27 Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn P 28 Or can he walk upon hot coals. and his feet not be burnt P 29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife, shall not be clean when he shall touch her. 30 The fault is not so great” when a man hath stolen : for he stealeth to fill his hungry soul: 31 And if he be taken, he shall restore sevenfold, and shall give up all the substance of his house. 32 But he that is an adulterer, for the folly of his neart shall destroy his own soul: e 33 He gathereth to himself shame and dishonour: and his reproach shall not be blotted out. 34. Because the jealousy and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge. 35 Nor will he yield to any man’s prayers; nor will he accept for satisfaction ever so many gifts. CHAP. VII. The love of wisdom is the best preservative from being led astray by temptation. MY son, keep my words, and lay up my precepts with thee. Son, 2 Keep my commandments, and thou shalt live; and my law as the apple of thy eye: 3 Bind it upon thy fingers: write it upon the ta- bles of thy heart. 4. Say to wisdom: Thou art my sister: and call prudence thy friend. 5 That she may keep thee from the woman that is not thine, and from the stranger who sweeteneth ner words. * 6 For I looked out of the window of my house through the lattice, o 7 And I see little ones, I behold a foolish young II]3. In à"Who passeth through the street by the cornel, and goeth nigh the way of her house, . 9. In the dark, when it grows late, in the dark- ness and obscurity of the night. & O 10 And behold, a woman meeteth him in harlot's attire, prepared to deceive souls; talkative and wall- dering, - ſº 11 Not bearing to be quiet, not able to abide stil. at home, e e 12 Now abroad, now in the streets, now lying in wait near the corners. O 13 And catching the young man she kisseth him, and with an impudent face, flattereth, saying: 14 I vowed victims for prosperity; this day I have paid my vows. 15 ºre I am come out to meet thee, desi- rous to see thee, and I have found thee. 16 I have woven my bed with cords: I have co vered it with painted tapestry, brought from Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us be inebriated with the breasts and let us enjoy the desired embraces, till the day appear: * - - - 19 For my husband is not at home : he is gone a very long journey. 20 He took with him a bag of money: he wili return home the day of the full moon. 21 She entangled him with many words; and drew him away with the flattery of her lips. 22 Immediately he followeth her as an ox led to be a victim, and as a lamb playing the wanton, and not knowing that he is drawn like a fool to bonds, 23 Till the arrow pierce his liver : as if a bird should make haste to the snare, and knoweth not that his life is in danger. 24 Now therefore, my son, hear me, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thy mind be drawn away in her ways: neither be thou deceived with her paths. 26 For she hath cast down many wounded, and the strongest have been slain by her. * , 27 Her house is the way to hell, reaching even to the inner chambers of death. CHAP. VIII. The preaching of wisdom. Her eaccellence. D OTH not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence put forth her voice P - 2 Standing in the top of the highest places by the way, in the midst of the paths, 3 Beside the gates of the city, in the very loors, she speaketh, saying: ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. * The fault is not so great, &c. The sin of theft is not so great as to be compared with adultery; especially when a person pressed with hunger (which is the case here spoken of) steals to satisfy nature. Moreover the damage done by theft may much more easily be repair A-- * *- ——— —- --> But this does not hinder but n by one of the ten command. ed, than the wrong done by adultery. that theft also is a mortal sin, #ie ments. 408 O HAP. IX, X. 5 O little ones, understand subtilty; and ye un- wise, take notice. 6 Hear, for I will speak of great things: and my; lips shall be opened to preach right things. 7 My mouth shall meditate truth; and my lips shall hate wickedness. 8 All my words are just: there is nothing wick- ed, nor perverse in them. 9 They are right to them that understand, and just to them that find knowledge. 1U Receive my instruction, and not money: choose knowledge rather than gold. Il For wisdom is better than all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it. - 12 I wisdom dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts. 13 The fear of the Lord hateth evil: I hate arro- gance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue. 14 Counsel and equity is mine; prudence is mine; strength is mine. - mº By me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just thingS. 16 By me princes rule, and the mighty decree justice. º 17 I love them that love me: and they that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me. 18 With me are riches and glory, glorious riches and justice. 19 For my fruit is better than gold and the pre- cious stone, and my blossoms than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of Judgment. 21 That !'. enrich them that love me, and may fill their treasures. 22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. 23 I was set up from etermity, and of old before the earth was made. 24. The depths were not as yet, and I was alrea- dy conceived; neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out : 25 The mountains with their huge bulk had not . }: been established: before the hills I was brought Orth : 26 He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was present; when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths : 28 When he established the sky above, and pois- ed the fountains of waters: • 29 When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when he balanced the foundations of the earth : 30 I was with him forming all things; and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; 31 Playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men. 32 Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it Il Ot. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that Watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. 35 He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: 36 But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate me love death. CHAP. IX. Wisdom invites all to her feast. Folly calls another way. 7 ISDOM hath built herself a house: she hath hewn out her seven pillars. 2. She hath slain her victims, mingled her wine, and set forth her table. 3. She hath sent her maids to invite to the tower, and to the walls of the city: 4. Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me And to the unwise she said: 5 Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you. 6 FQrsake childishness, and live, and walk by the ways of prudence. 7 He that teacheth a scorner, doeth an injury tº himself; and he that rebuketh a wicked man, get teth himself a blot. 8 Rebuke not a scorner, lest he hate thee. Re buke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give an occasion to a wise man, and wisdom shall be added to him. Teach a just man, and he shall make haste to receive it. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis dom: and the knowledge of the holy is prudence. 11 For by me shall thy days be multiplied; and years of life shall be added to thee. 12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be so to thyself; and if a scorner, thou alone shalt bear the evil. 13. A foolish woman and clamorous, and full of allurements, and knowing nothing at all, 14 Sat at the door of her house, upon a seat, in a high place of the city, 15. To call them that pass by the way, and go on their journey: 16. He that is a little one, let him turn to me And to the fool she said: 17 Stolen waters are sweeter, and hidden bread is more pleasant. 18 And he did not know that giants are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell. THE PARABLES OF SOI,()MON. CHAP. X. In the twenty following chapters are contained many wise ray- ings and daioms, relating to wisdom and folly, rirtue and vice. A. WISE son maketh the father glad: but a foolish son is the sorrow of his mother. 2 Treasures of wickedness shall profit nothing: but justice shall deliver from death. • 3 The Lord will not afflict the Soul of the just with famine: and he will disappoint the deceitful practices of the wicked 4. The slothful hand hath wrought poverty: but the hand of the industrious getteth riches PHOVE, HBS. Yºr- Ile that trusteth to lies recdeth the winds: and the same runneth after birds, that fly away. . 5 He that gathereth in the harvest, is a wise son: but he that shorteth in the summer, is the son of confusion. 6 The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just: but iniquity covereth the mouth of the wicked. 7 The memory of the just is with praises: and the name of the wicked shall rot. 8 The wise of heart receiveth precepts: a fool is beaten with lips. - - - - 4- ~ * 9 He that walketh sincerely, walketh confidently: but he that perverteth his ways, shall be manifest. 10 He that winketh with the eye shall cause sor- row; and the foolish in lips shall be beaten. 11 The mouth of the just is a vein of life: and o e o Tº p in a ºn tº r tº gº w y ºf a * f \ 7 1 * * * * is a 1 u_y © he mouth of the wicked covereth 12 Hatred stirreth up striſes: and charity cover- eth all sins. 13 In the lips of the wise is wisdom found: and a rod on the back of him that wanteth sense. 14 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the fool is next to confusion. 15 The substance of a rich man, is the city of his strength: the fear of the poor is their poverty. 16 The work of the just is unto life: but the fruit of the wicked unto sin. 17 The way of life to him that observeth cor- rection: but he that forsaketh reproofs goeth astray. 18 ſlying lips hide hatred: he that uttereth re- proach is foolish. 19 In the multitude of words there shall not want sin: but he that refraineth his lips is most WIS62. 20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: but the heart of the wicked is nothing worth. 21 The lips of the just teach many: but they that are ignorant, shall die in the want of understanding. 22 The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich: neither shall aſſliction be joined to them. 23 A fool worketh mischief as it were for sport: out wisdom is prudence to a man. 24. That which the wicked feareth, shall come upon him: to the just their desire shall be given. 25 As a tempest that passeth, so the wicked shall be no more: but the just is as an everlasting ſoundation. 26 As vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that sent him. 27 The fear of the Lord shall prolong days: and the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 28 The expectation of the just is joy: but the hope of the wicked shall perish. 29 The strength of the upright is the way of the lord and fear to them that work evil. 30 The just shall never be moved: but the wicked shall not dwell on the earth. 31 The mouth of the just shall bring forth wis- dom: the tongue of the perverse shall perish. 32 The lips of the just consider what is accepta- ble: and the mouth of the wicked uttereth perverse things * - tº wºn amº. • 1 U 1. ~~~~ ------T-> - ===-º- +++ ----, --~ ** *>==TE=*- —- sº – CHAP. XI. DECEITFUL balance is an abomination, be- fore the Lord: and a just weight is his will. 2. Where pride is, there also shall be reproach but where humility is, there also is wisdom. 3 The simplicity of the just shall guide them: and the deceitfulness of the wicked shall destroy them. 4. Riches shall not profit in the day of revenge" but justice shall deliver from death. e 5. The justice of the upright shall make his way prosperous: and the wicked man shall fall by his own wickedness. ſe * 6 The justice of the righteous shall deliver them: |and the unjust shall be caught in their own snares. 7 When the wicked man is dead, there shall be no hope any more : and the expectation of the so- licitous shall perish. e º e Qe - The st is dal; travad nºt aſ distress O and this v i s a v J L S u = <> * * * * a v v. a vu u ul ua u, as La Lºs • Li havi Liiva wicked shall be given up for him. 9 The dissembler with his mouth deceiveth his friend: but the just shall be delivered by knowledge 10 When it goeth well with the just the city shall rejoice: and when the wicked perish there shall be praise. 11 By the blessing of the just the city shall be exalted: and by the mouth of the wicked it shall be overthrown. - 12 He that despiseth his friend, is mean of heart: but the wise man will hold his peace. 13. He that walketh deceitfully, revealeth se- crets: . but he that is faithful, concealeth the thing committed to him by his friend. - 14. Where there is no governor, the people shall fall: but there is safety where there is much counsel 15 He shall be afflicted with evil, that is surety for a stranger: but he that is aware of the snares, shall be secure. 16 A gracious woman shall find glory: and the strong shall have riches. 17 A merciful man doeth good to his own soul: º that is cruel casteth off even his own kin- TeCl, 18 The wicked maketh an unsteady work: bul to him that soweth justice, there is a faithful reward. 19 Clemency prepareth life; and the pursuing of evils death. 20 A perverse heart is abominable to the Lord and his will is in them that walk sincerely. 21 Hand in hand the evil man shall not be inno- cent: but the seed of the just shall be saved. 22 As a golden ring in a swine's snout, so is a woman fair and foolish. 23 The desire of the just is all good: the exped tation of the wicked is indignation. . 24. Some distribute their own goods, and grow richer: others take away what is not their own, and are always in want. - 25 The soul which blesseth, shall be made fat. º he that inebriateth, shall be inebriated also him Self. - 26 He that hideth up corn, shall be cursed among º rºle: but a blessing upon the head of them that SCII. Neº- 490 CHAP. XII, X111. - tempt 27 Well doth he rise early who seeketh good things: but he that seeketh after evil things shall be opprèssed by them. 28. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the just shall spring up as a green leaf. 29 He that troubleth his own house, shall inhe- rit the winds: and the fool shall serve the wise. 30 The fruit of the just man is a tree of life: and he that gaineth souls, is wise. 31 If the just man receive in the earth, how much imore the wicked and the sinner? - CHAP. XII. E that loveth correction, loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is foolish. 2 He that is good, shall draw grace from the Lord: but he that trusteth in his own devices, doeth wickedly. - 3 Man shall not be strengthened by wickedness; and the root of the just shall not be moved. 4. A diligent woman is a crown to her husband: and she that doeth things worthy of confusion, is as rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of the just are judgments: and the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood: the mouth of the just shall deliver them. 7 Turn the wicked, and they shall not be : but the house of the just shall stand firm. 8 A man shall be known by his learning: but he that is vain and foolish, shall be exposed to con- 9 Better is the poor man that provideth for him- self, than he that is glorious and wanteth bread. 10 The just regardeth the lives of his beasts: but the bowels of the wicked are cruel. 11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that pursueth idleness is very foolish. He that is delighted in passing his time over wine, leaveth a reproach in his strong-holds. 12 The desire of the wicked is the fortification of evil men : but the root of the just shall prosper. 13 For the sins of the lips ruin draweth nigh to the evil man: but the just shall escape out of distress. 14. By the fruit of his own mouth shall a man be filled with good things: and according to the works of his hands it shall be repaid him. 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that is wise hearkeneth unto counsels. 16 A fool immediately showeth his anger: but he that dissembleth injuries is wise. 17 He that speaketh that which he knoweth, showeth forth justice: but he that lieth, is a deceit- ſul witness. 18 There is that promiseth, and is pricked as it were with a sword of conscience: but the tongue of the wise is health. 19 The lip of truth shall be steadfast for ever; but he that is a hasty witness, frameth a lying iOI) gue. 20 Deceit is in the heart of them that think evil things: but joy followeth them that take counsels of peace. 21 Whatsoever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the I ord but they that deal faithfully please him. 23 Å cautious man concealeth knowledge and the heart of fools publisheth folly. 24. The hand of the valiant shall bear rule: but that which is slothful, shall be under tribute. 25 Grief in the heart of a man shall bring him low but with a good word he shall be made glad. 26 He that neglecteth a loss for the sake of a friend, is just: but the way of the wicked shall -e- ceive them. 27 The deceitful man shall not find gain : but the substance of a just man shall be precious gold. 28 In the path of justice is life: but the by-way leadeth to death. CHAP. XIII. wise son heareth the doctrine of his father : but he that is a scornel, heareth not when he is reproved. 2 Of the fruit of his own moutn snall a man be filled with good things: but the Soul of transgress- ors is wicked. 3 He that keepeth his mouth, keepeth his soul: but he that hath no guard on his speech shall meet with evils. - - 4. The sluggard willeth and willeth not : but the soul of them that work, shall be made fat. 5 The just shall hate a lying word: but the wick- ed confoundeth, and shall be conifounded. 6 Justice keepeth the way of the innocent: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. 7 One is as it were rich, when he hath nothing: and another is as it were poor, when he hath great riches. 8 The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but he that is poor, beareth not reprehension. 9 The light of the just giveth joy: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. 10 Among the proud there are always conten- tions: but they that do all things with counsel, are ruled by wisdom. 11 Substance got in haste shall be diminished but that which by little and little is gathered with the hand shall increase. 12 Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul: de sire when it cometh, is as a tree of life. 13 Whosoever speaketh ill of any thing, bindeth himself for the time to come : but he that feareth the commandment, shall dwell in peace. Deceitful souls go astray in sins: the just are merciful, and show mercy. 14. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, that he may decline from the ruin of death. 15 Good instruction shall give grace: in the way of scorners is a deep pit. 16 The prudent man doeth all things with coun- sel: but he that is a fool, layeth open his folly. 17 The messenger of the wicked shall fall into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health. 18 Poverty and shºe to him that Iefuseth in- PHOVERBS. struction: but he that yieldeth to reproof, shall be glorified. 19 The desire that is accomplished, delighteth the soul: foals hate them that flee from evil things. 20. He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise: r friend of fools shall become like to them. 21 Evil pursueth sinners: and to the just good shall be repaid. 22 The good man leaveth heirs, sons, and grand- sons: and the substance of the sinner is kept for the just. - 23 Mucii food is in the tillage of fathers: but for others it is gathered without judgment. 24. He that spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes. 25 The just eateth and filleth his soul: but the belly of the wicked is never to be filled. CHAP. XIV. WISE woman buildeth her house : but the foolish will pull down with her hands that also which is built. 2 He that walketh in the right way, and feareth God, is despised by him that goeth by an infamous Wà V. § In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride: but the lips of the wise preserve them. 4. Where there are no oxen, the crib is empty : but where there is much corn, there the strength of the ox is manifest. 5 A faithful witness will not lie : but a deceitful witness uttereth a lie. 6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not : the learning of the wise is easy. 7 Go against a foolish man, and he knoweth not the lips of prudence. 8 | e wisdom of a discreet man is to understand his way: and the imprudence of fools erreth. 9 A fool will laugh at sin: but among the just grace shall abide. 10 The heart that knoweth the bitterness of his own soul, in his joy the stranger shall not inter- meddle. ll. The house of the wicked shall be destroyed: but the tabernacles of the just shall flourish. 12 There is a way which seemeth just to a man: but the ends thereof lead to death. 13 Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow: and mourning taketh hold of the end of joy. 14. A fool shall be filled with his own ways: and the good man shall be above him. i5 The innocent believeth every word : the dis- creet man considereth his steps. No good shall come to the deceitful son: but the wise servant shall prosper in his dealings, and his way shall be made straight. 16 A wise man feareth and declineth from evil: the fool leapeth over, and is confident. o 17 The impatient man shall work folly: and the crafty man is hateful. 18 The childish shall possess folly; and the pru- dent shall look for knowledge. 19 The evil shall fall down before the good; and the wicked before the gº of the just. 9 20 The poor man shall be hateful even ſo his own neighbour: but the friends of the rich are many 21 He that despiseth his neighbour, sinneth : but he that showeth mercy to the poor, shall be blessed, He that believeth in the Lord, loveth mercy. 22 They err that work evil: but mercy and truth prepare good things. In much work there shall be abundance: but where there are many words, there is oftentimes Want. 24. The crown of the wise is their riches: .he folly of fools, imprudence. 25 A faithful witness delivereth souls: and the double dealer uttereth lies. 26 In the fear of the Lord is confidence of strength, and there shall be hope for his children. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to decline from the ruin of death. 28 In the multitude of people is the dignity of the king: and in the small number of people the dis- honour of the prince. 29 He that is patient, is governed with much wis- dom: but he that is impatient, exalteth his folly. 30 Soundness of heart is the life of the flesh: but envy is the rottenness of the bones. 31 He that oppresseth the poor, upbraideth his ºr: but he that hath pity on the poor, honoureth l! IIl. 32 The wicked man shall be driven out in his wickedness: but the just hath hope in his death. 33 In the heart of the prudent resteth wisdom, and it shall instruct all the ignorant. 34 Justice exalteth a nation: but sin maketh na tions miserable. 35 A wise servant is acceptable to the king: he that is good for nothing shall feel his anger. §§ XV. A MILD answer breaketh wrath: but a harsh word stirreth up fury. - 2 The tongue of the wise adorneth knowledge but the mouth of fools bubbleth out folly. 3 The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the good and the evil. 4. A peaceable tongue is a tree of life: but that which is immoderate, shall crush the spirit. 5 A fool laugheth at the instruction of his father but he that regardeth reproofs shall become prudent In abundant justice there is the greatest strength but the devices of the wicked shall be rooted out. 6. The house of the just is very much strength and in the fruits of the wicked is trouble. 7. The lips of the wise shall disperse knowledge. the heart of fools shall be unlike. 8 The victims of the wicked are abominable to the Lord: the vows of the just are acceptal le. 9. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: he that followeth justice is beloved by him 10 Instruction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way of life: he that hateth reproof shall die. 11 Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more the hearts of the children of men? 12 A corrupt man loveth not one that reproveth him: nor will he go to the wise. CHAP. XVI. 13 A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by grief of mind the spirit is cast down. 14. The heart of the wise seeketh instruction: and the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. 15 All the days of the poor are evil: a secure mind is like a continual feast. 16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without content. º 17 It is better to be invited to herbs with love, than to a fatted calf with hatred. 18 A passionate man stirreth up strifes: he that is patient appeaseth those that are stirred up. 19 The way of the slothful is as a hedge of thorns: the way of the just is without offence. 20 A wise son maketh a father joyful: but a fool- ish man despiseth his mother. 21 Folly is joy to the fool: and the wise man maketh straight his steps. 22 Designs are brought to nothing where there is no counsel : but where there are many counsel- lors, they are established. 23 A man rejoiceth in the sentence of his mouth : and a word in due time is best. 24. The path of life is above for the wise, that he may decline from the lowest hell. - 25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud; and wiii strengthen the borders of the widow. 26 Evil thoughts are an abomination to the Lord: º words most beautiful shall be confirmed y nim. 27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house: but he that hateth bribes shall live. By mercy and faith sins are purged away: and by the fear of the Lord every one declineth from evil. 28 The mind of the just studieth obedience: the mouth of the wicked overfloweth with evils. 29 The Lord is far from the wicked : and he will near the prayers of the just. 30 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the soul : a good name maketh the bones fat. - 31. The ear that heareth the reproofs of life, shall bide in the midst of the wise. 32 He that rejecteth instruction, despiseth his own soul: but he that yieldeth to reproof possesseth understanding. 33 The fear of the Lord is the lesson of wisdom: and humility goeth before glory. CHAP. XVI. IT is the part of man” to prepare the soul: and of the Lord to govern the tongue. 2 All the ways of a man are open to his eyes: the Lord is the weigher of spirits. 3 Lay open thy works to the Lord: and thy thoughts shall be directed. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself: the wrked also for the evil day. 5 Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord : though hand should be joined to hand, he is not innocent. The peginning of a good way, is to do justice and this is more acceptable with God, than to offel Sacrifices. 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is redeemed: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. 7 When the ways of man shall please the Lord he will convert even his enemies to peace. 8 Better is a little with justice, than great reve nues with iniquity. 9 The heart of man disposeth his way: but the Lord must direct his steps. 10 Divination is in the lips of the king: his mouth shall not err in judgment. 11 Weight and balance are judgments of the Lord: and his work all the weights of the bag. 12. They that act wickedly are abominable to the king: for the throne is established by justice. 13 Just lips are the delight of kings: he that speaketh right things shall be loved. 14. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death and the wise man will pacify it. 15 In the cheerfulness of the king’s countenance is life: and his clemency is like the latter rain. 16 Get wisdom, because it is better than gold. º purchase prudence, for it is more precious than SIL V6T. 17 The path of the just departeth from evils: he that keepeth his soul keepeth his way. 18 Pride goeth before destruction: and the spirit is lifted up before a fall. 19. It is better to be humbled with the meek, than to divide spoils with the proud. 20 The learned in word shall find good things and he that trusteth in the Lord is olessed. 21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and he that is sweet in words shall attain to greater things. 22 Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it : the instruction of fools is foolish- 1162.SS. 23 The heart of the wise shall instruct his mouth: and shall add grace to his lips. 24 Well-ordered words are as a honey-comb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. 25 There is a way that seemeth to a man right: and the ends thereof lead to death. 26 The soul of him that laboureth, laboureth for himself, because his mouth hath obliged him to it. 27 The wicked man diggeth evil, and in his lips is a burning fire. 28. A perverse man stirreth up quarrels: and one full of words separateth princes. 29 An unjust man allureth his friend: and lead- eth him into a way that is not good. 30 He that with fixed eyes deviseth wicked things, biting his lips bringeth evil to pass. 31 Old age is a crown of dignity, when it is found in the ways of justice. 32 The patient man is better than the valiant * It is the part of man, &c. That is, a man should prepare in his heart and soul what he is to say: but after all it must be the Lord that must govern his tongue, to speak to the purpose. Not that we can think any thing of good without God's grace; but that after we hare | sm- (with God's grace) thought and prepared within our souls what we could speak; if God does not govern our tongue, we shall not suc- ceed in what we speak. 498 PROW ERBS. and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh C 1: 1ſ28. 33 [...ots are cast into the lap, but they are dis- posed of by the Lord. - CHAP. XVII. B ETTER is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife. 2 A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shal divide the inheritance among the brethren. 3. As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the fur- nace, so the Lord trieth the hearts. 4 The evil man obeyeth an unjust tongue: and the º hearkeneth to lying lips. 5 º not be unpunished. and the glory of children are their fathers. 7 Eloquent words do not become a fool, nor lying lips a prince. 8 The expectation of him that expecteth, is a most acceptable jewel ; whithersoever he turneth himself, he understandeth wisely. 9 He that concealeth a transgression, seeketh friendships: he that repeateth it again, separateth friends. 10 A reproof availeth, more with a wise man, than a hundred stripes with a ſool. 11 An evil man always seeketh quarrels: but a cruel angel shall be sent against him. 12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool trusting in his own folly. 13. He that rendereth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. 14. The beginning of quarrels is as when one let- teth out water: before he suffereth reproach, he for- saketh judgment. 15 fl. that justifieth the wicked, and he that tºnneth the just, both are abominable before O(1. 16 What doth it avail a fool to have riches, see- ing he cannot buy wisdom? Tie that makih his house high, seeketh a down- fall: and he that refuseth to learn, shall fall into evil. 17 He that is a friend loveth at all times: and a brother is proved in distress. 18 A foolish man will clap hands, when he is surety for his friend. - 19. He that studieth discords, loveth quarrels: and he that exalteth his door, seeketh ruin. 20 He that is of a perverse heart, shall not find good; and he that perverteth his tongue, shall fall into evil. 21 A fool is born to his own disgrace : and even his father shall not rejoice in a fool. 22 A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sor- rowful spirit drieth up the bones. 23 The wicked man taketh gifts out of the bo- som, that he may pervert the paths of judgment. 24 Wisdom shineth in the face of the wise: the eyes of fools are in the ends of the earth. 25 A foolish son is the anger of the father, and | e that despiseth the poor, reproacheth his makcr: and he that rejoiceth at another man's ruin, Children's children are the crown of old men: the sorrow of the mother that bore him. M £r- --> ==